# Looking for Classical Guitar Fingerpicks



## right_to_rage (Feb 20, 2010)

So I'm thinking about hitting the practice room hard to prepare a few hours worth of music in order to avoid getting a 'real' summer job. There's lots of money in solo guitar gigs so this is my choice! 
I used to play classical guitar pretty seriously until a year or two ago when I decided to devote my time to playing my own songs on the electric guitar. I still want to keep writing, and my music contains a lot of right hand tapping that will not facilitate long the long fingernails necessary for playing the nylon strings! I looked at alaska picks, but I'm not even sure if that much nail is acceptable. 
I'm not trying to play for an audience of classical guitarists like I used to, I just want to play weddings and low key stuff with good tone, and no nails. 
Any suggestions?


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## Uncle Remus (Feb 20, 2010)

This is relevant to my interests...

Sorry if the bump got you excited


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## bulletbass man (Feb 20, 2010)

honestly i do a lot of finger tapping on electric guitar and am a classical guitarist and really the length of nail which imo facilitates the best tone really isn't very long at all. I've never liked any picks because it's nearly impossible to get enough finger on the pluck. I never had an issue with tapping though I did have to slightly adjust my wrist angle.


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## xiphoscesar (Feb 20, 2010)

ernie ball finger picks


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## neoclassical (Feb 20, 2010)

You don't need that much length and if you ramp your nail shape you should be able to find a spot for tapping. I used to keep my right hand nails way to long, now they are long enough for a good tone..


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## right_to_rage (Feb 21, 2010)

Im thinking about just using my finger tips, it sounds fine just sort of mellow in comparison. thanks


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## bulletbass man (Feb 22, 2010)

grow your fingernails only so that if looking at your finger tips in other direction straight on you can only barely see them. That's all the nail length you need for a good tone.


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## distressed_romeo (Feb 23, 2010)

I know Chris Broderick likes the Alaska Picks, but even so, I'd start off by experimenting with bare flesh, or just a tiny bit of nail, as guys like Steve Morse and Dominic Miller get great tones out of nylon strings this way. You may end up finding you prefer the warmer sound of bare fingers to the sound of nails.


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## ArtDecade (Feb 24, 2010)

Leo Kottke uses his fingertips (and sometimes a thumbpick) and he has great tone and projection. I've tried the Alaska Picks, but they always seem to throw me off. I can't get a very natural tremolo with them. Of course, I only spent a few hours with them before moving onto other things.


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## Mexi (Mar 2, 2010)

honestly, you sacrifice a lot of the warmth you get from nylon strings without nails, I'd probably just grow em out enough so that you hit the strings with your nails but not too long as to compromise your electric tapping stuff


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## ElRay (Mar 2, 2010)

Just play. If anybody complains, just tell them that you don't agree with Tarrega and you focus on pre-1800 playing styles. 

Seriously though, don't under estimate the power of minimal nails. If you're doing free strokes "correctly", they'll be long enough. They may need a bit of an adjustment to you rest strokes. Micro nails are also stronger than longer ones. I can still shred them if I play hard on my steel-string acoustic (which I have heavier strings on), but I can play electric with lighter strings without messing-up my nails.

Another trick is to fold a piece of sand paper over the strings and play a few notes. You'll see a flat spot on your nails, so you'll know what spot you really need to keep.

Ray


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