The Steel Guitar Forum

The MOST frustrating thing about starting out has been that the metal picks I am using for the index/middle fingers keep flipping off (sorry for the pun). In some desperation, I tried one-inch blue painter's tape around the fingers first. Seems to work like a charm, but then it takes several minutes to get the tape off.

Does somebody have a better idea? Flesh-colored masking tape might look a bit better, I guess. Having a ball with this guitar, though.

Maybe you already tried this, but you can bend them to fit your fingers. Then you have to figure out which goes with which finger when you put them on.

I struggled to adapt to finger picks when I picked up bottleneck slide and I haven't gotten any closer to being comfortable with them sadly.

Hey Mike,
Stick your fingertip just in your mouth and get it wet. Push the pick on your finger. It'll stay there all night. Honest! Works for me and many others. Quick and easy! Works for the plastic thumb pick too.
Give it a try!
For those with an issue about sanitation, I always wash my hands before I play, whether guitar or steel, just to keep the necks and strings clean. Makes this method work just fine with no issues, compared to those who don't wash up and have poor hygiene!
Just trying to let you know what does work! As with most everything with guitars, nothing is written in stone, and whatever works for you is best for you.

Pat

My good friend Jack Ritter carries a travel size aerosol can of hairspray, in his pac-a-seat. Gets tacky and makes'em stick...lick & stick works well too, although some have questioned its sanitary? Just tell them "I don't like buggers on my pics!"

If you wear them enough you get permanent dents in your finger tip each side of the finger nail. Then they stay on more easily, Takes about 10 years....

Jeff Newman hated Dunlops. I'd recommend "'41s" from Bill at:

972/ 475-0633 • Fax 972/ 412-5862
Showcase • P.O. Box 1660 • Rowlett, TX 75030
bill@BillStokesShowcase.com

He's a great guy and makes terrific finger picks among other things...

What Pat said. I do that and they never come off. As a matter of fact when you want to take them off they're on really tight.

👍Exactly right Charlie! You do have to pull them off. Works with any style/brand of picks once you get them adjusted to your fingers!
Natural glue!
Thx, Pat🤔

Perfect Touch picks solved the problem for me, never had a pick come off.

Another thing that works well is shrink wrap, which you cab find at your local hardware store.

Perfect touch for Me too.The most comfortable picks I have used.

Pro Pics is the best I have found.

try fiddle rosin. easy to carry and works well.

I am a finger lick kind of guy. I've tried several of the sticky spays/ointments and even fiddle rosin. With them I would also touch somewhere on my guitar, and the sticky stuff would get on the guitar, and even the amp and effects. Ihave a new set of Nationals that I did the shrink wrap on, but they feel bulky and clunky. I keep them as emergency pick. I use Jeff Newman picks, but I assume they are no longer available.

It was mentioned earlier about bending your picks and having to figure out what pick goes on what finger. A Sharpie pen solves that problem. Use it to "paint" the part of the band that goes over the outside of the finger. Been doing this for years.

Any chance of a picture of a Perfect Touch pick please.the picks I use are pressed from a single piece of steel,there are no holes in them like most of the picks I have used,and I really like them but don,t seem to be able to find any of them anywhere on the net,any help in finding some would be great and appreciated.


Cheers.

I've been fighting with my fingerpicks for as long as I have been playing and still haven't found a perfect solution to keeping them in place. My latest variation is a combo approach. I'm using one latex ( or whatever ) coated pick on my index finger...you know...the red or black coated ones. And an ordinary Dunlop on my middle finger, applied with a bit of slobber. Seems to be working out for now. I don't like two coated picks because the thickness of the coating makes them bulky enough to drag against each other. One coated and one bare is better. I have more trouble keeping a pick on my index finger so that's where the coated one works best.

FWIW-- I always get up and away from my steel so no spray never gets on it, or any of my gear. I spray just the last joints on my pickin fingers, let them flash off and just before they dry I put on my picks where I use them. Wipe the picks and finger tips in a downward push 2 or 2 times on my right pant leg and they are ready to go. No problem with any hair spray on my strings or equipment. I use the JF picks.

To solve a problem it helps to analyse the cause. If like many successful pickers you bend the tips of the picks round level with your fingernail, and play with your fingers bent back on themselves, then the act of striking the string will tend to push the pick onto the finger. If you use them straight out of the box and/or have a more upright hand position, then you will be fighting the tendency for them to flip off.

The other thing that helps is a good fit. Round nose pliers and patience will do it. Play an exercise - tweak - play - tweak - it helps if you have an obsessive personality. It took me a good week to get my last set bedded in. A snug fit coupled with the tendency of your perspiration to etch the metal slightly does it for me.

I have used Dunlops, Newmans and Nationals and have found no difference in this regard.

I prefer the JF picks from Jeffran. Superior to dunlops in every way. Still available from www.jeffran.com

Dustin Rigsby wrote:I prefer the JF picks from Jeffran. Superior to dunlops in every way. Still available from www.jeffran.com

Cool. Thanks.

Randle's mention of fiddle resin is a good idea. I used to keep a block in my seat but got out of the habit recently. It is helpful and not messy.

Also, I usually rough up the inner surface of the picks with sandpaper or a scribe to add friction between the skin and metal.

National NP2s for fingers... propick long blade with shrink wrap for thumb

Randle's mention of fiddle resin is a good idea. I used to keep a block in my seat but got out of the habit recently. It is helpful and not messy.

Also, I usually rough up the inner surface of the picks with sandpaper or a scribe to add friction between the skin and metal.

I use clear nail polish for two reasons
1) it helps keep them on by making them slightly tacky, and;
2) it protects my fingers from the (admittedly minor) ravagettes (minor ravages) of the picks.
Most fingerpicks are an alloy containing copper and zinc (I think there's a third metal but I can't recall it).
Copper turns your fingers green, and the zinc dries the skin, making the fingers more prone to dry and split.

http://www.perfecttouchpicks.com
There you go Jimmy