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wdf
Ha`aha`a
USA
1153 Posts |
 Posted - 10/24/2005 : 6:20:33 PM
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Pua Kai sez:
quote:
But here's my question: If you use thumb pick, does that sound louder than it should vs the treble strings?
Yes Nancy, it's possible (maybe even likely) that the thumbpick will result in the bass being too pronounced. You just have to work on getting a balanced sound. For me, a thumbpick produces a superior tone. I find I can balance the bass and treble better using fingerpicks (Alaska) with the thumbpick. I find it more difficult using a thumbpick and no fingerpicks. I can show you next time we meet. I haven't developed the ability to go thumbpickless. My thumbnail catches on the bass strings (when I hit them) and produces terrible sounds.
BTW, jwn plays beautifully! |
Dusty |
Edited by - wdf on 10/24/2005 6:22:15 PM |
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Pua Kai
Ha`aha`a
USA
1007 Posts |
Posted - 10/24/2005 : 8:11:57 PM
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Mahalo!
Hope to see you sometime soon. Maybe I'll get to hear John sometime soon too, who knows. I am Going to get over to McCabe's to pick up the picks. I've never used them, not even the pointy kind lots of folks used to use for folk music. It was very awkward using the thumbpick today and I gave up on it after awhile.
I may try to make it to L&L next month - will let you know.
aloha!!
n |
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sandman
Lokahi
USA
181 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2005 : 05:57:12 AM
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Since I play a classical guitar, picks are not really an option for me. However, the problem with nails is common to many of us. I follow a lot of the ideas in "Pumping Nylon," especially on shaping the nails and they work pretty well for me. As far as putting stuff on your nails, Nancy (and others) are spot on. I've never used acrylics but I did try Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails. Perhaps I'm not patient enough but I finally stopped when it didn't seem to improve my playing.  The Vietnamese lady who cuts my hair gave me some Orly Bonder and while it is labor intensive it seems to work on my nails (but not my playing per se).
I'm in the midst of an experiment right now which is interesting to me. I had surgery on my right hand in September for Dupuytren's Contracture and I'm now in rehab. This was on the palm of my hand but I couldn't play until about a week ago. It is still very difficult and very frustrating but the surgery seems to have worked. The layoff may have helped my nails grow but there is another element involved, hence the experiment.
This summer I caught my right thumb in the anchor windlass while clumsily dropping the hook. Hurt like hell but I was lucky I didn't lose my thumb. I eventually lost the whole nail but now it has grown about halfway back and looks much stronger than my other nails. I don't suggest you emulate me in my masochistic impulses, there are limits to our art, eh?, but it will be interesting to see if my thumb nail really comes through better than my other nails. Maybe for some of us usage and chipped nails go together and we just have to roll with it.
But stay clear of anchor windlasses,
Sandy
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Leap into the boundless and make it your home.
Zhuang-zi |
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Puna
Lokahi
USA
227 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2005 : 06:33:46 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Pua Kai
John (jwn) - alias "chopped livah" - I just never heard you play,
Try the Soundclick page.
His nom de plume (nom de tune?) there is jaydub, playing Mau Manulele |
Puna |
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Mika ele
Ha`aha`a
USA
1491 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2005 : 06:53:38 AM
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Good and Bad of AlaskaPiks
Good: 
** Once you trim them right, your "nails" are always the same length and you can practice consistent playing.
** They emulate natural nails for the free stroke and the rest stroke.
** They sound better and crisper than flesh on steel strings.
** They are flesh colored so you don't look funny.
** You can take them off and look normal (or as normal as you usually do).
** They come in three sizes.
Bad:
** They can become a crutch if you go to an open mike and find you left them at home.
** They can leave little red marks on your fingers if you don't fit them right - especially yer cuticles. This way yer right hand fingers AND yer left hand fingers hurt the same after an hour of playing.
** They can sound plastic on nylon strings and ukuleles.
** They fall off if you try a finger downstroke or flamenco type brush stroke.
** They are easily misplaced.
** they lose their elasticity after a while and fall off easily - time to buy more.
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E nana, e ho'olohe. E pa'a ka waha, e hana ka lima. |
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wdf
Ha`aha`a
USA
1153 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2005 : 07:00:30 AM
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When I first learned guitar, I used a flatpick and occasionally a thumbpick for a "thum-pluck"style of folk accompaniment.
When I started learning slack key, around summer of 2000, I went to fingerpicks and a thumbpick right from the beginning. So, I don't have the experience of playing fingerstyle bare fingered.
I'm a firm believer in the old "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" adage. So, I continue to use aLaska Piks (that's the way they spell it - no kidding. I just looked the up on their official website: http://www.alaskapik.com/).
They make them in plastic and in brass. I've never tried the brass, only the plastic. They also suggest using them on the thumb but I don't. I have seen Craig, cpatch use one on his thumb - it works for him.
quote:
I *pick* on Dusty (groan...), just cuz I've heard him too and he's darn good. Plus, he's a smart dude... he knows I don't mean it (right Dusty? right?).
John, I take nothing here seriously  , except making music.
Here's my current equipment.
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Dusty |
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Pua Kai
Ha`aha`a
USA
1007 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2005 : 11:20:55 AM
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Nice playing John.
I think dusty's picture makes a nice pattern for carving pumpkins.
I have been "strongly encouraged" to play louder and I think that's the reason for getting the suggestion to use picks. On the other hand, I'll bet I would be able to play softley with them too..... And yes, the guitar I'm using for slack has steel strings. This journey is sorta like a game - you have to keep working at it to play better, but you have to laugh and enjoy it too.... and then you all need to go out for a few beers (pia).
aloha!!
n |
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akahele
Aloha
USA
33 Posts |
Posted - 10/27/2005 : 7:13:58 PM
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Aloha all,
Well for what its worth, I'll contribute my experiences. First - I'm closer to the beginner end of the skill range so take what I have to offer accordingly. Like others who play with nails, I don't like picks. When I've had to play with a pick (to fill in for a broken nail) I've found the ProPik to work best for me. I don't care for those Alaska/aLaska picks - not very comfortable to me. I try to keep my nails around 3/32" long - that seems to be around the best length for the nylon string guitar that I play. As for putting things on the nails - I've tried a number. The ones that are like nail polishes seem to bond to the top layer of nail making that very hard but then the nail seems to "delaminate" - i.e. the top layer separates from the lower layer which is still attached to the nail bed - probably a similar problem to those who use acrylics.
A few years back I found a posting on another fingerstyle website that mentioned a "brown oily-like substance" that was applied daily. Further research into this revealed that this is something called "Onymyrrh" made by the DeLore company. I apply it slightly differently from the instructions - I'll put it on before going to bed - around 3 to 4 time a week. I rub it in like the directions say but I don't wipe it off - I'll just let it dry (or get rubbed off on clothes/furniture/pets etc.) The active ingredient in this is supposedly the same thing found in horse hoof hardener. I've found that my nails are harder the next morning - however as days go by the nails will soften - hence my roughly every other day schedule. Others on this other website also mentioned going to a tack shop and just getting the horse hoof hardener - I would do that except there aren't any tack shops near where I live. Since this product is applied to clean nails - it wouldn't work for someone who uses nail polish.
In addition, other tips that I gleaned from that other website - nails are dead (at least the end we're interested in) so exposure to harsh chemicals, water and soaps will remove the oils from the nail making it brittle and more prone to breaking. With that in mind - limit exposure to those situations - one of the big culprits is dishwashing - I started to wear gloves after I read that and that has also helped. People make comments when they're in my kitchen and they see those black "industrial" looking rubber gloves hanging above the sink - but at least I don't take them with me out in public...can't say the same for those who use acrylic nails. (A side benefit of using gloves to wash dishes is that you can use much hotter water which makes greasy dishes easier to wash.) I also use gloves when working outside, lifting heavy object, and in general any time a loss of one's grip might cause a broken nail; so far it has been working out fairly well.
Well that's my story - not sure how well my nails would hold up on a steel string guitar. One of these days I'll buy one and I'll be able to answer that question.
Clif |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2153 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2005 : 03:42:12 AM
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| I learned to play bare-fingered with short nails, as I was a dishwasher at the time. Now I'm a window washer, hands in water all the time. As a sometime resophonic guitar player, I got used to regular picks and transferred the technology to slack key. I use brass picks nd a filed down Dobro thimb pick. I still play bare fingered once in a while. My Dad used to say ( for any kind of music ), "Play clean and comfortable, don't hurt yourself." |
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slkho
`Olu`olu
740 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2005 : 11:26:47 AM
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Bing,
Try Pro Picks....I'm just discovering them, really good stuff.
-slkho |
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garson
Lokahi
USA
112 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2005 : 5:35:34 PM
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| Y'all a bunch wusses. Jest use what God gave ya. Texas Jim |
Jim Garson |
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slkho
`Olu`olu
740 Posts |
Posted - 11/04/2005 : 04:22:57 AM
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| ...Texans |
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Francie
Aloha
USA
15 Posts |
Posted - 11/15/2005 : 07:13:12 AM
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There is a product called Dermanail (developed by dermatologists) that has helped my nails as a classical player. You need to put it on everyday for quite awhile before noticing that it strengthens your nails. It has kept my thumb nail from splitting for months at at time. It used to split constantly.
Francie |
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