Anyone else got a particularly long finger nail?

[Nail Soup]

Of course for some other instruments and styles, it is desirable to have long nails on the plucking/picking/strumming hand. There must be those who also play bass... so I guess they work round it by means other than cutting.

[meterman]

I keep my fingernails cut as short as possible, always. The feeling of them catching against anything goes right through me. Not just strings but also clothing (certain fabrics are worse than others), the edges of book jackets, things like cushion covers, bits of tree bark on firewood, Nigella Lawson, etc. Brrrrrrrrrrhhhhh

[Mykesbass]

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

I keep biting my fingernails to the bare minimum . A bad habit that I'll have to stop in the new year 😬

[casapete]

2 hours ago, Angel said:

Never had a problem with nails on a bass, but I HATE playing piano when they get too long and click a bit.

Me too! There’s a great Joe Ely song about this very thing. 
 

 

[Angel]

17 hours ago, RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE said:

I keep biting my fingernails to the bare minimum . A bad habit that I'll have to stop in the new year 😬

 

I spent decades biting my nails from teens on. Never really low, but just instead of cutting them. It only stopped when I got older and my teeth wore down in a way that my incisors were no longer sharp enough.

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

5 hours ago, Angel said:

 

I spent decades biting my nails from teens on. Never really low, but just instead of cutting them. It only stopped when I got older and my teeth wore down in a way that my incisors were no longer sharp enough.

It's not just me then 🙂. Something to focus on next year ..

[Dan Dare]

On 23/12/2023 at 13:34, Angel said:

Never had a problem with nails on a bass, but I HATE playing piano when they get too long and click a bit.

 

Joe Ely wrote a song about that.

 

[Angel]

7 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

 

Joe Ely wrote a song about that.

 

 

As mentioned 3 posts earlier!

[Crusoe]

How else would I pick my nose? I can't use a plectrum.

[Chris2112]

I had imagined this thread was going to be about those creepy pimp-style long nails that druggies use to sniff their coke. Not ideal for playing bass!

[bigthumb]

On 21/12/2023 at 23:05, Big J said:

Odd question, but I’ve never found another bass player (in person) with the same thing. 
my middle finger on my plucking hand catches the strings. I have to keep it cut to the skin to avoid a clank noise on the string? 
do you guys get that? 

 

I have exactly the same issue which I find bloody annoying. I play a fast(ish) finger style and plectrums just don't work for me so like you I have to keep my nails very short which can sometimes lead to those painful splits that stop me from playing until they heal. I remember going out gigging one night and I forgot to trim them. It bothered me all night with the continuous clanking!