The Steel Guitar Forum

I have nationals, and I'm having trouble keeping the picks attached to my fingers. Metals on fingers, plastic for thumb.
Any suggestions?

There are many ways of treating picks with various substances, but I favour a good fit. Round-nose pliers and patience. A lot depends on your hand shape and angle of attack. If your fingers bend back towards you, then less of a problem. A more upright position is more likely to dislodge them. My Nationals stick better now the newness has worn off.

Dave,
The one thing that has worked consistently for me is to lick my fingers. Of course, wash your hands first. But this suggestion came from a post I read about Buddy doing it, and if you watch some videos and are lucky enough to catch him putting his finger picks on you'll see him do it. One vid in particular is the Laney Hicks vid of Nameless Shuffle. Watch close as he gets ready...it's only a second or two in the video when you can see him do it.

I tried rosin, gummy stuff, double stick tape, and other things, but shaping the picks to my fingers and licking them has really worked. I have to wait a few minutes for my fingers to dry but then the picks are "locked" in place and I hardly ever have to adjust them afterwards. If I can't wash my hands I have a small bottle of hand sanitizer in my bench that I use.

Hope that helps.

I use Gorilla Snot.

Try this: http://www.sticky-picks.com/

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=228721

Made by top-notch steel player Wayne Hobbs, one of our local heroes.

Clean hands and picks. Wash them both, often. Wash the bar too.

When a plastic thumb pick starts to feel loose, get a new one. I replace thumb picks about once a week. They're cheap.

Use heat shrink on metal finger picks.

This is interesting to me. I usually practice for an hour in the morning and a couple of hours at night. I notice that my picks do not fit in the morning. At night, they are loose to the point where they feel like they're going to come off. I'm starting to think I need two sets.

My fingerpicks (National NP2s) work fine. I use needle nose pliers and shape the NP2s to fit real tight. They are not comfortable but they do not go anywhere.

But I have not found a plastic thumbpick that works well at all. I think Dunlop got its name because their thumbpick has Done Lopped over.

For Banjo I use Dunlop nickel silver thumbpicks but on steel I would like to use plastic. I have some Fred Kelly thumbpicks that are tight and don't do so bad. National thumbpicks feel better but they move on me more.



Part of it might be since I started as a banjo player first I really bend the tips of my finger picks around my finger tips and they don't bite as straight into the strings like the thumb pick does.

Lick your fingers. Works like a charm.

Thanks everyone for the helpful suggestions. I'll try them all. Guess that'll make me a finger licker/picker.

I agree with licking your fingers...works great for me. Also Kelly thumb picks is all I will ever use...they work great for me for steel, guitar and banjo.

I've always used (heat shrink tubing) on National picks and
on Dunlop brass picks finger licking always does the job.
The most comfortable thumb picks for me are Dunlop "Ultex".

Go to dollar store and get stick glue. I got a 3 pack. Just dab on fingers and they will stay. Works good for picking 6 string also. Bob M

Go to dollar store and get stick glue. I got a 3 pack. Just dab on fingers and they will stay. Works good for picking 6 string also. Bob M

I am another one who has always just licked my fingers - hygiene being an important factor of course hehe

The metals of the picks bothers me: the copper turns my fingers green and the zinc dries the skin. So I paint the insides of my picks with clear nail polish. This also makes them slightly grippy.

Carl Kilmer wrote:I've always used heat shrink tubing

Me too. I also have some of the late Andy Hinton's picks with the part that goes on your fingers is powder coated, but the blades are not.

I've been using a product called tool magic that you can get at Joann fabrics for around $5. It's typically used to coat tool parts such as plier jaws. If you dip the band of the pick in it it will give you a nice coating that makes the picks comfortable and lasts a long time.

Thanks again to all who responded with great suggestions (mostly licking your fingers after washing them)

Marty Broussard wrote:Dave,
The one thing that has worked consistently for me is to lick my fingers. Of course, wash your hands first. But this suggestion came from a post I read about Buddy doing it, and if you watch some videos and are lucky enough to catch him putting his finger picks on you'll see him do it. One vid in particular is the Laney Hicks vid of Nameless Shuffle. Watch close as he gets ready...it's only a second or two in the video when you can see him do it.

I tried rosin, gummy stuff, double stick tape, and other things, but shaping the picks to my fingers and licking them has really worked. I have to wait a few minutes for my fingers to dry but then the picks are "locked" in place and I hardly ever have to adjust them afterwards. If I can't wash my hands I have a small bottle of hand sanitizer in my bench that I use.

Hope that helps.

Marty,

When I was a kid, we were poor and my dad would take us to Kentucky Fried Chicken and let us lick other people's fingers.

RC

I use a product called LokTite Fun-Tak.
Just a pinch between my fingernail and fingerpick.

I call it... Blue Stuff

Pete:
Thanks for the advice. See photo for the locations as I understand you.

Here is a very old discussion ---> Click Here

Here is one that is more recent ---> Click Here

Yes, I put a little on the fingernail just in front of where it meets the skin, then slide the pick on over it, kind of putting the pick on over the blue stuff first, then sliding the rest of the fingertip into the pick. You can experiment a bit to get it it right.
It usually gets mostly worked in to the pick, and mostly stays on the pick.
Very comfortable.
I usually only use it on the metal fingerpicks, but when I play Autoharp (alot more strummy) I use it on the thumb, too.

Had this problem. Several months ago in a previous thread on this subject someone recommended Saddle picks. Got some. End of problem. They stay put and are comfortable to boot.