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How long are your finger nails?!
- Thread starter TrevorG
- Start date
If I see a white line past my quick, they are too long.
Really short, too short, on my left hand, been playing a lot of 6 string. Right nails are a little longer, but not by much. Just enough to support the tip for fingerpicking.
My teacher kept them short on both hands. He'd let them grow longer on his plucking hand when the Rush Cover Band 'Solar Federation' that he was in would start up their gigging schedule to get the right sound for his bass playing Rush tunes.
I definitely keep them short for my fretting hand. I play with a ick, so I don't pay that much attention to my nails on my right hand.
Always keep the nails short on my right hand index and middle fingers (plucking fingers) so
that no nail will be striking/touching the string.
that no nail will be striking/touching the string.
The angle you pick at would be critical too so I don't think that would help much.
Ultra short, which makes me sad, as I'd prefer to have longer nails and have fun painting them, etc. But I can't stand the feel or the tone when my nails are any longer on my plucking hand fingers.
Any time I hear "click click" when playing fingerstyle, I cut my nails. That sound drives me nuts!
Really short on my R (plucking) hand, especially the index and middle fingers. I clip all the way down to the nail bed, then file away the sharp edge. I can do some short fast runs with my ring finger getting a little action too, but not frequently. Still, for appearance, I keep them all really short on my R hand. On the L, not as critical, no affect on tone, so I usually just trim them up once a week or so to a length of ~ 1mm.
If I'm at band practice and I forgot to trim, I pluck a little more with the thumb side of my fingers so the nail doesn't get involved. But I prefer the tone with my finger at 90 degrees to the string so trimming my nails is one of the things I associate with packing my rig. Because when I inadvertently pluck with longer nails, I get a sharp, loud attack that just jumps out of the mix in the most cringeworthy way. It sounds awful and out of place, and I prefer my clams to be subtle and really hard to hear, not just jumping out at you like that!
If I were going for that tone, I would keep them longer and turn down a little, as when I use a pick.
If I'm at band practice and I forgot to trim, I pluck a little more with the thumb side of my fingers so the nail doesn't get involved. But I prefer the tone with my finger at 90 degrees to the string so trimming my nails is one of the things I associate with packing my rig. Because when I inadvertently pluck with longer nails, I get a sharp, loud attack that just jumps out of the mix in the most cringeworthy way. It sounds awful and out of place, and I prefer my clams to be subtle and really hard to hear, not just jumping out at you like that!
If I were going for that tone, I would keep them longer and turn down a little, as when I use a pick.
I pluck bass strings with index and middle fingers, so they're cut all the way back,
but I pluck guitar using my nails, so I developed skill picking guitar with my thumb and ring finger only, and I've gotten good at it, sounds like I'm using my middle finger, as well.
Now that I'm doing the band thing, I'm strictly bass and keep them all cut back.
but I pluck guitar using my nails, so I developed skill picking guitar with my thumb and ring finger only, and I've gotten good at it, sounds like I'm using my middle finger, as well.
Now that I'm doing the band thing, I'm strictly bass and keep them all cut back.
D
I keep mine super short. I slap a ton and and find that the nails grab the string and make it sound super harsh. It also scratches up your bass when you pop. Besides it just makes for easier fretting when you dont have nails getting in the way
Less treble response can always be remedied by using a pick, but when you want a nice warm tone with little to no clack, its hard to do with long nails. So I clip my nails once or twice a week. It's good practice too, the ladies notice 
Only if you want them long! I keep mine short, I can’t stand the feeling of strings or fretboard under them. Yuck.
If this turns into a thread of old men showing their toenails I'm out
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