The Steel Guitar Forum

Well, that would mean defining what "standard way" means. As Paul explained, everyone has a different comfort level with techniques. Why spend months trying to learn something like pick blocking when palm blocking comes natural? To each his own I suppose, but Paul shows multiple ways to play everything then let's his students decide what works best for them. I would say there is nothing "standard" about playing any musical instruments.

I'm using the Landis "death grip" thumb pick and love it. I haven't tried his fingerpicks since the "custom model picks I've gotten from Hoffmeyer are pretty much perfect for me and don't slip the way vintage Nationals used to on my fingers. They have a little bit wider band and smaller holes. Very comfortable.

Dave

Yes Herb, it is the same rosin used on a hurdy gurdy wheel,and the bag on the pitchers mound, in liquid form.It's inexpensive,and a little goes a long way. I had problems keeping my picks on when I got nervous, and this stuff cured the problem 100%

No one told Sarah Jordan where to put her thumb pick either. In some videos it looks above the first joint of her thumb.

If you notice the thumb picks in my previous post, The dark piece in the thumb picks is a piece of 3M stair tape. I can play a set and the thumb pick won't move.
CAUTION Rub the face of 3M stair tape lightly on a piece of metal or sharpening stone. Some of the abrasive chips are long and sharp.

One reason that thumb picks end up further down the thumb, especially when using Hercos, is they are pretty soft and flexible and when they heat up from body temperature, the tendency is to push them further down the thumb, for grip.
Swapping out thumb picks is usually the remedy for that.
Jerry Byrd used the white National thumb picks.
The problem I've had with those is that if they are too tight, the thumb can go numb.
Putting it in boiling water for a few minutes and putting it on while it is still flexible can tighten or loosen its grip.
The unusual technique the Jerry Byrd used was using a "back stroke" with his thumb.
Beside the stiff shaft, this technique is also easier on a lap steel or a guitar with wider string spacing than a pedal steel.
The thumb joint below the nail is also a fulcrum.
Jeff Newman's shaping the fingerpicks using needle nose pliers should minimize finger picks coming off.
The tip of the blade bent towards the finger.
Paul Franklin's finger picks are bent almost to a 45 degree angle, which makes the very slick for pick blocking.
Most players I've seen, don't bend them around as much.
Tilting the finger bands slightly forward was also something Jeff did and solves most of the problems coming off.

The Death Grip Landis thumb pick has the advantage of being able to adjust not only the diameter of the pick, but the length too. Since it's basically a band bent around the thumb, you can bend it with more or less protrusion towards the strings. Plus the Death Grip texture inside keeps the pick in place. I've been able to dial mine in to exactly where I like it. Very easy to adjust how far from the knuckle it goes too.

Dave

an old trick that banjo players and Dobro players used years ago was to wet their fingertips with saliva before they put the picks on
THAT'S THE ANSWER...WORKS FOR ME... TOOK ME SO LONG TO FIND OUT
Brad

Poor Tom isn't getting much help on his finger pick problem...Spit, liquid rosin, and white-out so far!

Little hose clamps. Don't pay any mind to the purple color.

For the seriously obsessed steelers, there's always Super glue or Gorilla glue.

Kenny Davis wrote:Poor Tom isn't getting much help on his finger pick problem...Spit, liquid rosin, and white-out so far!

I agree. I would think if his picks are hitting each other it's a technique issue not a pick issue. Maybe video the hand while your playing to see why the picks are coming in contact with each other. My picks never come in contact with each other. It seems like that's your issue and not an adhesion issue.

Sorry I played a role in sidetracking your thread.

_____

I can't comment on the catching of one pick on the other, but mine stay on without adhesive (natural or synthetic) because they are a really good fit - many happy hours with the pliers - and my picking action tends to push them on, not lever them off.

Hope this isn’t a sidetrack -

I use Hoffmeyers (sometimes Nationals, but Hoffmeyers are my favorites), and I leave the pick part as is (pick blocker, perfect for me). Once I get the bands tightened, all ok, but - in the morning too tight, in the evening too loose… normal I guess, for 60. In the evening, I use the lick option, yeah gross but totally works.

At the suggestion of Bryan Daste, I once used heat shrink tubing on the bands - totally works, but I got the picks clicking together as described earlier, not a technique issue, at least for me, when I took the tape off it didn’t happen.

Now I just deal - and the thumbpick I like is the blue Herco, which absolutely gets loose after a while. I keep several and rotate through as needed, they seem to “heal” on their own…

Tom Keller wrote:an old trick that banjo players and Dobro players used years ago was to wet their fingertips with saliva before they put the picks on.

Years ago Ron Hogan told me about licking the finger tips to keep the picks on, he told me that Buddy Emmons told him about it. It definitely works! Plus, nobody asks to borrow my picks anymore!

Always liked the Kyser picks, the index finger pick has one less set of holes than the middle pick, identifyable at a glance.

Try electrical cable shrink wrap, just cut to size, put on and shrink with hairdryer. Picks rock solid on fingers.

try the shink tubing but you need shink it on the right side
and one left side so the tubing willnot rub together.
the kyser picks are like the old national picks.
they work good with the shink tubing.

Tom, look at the video of Bud Charleton playing Pan Handle Rag. He keeps on clenching his right hand in between phrases in what looks to me like shoving the picks back into place. He does it on other tunes also but on that one he does it a lot. I could never have my picks so close to the ends of my fingers or have the tips bent so far back but then again I can't hold a candle to Bud's playing either. When I was a lot younger I had trouble keeping the picks on. I mostly played dobro and really had to dig in to get the volume. I progressed to heavier picks, spent a lot of time with the needlenose pliers, and got used to really jamming them on. I could take it because I changed to flatpicking guitar several times a set and got a little circulation back in the fingertips. I don't know if my fingers adapted to the abuse or if my technique evolved but it stopped being a problem and it no longer hurt. I think I still clench my hand to keep the picks in the sweet spot but I don't even notice it anymore. My fingers don't hit each other, I think, but even if they did the picks are on firmly enough and there is really nothing to catch the next one over anyway. I started with nationals but mostly use dunlops with that little flare built in. I think this problem you're having will go away on its own without doing anything radical.
I'd keep on messing with the shapes of the picks, in little increments, to find what works for you.

Guitar Center used to sell something called
Gorilla Snot that worked pretty well. I don't know if they still carry it.

rick andrews wrote:Guitar Center used to sell something called
Gorilla Snot that worked pretty well. I don't know if they still carry it.

I just bought some from Elderly

Thanks guys. I've been playing with my thumb pick back for many years. It eliminates more fiddly stuff for me by reducing the effect of that thumb joint.

Read this one!

I've tried almost everything mentioned here. When I was younger spit did the trick, no longer. I even came up with a mix of rosin and alcohol that really worked well but made the picks hard to take off on breaks and then sometimes would get on my strings. Damn! About a month or so ago I was digging through my junk drawer and found some paper-thin double-sided carpet tape. I cut strips and put it in my finger picks and Wala, prob solved. Just tacky enough to keep the picks on, not bulky like heat shrink and doesn't get on my strings. I just changed it out, soaked in alcohol and it came off easily. So, if your skinny old fingers have trouble keeping your picks in place, try this.

Here's the way Steve Palousek created a way too hold his thumb pick on at the tip of his thumb.

I was wondering how and why Steve P kept his thumb pick on.

I'm a long-time user of brass fingerpicks, Dunlop 0.025" thickness. They seemed easier to bend and form. i shape mine very slightly conical, just a few degrees, by pulling the "ears" back just a bit. Works for me, many not be worth a damn to you.

Put shrink wrap on fingerpicks(both sides) and thumb pick(top). They'll stay on.