Fingernails on the picking hand: How do you Maintain them?

[sausagefingers]

I have kept index/middle/ring on my right (picking) hand at various lengths over the years, from bitten down short to beautifully long and sculpted (when I was really study classical seriously). Now I'm growing the middle and ring long (maybe 1/4" of white beyond where the fingertip flesh ends), but for hybrid or plucking use on electric. I still almost always hold a pick so I'm not really letting the index get long.

For the electric (especially countryish) players: What do you do to maintain nails? How about fake ones--any users? I myself probably could not bring myself to put on fakes.

Go ahead and post pics too please!

[Austinrocks]

really depends on what your playing, a classical guitar has nylon strings, and the nails are maintained.

here is lesson video on you tube for that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1leA0JKHhE


I had nails until my teacher showed me that they really get in the of my playing, they sound bad and result in other problems like getting hung up on a string or inconsistant tone. I now play with my pads and short fingernails and it sounds so much better on both acoustic and electric, and no nails to maintain, I play steel string electric and acoustic and find the pads are the best.

[chrisr777]

Bitten down short whenever they get too long here. I don't use finger picks either, just a flat pick and my fingers. It is the way I learned and I am comfortable with it.


P.S.
I play rock, not country.

[guildchild]

nails have always been a struggle for me. mine are just thin....and i bite them (not the right hand obviusly). i always keep middle and ring nails for hybrid country stuff, but it's become part of my playing other styles too.

anyway, i've found that if i keep them maintained everyday, i rarely get a tear and they last for quite a while.

method: i bought a file that has 7 grits on it. 1 and 2 are so course that you could sharpen a lawn mower blade. i start with #3 with a few mild shaping strokes, then work my way to the finest grit. at the end, they're really quite strong and smooth so they don't snag /tear on stuff. i always file in the direction of index to pinky as that is my motion for plucking the string. there is more glide and less chance of wearing on the string.

also, i always file before and after i play. the super fine grits don't take off any mass of the nail...it just makes it smooth.

i've had acrylics before, but stares and comments got to me.

[Ken Ho]

really depends on what your playing, a classical guitar has nylon strings, and the nails are maintained.

here is lesson video on you tube for that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1leA0JKHhE


I had nails until my teacher showed me that they really get in the of my playing, they sound bad and result in other problems like getting hung up on a string or inconsistant tone. I now play with my pads and short fingernails and it sounds so much better on both acoustic and electric, and no nails to maintain, I play steel string electric and acoustic and find the pads are the best.


Seems I'm agreeing with this guy again.
I used to grow and maintian nice nails when I mainly played acoustic, but on electric, they are just a pain.
I get much better and more predictable tone using the pads of my fingers, esp when hybrid picking. Using a nail on electric produces a sharp and bitey tone from the E and B strings that does not please my ear.
Even when I had nails, I used the pad mostly, and just let the nail flick the string as it went past for extra tone.
My nails also grow like a hobgoblins and are too straight to grow out nicely.

[mbetter]

nails have always been a struggle for me. mine are just thin....and i bite them (not the right hand obviusly). i always keep middle and ring nails for hybrid country stuff, but it's become part of my playing other styles too.

anyway, i've found that if i keep them maintained everyday, i rarely get a tear and they last for quite a while.

method: i bought a file that has 7 grits on it. 1 and 2 are so course that you could sharpen a lawn mower blade. i start with #3 with a few mild shaping strokes, then work my way to the finest grit. at the end, they're really quite strong and smooth so they don't snag /tear on stuff. i always file in the direction of index to pinky as that is my motion for plucking the string. there is more glide and less chance of wearing on the string.

also, i always file before and after i play. the super fine grits don't take off any mass of the nail...it just makes it smooth.

i've had acrylics before, but stares and comments got to me.

+1 to everything. I bite my nails but I've been able to keep my middle and ring in good shape for a while now. Clipping is a bad idea but if you file them consistently and keep them the right length you have the option to play with your nails or your pads. Acrylics are just yucky, I hated having them.

[57tele]

Seems I'm agreeing with this guy again.
I used to grow and maintian nice nails when I mainly played acoustic, but on electric, they are just a pain.
I get much better and more predictable tone using the pads of my fingers, esp when hybrid picking. Using a nail on electric produces a sharp and bitey tone from the E and B strings that does not please my ear.
Even when I had nails, I used the pad mostly, and just let the nail flick the string as it went past for extra tone.
My nails also grow like a hobgoblins and are too straight to grow out nicely.

Nails per se don't cause the bad tone, even on an electric. The key is the angle of the stroke--you have to hit the string obliquely, something like the shredders recommend doing with the pick. Hard to communicate over the web, but if you took it to its most extreme, imagine you're looking straight down at the string from on top. Hold your hand completely flat with your wrist away from you and the fingertips toward your belly, and the palm facing to your left side, and the back of your hand facing left. The nail is now completely perpendicular to the string, like, where the dotted line is the string and the | is your nail:

the air

----|---- <--the string

You

Then make the stroke moving the nail straight up toward your head, sliding it across the string. Of course, this is taking it to the most extreme--in practice the angle is a lot less acute, more like 30-40 degrees.

If you keep your nails filed the way they do in classical guitar (a whole art in itself), making that stroke with your nails on ANY guitar, will be far smoother and rounder than you can get with any pick.

I played classical at a fairly serious level at one point and when I started playing more electric, I faced the nails/no nails dilemma. I ended up keeping the classical nails, and have very little trouble on electric, though they tend to get a little worn after a long gig.

[7/4]

I started growing the ring and middle finger nails out on my right hand last year. I just use an emery board to keep them smooth and not too long.


That's all.

[Ken Ho]

Nails per se don't cause the bad tone, even on an electric. The key is the angle of the stroke--you have to hit the string obliquely, something like the shredders recommend doing with the pick. Hard to communicate over the web, but if you took it to its most extreme, imagine you're looking straight down at the string from on top. Hold your hand completely flat with your wrist away from you and the fingertips toward your belly, and the palm facing to your left side, and the back of your hand facing left. The nail is now completely perpendicular to the string, like, where the dotted line is the string and the | is your nail:

the air

----|---- <--the string

You

Then make the stroke moving the nail straight up toward your head, sliding it across the string. Of course, this is taking it to the most extreme--in practice the angle is a lot less acute, more like 30-40 degrees.

If you keep your nails filed the way they do in classical guitar (a whole art in itself), making that stroke with your nails on ANY guitar, will be far smoother and rounder than you can get with any pick.

I played classical at a fairly serious level at one point and when I started playing more electric, I faced the nails/no nails dilemma. I ended up keeping the classical nails, and have very little trouble on electric, though they tend to get a little worn after a long gig.

For me, it's got a lot to do with the shape of my nails.
They have a big curve going across, but grow very straight and fast, and don't have any longitudinal curve.
Yes, I can groom them to give good tone, but they grow so quickly, even a couple of days see too much nail at the lower edges, which starts to give tonal problems.
Perhaps I should have been more detailed, but my point is, I play comfortably and easily with good tone with short nails, which I can still use to augment the tone if I choose.
Don't even get me started on my thumbnails, which I can use as a can-opener if I want.

[57tele]

For me, it's got a lot to do with the shape of my nails.
They have a big curve going across, but grow very straight and fast, and don't have any longitudinal curve.
Yes, I can groom them to give good tone, but they grow so quickly, even a couple of days see too much nail at the lower edges, which starts to give tonal problems.
Perhaps I should have been more detailed, but my point is, I play comfortably and easily with good tone with short nails, which I can still use to augment the tone if I choose.
Don't even get me started on my thumbnails, which I can use as a can-opener if I want.

Oh yeah, didn't mean to imply that you couldn't get good tone with fingerpads. Lots of folks do it. The curved nail problem is a curse for a lot of classical guys. They teach you to file the nail flat from underneath so that if you point your finger right at your eye, you see a straight, flat line, with no overhang. If your nails are naturally curvy on the sides or hook down over the front, you can have a lot of trouble.

[guildchild]

Using a nail on electric produces a sharp and bitey tone from the E and B strings that does not please my ear.
Even when I had nails, I used the pad mostly, and just let the nail flick the string as it went past for extra tone.


i hear what you're saying, but that biting tone on the upper strings is kinda what you want when you're doing country stuff as the OP was emphasizing. of course, the stroke of chicken picken is WAY different than classical technique. when chicken picken, i want that string to 'snap'.

the counter argument (and the reason i finally went back to nails) is that my pick sounds far different that my pads. "click-thump-thump" or some variation depending on stroke. with my nails, the sound is more similar to the pick tone...maybe "click-cleck-cleck".

on a side note, i went home last night and took a look at the piles of picks i have laying around in the house. i noticed that of about 50 picks, maybe 10 didn't have gouges in them. of those 10, maybe 4 would pass a nail inspection. i get all up tight about my nails and then use a pick that looks like the tazmanian devil has been gnawing on it.

[BuddyGuit]

I broke a nail once (does that sound strange or what?!) and borrowed an emery board. The gal I borrowed it from saw me using it and told me the way to file was from the outside towards the center of the nail. I also use Hard As Nails (only on the nails I use) and I take a lot of calcium ... how ever it's spelled.

[trazan]

...imagine you're looking straight down at the string from on top. Hold your hand completely flat with your wrist away from you and the fingertips toward your belly, and the palm facing to your left side, and the back of your hand facing left.

English is my second language...but it sure sounds like I'd need a doctor to be able to to whatever it is you're describing :banana

That said, I prefer no nails on electric. I wouldn't mind having nails for acoustic, and especially nylon strings, but I mostly play electric and prefer the fuller sound of the pads when picking hybrid.

[57tele]

English is my second language...but it sure sounds like I'd need a doctor to be able to to whatever it is you're describing :banana

That said, I prefer no nails on electric. I wouldn't mind having nails for acoustic, and especially nylon strings, but I mostly play electric and prefer the fuller sound of the pads when picking hybrid.

LOL, yeah, that's a bit confused. My excuse is that I'm actually left-handed, so I started describing it the way I would do it, but realized it wouldn't make sense to a righty, so I changed it, but obviously, incompletely.

It should say:

...imagine you're looking straight down at the string from on top. Hold your hand completely flat with your wrist away from you and the fingertips toward your belly, and the palm facing to your right side, and the back of your hand facing left.

[Ken Ho]

i hear what you're saying, but that biting tone on the upper strings is kinda what you want when you're doing country stuff as the OP was emphasizing. of course, the stroke of chicken picken is WAY different than classical technique. when chicken picken, i want that string to 'snap'.

the counter argument (and the reason i finally went back to nails) is that my pick sounds far different that my pads. "click-thump-thump" or some variation depending on stroke. with my nails, the sound is more similar to the pick tone...maybe "click-cleck-cleck".

on a side note, i went home last night and took a look at the piles of picks i have laying around in the house. i noticed that of about 50 picks, maybe 10 didn't have gouges in them. of those 10, maybe 4 would pass a nail inspection. i get all up tight about my nails and then use a pick that looks like the tazmanian devil has been gnawing on it.

See, I'm not arguing, just discussing. I agree that sharp tone would be cool for country. I prefer a softer tone, think La Grange, which BFG hybrid-picked. That's one song where I'm focussing on getting that "thump-thump-thump". "Betterman" is another I'll finger pick, with a soft, warm neck humbucker tone.
It's all good. I'm not against nails at all. They can be a pain in my job too, and I just couldn't be arsed with them.
I'm fussy with picks. I buy bags at a time, and move em on as soon as they are a bit shagged, which can be an hour sometimes if I'm playing metal.

[Bryan T]

I keep my nails at the same length as my fingertip. I regularly file/polish them with a four or seven stage nail file. When I use a pick, I end up trying to find a pick that mimics my nail sound.

Bryan

[guildchild]

See, I'm not arguing, just discussing. I agree that sharp tone would be cool for country. I prefer a softer tone, think La Grange, which BFG hybrid-picked. That's one song where I'm focussing on getting that "thump-thump-thump". "Betterman" is another I'll finger pick, with a soft, warm neck humbucker tone.
It's all good. I'm not against nails at all. They can be a pain in my job too, and I just couldn't be arsed with them.
I'm fussy with picks. I buy bags at a time, and move em on as soon as they are a bit shagged, which can be an hour sometimes if I'm playing metal.

right! i'm not arguing AT ALL either. i used the term "argument" more in the academic sense. we are, after all, a bunch of guys (i assume) discussing nail care.

i used to rip through picks, and then i started buying them in mass. i guess that made me lazy because there were always a million picks in every room of the house. i played some of the hacked picks last night just to see what it was sounding like. i threw them all away and i'm going back to my rule that picks don't come home from gigs. they're done.

[sausagefingers]

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. I think there are multiple schools of thought here, partly dependent on the type of music or guitar we are playing. I have been filing mine with an emory board (m, a only) and not much past the flesh, somewhat pick-shaped.

Nonetheless, I still look down at my growing nails and want to bite em off.

[Ken Ho]

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. I think there are multiple schools of thought here, partly dependent on the type of music or guitar we are playing. I have been filing mine with an emory board (m, a only) and not much past the flesh, somewhat pick-shaped.

Nonetheless, I still look down at my growing nails and want to bite em off.


I could never relate to nail-biting, I think I'd break my teeth if I tried. I was always more of a pavement crack jumper.

[mbetter]

Bite the nails on your left hand instead.

[Austinrocks]

I could never relate to nail-biting, I think I'd break my teeth if I tried. I was always more of a pavement crack jumper.

grooves in brick walls, for me really polishes them up.

[derekd]

Interesting to hear your take Jim. I went with gel acrylics last year, and love'em. Just got back in from my restaurant gig where I am playing solo jazz guitar, and they are so good for that.

I love'em also for hybrid picking. This, after years of dealing with brittle nails, and dealing with a couple good ones, one broken one, etc. Besides, being 6'6" and 240lbs, half the fun is the looks I get when I go in for fills.

:rotflmao

[Jack Briggs]

I'm more of a fingerstyle blues player, myself. I don't use nail - just flesh. Of course most of the flesh has become a bit calloused.

[Boris Bubbanov]

This is a great thread, thanks guys.

I've had that nail fungus on my right little finger, which turned that nail to goo and kinda destabilized the end of the finger. Now that the healthy nail is after years fully grown out, I look forward to trying some old and new techniques.


Bubbanov


Speaking of little fingers, I wonder how Mr. Albert Lee is recovering from that broken arm?

[lagomorphian]

Besides, being 6'6" and 240lbs, half the fun is the looks I get when I go in for fills.

:rotflmao

When Johnny Hilland said he gets acryllics, I was picturing how out of place he'd look in any salon.

[cram]

short short and short.

One of my strengths (imo) on the 6 string is finger picking. I never use aided fingerpicks or my nails. The skin on all of my fingers is really thick and especially the side of my picking thumb...

I'm sure that I am missing out on the degrees of precision that someone can achieve, but this works for me.

Nails are something that can stick out and break which would bring things to a hault or atleast take a finger out of the equation.

Plus, scratches on my back - OK, scratches on hers - a little weird....

[cram]

this thread makes me think of the jack butler trio.. If you all want to see someone doing a different style of play - check them out. pretty good stuff.

[KRosser]

I never use fakes.

I just keep them filed with those metal files (don't use emory boards...) and give the edges a smooth finish with fine-grit sandpaper I get from Stringsbymail.com specifically for that purpose. i also use lots of hand moisturizers to keep them from getting brittle.

Then, shaping them right is the key...

All of my nail stuff comes from being trained as a classical player, so take it with the appropriate grain of salt.