Hey Neil!
I am very much into fingerpicking and I want to go to the next level. I see you have some sweet fingernails in your videos and wanting to know how you keep them maintained. I know you can put on acrylic nails which I have thought about doing, but I believe you can also grow them naturally. I want to have the fingernails for fingerpicking and not use fingerpicks. I did grow my fingernails naturally out a few times, but they must not be shaped right. I always seem to catch the strings the wrong way because they are not shaped. Could you possibly make a video or explain how you do it?
Thanks!
-Paul
Fingernail Maintenance For Fingerstyle Guitar
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thereshopeyet
- Posts: 131
- Joined: Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:19 pm
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Hello Bill
I've always wondered about Tone Production
David Jaggs interesting two part video series which is very affordable.
The first is about nails and in the second part plays various classical guitars.
He demonstrates with natural nails.
I tried acrylic and have to say it was like very awkward for me, this first time round.
I reckon I'd need to spend a lot of time experimenting to find something that might work for me.
I felt like a total beginner again !
My own nails never grow too long and are quite brittle.
My original thought was that it would be nice to have the nail tone available.
I've seen many varying opinions mostly favorable, thats way I tried.
What would your thoughts be on the matter.
Dermot
I've always wondered about Tone Production
David Jaggs interesting two part video series which is very affordable.
The first is about nails and in the second part plays various classical guitars.
He demonstrates with natural nails.
I tried acrylic and have to say it was like very awkward for me, this first time round.
I reckon I'd need to spend a lot of time experimenting to find something that might work for me.
I felt like a total beginner again !
My own nails never grow too long and are quite brittle.
My original thought was that it would be nice to have the nail tone available.
I've seen many varying opinions mostly favorable, thats way I tried.
What would your thoughts be on the matter.
Dermot
Dermot,
I tried acrylic glue on nails and didn't like them at all. Also the nail glue damaged my own nails.
I am going to refer you to my post to Michele regarding "silk wrap gel nails" I resort to them if I break a nail and find them to be quite good. You would have to grow you natural nails to a length where they are useable. The silk wrap gel nails reinforce your nails so they don't break as often. Below is a copy and paste of my post to Michele:
Hi Michele,
I've always used a thumb pick. Like anything else, it's what one gets used to. I can "go bare back" but usually don't because I'm not willing to grow a thumb nail. That means my bass notes are too muffled without the thumb pick. My pick of choice is the Ernie Ball medium. For someone not accustomed to using a thumb pick it would probably be hated because it is long and requires the thumb to be held a little further from the string.
I do use nails on my index, middle and ring fingers and occasionally run into breakage problems. My solution to that is silk wrap and nail gel. Once you get the hang of using your left hand to do it, it works very well. There is a thread in this forum on James Taylor's method of reinforcing your nails. I WOULD NOT recommend it, because he uses nail GLUE rather than GEL; that can damage the nail.
The products to use are these:
1. Supernail Swiss Silk Wrap
2. ibd Brush-on Gel Resin
3. All Season Nails "Bio-Set" resin activator; or another brand of resin activator (this step is very important unless you want to wait 5 minutes or more between coats). The resin sets instantly with this product.
Here's a youtube lesson on the process:
The repair usually lasts 2 weeks. There is no damage done to the nail unlike other methods, and the wrap is easy to remove by soaking it in nail polish remover. You can extend a broken nail slightly by using several coats of gel (maybe 5 or so). I hope this helps.
Bill
I tried acrylic glue on nails and didn't like them at all. Also the nail glue damaged my own nails.
I am going to refer you to my post to Michele regarding "silk wrap gel nails" I resort to them if I break a nail and find them to be quite good. You would have to grow you natural nails to a length where they are useable. The silk wrap gel nails reinforce your nails so they don't break as often. Below is a copy and paste of my post to Michele:
Hi Michele,
I've always used a thumb pick. Like anything else, it's what one gets used to. I can "go bare back" but usually don't because I'm not willing to grow a thumb nail. That means my bass notes are too muffled without the thumb pick. My pick of choice is the Ernie Ball medium. For someone not accustomed to using a thumb pick it would probably be hated because it is long and requires the thumb to be held a little further from the string.
I do use nails on my index, middle and ring fingers and occasionally run into breakage problems. My solution to that is silk wrap and nail gel. Once you get the hang of using your left hand to do it, it works very well. There is a thread in this forum on James Taylor's method of reinforcing your nails. I WOULD NOT recommend it, because he uses nail GLUE rather than GEL; that can damage the nail.
The products to use are these:
1. Supernail Swiss Silk Wrap
2. ibd Brush-on Gel Resin
3. All Season Nails "Bio-Set" resin activator; or another brand of resin activator (this step is very important unless you want to wait 5 minutes or more between coats). The resin sets instantly with this product.
Here's a youtube lesson on the process:
The repair usually lasts 2 weeks. There is no damage done to the nail unlike other methods, and the wrap is easy to remove by soaking it in nail polish remover. You can extend a broken nail slightly by using several coats of gel (maybe 5 or so). I hope this helps.
Bill
-
thereshopeyet
- Posts: 131
- Joined: Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:19 pm
- Status: Offline
Bill
David Jaggs excellent videos are mainly about natural nails but I suppose that doesn't matter
the shape concept is the same. The material, Nail or Acrylic may affect tone differently I suppose.
I saw the silk wraps but the white tip puts me off it's kind of feminine looking if you know what I mean?
On Douglas Neidt's site he suggests Rico nails as they are stong and wearing, I haven't looked into it enough yet
as I think they sport white tips too.
From what I gather they have to be very smooth for best tone.
I had Clear acrylic put on again and polished them up in stages with micromesh up to 12,000 grit (shiny).
Friendly girl, Lindsay, she was interested and tells me she used to be a joiner!
Unfortunately a road accident put an end to her passion joinery.
As nails grow and the acrylic wears, I gather they only last a few weeks but that can last a little longer if
looked after.
I'll keep experimenting.
From what I picked up it's really individual as no two people are the same.
Thanks Bill.
Dermot
Click Images To Enlarge:
David Jaggs excellent videos are mainly about natural nails but I suppose that doesn't matter
the shape concept is the same. The material, Nail or Acrylic may affect tone differently I suppose.
I saw the silk wraps but the white tip puts me off it's kind of feminine looking if you know what I mean?
On Douglas Neidt's site he suggests Rico nails as they are stong and wearing, I haven't looked into it enough yet
as I think they sport white tips too.
From what I gather they have to be very smooth for best tone.
I had Clear acrylic put on again and polished them up in stages with micromesh up to 12,000 grit (shiny).
Friendly girl, Lindsay, she was interested and tells me she used to be a joiner!
Unfortunately a road accident put an end to her passion joinery.
As nails grow and the acrylic wears, I gather they only last a few weeks but that can last a little longer if
looked after.
I'll keep experimenting.
From what I picked up it's really individual as no two people are the same.
Thanks Bill.
Dermot
Click Images To Enlarge:
That video is pretty much how I approach nails even for steel string. The main difference is, like some others here, I use acrylics. Every time this topic comes up, there's a debate about whether or not they're bad for you, and I've heard both sides from credible medical professionals. All I can say is that I've had them non-stop for 20 years, with no problems. My wife's worn hers much longer. Although there are some notable exceptions, acrylic nails are practically standard equipment for steel string fingerstyle players, regular nails just don't hold up for most people, unless they're lucky to have super-tough natural nails. Mine last about a month, and they don't wear out, the nail just grows out. They'd last probably 2 months as far as being useful for playing, but they start to look bad after 1. I just go the shop for a "fill", where they fill in the back part that has grown out. $15 and about 15 minutes for my nail lady. As the guy says in the video, the two tricks are a slight ramp, and smooth as possible. I check mine by sliding over a string, where I can hear and feel every little glitch. When they're smooth as glass, they sound good.
I still remember when I first tried them. It took maybe a week to get used to playing with them, and longer to fine tune and learn to dial in the ramp and smoothness - in fact I fuss with that all the time. But I knew instantly that it was a 2000% improvement in my tone and that the learning curve was going to be worthwhile. If I had to stop using acrylics for some reason, I'd probably just have to quit playing
I think I did a lesson on tone some time back for TG where I talked/demo'd a bit about nails. Might make an interesting in-person comparison/discussion at IGC next year, everyone can do a nail show and tell!
I still remember when I first tried them. It took maybe a week to get used to playing with them, and longer to fine tune and learn to dial in the ramp and smoothness - in fact I fuss with that all the time. But I knew instantly that it was a 2000% improvement in my tone and that the learning curve was going to be worthwhile. If I had to stop using acrylics for some reason, I'd probably just have to quit playing
I think I did a lesson on tone some time back for TG where I talked/demo'd a bit about nails. Might make an interesting in-person comparison/discussion at IGC next year, everyone can do a nail show and tell!