Fingertip Action!

[Frank Blank]

I play finger finger-style, never got on with a pick. I play with a pluck of the tip of the finger in combination with the fingernail, I'd say 80% fingertip, 20% fingernail. This percentage varies with how hard I'm plucking as the fingernail gives the note more attack and a brighter tone. Consequently when I break the nail I have a slightly duller overall tone until the nail grows back. Is this common among finger players or am I a tip/nail freak?

[BreadBin]

I hate the sound my fingernails make, so keep mine as short as possible and manicured smooth on my plucking fingers.

[Frank Blank]

1 minute ago, BreadBin said:

I hate the sound my fingernails make, so keep mine as short as possible and manicured smooth on my plucking fingers.

So the tone is purely controlled by the weight of the pluck? I'm not suggesting anyone is right or wrong, just ascertaining how others play btw.

[BreadBin]

2 minutes ago, Frank Blank said:

So the tone is purely controlled by the weight of the pluck? I'm not suggesting anyone is right or wrong, just ascertaining how others play btw.

I can range from a soft stroke to a full on spank, and vary from right at the base of the neck to down by the bridge depending on what sound I am looking for. 

[Frank Blank]

3 minutes ago, BreadBin said:

I can range from a soft stroke to a full on spank, and vary from right at the base of the neck to down by the bridge depending on what sound I am looking for. 

See I never really vary my hand position between neck and bridge.

[BreadBin]

Have an experiment! There are loads of different sounds to be had. 

[Frank Blank]

1 hour ago, BreadBin said:

Have an experiment! There are loads of different sounds to be had. 

Absolutely.

[T-Bay]

I don’t use nails (barely have any), I stroke the strings through to full on pluck depending on the sound I want. I also play so as to almost tap the strings on the way through (quicker action as opposed to smooth pull through if that makes sense) for a punchier sound when I need it.

[Frank Blank]

6 minutes ago, T-Bay said:

I don’t use nails (barely have any), I stroke the strings through to full on pluck depending on the sound I want. I also play so as to almost tap the strings on the way through (quicker action as opposed to smooth pull through if that makes sense) for a punchier sound when I need it.

This is really interesting, learning about other players' techniques, it does make perfect sense.

[BreadBin]

8 minutes ago, T-Bay said:

I also play so as to almost tap the strings on the way through (quicker action as opposed to smooth pull through if that makes sense) for a punchier sound when I need it.

A la Steve Harris? 

[T-Bay]

3 minutes ago, BreadBin said:

A la Steve Harris? 

I suppose so, but would never consider myself anywhere near that level of expertise! I think he also plays it very lightly whereas mine is more of whack, hard to explain but it involves much more movement of the finger and I keep the finger almost straight. I also switch to playing with a single finger when I do it. The obvious song that jumps to mind is teenage kick where it gives a much brighter ‘twang’ than I usually want (play GibsonThunderbird with rotos, so pretty dark sound usually).

[BreadBin]

Kind of like a slap with the fingertip maybe?

[T-Bay]

Just now, BreadBin said:

Kind of like a slap with the fingertip maybe?

Yup, but I hesitated to use the term slap as obviously that has Mark Kingesque meaning, but it’s probably the best way to describe it.  Maybe tap would be a good description.

[Osiris]

19 hours ago, T-Bay said:

I don’t use nails (barely have any), I stroke the strings through to full on pluck depending on the sound I want. I also play so as to almost tap the strings on the way through (quicker action as opposed to smooth pull through if that makes sense) for a punchier sound when I need it.

I also play in a similar way to this but using 2 - or occasionally 3 fingers for dotted 16th rhythms. I tend to strike the sting towards the body rather than plucking it parallel to the body, if that makes sense? It definitely gives that Steve Harris-esque fret clank which I personally love - although I know not everyone does. 

18 hours ago, BreadBin said:

Kind of like a slap with the fingertip maybe?

Kind of, but not exactly like slap. The tone I get has that clank to accent the note but has more body and low end a slapped note, it's hard to describe the tone but it's somewhere in between finger style and slap with a less pronounced percussive edge than slapping but more attack than traditional finger-style. The notes sound more full and defined than when slapped too, although admittedly I'm not an expert slapper. Cue amusing quip about my sexual prowess. 

But in answer to @Frank Blank's original post, I don't use my finger nails at all. I'm pretty heavy handed when playing so I'd imagine it wouldn't be long before my finger tips and nails were in tatters 

[EliasMooseblaster]

18 minutes ago, Osiris said:

Kind of, but not exactly like slap. The tone I get has that clank to accent the note but has more body and low end a slapped note, it's hard to describe the tone but it's somewhere in between finger style and slap with a less pronounced percussive edge than slapping but more attack than traditional finger-style. The notes sound more full and defined than when slapped too, although admittedly I'm not an expert slapper. Cue amusing quip about my sexual prowess. 

A bit like the John Entwistle school of belting them hard enough that you get noticeable clank against the fret with the main note? I did read one article which described that approach as "spanking" the strings.

(Which isn't going to help with any forthcoming quips about your sexual prowess...)

[Daz39]

I strike sort of towards the frets, rather than perpendicular - there's definitely some tap of the finger against the frets for clank - and sometimes it's full on slap-sound. I struggle to get a light touch - I can't use an amp at enough volume to play lightly (because inevitable louder striking would get me grief from downstairs.) also I have played unplugged for most of my life (for quietness reasons) and need to strike harder to actually hear the note.

I do move about from bridge to front pickup as required - you do get a different feel and sound. And sometimes I rest my hand on the bridge and use all fingers (and thumb on the E) for arpeggio stuff. It feels much easier than moving up and down with the index and middle on a 4 string as the spacing is large.

[Osiris]

13 hours ago, EliasMooseblaster said:

A bit like the John Entwistle school of belting them hard enough that you get noticeable clank against the fret with the main note? I did read one article which described that approach as "spanking" the strings.

(Which isn't going to help with any forthcoming quips about your sexual prowess...)

Yes, it is similar totally to how JE used to play. I saw a video clip of him showing off his typewriter style where he attacks the strings as though playing an old fashioned manual typewriter, but my style and hand position is more like traditional finger style but I probably have my fingers a little straighter so that it knocks the string onto the frets but not completely perpendicular to them. It's more crap technique than anything!

Any alleged prowess on my part is long gone 

[adamg67]

No fingernails involved for me, I keep them short and try not to dig in even when I'm playing something rocky... but I also play with a pick, so if I want a bit more attack I'll do that instead.