Danner Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 I have been growing out my fingernails and doing more picking. I use a thumb pick so that is no problem there. Curious what any of you are doing about strengthening the the picking fingernails? Is Sally Hansen Hard as Nails worth a try? Thanks...
drathbun Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 I have been growing out my fingernails and doing more picking. I use a thumb pick so that is no problem there. Curious what any of you are doing about strengthening the the picking fingernails? Is Sally Hansen Hard as Nails worth a try? Thanks... When I'm doing a lot of fingerstyle, I use Sally Hanson. It actually does strengthen your nails with continuous use. I get enough strange looks because of my long nails on my right hand so adding glossy nail polish to them isn't exactly a plus. When the two coats of Hard as Nails are try, I buff them with 0000 steel wool to get them a nice matte finish.
Jerry K Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 I don't use nail treatments so can't comment there. The most important thing for me is keeping the nails fairly short. Whenever they get too long they end up tearing or breaking. The other thing is to sand the rounded tip of the fingernail so that it is quite smooth and won't catch on a string.
Guest J-Doug Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 I gave up on fingernails years ago. My fingertips are so calloused now that I get a nice strong sound from bare fingers.
Rambler Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 File 'em straight across and let 'em build up. Blues advice from Frank FotuskyTeasin' the Frets)
jedzep Posted January 13, 2012 Posted January 13, 2012 Ha! JDoug's got it right, but James Taylor's site has a lot of fingernail stuff on it relating to fingerpicking. He's old school...
MissouriPicker Posted January 13, 2012 Posted January 13, 2012 When I fingerpick (which is probably 80% or so of my playing) I'm always using my nails and often a thumbpick. I've been using Horsetail Nail Hardener (also known as Hard-as-Hoofs) for several years now and it works very well. I've tried 5-6 times to try and get used to fingerpicks, but I can't. Maybe I just gave-up to soon, but I suspect I'll just stay with the fingernails.
Nick Beach Posted January 13, 2012 Posted January 13, 2012 Fingers, no picks, no nails. I do this and really like the warm sound it gives, people constantly complement me on my tone and ability to play with my fingers the way I do. It's the one thing I do well on guitar.
57classic Posted January 13, 2012 Posted January 13, 2012 Skin on steel. I couldn't get used to finger picks and nails didn't feel right either plus there's no maintenance or carrying anything.
E-minor7 Posted January 13, 2012 Posted January 13, 2012 I have a little bottle of Sally Hansen here that I been using every 10-14 days or so for the last 2 months. I'm not a big nail breaker, still I think it stabilizes and works fine. Never tried anything like it before - only once ate B-vitamins. But you are 13 days too late out. S.H. shines like New Years Eve. . . .
Danner Posted January 13, 2012 Author Posted January 13, 2012 Thanks for all the good replies. My nails have grown out pretty well now, and I am taking it easy on them for now. I'll try some polish and see how it goes. It is difficult to control the tone of 3-4 fingers working the strings together. We'll see how this goes.
BluesKing777 Posted January 13, 2012 Posted January 13, 2012 Thanks for all the good replies. My nails have grown out pretty well now, and I am taking it easy on them for now. I'll try some polish and see how it goes. It is difficult to control the tone of 3-4 fingers working the strings together. We'll see how this goes. I suppose you are wearing out your fingers and nails on that mint LG1? BluesKing777.
Danner Posted January 13, 2012 Author Posted January 13, 2012 I suppose you are wearing out your fingers and nails on that mint LG1? BluesKing777. It's up at the luthier for one week as of today, and he estimated 12 days to replace the bridge and reattach the pick guard. I am psyched about getting it back in a few days And yes, the new LG-1 is a big reason I am working on finger picking
Hall Posted January 13, 2012 Posted January 13, 2012 File 'em straight across and let 'em build up. Blues advice from Frank FotuskyTeasin' the Frets) HG
fortyearspickn Posted January 14, 2012 Posted January 14, 2012 Danner, Yep - the LG1 was made for fingerpickn more than plectrum! I've found one hint here awhile back that helped me - when filing your nails, go from the outside to the middle. In other words go in one direction with the grain from the right side file left only to the middle and visa versa. It helps keep your nails from splitting and snagging. G'luck.
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