thumbpick+bare fingertips only

Joel Bloom · Post by **Joel Bloom** » 23 Jun 2014 6:01 pm

Hi there I was wondering if many players here play like this (thumbpuck and fingertips flesh-not nails).
And if so, can you please share some of your reasoning and techniques you use (dampening, picking patterns etc).
Thanks ahead,
Cheers,
Joel

Matthew Warman · Post by **Matthew Warman** » 24 Jun 2014 9:32 am

Hi Joel

I'm often too lazy to grab my fingerpicks, especially if it's late at night, so just slip on the old thumbpick and play. I find playing with the bare fingertips actually nice and a change; seems like I have a bit more control and it's easier to get those grips. However I also play with the picks on more, and I think it's good to be able to do both.

George Schinler · Post by **George Schinler** » 24 Jun 2014 10:07 am

I just started learning steel about 6 months ago. I use a thumb pick and my fingers. After 30 years of playing guitar I can not get use to finger picks. Feeling the strings is just part of what I'm used to. It is also part of how I block the strings.

I do have finger picks and practice with them from time to time and continue to try to get used to them. However, I am growing my finger nails out and trying to find a middle ground between fingers and picks.

Cartwright Thompson · Post by **Cartwright Thompson** » 24 Jun 2014 2:04 pm

You simply can't get "the sound" without finger picks. Make yourself use them, it takes only a couple weeks before you can't play without them. Really.

Noah Miller · Post by **Noah Miller** » 24 Jun 2014 3:19 pm

Cartwright Thompson wrote:You simply can't get "the sound" without finger picks. Make yourself use them, it takes only a couple weeks before you can't play without them. Really.

This has not been my experience. I've been trying to get the hang of them for years, and my fingers simply won't move that way. I agree that you can't get a good sound out of a Dobro without picks, but for electric steel I'm getting better sounds using my fingers.

Chase Brady · Post by **Chase Brady** » 24 Jun 2014 3:40 pm

I use fingerpicks on the banjo and dobro, and just a thumbpick for acoustic (non-resonator) lap steel and electric lap steel. The biggest reason I use the fingerpicks on the dobro is that that's what I'll use in an acoustic jam, and I want the volume. I can actually get the volume I want without the fingerpicks, but my nails will take a beating if I do. Except for the volume issue, I think you can get a good sound either way. Perhaps not the same sound, but a good sound.
When I'm not using fingerpicks, I use thumb and three fingers. I play in open D and use alternating base a lot. thumb and three fingers works well for that. Thumb and three fingerpicks seems awkward to me. The fingerpicks seem to get in each others way. Dobro technique is a lot more Banjo-y to me, so thumb and two fingerpicks works well.
I'd like to say you can get a good sound using fingertips instead of fingernails, but honestly, I haven't heard many people doing it. I seem to recall that Mississippi John Hurt did it, but I don't think he played much lap steel.

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Dom Franco · Post by **Dom Franco** » 24 Jun 2014 11:30 pm

When I am working out a new song, typing lyrics and chords into a computer keyboard, I don't use picks for obvious reasons.

Same with working out tablature with pencil and paper. But when I perform or record I gotta have picks. The attack, volume and tone is so much clearer with picks. (And I use a thumbpick and three fingerpicks for bigger chords)

Dom

Joel Bloom · Post by **Joel Bloom** » 25 Jun 2014 1:02 am

Thankyou all for your info and input. I do play with picks on accoustic steel but I seem to play more cleanly and 'smoothly' on electric without them...but am finding I need the thumbpick to keep the sounds 'even'.
Maybe I haven't yet developed a proper 'touch' with picks on electric.
I really like the less brash sounding steel players like murphey and late period vance terry...
Cheers,
Joel

Joel Bloom · Post by **Joel Bloom** » 25 Jun 2014 1:13 am

To clarify...less brash as in mellow....not harsh!! Jazzy tone??

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 25 Jun 2014 4:56 am

i have never used a finger pick on my first finger or pinky. i use the pinky a LOT to grab melody notes. i dont use the thumb pick much. i will use one if i have a sore spot or a cuticle problem on my thumb from playing too much. i prefer the alaska piks for middle and ring. they clip under your nail and you have the pad of the finger to dampen when you need to.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 26 Jun 2014 4:46 am

Bill, I've been thinking about using Alaska picks for some time now, as I am at that place where I really enjoy playing with bare fingers, but miss the ability to have more speed and a wider dynamic range. But bare fingers made chordal playing better, and also different coloration to the notes.

Joel Bloom · Post by **Joel Bloom** » 26 Jun 2014 5:32 am

Mike do you have any clips of your bare fingers playing? Do you use nails?
Ps..Looking fwd to the Murphey book...still no sign of it, but mail delays can happen out here.
Cheers,
Joel

Jerome Hawkes · Post by **Jerome Hawkes** » 26 Jun 2014 5:36 am

Bobbe Seymour has a lot of videos on YT and he is probably the main steeler known for sans-finger picks. i know a lot of the slide players dont use picks and it fits that style fine. you didnt specify what style / type of instrument you are playing and around here, if you dont, we all tend to assume you are playing electric steel.

as with everything steel related, its a gain something in one area, lose something in another. i like the sound of steel without picks for some things - the beautiful slow dreamy melodic type stuff.

i ran across this the other day and thought this guy had an interesting technique
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuLS-XsKHg8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNxsk7Yqdlk
as far as getting a mellower tone - its a combination between getting the picks shaped 'right' and actually using the tone knob - i rarely run the tone on any of my lap steels past the 'hump' around 2-3 ...just where the tone changes slightly. players coming from guitar tend to run the tone up to high and steel is just a different beast. on console steels, i'll run the tone around 6-7.
even with the best technique, if you run the tone wide open you will get all kinds of unmusical high end.

Joel Bloom · Post by **Joel Bloom** » 26 Jun 2014 5:39 am

Bill Hatcher wrote:i have never used a finger pick on my first finger or pinky. i use the pinky a LOT to grab melody notes. i dont use the thumb pick much. i will use one if i have a sore spot or a cuticle problem on my thumb from playing too much. i prefer the alaska piks for middle and ring. they clip under your nail and you have the pad of the finger to dampen when you need to.

Hi Bill, I did try these picks but ended up back to barefingers or my old dobro picks...I just couldn't get comfortable with them. Thanks mate for your input here.
Joel

Joel Bloom · Post by **Joel Bloom** » 26 Jun 2014 5:49 am

Jerome Hawkes wrote:Bobbe Seymour has a lot of videos on YT and he i probably the main steeler known for sans-finger picks. i know a lot of the slide players dont use picks and it fits that style fine. you didnt specify what style / type of instrument you are playing and around here, if you dont, we all tend to assume you are playing electric steel.

as with everything steel related, its a gain something in one area, lose something in another. i like the sound of steel without picks for some things - the beautiful slow dreamy melodic type stuff.

i ran across this the other day and thought this guy had an interesting technique
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuLS-XsKHg8

Hi Jerome -I didn't mention Murphey or later Vance Terry until my second post. I can't and won't play like them! ...but I love the tone of less attack..more of a jazzy? warm sound..
I do dampen in a similar way to the fella in the clip but I think he's using nails.. pick blocking ideas etc. Thanks, I will checkbout Bobee.

Thanks I will try these tone ideas as I probably play with the amp more than the guitar for tone.
Cheers

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 26 Jun 2014 6:28 am

That Raphael McGregor's right hand looks exactly like how Sonny Landreth plays on slide guitar, although he also uses a thumbpick (the Herco thumb/flatpick). He started by learning the Chet Atkins technique. But because Landreth is standing in front of a dimed-out Dumble amp, he also control other strings by jamming his fingers down in between them.

You can see MacGregor doing the same thing, actually locking out some strings from ringing while he's picking others with his pinky. It looks pretty hard, but - it's harder than it looks.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 26 Jun 2014 7:01 am

Joel Bloom wrote:Mike do you have any clips of your bare fingers playing? Do you use nails?
Ps..Looking fwd to the Murphey book...still no sign of it, but mail delays can happen out here.
Cheers,
Joel

I mostly use the flesh of my fingers, but I do use the nails some, too. This is a quick clip from a writing session--I was fleshing out a brand new idea.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10 ... 7868047958

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 26 Jun 2014 8:35 am

Buddy sans finger picks.

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 26 Jun 2014 9:04 am

Mike Neer wrote:Bill, I've been thinking about using Alaska picks for some time now, as I am at that place where I really enjoy playing with bare fingers, but miss the ability to have more speed and a wider dynamic range. But bare fingers made chordal playing better, and also different coloration to the notes.

trim them down to where they are as short as possible. also you need some nail to hook them under. i went online one day to try to find something new in fingerpicks and ran across them. found a music store on the way to my wed Church gig that had them. stopped in..bought some...put them on...trimmed them with a nail clipper and smoothed them with an emory board and went straight to the gig and used them! practiced on the steering wheel on the way...lol. i love those things. i bought about 100 so i would have a stash for a long time i hope.

i use those herco picks that look like a guitar pic. grind down the point on a belt sander till its rounder.