Hello, I’m in my 80s now, and have been playing since the middle of the last century. Maintaining nails are miserable, nailless is the only way. The only bad thing is that I had to quit the thumb pick, it was too bright for my nailless fingers, oh well, it’s still fun 😊
like you, possibly....I've been playing guitar for about 56 years now...I started with a plectrum. Went into classical...paying with nails. Into acoustic guitar. for the last 10 years or somewhat longer, I go to a nail salon and have the 4 fingers of my right hand done. Since the 90's I''ve been a thumbpick user along with my nails. I play both acoustic and electric.
I actually think that if you're playing with a thumbpick artificial nails work really well. The thumb and fingers always sound better matched tonally to me . Thanks for commenting.
I play acoustic with metal strings, and my preference is to have my nails just long enough so that the skin of my finger also barely touches the string; any longer and they start bothering me/breaking etc.
Some very good advice in this video. Acoustic steel strings can tear up your nails, so I use metal fingerpicks and a plastic thumbpick to get a consistent tone, but my style is blues-based, so I don't mind the slightly harsher, brighter tone. If I want mellow and pretty, I will use a combo of plastic thumbpick and bare fingers with nails grown out. I am also my own roadie, so I do break nails handling equipment. Mostly I use nails/bare fingers in combo with a flatpick, for hybrid-style work (middle and ring fingers) I eat well, but diet will only do so much for you (try gelatin dissolved in a small glass of juice). I also coat my nails with superglue. Jim is right about nail coatings taking a little layer from the nail when it shoughs off, so while you get decent protection from a nail coating, you'd probably be stuck with reapplying it every 2 or 3 days. Jim's nail-filing advice is spot-on. 🙂
I prefer a thumbpick and metal fingerpicks on steel string too. They're well worth the time that it takes to become proficient with them. Thanks for commenting!
I'm glad you mentioned diet to be most important. Back in the '80s I started taking formal classical guitar lessons, and for the first year I could not grow nails. It was simply because my diet was so poor, as was I at the time. Classical Guitar lessons were an extravagance. In my second year of study I ate better and was able to grow nails. These days, I also take a Biotin supplement and use the Hard as Nails cream daily.
New subscriber here (from Australia). Love your playing and your elucidations! 👏 I prefer playing with nails on my nylon string, but without nails on my electric or steel string acoustic. Problem is: it takes a couple of minutes to cut the nails, but a long time to grow them back... On another note: have you heard of the Black Mountain thumbpicks? Just curious...
Thanks for subscribing and your kind comments. Yeah, nails are definitely an all or nothing situation. I've seen advertisements for the Black Mountain thumbpicks but never tried them. I'm a long time Fred Kelly Slick Pick user.
Hello, I’m in my 80s now, and have been playing since the middle of the last century. Maintaining nails are miserable, nailless is the only way. The only bad thing is that I had to quit the thumb pick, it was too bright for my nailless fingers, oh well, it’s still fun 😊
I'd have to agree with you about fingernail maintenance, it's a real pain! Thanks for commenting.
Nice playing there, Jim. Thank you so much.
Many thanks for commenting and the kind words!
like you, possibly....I've been playing guitar for about 56 years now...I started with a plectrum. Went into classical...paying with nails. Into acoustic guitar. for the last 10 years or somewhat longer, I go to a nail salon and have the 4 fingers of my right hand done. Since the 90's I''ve been a thumbpick user along with my nails. I play both acoustic and electric.
I actually think that if you're playing with a thumbpick artificial nails work really well. The thumb and fingers always sound better matched tonally to me . Thanks for commenting.
I play acoustic with metal strings, and my preference is to have my nails just long enough so that the skin of my finger also barely touches the string; any longer and they start bothering me/breaking etc.
That's the length that I prefer too. Thanks for commenting!
Some very good advice in this video. Acoustic steel strings can tear up your nails, so I use metal fingerpicks and a plastic thumbpick to get a consistent tone, but my style is blues-based, so I don't mind the slightly harsher, brighter tone. If I want mellow and pretty, I will use a combo of plastic thumbpick and bare fingers with nails grown out. I am also my own roadie, so I do break nails handling equipment. Mostly I use nails/bare fingers in combo with a flatpick, for hybrid-style work (middle and ring fingers)
I eat well, but diet will only do so much for you (try gelatin dissolved in a small glass of juice). I also coat my nails with superglue. Jim is right about nail coatings taking a little layer from the nail when it shoughs off, so while you get decent protection from a nail coating, you'd probably be stuck with reapplying it every 2 or 3 days. Jim's nail-filing advice is spot-on. 🙂
I prefer a thumbpick and metal fingerpicks on steel string too. They're well worth the time that it takes to become proficient with them. Thanks for commenting!
good tone.
Thanks!
Nice chet type playing.
I use my finger nails. When you as well as you it doesn't seem to matter if you play with nails or not it all sounds great
Thanks for commenting and your kind words!
I'm glad you mentioned diet to be most important. Back in the '80s I started taking formal classical guitar lessons, and for the first year I could not grow nails. It was simply because my diet was so poor, as was I at the time. Classical Guitar lessons were an extravagance. In my second year of study I ate better and was able to grow nails. These days, I also take a Biotin supplement and use the Hard as Nails cream daily.
It's amazing the impact that proper fuel (food) can have, to be sure. Thanks for commenting!
……. Well, … no nails sound . Definitely - straight to the heart.
Thank you!
New subscriber here (from Australia). Love your playing and your elucidations! 👏
I prefer playing with nails on my nylon string, but without nails on my electric or steel string acoustic. Problem is: it takes a couple of minutes to cut the nails, but a long time to grow them back...
On another note: have you heard of the Black Mountain thumbpicks? Just curious...
Thanks for subscribing and your kind comments. Yeah, nails are definitely an all or nothing situation. I've seen advertisements for the Black Mountain thumbpicks but never tried them. I'm a long time Fred Kelly Slick Pick user.
@@JimPharis103 Thanks, Jim! 🙂
When you play as well as you do it doesn't matter
In my mind, your style is a cross between Chet Atkins and Zal Yanovsky (Lovin’ Spoonful).
Thank you! Those are some big shoes to fill...
Soooo Slllllowww. Get to the point!
Thanks for commenting