I'm wearing away!

dave.g · #1 September 15th, 2006

Noticed funny shape to my right thumbnail and thought i'd broken it again. On closer inspection it's not broken but worn. Is there anything I can coat the nail with to prevent this? The ring finger nail is also doing the same. Must have soft nails I suppose.

cshude · #2 September 15th, 2006

I have consulted with my wife (the proud owner of close to 100 polishes and a bunch of other stuff) and she has advised that there are polishes/nail coatings that are supposed to strengthen your nails, but she is of the opinion that it is hogwash.

I'm trying to grow the nails out for fingerpicking and having a hard time because my nails are fairly flexible so I have to be really careful not to tear them. My wife, tongue in cheek, asked me if she wanted me to put a layer of silk (for doing fake nails) on top of my natural nails. I think I would take her up on it if my nails would look natural and not have to have a shine to them.

You also have the option of getting fingerpicks like a lot of banjo players use. I also understand there are a lot of players that will even go so far as to put on those Lee press-on nails when they are going to be doing a lot of fingerpicking.

737blues · #3 September 15th, 2006

Young lady working in my local guitar shop told me to put a drop of Extra Virgin Olive Oil on your nails. Perishing nuisance 'cos it takes an hour or so to soak in but I tried it for a month and it did help considerably.

allthumbs · #4 September 15th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by 737blues

Young lady working in my local guitar shop told me to put a drop of Extra Virgin Olive Oil on your nails. Perishing nuisance 'cos it takes an hour or so to soak in but I tried it for a month and it did help considerably.

Wow. Never knew that.

737blues · #5 September 16th, 2006

Be interesting to see if anybody else finds it helpful ...... my wife laughed when I told her about it and informed me that all girls know that old one and she could have told me, if only I'd asked. Thanks dear.

papadog65 · #6 September 16th, 2006

Is it a No-No to NOT use you fingernails for picking? I always keep my nails way short and pick with the fleshy part of my fingertips. How long are the nails supposed to be? I don't think I could do it, as they always seem to break if they ever do grow out very far.

dave.g · #7 September 16th, 2006

thanks for the feedback. must admit I thought of nail varnish, it's just if I could put up with the inevitable ribbing from the guys in the workshop. i'll just have to dust off the baseball bat. I like using the nail for the clearer tone and better volume I think it gives but maybe they just make up for poor technique on my part

allthumbs · #8 September 16th, 2006

Your nails really don't have to be that long. The optimum is a combination of nail and finger pad. If you look at your palm with the fingers straight, you should just be able to just see your nails. That is only about a 1/4 inch. Nails longer than that tend to chip and split. That is how Kirk described it to me.

wjp01908 · #9 September 16th, 2006

I mostly use the pads of my fingers - maybe a bit of nail if they`ve grown a bit long - I think that I prefer the more mellow tone but I`m not sure as I never manage to grow my nails much beyond a fine white line at the tip of the finger. I always seem to be breaking them or chipping bits off them. If they are longer they always seem to collect crud underneath too, no matter how often I scrape them out. Yuk

Will

dave.g · #10 September 16th, 2006

Maybe a set of fingerpicks filed down would do a similar job then?

737blues · #11 September 16th, 2006

Personally, I think fingerpicks are a real pain in the proverbial and just get caught under the strings for me. Awful devices. I'd rather accept the softer tone of using just my finger if I can't maintain enough of a fingernail, you don't really need much of a nail for most playing.

allthumbs · #12 September 16th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by 737blues

Personally, I think fingerpicks are a real pain in the proverbial and just get caught under the strings for me. Awful devices. I'd rather accept the softer tone of using just my finger if I can't maintain enough of a fingernail, you don't really need much of a nail for most playing.

I hear that. I used to shoot finger picks into the sound hole like arrows from a bow.

coldethyl · #13 September 16th, 2006

Just a bit of trivia, Tommy Emmanuel has very short fingernails (apparently they won't grow for some reason) on his picking hand and has developed calouses on the tips of his fingers over time and finger picks like that.
He switches playing between a plectrum and a thumbpick!

bamagirl · #14 September 16th, 2006

Funny you mentioned calloused fingers. When I started just a few weeks ago, my mother said I would develop callouses on my fingertips over time. I've been playing with a pic (as did she - she never played using the finger picking method), and the fingers on my left hand have a definate hardening on the tips from pressing near the frets and sliding on the strings to get close to the frets.

737blues · #15 September 17th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by coldethyl

Just a bit of trivia, Tommy Emmanuel has very short fingernails (apparently they won't grow for some reason) on his picking hand and has developed calouses on the tips of his fingers over time and finger picks like that.
He switches playing between a plectrum and a thumbpick!

Ah! So that's why he has so much trouble with it .....