yep I do use a regular pick on the electric and when strumbling on the acoustic and occasionally use my fingers but very bleedin rarely - but not when fingerpicking. That guy, wassname, who did the holiday program theme.
bugger what is his name
he uses a pick and his little finger to do lots of complicated acoustic stuff.
gordon giltrap! that's who.
@bertie - sounds like a possible plan. I'm a rubbish musician and need ages to learn anything new though!
Nick
broke me bloody index nail last night
dont worry- Ive not learnt a great deal new in 35 years
......"Bertie is pretty much a zen master..................."
Thumb picks - I found them to be the devil's work. If you've got a good classical technique you just need to flatten your right hand for acoustic blues or ragtime to get the driving bass, no need for a thumb pick. Alternatively, you could go the whole hog and get fingerpicks as well like Doc Watson. As far as fleshy thumb goes Mark Knopfler seems to get a good sound.
On the subject of Ragtime music for something that can be rock hard to play you can end up with something that sounds like the theme tune to a kid's tv show.
664 - The Neighbour of the Beast
nowt wrong with that - Tales of the river bank............... sublime choon (yeah ok its not rag but hey ho, I cant think of anything else right now !!Originally Posted by BigLicks67
and as for Knoplfer........... as great a finger-stylist as he is, I really dont think his acoustic tone is anything overly special TBH.......... you can hear he is a very 'fleshy' player, works on electric but not something I think works on acoustic - each to his own tho.............
Last edited by bertie; 21st November 2012 at 04:17 PM.
......"Bertie is pretty much a zen master..................."
I love that Tales of the river bank tune - but like you say it's no rag.nowt wrong with that - Tales of the river bank............... sublime choon (yeah ok its not rag but hey ho, I cant think of anything else right now !!
and as for Knoplfer........... as great a finger-stylist as he is, I really dont think his acoustic tone is anything overly special TBH.......... you can hear he is a very 'fleshy' player, works on electric but not something I think works on acoustic - each to his own tho.............
As for Knoppers - pure heresy sir!
664 - The Neighbour of the Beast
He's OK, but hes no Leon Redbone
......"Bertie is pretty much a zen master..................."
on the subject of fingernails - I tried stick on nails from tesco - really cheap at about £8 for a hundred. didn't half bugger up my real nails.
now resorted to clear nail varnish to try to give the nails some strength.
what lengths us acoustic players have to go to. btw when I say fleshy thumb, thats only when i've broken my nails (which happens frequently)
I have the same problem. I've tried using a thumb pick (filed down to a stub, as bertie suggested) but I find it very hard to get on with, it keeps getting caught up in the strings, and tbh I don't like the sound that much - as you say, the sound is too unbalanced in comparison to the treble strings that are fingerpicked.
I prefer to use my thumbnail, but it often slices clean off! Clive Carroll cuts up ping-pong balls and glues them on - I'm not sure I could face that. Some people swear by silk wraps - if you can find a nail bar that do them, it might be worth a try.
If only my thumb nail was as tough as my big toe nail I'd be sorted!
trouble with falsies is they weaken the structure of the real nail underneath. Ive tried nail conditioners and even those "varnish like" hardeners but they're call pretty crap (and they're glossy !!)"
Good diet and nail care is the best thing, and not have them overly long. I find 4 or 5 mm is plenty, to get the bit/clarity you need, and enough to balance against a 'lightly' used non-muted thumb pick. A good uses of the thumb-pick is digging in for muted alternate bass lines........gives a nice thud/thump against the "trebble" of the fingers.
......"Bertie is pretty much a zen master..................."
I've got two horses ... and use Keratex hoof hardener on my nails for acoustic ... it's true! I don't want any neigh sayers
Blues musician,teacher, designer and manufacturer of Oil City pickups, horse owner, sex god and chocolate hobnob addict.
Guitar Weasel blog
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