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| Moderated by: Tony Provencher, Richard Hefner | Page:   1 2 |
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| Fingerpicks or Bare Fingers? | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Sun May 11th, 2008 03:46 pm |
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21st Post |
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AmyDK Approved
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Okay, since this thread was resurrected, I'll ask a question. I'm having a terrible time finding a thumb pick that'll stay on when I play. What brand do you all recommend? I've been using Dunlop mediums, but they're too big and often in the middle of a song I find it slipping and I've at times just had to throw it off to keep from interrupting the song. The smalls are too small and tend to cut off circulation  ... I do a lot of fingerpicking when I play, so besides a bit of comic relief, it's really annoying to have to flick the darn pick off in the middle of a set because it keeps slipping.Any ideas? Someone gave me a ProPik small metal and plastic pick that was adjustable, but it made such a loud noise when hitting the strings that I didn't like it at all. But, it did stay on! I appreciate your thoughts. Peace - Amy DK
____________________ Amy's ezFolk page Amy on MySpace My Website |
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| Posted: Mon May 12th, 2008 02:09 am |
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22nd Post |
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Will Approved 
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AmyDK wrote: Okay, since this thread was resurrected, I'll ask a question. I'm having a terrible time finding a thumb pick that'll stay on when I play. What brand do you all recommend? I've been using Dunlop mediums, but they're too big and often in the middle of a song I find it slipping and I've at times just had to throw it off to keep from interrupting the song. The smalls are too small and tend to cut off circulation I use Dunlop thumbpicks almost exclusively for autoharp. Despite having small hands, I have a wide thumb, and I have to use a large size thumbpick.  One trick I've heard is to soften the plastic Dunlop thumbpicks briefly in a bowl of boiling water, then allowing your thumb to stretch them to fit better. For guitar, I'm more of a flatpicker, but I use Herco thumb-flatpicks, in either heavy or medium gauge.
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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| Posted: Mon May 12th, 2008 08:28 pm |
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23rd Post |
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Philj200 Approved 
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I use three metal finger picks and a plastic thumb pick for guitar and two metal figner picks and the same type of thumbpick for BG banjo. That is when I need to produce the volume the picks add. When playing quietly with just one or two others, sometimes no picks are needed. Playing banjo without picks lets me go from clawhammer to picked patterns seamlessly. Over the years my pick count has changed. I started with just a thumb pick on guitar and played a version of Carter style: thumb/base note first two fingers brushing across the chordup-down-up. As I became intrested in blues, I learned that many of the early Delta bluesmen used a thumb pick and one metal finger pick. So I played that way for a while. Then I discovered Merle Travis and added a second metal pick. Along the way I started to pick banjo with T+FP2 equation. I met some ragtime pickers who did almost piano complexities. They used three metal finger picks and I went in the direction. This is an odessey that took 20 years (I'm actually quite conservative in changing my music). I've tried plastic finger picks but didn't like them. Hatd the raspy sound of a metal thumb pick (yes they exist). Chet Atkins played (occassionally) with a flat pick and two metal finger picks(at the same time). So I experimented with that. Fun, but not where I wanted to concentrate. And play tenor banjo and 63.4% of my guitar with a flat-pick (a Fender triangle medium). I use Dunlop L thumbpicks becasue I can't find the ones I like and the small stash I had hoarded was finally used up. I prefer a bigger heavier thumb pick than the Dunlops. But can't find them. Pick the picks you like. And that fit your music for now. Change you habits when you feel you want to. The Pick Police won't issue a citation.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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| Posted: Tue May 13th, 2008 09:10 am |
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24th Post |
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Dino Approved 
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Nylon acoustic guitar with bare-finger picking flamenco style is what I do. Steel acoustic guitar is pick and three-finger picking. I've tried using thumb picks to be able to use four-fingered picking but like someone else posted they don't stay in place well.
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| Posted: Tue May 13th, 2008 02:17 pm |
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25th Post |
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Philj200 Approved
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Dino reminds me, people have used finger picks on nylon strung instruments too. It's a give and take thing. You give up some of the untimate tone, but you gain volume. In the open-air environment of Washington Square, where hundreds of people played and no amps were allowed, the extra volume was necessary. I've tried it see what it's like and see the point. It's worth experimenting with experimenting with just to have in your bag of tricks. I'm aware of that plays this way is Noel in Peter, Paul and Mary... a group without pretensions of ethnicity. Grover, the people who make the high end tuning machines used to make great thumb picks. They came in a range of sizes and thicknesses and even had left handed versions. I used them for decades. But haven't seen them around for a long time. I have one left that's too small for me. Maybe that's why I still have it.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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| Posted: Sun Oct 19th, 2008 01:06 am |
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26th Post |
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DB30513 Approved
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Bare fingers, never tried fingerpicks.
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| Posted: Tue Oct 21st, 2008 05:51 pm |
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27th Post |
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Will Approved
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AmyDK wrote: Okay, since this thread was resurrected, I'll ask a question. I'm having a terrible time finding a thumb pick that'll stay on when I play. What brand do you all recommend? I've been using Dunlop mediums, but they're too big and often in the middle of a song I find it slipping and I've at times just had to throw it off to keep from interrupting the song. The smalls are too small and tend to cut off circulation Amy: Try applying a liquid bandage compound to your thumb. There are all kinds of formulations, but some of them develop a rubbery grip (I can't recall which brand at the moment). It may help to keep your Dunlop medium thumbpick from slipping off while playing. It's worth a try.
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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| Posted: Sat Nov 8th, 2008 06:01 pm |
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28th Post |
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UkeForever Approved 
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I use mostly nickel coated metal picks (except for thumbpick) and I've played around with the various iterations of open/closed ProPicks, Dunlops, etc. The thick Golden Gate thumbpicks stay on...to the point of numbness. I tried the medium metal/plastic hybrid ProPik, and I too found that it snapped the basslines because it was shorter than the longer extending metal picks. The longer thumbpicks tend to brush over the bass strings, while the shorter ones tend to snap and accentuate the bass. I use that little one when I am doing right hand damping on those bass notes. Otherwise I use a longer thumbpick. What I like about ProPik is that they stay on, and they're transparent, i.e., you don't feel them and you don't go numb. I bought some brass Alaska Picks, and I'm waiting for my right hand nails to grow out...or waiting until I get fakies. Watching Martin Simpson's guitar work, and his backwards snap makes me want to attempt that technique. It is very difficult to flick your middle finger back when you are wearing pad picks. So maybe I'll readjust yet again. While I like the sound of skin on strings, I like the sound of metal on strings even more. It really draws out everything the acoustic tone is meant to be, in my opinion.
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