Topic: Finger picks

[dj]

When I started fingerpicking years ago, I used a plastic thumb pick and 2 metal fingerpicks.  After a year or so of this, I started to use  my right index finger to strum both up and down on the strings, so I dumped the fingerpicks, which weren't very parctical while doing this.  Then I bought a Gibson J-50, which became my primary instrument.  It has a very strong bass, and I felt like using a thumbpick and bare fingers resulted in a sound that was too bass-heavy, so I ditched the thumb pick and played bare fingered for the next 10 or so years.  Then I put down the guitar for 20 years.  Now that I've picked it back up, I'm pretty much re-evaluating everything I do.

So the question is:  What do people tend to use, or not use, for picks?  Do people tend to play just with picks, just without, or to switch back and forth depending on the situation?

[Muddyroads]

I tend to switch back and forth depending on which guitar I am playing, where I am playing (ambient noise level).  I use Pro picks with the split wrap to keep the cuticles in shape and a very hard plastic pick when I use one.  The picking is different with picks than with out.  It is harder to snap strings, make some brushes and so forth, but if I need the volume picks get it done.

Mud

[uncle bud]

I tend to play with just a thumbpick (Fred Kelly Slick Pick) on wood bodies, thought sometimes not even that, something I'd like to do more of in fact. I wear fingerpicks for some stuff on a resonator, like Blind Boy Fuller. I find I get closer to Fuller's sound using them, though you can certainly play it without them. Unless you're doing something specific like that, I wouldn't bother with picks, especially if you're used to going without. Tough fingers are just as good.

Some people use picks for extra volume and bite when gigging. Something I can't comment on.

[Slack]

I used to use picks but I think there are losts of advantages to not using picks - as you mentioned snapping strings or brushes - and I think the tone is just better.  I do use a thumbpick on some songs that call for a heavy muted bass - I have problems getting a comfortable damp without a thumbpick.  My vote is to work without picks.

[SteveMcBill]

Prefer to play without picks at all on both wood and resonators (and on banjo as it happens). BUT, I must agree with Slack that doing damp bass stuff without a thumb pick is, for me, damned difficult. The angle of attack is wrong - I would need to turn my hand more outwards to get the correct angle for my fingers - a thumb-pick gives you the extra space when using this technique.

However, try both and see what your personal preference is now - record yourself with both (picks and no-picks) and see which sound you prefer.

SteveMcBill

[dj]

I wear fingerpicks for some stuff on a resonator, like Blind Boy Fuller. I find I get closer to Fuller's sound using them,

That's a very insightful comment.  One of the reasons I'm thinking about this is that back in the 1970s I wanted to sound like Charley Patton, Son House, and Willie Brown, while today My models are more Blind Boy Fuller and Buddy Moss.  Maybe it would be easier to just go out and buy a resonator guitar rather than a set of fingerpicks.   

[lebordo]

I've always used a thumbpick -- I prefer the National brand picks because they seem more comfortable on my thumb -- almost like I was born with it.  But mine are 30+ years old now -- don't know if they still make them or not.  Although, since one of my two remaining Nationals just disappeared, I may need to find out sooner rather than later.

As for fingerpicks, I don't like the plastic ones at all -- they feel and sound awful to me.  The metal ones are better, but still sound too twangy for my preference on most songs.  Still, the thumbpick can overpower bare fingertips.  So I came up with a different solution that seems to work for me.  Short fingernails on the left hand for fretboard work, longer fingernails on my right hand for picking strings. 

Advantages -- more volume than bare fingertips, and less harsh than fingerpicks.  Work equally well with brushes in either direction, also work well for snaps.

Disadvantages -- they look wierd, and they tend to catch on things all the time.  They hurt when they get bent backwards.  They also they break occasionally, and you can't just put another one on your finger (haven't tried false nails).  You can't take them off for a different sound.  Oh, and if you play a lot, you actually get groves in the extended portion of the nails, where they most often strike the strings.  Finally, they get in my way typing.  Don't know how women with long nails type.  Too bad I can't blame my dyslexic typing on the nails :-). 

But I do like the sound, and they are much more natural than fingerpicks.

[jed]

More flesh on this:  I'll use a thumpick if I really need volume, and I keep a set of fingerpicks handy, but I generally rely on fingers and nails (fortified with Loctite QuickTite super glue (for the accurate applicator) and - maybe someday, if I can ever get some - Witchcraft nail petrifier) for the last few decades.

Never got used to fingerpicks, but I like the sound of plastics more than metal (I mean, metal or brass on a National can get pretty brash), though both kinds feel weird to me.  Can't even wear a thumpick (Nat'l or Golden Gate) for more than half an hour or so. 

Friends with false nails report good success, and they sound good, but must be refreshed every few weeks, as they grow out.  They're extremely durable (which is why those long-nailed typists can bang away with their false nails).

One more thing:  nail fixit kits have been around forever.  A home version of one includes a ping-pong ball, super glue and a bit of silk. You cut and glue a crescent of the plastic to what's left of your nail (underneath if possible), lay some cloth on top and impregnate it with glue.  When it all dries, you clip and file to taste.  For a split nail, you can just use the cloth and glue - it works great.  Note that you should renew the glue every few days if you spend much time in water, because your nails absorb and lose water, which can make the hardened glue tend to separate from them.  But it's all worth the trouble to get a decent sound without having to truss yourself up in a bunch of digitary contraptions.

FYI,
Jed

[Yves]

I used finger picks for years I mean thumb pick + Dunlop metal 0.25 and only these.
I stopped using them when I saw Johnm and Roy BB ... and many others playing without any.
I must confess that the sound is most of the time better without picks.- ie John Hurt style etc

Now for some tunes I prefer using picks and sometimes only thum pick ie Frank Stokes which let me the possibility to do Dan Sane part with the thumb using it like a plectrum then back to the F Stokes part using fingers.

I also like the picks to play some rythm stuff like BB Broonzy boogie / folky tunes - Henry Thomas - or fast Ragtime tunes as
I think I'm faster with the picks. I do not have any problem using finger picks to do up and back stoke ... like Jorma Kaukonen does.
I play G Davis tunes with finger picks and for the same powerfull reason I use picks with ths slide on the Duolian. The strings I use are also heavier on this instrument
I only use a bootleneck that I cut in a Bordeaux magnum... a good vintage believe me !
I do not like the sound of metal finger picks with metal slides.

It takes a bit of time to be confortable with or without thumb and finger picks - even changing from a song to the next and vice versa - but it's the price to pay...

All the best from Yves "the froggy backdoorman"

[Rivers]

I've settled into a routine on this picks / no picks thing. I use a thumbpick and two metal picks when 'performing' a tune that I've already nailed to my albeit temporary satisfaction, and no picks at all when I'm working on something new.

The reason I've gotten into this regime is with picks I'm able to work on the final groove and timing. Without them I'm forced to slow down and work on accurate fretting, left hand movement and picking the right strings. If I ain't got it yet and am not ready to dominate the instrument I play without. I get totally carried away with picks on, which is what I want eventually, but not when going through the learning process.

[Chun]

Metal finger picks come in handy if your playing in a band setting. One of the outfits I play in is a jugband and in this setting I absolutely use picks in order to compete with the other instruments playing live. When Im playing with one or two people Ill use just a thumbpick. I used to rely on fingerpicks almost to a fault. Now...when playing by myself I almost never use them...just a thumb pick. Its actually sort of nice to be ale to do both because you can mix it up a bit from song to song, style to style. for instance, Blind Boy Fuller(as you mentioned) pretty much needs fingerpicks for that percussive, driving sound. But I would never use finger picks when playing a John Hurt song.

Christian