Topic: Fred Kelly freedom finger, fingerpicks

[Mr.OMuck]

Just saw these on the Fred Kelly site. Have any o' youse ever used dese tings? ( lapsing into my native Bronx-ese).
If so how were they?

[Slack]

Here's a link, looks like some kind of star ship to me.

http://www.fredkellypicks.com/component/page,shop.browse/category_id,7/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,84/

[uncle bud]

So I've got myself a pair of these to try. I mostly only use fingerpicks when playing slide or a resonator. I've never been completely satisfied with fingerpicks I've used. They can be uncomfortable, pinch, and they slip and slide on my sweat-prone fingers. I've tried metal picks, plastic ones, the John Pearse high riders (also metal, more comfortable, don't slip nearly as much but need to be heavier gauge IMO - too thin sounding). My favorite sounding metal pick has generally been some "vintage" National picks but it's always been a struggle to wear them.

These spaceships from Fred Kelly are promising so far. I've only used them for a half hour or so, so my opinion could change. And I should say, I am not even really sure how to wear the damn things. If this photo shows the picks right-side up (i.e., a finger inserted into it would have the pad facing down), then they seem to be functioning like Alaska Piks, in which the pad of your finger is exposed and would make contact with the string and the pick functions as an artificial fingernail. I've tried this position with the Fred Kellys and say it would take some getting used to for me, only because I've never played with that style of fingerpick. But it is quite comfortable. This is the photo:




However! If you turn these babies upside down in relation to that photo, they become more like the National or Dunlop fingerpicks many of us will have tried, where the metal/plastic would normally cover and curve over the pad of your finger and fingernail and would be the part that strikes the string. Used this way, this Fred Kelly thing is the most comfortable pick I've tried on yet. And the white Polycarb, which is the material I got, sounds great. Whether it stays on is still to be tested, but so far so good.

So anyone know how these picks are actually supposed to be worn?    Or do they swing both ways?

All that smooth white plastic when I'm wearing the things in addition to my standard white delrin Fred Kelly slick pick on my thumb does make me feel I'm starting to dress a bit like a Star Wars stormtrooper though.

[Parlor Picker]

... does make me feel I'm starting to dress a bit like a Star Wars stormtrooper though.

OK Andrew, you might appreciate this link that Marshcat sent me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJqPNpUhxPY

[Slack]

 

Sick... and very funny!

[uncle bud]

LOL!

BTW, the slippage on the Freedom picks was problematic last night as the humidity rose here. The pick slipped enough for me to have to stop playing, in both positions. Will have to dig up some rosin. These are still very comfortable picks, so worth a shot.

[frankie]

I have a couple of these in different sizes.  I liked it best as a pick for frailing the banjo - worn with the pick covering the nail.  It was ok for me on guitar, but I'm too used to garden variety Dunlop plastic picks.  Actually, the best ones were the black ones that were made by Gibson.  I still have two of those...  wish I had a box full!

I'll have to dig up that Kelly pick and try it again.

[cheapfeet]

I had sweating/slippage problems too with Golden Gate thumbpicks. I just bought slightly smaller Dunlop picks. Do they pinch? Sure. My thumb goes numb a bit but I just take em off between songs & that seems to do the trick.

[Rivers]

Thought I'd revive this thread, are you guys still using those Fred starwars fingerpicks as a first choice? I still haven't seen them around here.

I really like the Fred Kelly thumb picks (orange, whatever gauge that is). Eddie Pennington turned me on to them and I really like them, the delrin material slides off the string just great.

Golden Gate clown barf thumb picks are hard to beat for sheer volume in a rowdy situation though. I like Propiks finger picks these days.

[uncle bud]

Thought I'd revive this thread, are you guys still using those Fred starwars fingerpicks as a first choice? I still haven't seen them around here.

I really like the Fred Kelly thumb picks (orange, whatever gauge that is). Eddie Pennington turned me on to them and I really like them, the delrin material slides off the string just great.

Golden Gate clown barf thumb picks are hard to beat for sheer volume in a rowdy situation though. I like Propiks finger picks these days.

Hi Rivers - I've got to try them out again. I was getting a fair amount of slippage. Still don't know the right way to wear them.  I really need to sit down and do a fingerpick test with everything I have (Fred Kelly starwars, John Pearse Hi-rider, Propik, etc) but I don't wear fingerpicks often and when I do, I still just get lazy and stick on my Nationals.

I had to order the starwars picks from Elderly.

[Mr.OMuck]

I found the John Pearse Hi-riders or risers or wtfta (whatever the #@%$ they are) unusable as well as incomprehensible.