How long are your finger nails?!

[rickster4003]

Been searching for a particular tone for a while and realised this particular's player's tone was partly due to his nails getting involved. I've always cut mine short. Have I been making a mistake?

After teaching myself some classical guitar I have always grown my nails somewhat longer. The nail sound has been incorporated into bass playing but is now starting to interfere with my fretless playing. I had the Squier fretless which really had no mhaw, then I picked up a Portemento which had a lot of mhaw. I found after breaking some nails that the Ibanez sounded really good nail-less. So it has been a constant nail fight, when I have nails love playing fretted and classical, when they get broken I hit the Ibby.

 

[Pauly 4001]

Real short though I was trying to groom my right hand picking fingers and thumb longer for mandolin and dulcimer but realized while reading this thread that it was really bothering me so they are all almost to the quick again.
For mandolin I have to keep the left hand nails as short as possible for those tiny frets and neck but I overdid it and went through a week of really raw cuticles which caused lots of involuntary yelps along the way.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

Yeah.....that's it. Lotsa wax.

My wife explained it to me.

 

[SoulReflection]

I cut them back because I prefer the thump of flats on a P bass. If I wanted more clank, it would use a pick.

Having said that, I hope this thread does not go in the direction of any lower extremities. That is when I will opt out .

 

[fretlessman71]

A former teacher/colleague used to have acrylic nails on his first two plucking fingers, and went both directions with both fingers. A singularly unique technique.

 

[BlueTalon]

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.

Reminds me of a funny story. My guitar player tore a nail at a gig. There he was, complaining about it, but he starts the next song anyway. That song has a somewhat involved bassline, but I started playing just 8th notes on one string with my right hand. He looked at me and asked me, "Are you going to play the song?" I said "No" just as I fished my nail clippers out of my pocket and handed them to him. His eyes went wide and he said "Bless you!" and he trimmed his nail right then and there. After he was done, we resumed the song as if nothing had happened. In his eyes, I now have a reputation for being ready with anything anywhere.

Nail clippers are one of those things I always have in my pocket. I'd feel a little naked without them.

 

[BlueTalon]

A former teacher/colleague used to have acrylic nails on his first two plucking fingers, and went both directions with both fingers. A singularly unique technique.

I use my fingers in both directions. Probably not in the same way your former teacher/colleague did, but I find it to be a speed multiplier when I need it.

 

[Mark Ellis]

I guess a photo is the only way to explain this.
I have seen some women play bass with long nails but I have no idea how they do it.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

A former teacher/colleague used to have acrylic nails on his first two plucking fingers, and went both directions with both fingers. A singularly unique technique.

I've seen that technique discussed in magazines in the past, and I sometimes find myself doing it. In my case it's a bad habit as it's not completely intentional, I just sometimes look down at my plucking hand and find it is happening.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

I use my fingers in both directions. Probably not in the same way your former teacher/colleague did, but I find it to be a speed multiplier when I need it.

I wish for me it was any sort of speed multiplier... About the only thing I can do for some forms of single string speed is 'do a Moulding' - hold the fingers as if using a pick, but use long nails instead. I find it easier than using a pick.

 

[BlueTalon]

I wish for me it was any sort of speed multiplier... About the only thing I can do for some forms of single string speed is 'do a Moulding' - hold the fingers as if using a pick, but use long nails instead. I find it easier than using a pick.

I used to do something similar -- hold the tip of my forefinger between my thumb and middle finger and use it as a pick. And it worked. The problem was quickly transitioning from using my fingers to using my "pick". It was a clunky process for me, so I never actually used the technique anywhere besides home.

But that up-down-up-down motion is inherently fast and efficient when playing on one string. I just adapted the concept to my normal playing with fingers. With a little practice, you can get the tone of the upstroke to be very close to the tone of the downstroke, and then you can start playing as fast with your fingers as you can with a pick.

 

[Geogio]

You needed to clean wax out of your ear at Studio 54?

Booger plectrum

 

[rutrho]

Short to medium here, but there's a point where my ring finger plucks start getting that sharper attack that means its time to trim em.

 

[Raman]

Sometimes, I wonder whether this whole 30+year long "I'm a bassist" thing hasn't just been a giant excuse to justify biting my nails.