hi guys..
just broke my thumb nail really badly at work...sheared across about half way up...OUCH!!!!!!!!!! :x
well i know its gonna be a few months growing back and was wondering about maybe getting a thumb pick as I prefer playing fingerstyle.
any feedback/advice most welcome...mainly how these things feel...metal/plastic etc..plusses and minuses
OR
do I just bite the bullet and go strum/pick with a plec for the foreseeable??
I use thumbpicks and fingerpicks a lot, because IMO a resonator just doesn't sound nearly as good played with bare fingers. I've started using them a good bit on regular acoustic and electric guitars, too, where they make a bright sound with a sharp attack. Using a thumbpick alone without the fingerpicks is an old favorite. The well known pic of Robert Johnson with a guitar shows him playing that way. A nice thing is that you can always grasp the thumbpick between your index finger and thumb and use it as a flatpick. There are a zillion kinds with their own pluses and minuses. When I want a really stiff one, my favorite is the extra-heavy pearloid Golden Gate. When I want a flexible one, I love the Fred Kelly Speed Picks.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
For a steel strung acoustic my opinion is that a plastic thump pick is the best because it gives strong bass and rhythm which often seems to be lacking from players who use the thumb nail. I wouldn't use a metal thumb pick or any type of thumb picks because you loose the sensitivity and i find the tone abrasive.
With a nylon guitar, the strings behave and move differently and the thumbnail is king (so long as you have one). Some people stick false ones on.
General Savage
+1 on the plastic thumbpick. I also play steel string acoustic w/ just my thumbnail, but I keep a thumbpick in my git case just in case I do break my thumbnail.
