Finger Picks

Robert Mader · Post by **Robert Mader** » 1 Jan 2014 6:24 am

I have a question maybe someone can answer for me please. I bought a couple different Pedal Steel Guitar courses and in one course the instructor insists that you use his finger picks. My question is ! Is there a certain kind of pick I should be using or is it a matter of preference?

Jim Bob Sedgwick · Post by **Jim Bob Sedgwick** » 1 Jan 2014 6:32 am

Only you can determine which picks work the best or you. Matter of preference

Ken Metcalf · Post by **Ken Metcalf** » 1 Jan 2014 6:54 am

Keep trying different ones until you find things you like.
The main trick is take a pair of needle nose pliers and get the shape and fit you like.
It is largely what you are used to.
I have seen people fit them many different ways..
The shape I picked in the beginning was to line it up with my fingernail in case I had to make a new on one the spot... That way it should be less difficult to replicate.
Nationals are the ones I use most and the Perfect touch picks are the most comfortable.
Ether way you need to get used to something and work from there experimenting.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 1 Jan 2014 6:59 am

Correct. Some teachers endorsed stuff because they believe in it, others because they got paid. Pick choice is pretty minimal in importance.

Robert Mader · Post by **Robert Mader** » 1 Jan 2014 7:04 am

Thank you for your response greatly appreciated.

Wayne Neal · Post by **Wayne Neal** » 1 Jan 2014 5:52 pm

I had trouble at first with finger picks and was using glue on nails(I played lead guitar for years like this).

If you like to "feel" the string with your finger tips there are a couple out there that will let that happen for you.

Pro pick true touch(I'm pretty sure is what they are called)

And Butterfly finger picks...this is what I started using for lead and steel and I love them.

Just let me say it is way better to use picks than to fight it like I did

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 1 Jan 2014 6:39 pm

Correct. Some teachers endorsed stuff because they believe in it, others because they got paid. Pick choice is pretty minimal in importance.

Sorry Lane. I can't disagree more with this. I, and several others, have found some picks just are no good for us. Me, I hate and can't use Dunlops because of that stupid bent flange on the band. I also don't like Nationals, although I used them for many years, dealing with the bands breaking, the bands cutting into the fingers above the fingernail. It would sometimes take months for me to get Nationals bent right, and they were still uncomfortable. Never had a National even last a year for me. I then found Jeff Newman's picks. They are comfortable, bend into shape easier, and I just had the band crack in one that I have been using since 1999 a couple of months ago. A friend gave me a National to hold me over until I could get my hands on another JF pick. Never did get it to a point of being comfortable and continued using the broken JF, just had to keep pushing it back on my finger.

I think pick choice is a very big deal, to me even more so than string brands (although there are some string brands that will never set foot on my guitar again). Many can make Nationals and Dunlops work great for them more so than any other brand. I just couldn't and know several others who use different brands of picks because they can make that brand work for them when other brands don't.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 1 Jan 2014 11:30 pm

that's the first i've heard of a steel teacher having an endorsement deal.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 2 Jan 2014 3:58 am

Richard, would you tell your students that ONLY pick X would work? Personally, I find your hated Dunlops my favorite, Nationals and JF I haven't the patience to get them comfortable, and Propiks had the second band keep hitting the strings. But I wouldn't tell a student that they mustn't use the others.
Chris, I haven't either, but my cynical streak wouldn't be surprised if it had happened.
Jeff is a special case, as he marketed his own.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 2 Jan 2014 5:08 am

If the course was from Jeff Newman, Jeff promoted and sold his own brand of picks.

I've used/tried many different brands over the years. I have relatively small (thin )fingers and some brands didn't fit. e.g. the Jeff Newman's, who Jeff claimed fits everyone, were made and bent for larger fingers and unless I cut some of the band metal I couldn't get them small enough for my fingers.

I used Dunlop .025's for a long time. I went back to National's NP2's and have used them for the last 5 years. I have a pair of 1941's and also use them interchangeably with the Nationals.

Bill Moore (RIP) · Post by **Bill Moore (RIP)** » 2 Jan 2014 6:08 am

Around the time that I had been playing for about 9-10 months, I attended a Jeff Newman weekend class. At the time, I was using Dunlop picks, Jeff gave me a set of his picks. I've used them ever since. Not the same pair, even though I still have the original set.

I think they are the best, and I agree with Jeff that they make you sound better. I think it was more than just Jeff wanting to sell picks, his picks are different and he felt they were the best. He was a great player and teacher, and also a very intelligent guy that had put a lot of thought into his work.

Roger Francis · Post by **Roger Francis** » 2 Jan 2014 7:42 am

JF picks here too, i dont even notice they are on my fingers, very comfy and they stay on

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 2 Jan 2014 9:08 am

Lane. No I wouldn't tell a student, or anyone that what I use is the only thing that will work. They will ask my opinion and will tell them, but they still choose to use what they want. My point was aimed more at your statement about "Pick choice is pretty minimal in importance." I believe it to be very important. Even as important as the right shoes to make you feel comfortable and able to work the pedals more easily, etc... If your picks aren't comfortable, you will not pick as well. The Dunlops would hit the string above what I was picking because of that curved band.

I do agree with the statement that some endorse stuff because they are sponsored by the company or they make their own.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 2 Jan 2014 9:57 am

jeff is a special case (in many ways, ha ha)
i still can't imagine a neighborhood steel teacher having any connection with (of all things) a fingerpick company. sounds pretty ridiculous to me.
....'well ol' bill over thar in kentuckyville, he's got him a dozen students now. we better cash in on this bandwagon!'

i find jf picks ,1941's and nationals essentially the same in weight, firmness and bendability.

i just don't like thinner or lighter gauge picks cause they don't clamp on as securely.

Henry Matthews · Post by **Henry Matthews** » 2 Jan 2014 10:06 am

Richard, I would have to agree with you on the Dunlaps, I can't use them at all. I guess it's the angle I attach strings. The little flange hangs on another string almost every time. I've also tried the Jeff Newman Diamond picks and they seem a little hard or stiff for me but they are comfortable.

My picks are really critical to my playing and don't know why. I believe I'd rather switch guitars than picks. I use Kysers now and have one set I carry every where I play. I have another set that look and are bent identical to my main ones but they just don't feel right and that's weird. I also have two Pro-Pick thumb picks that I got from Tommy. One feels good and the other doesn't.

I just give advice to the few I've help get started on steel but still it all boils down to what works for you may not work for the other person.

David Scheidler · Post by **David Scheidler** » 2 Jan 2014 6:22 pm

Hey guys - let's not argue. Don't you realize that we're all supposed to be using nothing but The Ultimate Fingerpick?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/157 ... onator-pic

David Scheidler · Post by **David Scheidler** » 2 Jan 2014 6:25 pm

Or these beauties...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fingerstyle-Gui ... 1c36bfc620

Tom Gorr · Post by **Tom Gorr** » 2 Jan 2014 9:48 pm

Both of those alternative picks are pretty cool. Always amazes me how NOT everything is figured out.

Henry Matthews · Post by **Henry Matthews** » 2 Jan 2014 10:05 pm

Cool, yes, but don't think they would work that well for steel. Maybe just on really slow stuff they would be ok. The finger nails sure wouldn't, angle of attach wrong for any speed.

Wayne Neal · Post by **Wayne Neal** » 3 Jan 2014 3:31 am

I am using the Butterfly picks for steel and tele and I love them...I did a little cris -cross adjustment to mine to make them fit a little tighter.

Jerry Horch · Post by **Jerry Horch** » 3 Jan 2014 2:47 pm

I think alot of pick preferance depends on your finger attack...or the curl of your fingers and the amount of bend on the pick.I think a strait attack on the string rather than a more glansing blow works for me.And a straight rake on the thumb too.. So my picks are bent more radically than most .. and my fingers probably curl a little more . But thats whats comfortable for me. My first mentor Joe Adams showed me and it stuck. And he's got a heck of a right hand and touch..I also believe it depends on if you curl all your fingers or grip with the pinkie and its neighbor out , like me. A palm blocker right now.So try em all and get what feels good.I use Dunlops 18 guage

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 4 Jan 2014 3:36 am

Paul Franklin commented one time that he didn't bend his finger picks. Used them "straight" as they come new.

Don't know if he still does that.

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 4 Jan 2014 10:05 am

John McClung · Post by **John McClung** » 4 Jan 2014 8:53 pm

For Chris Ivey: if it weren't for my endorsement contract with Black Diamond for my using their National NP-2 fingerpicks, I'd be out of the teaching business...and they'd probably hardly sell any of those great picks!

John McClung · Post by **John McClung** » 4 Jan 2014 8:57 pm

Rich Sinkler: brother, how hard do you pick?! I've never had a National wear out or break, they're all I use.

I do like single wrap Pro Picks as a backup, but hate the dual wrap model, way too fiddly.

Dunlop: I agree with Jeff Newman, forgot them! The big flanges get hung up in strings, and the tone just isn't there. I give all my students a dissertation on picks, they usually come around to my informed opinion.