Plastic fingerpicks

[zimmharpo23]

Hi all

I wonder if you can help?

I have used steel finger picks for 30 years and using them is second nature now. However, I’ve been recommended to use plastic ones on my Dobro for better tone.

When I started off fingerpicking as a teenager I used plastic picks and I used to mould them to the size of my fingers by dipping them in boiling water and cooling them. That worked for a while until, as an adult, I began to use Jim Dunlop plastic finger picks which fitted great straight out of the box.
That was a long time ago now.

I have tried 3 different suppliers since Christmas and can’t find happiness with any of their fingerpicks and, furthermore, none of the music shops in my local city centre can supply any to my satisfaction - two shops didn’t even sell them!

Can any of you guys recommend a good supplier? None of the current ‘large’ picks will fit over my first finger joint!

Best wishes

Andy

[bonzo]

Hi Andy. Check out Alaska picks.
Can be ordered online. Not everyone's cup of tea, they act as an extension of your fingernails.

[Michael Messer]

Hi Andy,

I use plastic fingerpicks because I prefer the warmer tone and they are less likely to scratch the front of the guitar.

I use two types and I shape them in boiling water to fit my fingers and to get the blades in exactly the position I want. I always buy a few more than I need because there is a failure rate that can't be avoided. I use a pan of boiling water and keep it on the the boil with a low flame under it. I lift the pick out of the water with small pliers and as quick as I can I shape the pic with a plumbers pipe grips/wrench to shape them. Then straight under the cold water tap. It's a bit of a fiddle to do, but it works for me. I've done it for years.

I have also fitted plastic blades onto metal fingerpicks and polish them with an electric polisher so they are a perfect shape.

Eagle Music is the best UK supplier of such things. Picks that is, not plumbers tools.

I used to use metal picks, but it is now more than 30 years since I used them.

I use Jim Dunlop LARGE white and clear picks. The white ones have a warmer tone and the clear ones are harder, so I vary on which I use.

www.eaglemusicshop.com/jim-dunlop-white-plastic-fingerpicks

www.eaglemusicshop.com/jim-dunlop-clear-plastic-fingerpicks

I use Fred Kelly Delrin Large Heavy Thumbpicks. So far I have not found anything to touch them. They don't need shaping, they're perfect straight out of the box.

www.eaglemusicshop.com/fred-kelly-delrin-slick-picks

I hope that is helpful

Shine On
Michael

[twang1]

I've also been using Alaska picks for the past twenty years. They work great for me but you need a bit of nail to fit well.
And I also like them because you can easily do downstrokes with it.
Frank

[zimmharpo23]

Feb 9, 2024 9:27:07 GMT bonzo said:

Hi Andy. Check out Alaska picks.
Can be ordered online. Not everyone's cup of tea, they act as an extension of your fingernails.

Thank you, I will check them out!

[zimmharpo23]

Feb 9, 2024 9:33:18 GMT Michael Messer said:

Hi Andy,

I use plastic fingerpicks because I prefer the warmer tone and they are less likely to scratch the front of the guitar.

I use two types and I shape them in boiling water to fit my fingers and to get the blades in exactly the position I want. I always buy a few more than I need because there is a failure rate that can't be avoided. I use a pan of boiling water and keep it on the the boil with a low flame under it. I lift the pick out of the water with small pliers and as quick as I can I shape the pic with a plumbers pipe grips/wrench to shape them. Then straight under the cold water tap. It's a bit of a fiddle to do, but it works for me. I've done it for years.

I have also fitted plastic blades onto metal fingerpicks and polish them with an electric polisher so they are a perfect shape.

Eagle Music is the best UK supplier of such things. Picks that is, not plumbers tools.

I used to use metal picks, but it is now more than 30 years since I used them.

I use Jim Dunlop LARGE white and clear picks. The white ones have a warmer tone and the clear ones are harder, so I vary on which I use.

www.eaglemusicshop.com/jim-dunlop-white-plastic-fingerpicks

www.eaglemusicshop.com/jim-dunlop-clear-plastic-fingerpicks

I use Fred Kelly Delrin Large Heavy Thumbpicks. So far I have not found anything to touch them. They don't need shaping, they're perfect straight out of the box.

www.eaglemusicshop.com/fred-kelly-delrin-slick-picks

I hope that is helpful

Shine On
Michael

Hi Michael

Thanks for that. I picked up some picks from Eagle, I guess I must be out of practice with shaping them. I shall persist!

Best wishes

Andy

[Michael Messer]

Andy, shaping them is the devil's work! It takes me hours to do a few and there's always a couple that end up in the bin.

I have a formula and I know the shape I'm looking for, but it ain't easy!

I wish I could find a manufacturer, I would produce them. Proper shape the right material ....etc.

Frank, I do down strokes with standard fingerpicks. I have always done it, even with metal ones. it's no problem once you get used to it.

Shine On
Michael.

[snakehips]

Hi there !

I also have struggled to find the right plastic fingerpicks too.
My preferred ones are Jim Dunlop- BUT the ones available these days seem to be thinner plastic - and even the Large size is tiny.

I'm down to my last 3 or 4 decent, old Jim Dunlop fingerpicks with thicker plastic and better shape for my fingers.

Sticking plastic fingerpicks onto your finger, when the picks have been softening in boiling water, is not exactly the most comfortable thing to do.

I should carve some wood, shaped into a facsimile of my fingers - and mould the heated-up picks around those !
My middle finger especially, is less round, and more rectangular in shape - so that is the main finger that none of the current Jim Dunlop picks seem to fit well.

I'll have a look at the other suggestions offered here though. Great forum !

[Michael Messer]

Richard, I don't put them on my fingers to shape them. I use the tools to shape them, then run them under cold water to fix them, and then I wear them!

You could take impressions of fingers and get them made to measure....hmm.. could be a nice sideline for you 😎

Shine On
Michael

[slide496]

There's an art product called "Sculpey" it's a oven baked clay that is pliable for sculptiure modelling and when baked is non-flexible for making a mold. If I try it out and am successful, I'll revisit and post results. I don't know if it would deform or soften if something hot was dropped into it though.

Also for older materials and its a long shot- I acquired a small lot of vintage National plastic picks on Ebay about 7 years ago. I checked UK and US Ebay with no reults for Dunlop plastic fingerpicks, though one could make one of their search emails to be notified if any show up.

Harriet

[tomgiemza]

I'm using plastic Dunlop thumbpicks (L size), sometimes with metal Ernie Ball fingerpicks, but this thread made me want to try different ones, Alaska fingerpicks looks like an interesting idea, it should allow me to use both pick and fingertip. I'm just not sure about sliding it under my fingernail...
I know that some of professional pickers are cutting little nail extenions from golf balls and sticking them to their fingernails.

Weissenborn and guitar luthier from Italy is offering his brass thumbpicks with wooden top, I was thinking to give them a try, but on the other hand, Dunlops works fine... if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
weissenbornguitar.com/herrmann-accessories/

[mrstrellisofnwales]

I only wear fingerpicks  to protect new growth when my nails break and always go for the Fred Kellys as they suit my picking style - using middle finger almost as a flat picker would use their pick. However, I hate the “clippety clop”  sound they can give on my resonator. It doesn’t seem to happen on a flat top. I know it’s probably down to technique  but it’s very annoying.
Mrs T

[littlebobby]

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.

[Michael Messer]

Feb 12, 2024 10:42:36 GMT littlebobby said:

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 get the 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 weird 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 move 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 have 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

[bonzo]

Been tidying up again Michael?