Classical guitarists and fingerpickers!(fingernail question)

[MuyLoCo444]

How long do you keep your fingernails? I try not to have mine so long that they are obvious and people think I'm weird. Plus I like to do 2 hand tapping, and if they are too long then tapping is impossible. But at the same time I want good tone. So are your fingernails fairly long, medium, or short?

[gthom]

Mine are just long enough to be able to see the nails barely over the top of my fingertips when looking at my palms.

[sixgunner455]

I don't care what people think of my nails. I only care about the hassle of caring for them, and breakage. I grow them longer than a lot of people do, because I get better tone that way. Thinking of getting acrylics, actually.

[riffmeister]

I aim for mediocre!

[NealP]

I finger pick exclusively, and use flesh only. Makes me think of fingernails on a blackboard, the thought of using my fingernails to actually "pick" a note, strumming, effect, yes, picking, no.

[MuyLoCo444]

 

I aim for mediocre!

 

 

Wrong use of terminology, I meant medium.

[riffmeister]

I know, I was just :poke:-ing fun!

 

I play electric guitar and nylon string acoustic guitar, and I keep my nails at a length such that when I put my extended finger on a table top, both nail and flesh make contact with the table top when the finger is about 10-20 degrees (that's very approximate) off of perpendicular.

 

Better yet, here's a pic:

 

[garthman]

I started to learn to fingerpick at the same time I started to learn to play guitar and the fingernails of my right hand have been long since then.

 

Rather than be embarrassed, I wear them proudly. When I was a lad several attractive young ladies were lured by the obvious discrepancy in length between my LH and RH nails and the reasons why it was so and, indeed, one of the reasons my wife married me was because of my expert back-scratching ability.

 

These are mine:

 

[GuitarVlog]

The "length" of your nails will depend on a number of factors among which may include:

 

[ccasey]

 

I finger pick exclusively, and use flesh only. Makes me think of fingernails on a blackboard, the thought of using my fingernails to actually "pick" a note, strumming, effect, yes, picking, no.

 

 

You and Laurence Juber! And, hopefully, me ... I flatpick primarily, but love fingerstyle guitar, and am working on it at present. I've tried nails but have a terrible time with them, and have also tried various fingerpicks, but can't get into them. Finally, I read about various great fingerpickers, including LJ, who play with neither, and realized that was the route for me.

 

Chris

[blue2blue]

 

Mine are just long enough to be able to see the nails barely over the top of my fingertips when looking at my palms.

 

This is how I try to even them up, looking at them from the palm side.

 

Of course, I always file, never clip. I can do my left in 20 seconds and the right usually takes... depends on how long I've let them go (not recommended, I just hate the hassle -- but I try to remind myself I have losing one more)... maybe 10 or even 15 minutes sometimes.

[Samilyn]

 

Mine are just long enough to be able to see the nails barely over the top of my fingertips when looking at my palms.

 

 

This ^

[blue2blue]

I started to learn to fingerpick at the same time I started to learn to play guitar and the fingernails of my right hand have been long since then. Rather than be embarrassed, I wear them proudly. When I was a lad several attractive young ladies were lured by the obvious discrepancy in length between my LH and RH nails and the reasons why it was so and, indeed, one of the reasons my wife married me was because of my expert back-scratching ability. These are mine:

A few times a year I have people ask me if I'm a guitarist and they usually point out it was the difference. It makes them feel like Sherlock Holmes.

[peanutroad]

 

I finger pick exclusively, and use flesh only. Makes me think of fingernails on a blackboard, the thought of using my fingernails to actually "pick" a note, strumming, effect, yes, picking, no.

 

 

I'm another of those who prefers the fingertip over the nail. I do think it makes it easier to transfer my finger picking to other (metal string) instruments. But having just a teensy of fingernail length can help support the fingertip, even if the nail never actually touches the string.

[10ae1203]

I am a working foreman for a construction company. I can't grow fingernails long enough to play with. Interestingly enough (to me, anyhow), I still have to try not to cut them too short or break them too deep in.

 

I have started filing. I am a bit embarrassed at how much of a fingernail fuss pot I have turned into.

 

I have a short index finger on the left hand. This makes me have to be extra diligent watching that one.

[Beemer2]

 

I finger pick exclusively, and use flesh only. Makes me think of fingernails on a blackboard, the thought of using my fingernails to actually "pick" a note, strumming, effect, yes, picking, no.

 

 

When "flesh picking" (mmmm chicken tonight!) do you develop callouses on your picking fingers and if you do does the tone change to your liking?

 

Ian

[NealP]

The fingertips harden, but do not callus. The thumb gets a bit of one, it may need an Emory board every few months.

 

Peanutroad's observation about the bit of length is true, helps to have some fingernail for support. But ewwwww.. the thought of actually picking "up" with a fingernail gives me the willies. I've never had strong fingernails anyway, so I can imagine that one would learn to use what they have, and not learn with what they don't.

[guitapick]

I know, I was just :poke:-ing fun! I play electric guitar and nylon string acoustic guitar, and I keep my nails at a length such that when I put my extended finger on a table top, both nail and flesh make contact with the table top when the finger is about 10-20 degrees (that's very approximate) off of perpendicular. Better yet, here's a pic:

That's around the length I've got mine. Mine are a shade shorter. I don't have a problem with tapping at that length, either.

[DeadNight Warrior]

Mine used to be quite long, maybe a good 3mm from the tip of my finger. I filed them down a bit on one side so they'd roll off the string better, and I'd basically play on only my nails.

 

After many times cutting them back and then very much regretting it, I finally decided a while back I was going just have to get used to it. Having those long nails stopped me from working on tapping, and more importantly stopped me from playing fingerstyle bass. So now for bass I keep my nails down as short as possible. Took a lot of getting used to on guitar, and I still prefer having nails (in both sound and feel).

 

 

And yeah, people generally found the long nails quite creepy. Meh... their problem, not mine.