You guys are hilarious. If you think about it...who else would come up with these new musical discoveries but pedal steel players: Lighted fret-boards, pull-rod compensators, gear-shift-looking lock-levers, palm-levers, surgical tape on fingerpicks...
EXCITING NEW UPDATE:
I received the tan coloured tape in the mail today and I'm very, very impressed! The tan tape is actually slightly transparent so it blends in with your skin tone, looking darker or lighter depending on your skin tone. It is almost invisible. No more of the "table-saw accident" type look as with the white tape. Definitely worth the extra cost.(See picture of tan tape with thumb/fingertips below.)
Also, notice in the picture how the tape clings very closely and tightly to the skin/picks, it feels like a very thin film on your fingers. No bulky feeling on the fingers at all. You do not need to put any glue-like goop inside your picks like people here are suggesting, and therefore will not need to clean out the inside of your fingerpicks afterwards (But still, try using the tape one the outside of the picks even with your goop inside, it will work better.)
I have not played my guitar without this Micropore tape on my picks even once since discovering this. It's a NIGHT and DAY difference. If you think I'm trying to sell "a solution to problem that doesn't exist," it just means that you haven't tried it yet and don't know YET that you have a problem
TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL:
I took this idea to a new level and tried using the Micropore tape with a 6 string guitar flat-pick. I taped the flat pick to my thumb in the position that I usually hold it, and...it works! (See picture below)
You need 5 or 6 couple-of-inch long tape strips to hold the flat pick in place (vs. only one strip for metal finger/thumb picks,) but once you get in on there, it stays! I played so hard with the taped up flat pick that after 20 minutes, the flat pick was worn and there was black pick dust all over the pick-guard of my 6-string Strat! It gives a whole new meaning to SHRED guitar
I rarely every play this hard with a flat-pick normally.
Having the flat-pick taped to the thumb also allowed for MUCH easier use of the tremolo bar (See the picture of flat-pick while using the tremolo bar on the Strat.)
If you're a 6-stringer into Pete Townsend style windmills, this is your ticket!
If this catches on with the 6-string players, who number in the millions, it could be HUGE. You've seen it here first folks, new cutting edge playing tips right from the Steel Guitar Forum. Just watch a great player like Paul Franklin or Joe Walsh recommend this
and everybody will be trying this.
On a more serious note: There are many older guitar and steel pickers on here, in their 60's, 70's, 80's, and beyond. It is common that as people age, our hand/finger muscular dexterity and strength/grip can decrease. You can also have different health conditions affecting finger grip, such as arthritis. This might be a good solution for players who find themselves dealing with these sorts of health related obstacles. Heck, you can even just use this on your picks only if you're having a "bad-picking" day on an extra-sweaty gig, like Gene suggested.
IN CONCLUSION:
I'm not affiliated with the 3M company making the Micropore surgical tape in any way, nor am I trying to sell you anything. I just wanted to share this great tip and recommend a great product to help increase people's guitar playing enjoyment.
Now that you know the tip, do what you will with the information: Have a laugh and move on (which is OK) or try it for yourself and possibly discover the BEST picking attack and control you EVER had.
Either way, you know what I'll be doing: Slap-Shot to the G-String...Score!
