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How long are your finger nails?!
- Thread starter TrevorG
- Start date
If I could have mine removed, I probably would. Hate long nails, can't stand them and hate when they catch a string. As soon as I see a bit of white, I cut them.
Nails are a big part of my tone and style. They do not need to belike classical guitarists' fingernails, but rather just long enough and filed correctly to dig when needed, and short enough to not get on the way. I carry emory boards and metal, looped fingertip picks in my kit in case I break a nail close to gig time. I use a thumbpick for songs that need a driving pick sound. But on my fretting hand, my nails have to be all but non-existent. No nails touching fretboards.
I keep a nail clippers in my gig kit and it sits on the amp along with the tuner at every gig. If that tells you anything.
Can't stand nails hitting strings on my plucking hand, except on the rare occasion I use the back of the nail to hit the string for a certain effect. Not as much of an issue on my fretting hand but those nails are cut just like the right hand.
Definitely short. Much easier for me to play smoothly without catching edge of nail on a string. Also reduces occasional unwanted click from poor technique. If I need more “click” on the attack, I’ll change eq or use a pick (even though I suck at pick playing, due to lack of consistent practice with one).
I have to cut them every week. Sometimes I just cut my ring and index of right had cuz I get lazy. And, I'm not sure they are "to the quick" but they are shorter than medium.
I get this. I'm a player who likes many different sounds, and so I have use for the dark, thumpy, "flesh of the fingertip" sounds, but being able to get more aggressive sounds is also really nice. My only qualm with using my fingernails for playing is that I'm squeamish about putting bending pressure on my nails-- when I was a kid, I had a bad running fall on a gravel road that resulted in a detached fingernail. Good times, but now bending my fingernails is anxiety-inducing. So, basically the goal is to keep them long enough to use but short enough that they don't bend easily.
Depends on your hand/wrist angle. Some cool players like Hadrien Feraud, Felix Pastorius, Gary Willis, and Kaveh Rastegar play in "guitar position" (thumb and multiple fingers). Nails seem to matter less in this configuration, since you're playing on more a a slant than the "wrist vertical" position. That said, I file my nails almost daily and keep them on the short side--unless I have a finger-picking guitar gig coming up.
I cut them short, but... I think there is a sweet spot where they sound better when they're a tiny bit longer. But that sweet spot only lasts a few days and then they grow past it and it no longer sounds the same. In any case, regardless of my feelings of slight improvement in tone with slightly longer nails, I can't stand having long nails, so keep them short.
I have played with my nails since the late 60's so needless to say I've developed quite a technique using them. If I look at the pads of my fingers the nails are sticking up maybe 1/16" above the tips. I cut them at a very slight bias so I can easily play with just the calloused tips by angling my hand very slightly and avoid the nails all together, or play straight-on with the nails. It doesn't sound exactly like a pick as I am using both the callous and the nail, more like finger plucking with a very defined attack. I can also pinch my thumb and forefinger together like holding a pick but play with the nail like it is a pick. So I can get three very distinct tones and attacks organically.
