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10 Jan 03 - 11:44 AM (#863546) Subject: milkjug fingerpicks From: wilco A claw-hammer style, banjo playing friend of mine showed me how he makes his fingerpicks out af a plastic milkjug handle. he broke his fingernail off on his strumming finger. He cut the handle off a gallon milkjug, and trimmed it until he had a little piece that would cover the end of his finger. Then he trimmed it to fit. I tried this, but I soaked it in real hot water, before the last trim, and then slipped it on my finger to trim it. It cools to give a custom fit to the finger. Yeehawww!!!! |
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10 Jan 03 - 12:23 PM (#863589) Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks From: Bullfrog Jones A classical guitarist friend of mine uses pieces of cut-up table tennis balls glued on to replace broken nails, and the other day I saw a mandolin player using a plectrum made from a cut-up credit card! BJ |
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10 Jan 03 - 03:47 PM (#863789) Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks From: Uncle Jaque Cool! Although I don't use picks much on banjo or guitar, I used to make cheap-yankee picks out of milk jugs, (light) Laundry Detergent jugs (medium) and credit cards (heavy). I thought it was pretty cute to cut a pick around my name on the credit card; gave it kind of a personal, customized touch, ye know. They worked pretty well for a while, but I found that they don't stand up to the constant flexing as well as the store-bought ones do. Of course the price is right, and it's a novel form of recycling. Trash-picks are OK for practice, but I would reccomend sticking with the "real" variety when performing in public, so as to avoid the embarassment of having one the recycled jobs bust in two on you in the middle of a lick, as they are rather wont to do. Some smart-Aleks build up their nails with super-glue, or coat the tips of their fretting fingers with it to protect them while doing a lot of slides or fancy fretwork on steel strings. Sort of like synthetic callouses. Just wait for it to dry all the way 'afore playing, won't you? };^{)~ |
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10 Jan 03 - 03:52 PM (#863794) Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks From: C-flat Well I might be tempted to make picks out of my partners credit cards! That WOULD be a saving! |
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10 Jan 03 - 06:04 PM (#863898) Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks From: Sam L I reckon I've made picks out of everything that walks or crawls, and now I've come to make picks out of you, Sheriff Bill. Ping pong balls and picks are the only things still made of celluloid, which is a good plastic for it. I'm liking polycarbonate these days. Hi ho. |
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10 Jan 03 - 06:29 PM (#863917) Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks From: CraigS I can't remember where I know this from, but there were a lot of blues and country players in the Depression who made their finger and thumb picks from sardine cans - why sardines and not milk or beans ? |
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10 Jan 03 - 06:32 PM (#863919) Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks From: Amos I expect because of the thinner tin. A |
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10 Jan 03 - 07:23 PM (#863950) Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks From: Cluin Cut up ping-pong balls I've seen used (Don Ross crazy glues them to his fingernails for a tour), but not tennis balls. Interesting... |
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10 Jan 03 - 11:08 PM (#864115) Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks From: open mike i also have recently made pix form credit cards.. 'the raised numbers give a good grip like those dunlop mud and snows with the good tread.... |
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11 Jan 03 - 08:30 AM (#864322) Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks From: banjoman I have made picks and plectrums from just about everything including ring pulls from beer cans (great for the autoharp by the way) to single teeth cut from a nylon hair comb in an emergency. As i invariably break at least one thumbpick and one finger pick at every gig, I always carrry one of my out of date cards with me as well as bits and pieces of broken or redundant guitar /banjo parts which are handy in an emergency. Best of all were a set of picks made from a hammered flat coke can using a set of metal ones as a template. Great once the blood had dried up. Learnt my lesson for the second set and folded the top edges over. |
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11 Jan 03 - 11:03 AM (#864403) Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks From: breezy you guys must be hard up or desperate as well as sad. Have you tried a fred kelly 'bumble bee' or 'speedpick'? Nickel silver finger piks when shaped and twisted to fit correctly are the only substitute for lack of finger nails that allow the guitar strings to sound true, thus in turn obtaining the real sound of your instrument. Pete Seeger, Paul Simon, and me. |
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11 Jan 03 - 07:00 PM (#864771) Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks From: GUEST,Frank Hamilton Check Pete's book on How To Play The Five String Banjo. He shows how to make picks out of tin cans. Frank |
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11 Jan 03 - 08:00 PM (#864820) Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks From: Sam L Breezy, Fred Kelly seems a very nice guy when you talk to him, and many people like his thuimbpicks. One of the propik guys told me Kelly was the most popular. But they don't suit me, particularly. I've noticed aluminum can have a really sweet tone, but don't like strumming with it, or any other metals. |
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11 Jan 03 - 09:19 PM (#864868) Subject: RE: milkjug fingerpicks From: Uncle Jaque Picks of any kind are not reccomended for use on any gut strings; they will fray and eventualy break the string. Of course I don't expect that many folks are still using gut guitar or banjo strings any more these days. At a session I let another banjoist try out my Minstrel gut-strung banjo, noticing too late that he was all decked out with finger-picks. Tore them strings up pretty good! |