"Banjo Picks" Or how I went from barefoot to wearing shoes

[Hal Braun]

In a recent post regarding picks/no picks; I fall firmly in the camp of no picks. Every pick I had tried hurt and I could not use it more than a few minutes at a time. Additionally, I got so frustrated not being able to feel the strings that they hit the wall pretty quickly.

Then, Joseph posted this:

I mean no disrespect to anyone's approach , but deciding not to use fingerpicks is different from not being able to use them. It wasn't easy for me to learn how to play with picks but I'm glad I stuck with it. IMHO, I think it's best to learn how to use picks, and then ,if for some reason you choose not to use them, so be it. I know Buddy played without picks for awhile , but he could play with his feet and still sound better than me.

I thought this was undoubtedly one of the best posts in the thread, and I felt he had a very valid point as I cannot use them, vs I can use them but choose not to.

In the same thread, Tom Campbell mentioned "banjo picks" While I am not sure I found the ones he describes, I did find these Old 97's.







while I still cannot "feel the strings" I can at least keep trying long enough to learn. Then I can choose to wear them/or not. As you can see, they fit your finger above the cuticle.. the band is lightly flared but way less than a Dunlop that catches on the strings when I use them. This makes them very comfortable. You can also see the shape of them out of the box fits similar to Jeff Newman's recommendation.

Best of all, they are made by a lady named Judy Townsend who charged me $10 bucks for a set, stamps your initials on the middle finger pick, sends them VERY quickly in a nice little tube. "Miss Judy" did a fabulous job, and I would like to suggest that if you have not been able to wear picks because of the discomfort.. or having the Dunlop band snag on strings.. give her a look at www.old97pick.com

They come in small/large/XL and are German nickel silver. if you see the Little Maggies.. They are the exact same pick, but big bad banjo players did not want a pick with a heart on it called Little Maggie, so she labeled them with a manly Old97 (Which of course are the ones I bought )

[Tom Campbell]

Hi Hal

The picks I have are by "Ernie Ball" and are called "Pickey Picks". The part of the pick that covers the end of you finger is very narrow...about half the width of the pick you are showing in your picture.

The "Ernie Ball" bar code on the package is 7 49699 19220 6

[Dave Mudgett]

I said basically the same thing on that thread - deciding not to use finger picks when you can is very different than not being able to use them. I could not face playing pedal steel or banjo without being able to use finger picks. That's personal for me, YMMV. I use a thumb pick with bare fingers for some things, but the tone is different (which works for some things, but not for othere, to my tastes) and it does tend to tear up my nails something fierce.

I haven't tried these Old 97's, been meaning to. But I'll say that the old-school, single-band Pro-Piks are pretty comfortable. Light-years more comfortable than old Nationals, IMO, and I think more polished and smooth than Dunlops. They can sit tight on the finger, but don't tear up my cuticles the way some others do and have a pretty meaty sound for a finger pick. Again, to my tastes.

[Hal Braun]

Thanks Tom, will check those out!

[Bo Borland]

While I don't have a photo available right now, the old model Dunlop finger picks ..have one less set of holes in the band and no holes touch the cuticle area.

I realize some players get them hung up on a string but that has not been the case with me. I don't mind the flare at all , I actually like it.

[Mark van Allen]

There are folks who make incredibly vibrant or beautiful music without fingerpicks, or with a flatpick… I often practice without picks and occasionally record without for a specific tone or vibe. But for me, the contribution to tone that fingerpicks provide just made it imperative for me to learn to use them.

There is a distance, separation, whatever, that happens when you have a pick in between your body and the string. The question is whether the advantages of the pick itself can override the discomfort/ disconnection inherent in "wearing" something at that critical juncture. For me they do.

I used to heat my thumb picks over a kettle and bend them with pliers until I discovered Zookies. For years now I have used Bob Perry Thumbpicks which are much like 1941's or vintage Nationals except for being slightly longer in the shaft or sides between the pick face and bands, which lets them wrap around the finger behind the cuticle instead of over it. That tiny difference is huge, in feel and comfort.

Strange how such small things can affect our playing Chi.

Another factor- there are incredibly wide physical variations in finger/ joint length, shape, size, and even density and tenderness between people. Totally not a one-size-fits-all part of the steel playing package.

[David Mason]

The Old 97's look to be about halfway to the ACRI picks:



Janet Davis, Elderly music. The good side is they eliminate ALL the problems... the bad side is they eliminate one whole set of excuses.

I totally agree with one of our DM's above, having a musically-based decision to not use picks is not the same as having a competence-based decision.

[Bob Knight]

This is the most comfortable pick I have been able to find, it is available in various materials and sizes.

[Richard Alderson]

Pro Piks are softer and more flexible, looking at Nationals makes me wince sometimes, they're hard as rocks by comparison. There are quite a few versions of Pro Piks.

[DG Whitley]

...maybe I missed it somewhere but I was never given an option to change how many sets I wanted. I placed two separate orders instead (so I missed that option twice?).

Other than that, no order issues. With picks, bars, or strings, I always order more than one, just me I guess.

My 2 cents, YMMV.

[Bud Angelotti]

Hal -
When you speak of not being able to feel the strings with picks, I hear you.
Personaly, with pedal steel, I do use picks. With lapsteel, NO picks. It's a different feel as well as sound.
May I suggest this. Try to "feel" the string with your feet, especially your right volume pedal foot.
Don't pump the pedal- find a pot with your foot that you can pluck the strings, they "sound" clearly, and it's not too loud(or soft).
You might also try playing without the volume pedal. I know, thats the exact opposite but it's a real exercise.
The pedal steel is a real ambidextrous musical machine aye!
Cheers!

[Larry Baker]

I'm with Bob Knight, Pro Picks are the most comfortable I've found. I use the brass ones.

[Jeff Metz Jr.]

For those of you that never tried the bob perry picks from elderly instruments.com I strongly suggest you order a pair. They are a bit pricey at around $19.50/set. But they are amazingly comfortable with no holes at all. Just polished cobalt plated steel.

[Butch Mullen]

Finger picks from Saddlethumbpicks.com. That's the only picks I can get along with.

[Hal Braun]

Finger picks from Saddlethumbpicks.com. That's the only picks I can get along with.

Butch.. Looked at their video and when it shows your finger pad pushing the finger picks off when bent, that was an eye opener! Like the concept behind that.. Not having to clamp down the wings as hard to keep it on your finger is a novel approach.. Thanks.

[Barry Yasika]

I really like the finger picks available from Jeffran College. The first pair I ever bought was back in the mid 80's from Larry Self's "Music Store" . I still have them and cherish them because they were Chrome Plated and also because Buddy Emmons and Jeff Newman endorsed them. Mine have JB imprinted on them but the newer one are not chrome plated and are imprinted with JF. I'm not sure why Emmons stopped endorsing them but Jeff Newman never did stop. Every pair I have seem to go right on with almost no adjustment. No matter what I try I always go back to the chrome plated ones. Very comfortable for me personally. The only thing I don't like is the diamond shaped hole that's around the bend of the pick. I can feel that when I'm playing and it changes the tone of that not when I accidentally catch it. Another thing I never cared for was that where the strap goes around your finger, there's a split and from time to time it catches an unwanted string and plays it. All in all though I still like those picks the best.

[Joe Swierupski]

In a recent post regarding picks/no picks; I fall firmly in the camp of no picks. Every pick I had tried hurt and I could not use it more than a few minutes at a time. Additionally, I got so frustrated not being able to feel the strings that they hit the wall pretty quickly.

Then, Joseph posted this:

I mean no disrespect to anyone's approach , but deciding not to use fingerpicks is different from not being able to use them. It wasn't easy for me to learn how to play with picks but I'm glad I stuck with it. IMHO, I think it's best to learn how to use picks, and then ,if for some reason you choose not to use them, so be it. I know Buddy played without picks for awhile , but he could play with his feet and still sound better than me.

I thought this was undoubtedly one of the best posts in the thread, and I felt he had a very valid point as I cannot use them, vs I can use them but choose not to.

In the same thread, Tom Campbell mentioned "banjo picks" While I am not sure I found the ones he describes, I did find these Old 97's.







while I still cannot "feel the strings" I can at least keep trying long enough to learn. Then I can choose to wear them/or not. As you can see, they fit your finger above the cuticle.. the band is lightly flared but way less than a Dunlop that catches on the strings when I use them. This makes them very comfortable. You can also see the shape of them out of the box fits similar to Jeff Newman's recommendation.

Best of all, they are made by a lady named Judy Townsend who charged me $10 bucks for a set, stamps your initials on the middle finger pick, sends them VERY quickly in a nice little tube. "Miss Judy" did a fabulous job, and I would like to suggest that if you have not been able to wear picks because of the discomfort.. or having the Dunlop band snag on strings.. give her a look at www.old97pick.com

They come in small/large/XL and are German nickel silver. if you see the Little Maggies.. They are the exact same pick, but big bad banjo players did not want a pick with a heart on it called Little Maggie, so she labeled them with a manly Old97 (Which of course are the ones I bought )

Hey Hal,

Try bending the tips of those picks around the tip of your fingers so the very tip nearly touches your fingernail. Makes a HUGE difference in how they work and feel.

[Les Cargill]

I have actually the best had luck with the: "Dunlop Nickel Silver Player's Pack Finger and Thumbpicks (.18IN)" There can't be anything cheaper, which of course figures.

I guess it's just cut and try. And yeah, the metal thumbpick helps. I can "feel through" the metal better.

I have played no-picks fingerstyle six string since I was 8. LBJ was President. So one thing that's really helped is to play six-string guitar with 'em.

[Richard McVicker]

Hal,
I feel your pain but I did something about it and designed a pick that does NOT clamp on your finger. You do shape it to size, like you size your ring on your finger, and this pick works like a ring to hold it from slipping off the same way your wedding ring won't come off. The problem that causes ALL conventional to work off the finger, when you are playing, is used in the SADDLE pick as the element that hold it on. It looks like a conventional finger pick from the top but it's the ring on the bottom that is the UNIQUE feature. No holes, so you can modify the pick with out cutting through any holes.
Look at it in action at the end of the video at: www.saddlethumbpicks.com

[John Billings]

"The last time I saw Little Maggie,
She was settin' on the banks of the sea.
Had a 44 buckled 'round her.
and a banjo on her knee."

Picks? You gotta find what you like! I can't play with them bent around my fingertip. Here are the ones I've been using for 30 years. They barely stick past the ends of my fingertips. I can "feel" the strings very well. I can play much quicker than with them all bent around. Seems like you'd need a rather uncomfortable hand position to use those! But, to each his own! I'm certainly not in the majority. My buddy, Jerry Brightman, was quite surprised to see the way I put on my picks, but said, "For you, JB, they work really well!" Not sure if it's because I started playing on 5-string,,,, maybe,,,,,?

[Randy Stephens]

I don't pretend to know anything about playing pedal steel with picks, I am actually still in the process of hunting out a steel for my self, but I have been playing banjo for quite a while and I use vintage National "Oval 8" picks. In my opinion they're the best