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Post by zimmharpo23 on Feb 12, 2024 11:49:32 GMT
I absolutely cannot get my head around fingerpicks. I feel like I should though. The thumb pick gets stuck on the strings and I just feel like I am not connected to the guitar. I saw Martin Simpson play at temperance in Leamington spa recently and he had an acrylic nails but while I am an enthusiastic player I’m not keen on looking like Ming the Merciless when I play. Any tips on how to get them working better? The volume difference seems massive. Practice....practice.....P R A C T I C E !!!! It's the only way. Fingerpicks are horrible things until you get so used to them that you don't even notice they're on your fingers. I have known Martin for many years and he has always been very careful about his nails, which is quite understandable. I started wearing them when I first used to go out playing in pubs with my National guitar. I just needed to volume and clarity you get with picks. Also, all the American players that I admired wore thumb and fingerpicks, so I knew I had to learn to use them. At first they used to fly off (known as "throwing a shoe!"), catch in the strings and cut my fingers because I was using metal ones. Then I started wearing them so tight that my fingertips went a weirds colour, so after a few gigs I loosened them a bit and they flew off again, so I taped them on with gaffa/duct tape, which was okay except I couldn't mover my fingers properly! .....So I continued until I felt naked without them. I started wearing them in around 81/82, these were National heavy gauge metal picks, then in around 87/88 I went over to plastic because the tone is better, but they are harder to get on with because they don't bend into shape like metal ones do. There's no shortcuts, you just haver to stick with them and no matter how hard it is and how often you want to take them off and stamp on them....persevere until they feel comfortable and natural, and I promise you that they will. I have owned and used hundreds, maybe thousands of them. Here's a few leftovers in a drawer in my office. Shine On Michael View AttachmentGreat advice Michael. My Dad promised me he would buy a better guitar if I learned to finger-pick - he played in folk clubs and I accompanied him, mostly strumming a £12 guitar! I was 13. It was an excellent carrot to dangle! I also learned to use my first set of finger-picks around that time. It was difficult at first but you’re absolutely right, practice really helps. I played for an hour or so every day for two weeks after which I was able to do the basic ‘humpty dumpty’ alternating bass pick as either John Pearse or Tom Paxton used to call it! Hours well spent, I got the guitar I was promised and it served me well for 20 years. That basic finger picking style still works for me too. Thanks Dad. Cheers Andy
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Post by tomgiemza on Feb 12, 2024 13:25:06 GMT
I just realized that in my previous post I wrote about nails extensions from golf balls... I meant pinp-pong balls! I found the video, I never tried it myself.
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Post by Michael Messer on Feb 12, 2024 13:37:08 GMT
I just realized that in my previous post I wrote about nails extensions from golf balls... I meant pinp-pong balls! I found the video, I never tried it myself. Golf ball fingerpicks would be great!!!! I know a couple of people that use pingpong balls for nails, but to my ears the tone is a bit thin. Another one that I have seen is to go to a nail parlour / parlor and have false nails put on and shaped for you. The problem for me with either of these is that you can't get the tone of thick warm plastic, and you can't use the side edge to get the warmth that only the side edge of a pick can give you. The flat edge is bright and brittle sounding, the edges are where the beauty comes from. That is the same on both metal and plastic picks, and very few players are aware of this. Shine On Michael
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Post by bonzo on Feb 12, 2024 13:42:56 GMT
You start off playing guitar to impress the girls 👧 and end up talking nail care wiv a bunch of middle aged men! 🙂🙃🙂
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Post by pascal on Feb 12, 2024 13:46:31 GMT
Shine On Michael Attachment Deleted[/quote] Michael, I am very proud that you still own the colored "v...clown" finger picks I offered you year ago! Yes: Picks (fingers and thumb)!
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Post by Michael Messer on Feb 12, 2024 13:54:18 GMT
Here's a pair of picks I made/adapted a few years ago. They work surprisingly well and a refined version would make a great product for fingerpick users. Dunlop heavy blades superglued to a pair of ProPiks. First thing I did was almost flatten the plastic blades so they matched the ProPik blades. Having glued the blades onto the picks I then filed and polished the plastic blades into shape. I used an electric polisher to do that. The advantage is that you can get the finger fit and the angle of the blade pretty much perfect because you can bend them easily. The plastic blade protrudes slightly over the metal blade's edges so I can strum down strokes and get nice warm side edge strokes. The back edge of the plastic blade above the ProPik logo could be filed and polished down to a much shallower angle because occasionally that edge can catch a string. In fact now I am showing you and they're on my desk, I will do that. Here's some pics...or picks of them! Shine On Michael
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Post by littlebobby on Feb 12, 2024 18:19:34 GMT
Thanks for the sage words as ever chaps. So basically, same as everything else then. Practice. Anybody tried those black mountain gizmos with the spring or are they just a gimmick?
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Post by Michael Messer on Feb 12, 2024 18:42:13 GMT
Thanks for the sage words as ever chaps. So basically, same as everything else then. Practice. Anybody tried those black mountain gizmos with the spring or are they just a gimmick? Anything other than normal standard tools are a gimmick. Well, maybe not a gimmick, but in my opinion are not worth pursuing. Shine On Michael
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Post by mrstrellisofnwales on Feb 13, 2024 10:28:31 GMT
Great idea with the metal/ plastic hybrids, Thanks Michael. I’m going to make some tonight. What glue do you use? I’m thinking Araldite. Mrs T
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Post by Michael Messer on Feb 13, 2024 10:49:49 GMT
Great idea with the metal/ plastic hybrids, Thanks Michael. I’m going to make some tonight. What glue do you use? I’m thinking Araldite. Mrs T I used Ever Build Industrial Grade Superglue HV, but that's just the glue I always have around. I'm sure Araldite will do it. If my memory is correct, I think I roughed up the front of the metal blade to give the glue something to help it stick. I reckon they're stuck there for eternity....or thereabouts. I have only ever made one pair. I am sure if I did a few I could make them with a better finish. Post some photos of yours please. Shine On Michael
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Post by slide496 on Feb 13, 2024 12:51:34 GMT
Another question Michael - What did you use to polish the hybrid plastic? Thanks. H
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Post by Michael Messer on Feb 13, 2024 14:17:08 GMT
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Post by nowthen on Feb 15, 2024 9:24:12 GMT
Finger picks, you have to remember to put them on the right way round!
It was a long time ago and you had to be there....
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Post by Michael Messer on Feb 15, 2024 11:50:29 GMT
Finger picks, you have to remember to put them on the right way round! It was a long time ago and you had to be there.... Aye....Shine On Michael
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Post by bonzo on Feb 15, 2024 11:53:17 GMT
They quickly stop you picking your nose!
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