The Steel Guitar Forum

Have any of you tried playing your steel without the use of picks; or, using very soft picks that do not produce the snapping of the strings?

I was doing some work with a choir at a church last night and the choir master requested a very soft but extended sound rather than the abrupt sound that a pick produces. Truthfully, I have never heard of a steeler not using his/her picks.

The other side of this, is there a way to use the picks that eliminates the sharp or abrupt tone that a hard pick produces?


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<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Les Anderson on 30 December 2004 at 11:05 AM.]</p></FONT>

Just for the heck of it I played a couple sets with no picks about 2 years ago when I was with a band based in Kansas that did a lot of fairs. I liked the tone but couldn't do the faster picking as well, and my thumb was getting sore too. I tried using a thumb pick and no picks on my other fingers and that was easier on my thumb. I did the same thing with my regular 6-string guitar. I can play fingerstyle or flatpick, normally use flatpick on electric and fingers on my nylon-string. I went back to using finger picks on steel and my flatpick on guitar mainly because I have a harder time doing any speed runs any other way, but there are times on electric guitar I prefer to use my fingers.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 30 December 2004 at 12:47 PM.]</p></FONT>

timely post. I am growing my nails a little longer on my picking hand.( it's not that I like to hear the click when I play a piano.)
I think that is a paraphrase from a Joe Ely tune. anyway...
when I am on my pedal steel I really like the softer tone from the plastic thumb pick, but the steel finger picks are harsh and clangy. I took them off and tried playing. now everything has a nice soft quality. low or high volume its good.
so now on my lap steels (various tunings)and acoustic guitar(standard tuning) I play without finger picks. I do flatpick and use my middle finger like always. its all more comfortable and if I have comfort playing I play better.
dont know if plastic finger picks exist.
my advice to you: go with what feels good for you. sometimes rules dont apply.

So far, i play without picks although i do have long nails. I'm a newbie so i'm not sure if i might start using picks in the future. There are some plastic picks called "alaska piks" that fit UNDER your nails and give a very natural sound. I use them sometimes for fingerpicking acoustic guitar. Elderly sells them.

Dr. Hugh Jeffreys plays with no picks and uses all five fingers of his right hand -- and he plays some very fast licks.

A few months ago I was at Bill Stafford's house when Joe Wright came in. Bill had just gotten his new 14 string Excel. Joe sat down, strummed across the strings, played around with the pedals and levers for a few minutes to see which pedal or lever did what, then took off on some of that fast stuff he plays -- without picks. He amazed us for a couple of hours, but finally had to quit, as he had started to get a blister on his thumb. I suppose that for Joe the tunings, pedals, levers and picks just don't matter.

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This is a common thread and if you search, you'll find LOTS of discussion on this topic. Many players see value in playing without picks but few abandon them altogether.

When you guys play without picks what do you do with your volume output and or do you change anything with your reverb settings?

I just spent the past 90 minutes running chords without picks and though it sounds soft, the volume seems to be lacking and the clearity is not as clear as I would expect from a steel. Is it because I can't hear properly what is coming out of my amp or do you guys reset your amps?

By the way, I wrapped some duct tape around two fingers but left my thumb bare. A different sound again? I think I am on to something!

I play without picks and these are the pros and cons i've discovered:

Pros
1. softer touch/sound for ballads etc
2. can mute the strings with the finger tips
3. more natural and comfortable feel for your fingers
4. no 'clanging' of picks on strings

Cons
1. consistant volume control from strings is difficult to maintain
2. lack of note attack, especially when soloing

Pete