Fingernails?

[Russell L]

I've always been different. In this case it's that I have long nails on my picking fingers. Typical guitar player thing, especially in my case for fingerpicking acoustic guitar. But, for bass, I often wish they were short. I believe I loose some bottom end due to my nails. That is, it sounds rounder if I play with the side of my thumb, by comparison. My nails also cause me to have to eq my settings to accomodate them. I find that I have to drop the mids a lot to get a vintage sound without my nails making the string "bark."

Then again, it's a different sound. And no, it's not like playing with a pick. See, part of the meat of my finger also hits the string. It's just that it is followed by the nail. Actually, not followed, but more like simultaneously. Anyway, I'm curious how many bass players also play with long nails. Mine aren't too long, but just enough to do what I want on acoustic.

By the way, I play bass with a "rest stroke," not "free stroke." (Finger rests on the next lowest string after picking a higher string, except for my lowest string, in which case there is nothing to rest on behind it).

Anyone else "nailing" the bass?

 

[DanHibiki]

I have been playing with my nails since I started. It gives me a different sound than the usual, with a lot more attack and bite, and, lucky me, I like it

But for me it is not much of an option, because even if I cut my fingernails really short, my index finger still hits the strings with the nail. The other fingers don't have the same issue, so I have to keep the nails on them longer to at least have a consistent sound between fingers...

 

[Russell L]

I hear ya, Dan, about needing to be consistent between fingers. I really hate it when I break a nail (usually right before a gig). I don't know how many times I have superglued one to get me through a gig or important rehearsal.

Yeah, I like the sound, but wish I could also get a "nailless" sound as well. Actually, that has happened when I had to trim all of them because one got broken off and lost. It made my fingertips sore, not being used to it. Those nights were fun trying to re-eq my sound.

 

[paganjack]

I used to let my fingernails grow out occasionally to get that "hybrid sound" - you get the plinky attack of a pick with the meatiness of fingerstyle underneath. It's kinda fun, but it wasn't often the sound I needed for my bands.

Lately I'm using more of the "bounce the strings off the fingerboard" method, which gets plenty of brightness without using my fingernails. So I keep 'em short now.

 

[Gunnerhea86]

I keep my nails as short as possible ... no "hybrid" sound for me. but hey, different strokes for different folks.

 

[stflbn]

Short... to the nub on both hands.

 

[Russell L]

Well, I guess it is a hybrid sound, haven't thought of it that way. It has its own sound, for sure. Interesting hearing what you guys are doing. Thanks.

I was just playing a bit and taking note of how much high end I had off the guitar and amp. Mostly all the very high end. Yet, I could still hear some nail attack. Now, I must say that it sounded really good. The more I moved back to the bridge the more I could make use of it. Then, to get a full, round sound, I moved right back to the area between the front pickup and the fingerboard, sometimes right to the fingerboard with my thumb resting on it. My "default" position is between the pickups with my thumb resting on the front corner of the front pickup. That's a very diverse array of sounds. I've been doing it since 1988 when I became a working bass player mostly, instead of a guitar player. Now, if I want to get rid of the nail sound completely my markbass will do it with the VLE control.

 

[Billyzoom]

I'm new to bass and for some reason can't get my nails short enough to not contact the strings. any shorter and I'll be drawing blood. I'm trying to adapt my plucking to try to work around it, but it's frustrating. I don't like the tone of the nail. blech....

 

[jfv]

Nail noise drives me crazy, I'm kinda lazy and probably
wouldn't clip them as quickly otherwise, but as it is as
soon as I happen to hear that, up I jump and the clippers
come out.

Billy, if you really clip them short and still hear some noise
it sounds like you aren't digging into the string on your attack.
Or angle the finger so the pads make all the contact, its that
nice meaty flesh that gives a rich tone.

 

[DanHibiki]

I hear ya, Dan, about needing to be consistent between fingers. I really hate it when I break a nail (usually right before a gig). I don't know how many times I have superglued one to get me through a gig or important rehearsal.

Yeah, I like the sound, but wish I could also get a "nailless" sound as well. Actually, that has happened when I had to trim all of them because one got broken off and lost. It made my fingertips sore, not being used to it. Those nights were fun trying to re-eq my sound.

Well, my nails are really strong, I probably have never broke them, so I don't usually have these kinds of problems

I can't really have the "nailless" sound too, but you can learn how to angle your fingers to have different sounds depending on how you pluck the strings. It's just a question of experience to be able to achieve a softer attack even with the nails hitting the strings.

 

[DanHibiki]

I'm new to bass and for some reason can't get my nails short enough to not contact the strings. any shorter and I'll be drawing blood. I'm trying to adapt my plucking to try to work around it, but it's frustrating. I don't like the tone of the nail. blech....

You're in trouble, my friend. I can't cut my nails short enough to be able to play just with the fingertips too, but, as I said, I do like the sound of it, so it's not much of a problem to me.

The only way I could really play without touching the nails on the string was to cut them as short as possible and position my hand in a really weird way, so that I was playing with the side of my fingers instead of the tips. It worked, but it was really awkward and I needed much more strength to play in that way... But it was fun to do that sometimes when I was beginning to play. Nowadays I just don't bother with that and keep playing with my nails, as I can achieve different sounds depending on how I pluck the strings.

Keep trying different hand positions and you should be able to find one that allows you to play without touching the strings with your nails, but it may not be the most comfortable one... Good luck on your quest

 

[Russell L]

I used to play upright bass. When playing pizzicato on it you play with the side of your fingers more than the tips. I have been able to do that on electric, but it's somewhat awkward. If I let my strap out all the way and angle the bass more vertical it helps. LOL, maybe I should put a three-foot end pin on it, huh?

Actually, for any of us having a problem with nail noise, the best thing I've found to minimize it is to pick more toward the fingerboard and eq accordingly. However, there are different areas on the string that accent the sound or minimize it as well. Last night I was even able to find the coolest sound on my Jazz with both pickups on and the tone knob all the way down. The amp was set with a little of the mids out. Depending on where I placed my picking hand the sound of my nails really gave a nice attack to each note, including on the G string. No clacking or over-mid sound, just a good attack, and a dark sound at that.

So, to any who can't avoid their nails hitting the strings (like me) the thing to do is to work with it and find out what you can do with it. It can be a good thing. I've been dealing with it for 23 years playing professionally as a bassist. I do wish I could try playing without them, but that would put a dent in my guitar playing, so I just adjust for it. It can be done.