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How Short Do You Keep Your Fingernails?

jaywa

jaywa

May 5, 2008
7,702
283
Iowa City, IA
#1
For me it seems like I get into trouble pretty easily if the nails on either of my hands get too long. So I'm pretty picky about keeping them trimmed way back. Which in the case of my fingers means my nails end a good 1/4 inch before the ends of my fingertips.

At times I will let the index fingernail of my right (picking) hand grow out some and use that in lieu of a pick but if it gets too long it can interfere with my fingerstyle technique so I kind of have to keep a happy medium there.

How do the rest of you roll... or doesn't the length of your nails affect your playing that much?
 
#6
Interesting you post this because I get made fun of for clipping my nails at gigs with the clippers in my key chain. But, I'm a finger player, and if my right hand finger nails are to short, there's not enough nail to support the callus, and then they get sore. so I'm REAL careful. Same with fretting fingers, if the nail is too short, it doesn't support the tip causing sore fingers. I play hard though. Anyone else do this?
 
#8
I keep mine way back, for two reasons.

On my fretting hand, I dislike feeling my nails dig into wood. Not really an issue on bass, with large strings, but it bugs me on guitar and throws me off.

On bass, I dislike doing faster fingerpicking and catching strings with nails unintentionally.

On both instruments, I like my nails completely out of the way.
 
#9
I use about 1/16-inch of nail on my plucking fingers. Maybe 3/32. Oddly, I have no callouses from plucking, but I play lightly, although not TOO lightly. If I break a nail it throws my plucking off unless I cut the other nails to match (sometimes I use my third finger, too, but not that much). If I have to cut my nails short enough to not touch the strings when plucking it feels very abnormal to me. I'm also a guitar player and have always had some nail to play with.
 
#11
I typically fingerpick when i play bass lines, so I keep mine short. And in the last few years, I've been playing guitar, which I also fingerpick. As a result, I've had to keep mine even shorter than I used to.

I don't use my thumb to pluck a string as much as I should, but last year I ran into a peculiar problem. I bought a nice Cort Artisian fretless. The wood is VERY soft. After playing it a few times, I realized my right thumb nail was leaving marks on the body, so I have to make sure that nail is trimmed to the minimum I can possibly get it so I don't continue to damage the thing!
 
#15
Friends,

I generally keep mine trimmed up on both hands just showing a thin strip of white, just enough to protect the tips of the fingers a little. Like many others here, I keep clippers and an emery board in my gear bag.

Compounding this is that I just picked up an Ibanez SR506 and have been told that the thin finish and mahogany body is particularly prone to gouges from nails - all the more reason to keep them well-trimmed.

----
Kurt
 
#18
I have been keeping my nails super short to avoid hearing them on the strings....but I noticed that now even though I have calluses after like 3 hours of playing my fingers get super sore under the calluses! I have no idea what to do about this!! keep the nails a little longer? If I play an hour a night after work they are fine all week.....but on weekends when I really want to keep playing after a couple hours I almost have to quit for the day. even flats do the same thing....doesnt matter which bass I play or what strings.

When I keep my nails long even though I dont think they touch the strings it makes my sound sound like the bass needs new strings! it sounds terrible.....I had no idea what it was then I cut my nails and the weird bass klanks went away!
 

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