Don't you ever feel creepy and self-conscious when you grow your nails out for better pickin'? I do. Buddies have called me vampire or crap like that. Or I feel I have to hide them from customers or the like if I let them get too long. And they get dirty at work or in the way. So I usually just rock the long thumb nail these days.
I can't handle the long fingernails thing. Between my job and working on cars all the time, long fingernails would just get in my way. I have seen some guitarists use long fingernails to play some fantastic stuff though.
Funny, although I too have seen Flamenco players with long nails (or super-glued on fake nails) do fantastic things, I play fingerstyle with very short nails.
I don't grow them long. I use more the tops of my nails and the side of my fingers than I do the tips of my nails. The first time I picked up a guitar holding the pick made my hand cramp, so I ditched it and learned how to play just using my fingers. I think I've only ever used a pick maybe a half dozen times.
That makes sense. Come to think of it I guess I only really like longer fingernails when I play acoustic. Tonight I was playing electric with fingertips (not fingernails) and it sounded nice enough given the amplifier and such.
I use mostly the Dunlop nylon, .73mm. I used to use a 2mm thick graphite pick. A pick I use from time to time that I really like is a glass pick, about 2mm thick.
Fender California Thins - with the palm tree on them. Just ordered a few dozen. I'm just learning to use my fingers,which is odd because I played bass with my fingers for almost 20 years before really playing guitar. Very different styles of playing, at least for me. mark
Yup, they are not the same at all! In principle, yes - but in reality on guitar you are playing "wires" and on bass you are dealing with "cables". Much thicker strings on bass...bigger, wider spacing, etc. So you are feeling exactly what I would expect you (and me) to feel.
Kevy, we'll just call you "Biggus Pickus" and all snicker when anyone says it. *snickers evilly... ethpethially if they thay it with a lithp... I favor Clayton picks because I just like the sound they make. On my acoustic I use .73mm and the large 'rounded triangle' shape. Those seem to last forever, they stay in my hands pretty well, and I throw them out when they get too raggedy on the edges. They don't seem to sharpen to a knife edge from action, like other brands do. For electric guitars I like Clayton .45mm or .50mm. These thin picks have a great sound with my D'Addario 11s, and I never break strings. Truthfully, the picks will rip, that's when I throw them away. I buy them by the dozens whenever I find a music store that sells Clayton picks. I used to use whatever, thinking it didn't matter much, but when you've done a few recordings, you begin to notice every little thing. And I spent years as a "Plunka plunka plunka' kind of guitar player, so maybe it didn't matter. But I've developed my style a lot in recent years --THE SG HELPED HUGELY WITH THAT!... Now I'm more critical about how the notes sound coming off the pick. I'm still awed easily by other players, but am holding my own. Good picks help with that.
I love Claytons. I favour the 0.50 which is rigid enough to pick with but soft enough to strum with. They make them in lots of different materials but i like the red ones coincidentally enough. Good Call Col Mustard!
I use these. Easier to hang on to. Especially with my ham fisted style. I do use others sometimes and if I did a lot of recording I suppose I would use others, but for the most part these suit me fine.
I mostly use Dunlop nylon .73's (grey), but I also dig the Fender medium celluloids, my fingers for certain things and once in a while I trot out a light or medium light V-Pick (clear Fender-shaped ones) when I wanna do some fast runs (tip) or some chimey stuff (sides). Don't wanna drop one of those clear V-Picks without a spare handy as they'd be mighty hard to find.
Picked this up at the music store for like 10 cents, and haven't played guitar without since. Great for pinch harmonics, and playing real mean and dirty, like a sg should be played imo
It's usually whatever pic that I can find in my pocket. If there's none in there, then a quarter or my fingers. Nothing's gonna hold up playing. Showed up to play a gig years ago and had no pic in the pocket. Played the whole night with a quarter and that kinda stuck in my mind. But if I had a choice, a thin .50 that's smooth and easy on the strings. I can stand dropping a pic, but I can't stand busting a string! Wade
I usually use Tortex Jazz .88's, or Jazz III's, I like the sound and feel of the entire Tortex line though. Honestly I have never been able to stand any of the celluloid Fender picks, so I try to avoid those unless I have none and that's the only one available (ie, from a friend) but I usually carry 3-4 picks with me in my wallet wherever I go.
