| Author |
Topic: Flying picks |
Susan Alcorn
From:
Baltimore, MD, USA
|
Posted 25 Jan 2023 8:28 pm |
|
Perhaps I'm the only one who has this problem, but I have a feeling that there are others who have the same problem, perhaps all steel players - picks flying off your fingers onto some unknown destination. If you're in a public place, while you look for your flashlight, you tell everyone not to move (I was at a recording session a couple months ago when my middle finger pick flew off my hand, and I told everyone not to move. One of the musicians, though, maybe not hearing me, quickly walked over and asked if he could help, and he did - with the shoe on his foot). If you're at home, you crawl under furniture looking on a carpet or a wooden floor wondering where it might have ricocheted after leaving your finger. I've read that the oboe is the most stressful instrument there is (though maybe they've never heard of the sarangi), but at least parts of the oboe don't continually go flying around the room
Perhaps this is something, like lugging a heavy instrument around and having to play in bands where everyone is out of tune but us, and having to sit there while the rest of the band jumps around.
I'm hoping that Telonics or Goodrich or Brad Sarno will make a sonar device or maybe one with bluetooth (good for finding cell phones). Or maybe we steel players just need to eat more so that our fingers can fatten up a little bit.
There's gotta be a way.
Signed,
Pickless in Baltimore
ps. And um .. . pay no attention to the cat hair (we have Maine coons). And to the dust (dust happens). And the power strip.
_________________
www.susanalcorn.net
"So this is how you swim inward. So this is how you flow outwards. So this is how you pray."
- Mary Oliver |
|
|
 |
Dave Hopping
From:
Aurora, Colorado
|
|
|
|
Norbert Dengler
From:
germany
|
Posted 25 Jan 2023 9:24 pm
|
|
| i was playing a show one time and laid my picks behind me on a stage riser, to switch to telecaster. A camera man filmed from behind and stepped on my picks right before the next song when i needed them... |
|
|
|
Raybob Bowman
From:
S. Lake Tahoe, CA, USA
|
Posted 25 Jan 2023 9:39 pm
|
|
I've found that spit makes like a glue for picks. If picks feel not tight or right, I lick my 2 fingers then put picks on. Does seem to work. 
_________________
Sierra U12 4+5 / 1933 Dobro / homemade Tele B-bender |
|
|
|
John Hyland
From:
South Australia
|
Posted 25 Jan 2023 11:25 pm
|
|
| Personally I can’t remember ever having a pick come off my fingers but a spare set is essential. |
|
|
|
Dave Magram
From:
San Jose, California, USA
|
Posted 25 Jan 2023 11:25 pm
|
|
Hi Susan,
I almost never had a problem with fingerpicks slipping off because when I get a new pair (every 10 years or so), I'd always spend about 30 minutes shaping the fingerpick-bands so they fit like little gloves.
Then a few years ago I was doing a lot of woodshedding one weekend for a CD and I got an inflamed fingernail groove; my finger swelled up and took several days to get back to normal.
I remembered that someone had posted on the SGF the idea to use eyeglass nose-pads.
Just purchase some self-adhesive eyeglass nose-pads from the drugstore (about $2 for 10 pads).
Use one pad per pick. Cut the pad in half and adhere one half to the inside of the pick just where the pick-band crosses over your right fingernail groove. Adhere the other half exactly where the pick-band crosses over your left fingernail groove.
Do the same with the other fingerpick.
Replace the pads every 6 months or as needed.
Not only will the eyeglass nose-pads keep your picks from falling off, they make the picks extremely comfortable to wear, and they help prevent inflammation around your fingernail groove.
- Dave |
|
|
|
Bobby D. Jones
From:
West Virginia, USA
|
Posted 26 Jan 2023 5:25 am
|
|
Susan you are not alone, We have all had some sort of pick problems along our journey.
The holes in the wrappers want to act like Hinges and make the pick shape like a pentagon or Hex.
My right hand has been abused a lot.
Middle finger end joint points toward index finger.
The 2 left picks were given to me, Bent in the pentagon shape. (Antique JF picks with Square/Diamonds holes bend real sharp) Those sharp bends will catch on each other as my finger pass each other, One of the picks will fly for the UNKNOWN.
The picks on right were bend and hammered smoothly, Around a round rod, To near perfect oval.
The thumb pick has a piece of stair safety strip inside on the flat. Lick fingers, Picks stay put.
I carry another set of formed picks in my seat, Along with a bag of junk picks, So if someone wants to play my guitar , They can go fish. I put my picks in my pocket. |
|
|
|
Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
|
Posted 26 Jan 2023 6:29 am
|
|
When my picks would go airborne, I knew exactly where they would land. Under the foot of a dancer 🕺 .
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 54 years and still counting. |
|
|
|
Brooks Montgomery
From:
Idaho, USA
|
Posted 26 Jan 2023 6:39 am
|
|
New, from Dunlop 😎
_________________
A banjo, like a pet monkey, seems like a good idea at first. |
|
|
|
John Larson
From:
Pennsyltucky, USA
|
Posted 26 Jan 2023 7:19 am
|
|
| Brooks Montgomery wrote: |
New, from Dunlop 😎
|
This will work perfect for my post-punk gothabilly band. 😂
_________________
Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous; praise is meet for the upright. Give praise to the Lord with the harp, chant unto Him with the ten-stringed psaltery. Sing unto Him a new song, chant well unto Him with jubilation. For the word of the Lord is true, and all His works are in faithfulness. The Lord loveth mercy and judgement; the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord.
- Psalm 33:1-5 |
|
|
|
Samuel Phillippe
From:
Douglas Michigan, USA
|
Posted 26 Jan 2023 7:42 am
|
|
I have found bow string wax to work to keep them on.......
Sam |
|
|
|
Dennis Detweiler
From:
Solon, Iowa, US
|
Posted 26 Jan 2023 8:02 am
|
|
Yes, I just do a quick, end of two fingers and one thumb in the mouth (just one at a time), then slide the picks on. Fiddle bow rosen works too, but you don't want to get it on your strings or bar. I'm wondering if hair jell would work? Hair jell may be nothing more than spit in a tube? 
_________________
1976 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics 427 pickup, 1975 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics X-12 pickup, Revelation preamp, Carbon Copy Delay and Hall Of Fame Reverb, Crown XLS 1002, 2- 15" Eminence Wheelhouse speakers, ShoBud Pedal, Effects Pedals. 1949 Epiphone D-8. |
|
|
|
Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
|
Posted 26 Jan 2023 8:39 am
|
|
I use Stevens picks, which are no longer made. But the John Pearse "Hi-Rider" picks are identical except for the alloy. In over 50 years of playing, I've never had a finger pick fly off, or gotten the band tangled in the strings. (They grip around the knuckle, not on the end of the finger.) Once you get used to them, you'll wonder how you ever played without them. 
 |
|
|
|
Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
|
Posted 26 Jan 2023 8:58 am
|
|
You can't beat spit.
Erv |
|
|
|
Dale Rottacker
From:
Walla Walla Washington, USA
|
Posted 26 Jan 2023 10:22 am
|
|
Finger picks have been an ongoing sometimes good sometimes not issue keeping them on.
Licking my fingers is my "Go Too" as my mouth is always right there so it's handy.
Somethings I've tried are Fingernail Polish Remover in a foam application jar... Don't laugh, its pretty effective, as it removes the oils from your fingers so they stick better. Of course you've got to get use to the taste of polish remover when licking then when reapplying later.
Sticky Picks works well too, as does Bow Rosin.
Susan, I've tried fatting my fingers with a Higher Caloric Diet, but seem the fingers are the last thing to fatten up. So I spent a long time with the bands touching or overlapping a touch which I HATE... THEN, a couple years ago I noticed that Travis has a bit of one band cut shorter so you can squeeze them as tight as you want without the ends touching which also makes then stay on the fingers better.
My Ramblings for the day. 
_________________
Dale Rottacker, Steelinatune™
https://www.youtube.com/@steelinatune
*2021 MSA Legend, "Jolly Rancher" D10 10x9
*2021 Rittenberry, "The Concord" D10 9x9
*1977 Blue Sho-Bud Pro 3 Custom 8x6
https://msapedalsteels.com
http://rittenberrysteelguitars.com
https://www.telonics.com/index.php
https://www.p2pamps.com
https://www.quilterlabs.com |
|
|
|
Chuck Stowe
From:
Sycamore, Illinois, USA
|
Posted 26 Jan 2023 11:07 am
|
|
Was playing a club wi th a 3 ft stage and my pick went flying forward. Luckily there was a fellow steel player in attendance. I flagged him down and he found it on the floor in front of the stage. Got lucky there.
_________________
1980 Emmons PP D10, Hilton Pedal, Peavey Session 500 & Nashville 112 |
|
|
|
Steve Cattermole
From:
California, USA
|
Posted 26 Jan 2023 11:33 am
|
|
| Liquid Rosin works great |
|
|
|
Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
|
Posted 26 Jan 2023 11:45 am
|
|
How about super glue.
Erv |
|
|
|
Danny Letz
From:
Old Glory,Texas, USA 79540
|
Posted 26 Jan 2023 12:34 pm
|
|
| Gorilla Snot. No, really. I got mine from Musicians Friend. |
|
|
|
Jim Pitman
From:
Waterbury Ctr. VT 05677 USA
|
Posted 26 Jan 2023 9:34 pm
|
|
Been there a few times including the inadvertent "step on". I think well formed picks per the the previous comment a member eluded to will reduce the occurrence.
Ha - the hair and the dust...that too. |
|
|
|
Susan Alcorn
From:
Baltimore, MD, USA
|
Posted 27 Jan 2023 9:44 am
|
|
Tight-fitting picks are a big help; my fingers, as I imagine most fingers get fatter and skinnier with the weather, with what we've eaten, etc. However, most of the times my picks go flying is when I have them in my hand ready to put on. I have a feeling I'm not the only one. Perhaps a bane of the instrument we have chosen.
_________________
www.susanalcorn.net
"So this is how you swim inward. So this is how you flow outwards. So this is how you pray."
- Mary Oliver |
|
|
|
Jerry Overstreet
From:
Louisville Ky
|
Posted 27 Jan 2023 9:47 am
|
|
| Susan, were you able to re-form the pick your bandmate stomped on or is it damaged beyond use? |
|
|
|
Susan Alcorn
From:
Baltimore, MD, USA
|
Posted 27 Jan 2023 10:07 am
|
|
Jerry, I was able to get it to sort of fit (no tools - I was in rural Chile), but I was able to record an entire album with that pick, but I had to pay attention to that pick and that finger quite a bit during the long (album) session. When I got home, I took out another pick and started getting used to that. The squashed one, an old JF pick, is still good for emergencies.
_________________
www.susanalcorn.net
"So this is how you swim inward. So this is how you flow outwards. So this is how you pray."
- Mary Oliver |
|
|
|
Henry Matthews
From:
Texarkana, Ark USA
|
Posted 27 Jan 2023 10:11 am
|
|
Put fingernail polish inside picks, couple coats, let dry good and then lick your fingers before putting on picks. Unsanitary but works good, lol.
_________________
Henry Matthews
D-10 Magnum, 8 &5, dark rose color
D-10 1974 Emmons cut tail, fat back,rosewood, 8&5
Nashville 112 amp, Fishman Loudbox Performer amp, Hilton pedal, Goodrich pedal,BJS bar, Kyser picks, Live steel Strings. No effects, doodads or stomp boxes. |
|
|
|
Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
|
|
|
|
