Fingers, Picks or Plectrum.

[roger]

As I am new to the world of slide,I am at the stage where I am exploring different ways of playing. For instance when I play my normal accoustic I still use my fingers as if I was playing normal finger style guitar, this is perfectly natural to me and I like the sound with a glass slide.
However with my resonator I am still undecided, I have tried picks and I like the sound but it does not matter how long I use them I cannot feel comfortable and it is a relief to take them off.
I use my fingers but at present struggle to get a really punchy sound as I do with the picks perhaps this will come with time and practice.
I have tried using a plectrum and I really find it comfortable and much easier to play, but am worried that this is a bit of a cop out and in the long term I should stick with one of the above.
So what do others on this site prefer, I know ultimatly it will be my choice but it would be intersting to know what technique others use and why.

Regards Roger.

[Deleted]

Hi Roger

Learning to play with fingerpicks is a long haul - but worth it. You then have the choice of fingers of picks. Took me about 6 months to get used to playing with them.

Bernie

[Mark Makin]

hello Bernie
Can I make a simple but sometimes overlooked point.
If you put the fingerpicks on and immediately start playing, it feels like you're playing with boxing gloves on!!

I put them on about 5 or 10 minutes before to get used to the feel - try making a cup of tea with them on before you start playing! It does make a difference

[Michael Messer]

Hi guys,

This is an on-going discussion.....

I agree with Mark - I always use fingerpicks when I do concerts - and I always put them on a while before the show. Sometimes they are on my fingers so much, that I feel naked without them. Sometimes the picks are on my fingers all day.

I also agree with Bernie - learning to play with pick is a long haul. I don't remember the 'long haul' bit, I have used them since the very early days when I started playing acoustic blues guitar.

I do however, love to play acoustic & electric guitars with bare fingers & flatpicks (plectrum). So I would advise you to do what feels right, but remember......playing a gig with fingerpicks or a plectrum gives you more power and more accuracy.

Shine On,
Michael.

[fitchmeister]

Am halfway through the 'long haul' bein comfortable with a thumb pick now & bare fingers. I tried em took em off, tried em took em off, tried metal, tried plastic, ad infinitum. Using a thumb pick just clicked for some reason after learning a Johnny Cash tune called Sam Hall. Since i got the thumb pick going i have been really motivated to play more slide - it madea big difference - to my ears anyway:).

[Richard]

Picks are the way to go and they do take time to get used to .

Try starting with a thumb and then move on...... also, there are so many types of pick it might just be that you have not found the right one, or you are not getting a decent fit - experiment, buy a couple of each till you find what suits you

ps........I could probably flog you some of the ones I tried but didn't take to!!

[growler]

Hi Roger
As all the other members have already said it is a long haul but it is woth it persevering with thumb and finger-picks, I cannot think of any other way of playing a resonator. I also think the problem a lot of people have in projecting their playing lies in their individual ' attack' ( I think this is the term used for how hard you hit the strings ). I have never suffered from this problem using either picks or fingers , perhaps I am just heavy handed, but what I really find annoying is when I play with guys using picks or more to the point fingers........... and there is just no sound coming from their guitar ...... keep perevering with the picks ..... Growler ( Karl)

[Michael Messer]

Hi Karl,

You are right about volume and power, but the real skill is doing the opposite to what you have said - try wearing picks and playing your National very quietly, it really helps develop ones touch and dexterity.

Shine On,
Michael

[growler]

HI Michael
Thanks for your quick reply , I take your point ,you are right we when you say it is more difficult to play softly using picks, but...... but, I have never had this problem since I have started playing a resonator for the last 6 months , because for years and years I have been playing an acoustic using a thumb-pick to play softly and loudly. Incidentely to prove how loud I play my resonator, when we I have been rehearsing with the band they have been surprised to find my guitar has not been amplified, when they have been. I think a good guy to watch for guitar attack ( and playing softly) is Bob Brozman? my God
those nationals must be so well built to accomodate his style of playing .... must get on with some work now Michael ...... great web site ........ Growler (Karl)

[Michael Messer]

Hi Karl,

Bob's approach to dynamics when playing National guitars through a microphone is excellent. However, what appears to be a brutal beating of a National when he is using his 'crash-bang-wollop' approach to playing, is actually very controlled and puts no extra stress or strain on the guitar. What appears to be a very loud crash is a mixture of right-hand technique (bouncing like a drummer), placing the right hand over the fretboard so it doesn't smash the cones, and positioning the guitar so it booms into the microphone. It is Bob's own style and something he has worked on for many years.

Shine On,
Michael

[robn]

Hi Roger,

I have been through the picks, fingers, and plectrum issues myself. I’ve ended up with a plastic thumb pick and two plastic finger picks for reso, slide (all genres) and some standard tuning acoustic or electric blues – but it has been an interesting journey! I also love flatpicking and simply playing with my fingers.

There is no way I would have thought that I would end up so happy with plastic finger picks when I first started trying to play with them. They felt really awkward and my playing went backwards. I used metal picks for a while and found that ProTone FingerTones (the ones that allow you to feel the string) were a good starting point. They are easy to fit to your fingers and a little bit subtler to use ie they don’t feel quite so ham fisted. I’ve since lent mine out to a couple of other people who were starting to play slide, and they have had the same experience. I then moved on to standard metal picks (Dunlop .25s) but I found I had a habit of damaging strings with metal picks, including when using the FingerTones, (particularly the 3rd string) and got fed up replacing sets.

I now use white plastic Dunlop fingerpicks most of the time, which, with a bit of shaping in hot water, are just fine. But I’m also happy with other brands like AXL, which I prefer on the narrow string spacing of my little travel guitar. I like the variety of tones I can get from plastic picks and I’m no longer going through sets of strings no matter how hard I play (yippee!).

The advice that Michael and others have posted here worked for me. Wear your picks whilst doing other things to get used to them (sounds silly but is very effective!). Watch other players using picks - Michael’s “Guitar Maestros” DVD is excellent if you are a visual learner, so is Scott Ainsley’s “Robert Johnson” DVD. Vary you practice – try different picks and use them on different guitars – learn more than one song at a time. Varied practice will slow down your initial learning but in the long run you will be able to adjust to different pick types and playing styles with ease.

Above all enjoy the process of learning something new. Just because you have come to a frustrating platform in your performance level does not mean that learning is not still taking place

Yours

Robn

[Michael Messer]

Hi Robn,

That is a great post - excellent advice!

Interestingly - although 99% of pickers these days use metal picks, it is an accepted fact that plastic has the better tone, but are harder to use. This is because they are more bulky on your fingers and cannot be shaped as easily as metal. But....plastic has the sweeter...richer....better tone. Tortoise-shell is even better, but getting a tortoise to agree to being turned into fingerpicks these days is hard work - just get the Dunlop plastic ones!

Shine On,
Michael.

[Richard]

One of the problems of the plastic picks is actually just buying 'em

Without the hassle of sending away for picks it seems most shops that I go in produce "the" selection, usually size small with some dead spiders all rattling around in the display box. Very much a take it or leave it exercise.

[Deleted]

I'm whit Michael in this matter
go for Heavy Plastic Dunlop picks.
Best sounding picks ever.

[Buffallo Bill]

I could never manage plastic picks but am now managing with metal ones. Plastic picks felt too bulky & the hot water thing (to expand 'em) never worked for me. First of all got onto Alaska picks which are basically a metal fingernail as they fit under your nail & round the finger (the only uk outlet seems to be Frets in Fazzakkerly in Liverpool) - the metal ones are a LOT better than the plastic.
Most shops only seem to stock flat-picks & thumb-picks!
However, it is a question of getting something that is comfortable & sticking with it.