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Topic: Which pick for which finger? |
Michael Hummel
From:
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Posted 24 Feb 2013 1:29 pm |
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This may or may not be an issue for a lot of you...but I play several instruments in my current band, and have to switch at a second's notice to/from pedal steel and 6-string, piano/organ (in other words, instruments where finger picks get in the way!)
Every time I go back to the pedal steel, I fumble around seeing which finger picks belong on which fingers. I had a brainstorm today and (duh) thought of colour coding the picks to identify the finger. I happened to try the electronics colour code for resistors, although because I was using my wife's collection of fingernail polish, I was a bit limited in the colour selections!
Anyway, here is a snapshot of the first attempt just to see if the finger polish would stick to the picks. I will probably add more just to make things a bit clearer.
Anybody have the same problem and have other ideas?
Cheers,
Mike
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MSA Classic 5+4
Too many 6-strings and amps to list |
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Larry Bressington
From:
Nebraska
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Posted 24 Feb 2013 1:44 pm
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When i buy my Propik's i always buy one Brass and one silver...Brass goes on finger 2...I used to use nail varnish and paint one also. Looks good my brotherman.
I used to paint mine on the backside, so the paint would not show.
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A.K.A Chappy. |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 24 Feb 2013 3:22 pm
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| I use auto touch-up paint, I expect it'll outlast the picks. |
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Rick Barnhart
From:
Arizona, USA
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Posted 24 Feb 2013 3:31 pm
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The gap on my middle pick is a tad wider than the gap on my index pick, so there's no need to mark them in order to distinguish them from one another.
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Clinesmith consoles D-8/6 5 pedal, D-8 3 pedal & A25 Frypan, Pettingill Teardrop, & P8 Deluxe.
Last edited by Rick Barnhart on 25 Feb 2013 7:32 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 24 Feb 2013 3:32 pm
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I carry a black and a red Sharpie pen in my pak-a-seat. I color the band for my index finger black and the one for my "birdie" finger red. Of course, someone asked me why I do both. Just one would tell me which fingers they go on.
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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. |
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Glenn Uhler
From:
Trenton, New Jersey, USA
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Posted 24 Feb 2013 7:33 pm Pick marking
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Mark my picks with small notches on the edge of the band of the pick, closest to the knuckle. One notch for first finger, two notches for second finger. I make the notches with a nail file.
Painting them with nail polish is a good idea, too. Scuff up the area you are going to paint with a Scotchbrite pad, and the enamel will stick better.
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1974 Marlen S-12 1968 Tele 1969 Martin D-35H |
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Hans Penner
From:
Manitoba, Canada
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Posted 24 Feb 2013 7:45 pm
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I use electrical shrink tape.
Helps keep them on.
Can help help prevent hang nails/sore cuticles.
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At long last, July 14, 2011 and I have a musical instrument I CAN play.
Stage One, Nashville 112, Hilton pedal, Black Box |
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Dave Bertoncini
From:
Sun City West, Arizona USA
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Posted 24 Feb 2013 8:16 pm
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| By suggestion of someone here I put a dab of nail polish inside the tip on one of them...I do the first finger |
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Steve Collins
From:
Alaska, USA
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Posted 24 Feb 2013 8:41 pm
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| I do the same as Hans, heat-shrink tubing makes nice color coding, and is way more comfortable than bare picks. |
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Larry Bressington
From:
Nebraska
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Posted 25 Feb 2013 8:48 am
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Hans...That is a beautiful and brilliant idea. I'm currently putting some on mine, thanks for the tip.
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A.K.A Chappy. |
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Marc Friedland
From:
Fort Collins, CO
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Posted 25 Feb 2013 2:32 pm
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Michael –
Like you – I switch between pedal steel, 6-string guitar & keyboards.
When I take off the picks I then try to leave the picks in the correct order so they’ll be easy to grab & put on – I believe that takes me about 1 or 2 additional seconds.
I now have my picks color coded, but when it’s dark or in certain light I find some shades very difficult to distinguish between anyway.
Through the years I’ve gotten much more adept at playing the psg without picks on, so there’s not the urgency to get the picks on as there used to be. And the band knows which songs I need additional time on to get ready. So if I’m coming off a song where I’m playing 6-string guitar and the next one I need to kick off the intro on the steel – they know to talk a little bit so I can get ready.
There are “some” songs I can play simple parts on the keyboards even with finger picks on, and on rare occasions I’ve approached it that way as well.
And the band I play in turns down a half-step, which I do the same on my 6-string & keyboards, but NOT my psg. For example - when we play Josh Turner’s Your Man in G, I play it in “G” for my few keyboard fills, but the bulk of the song I play in F# on the pedal steel. Fortunately, we play often enough where I’m getting used to it, and I have a pretty fair sized sign that only I can see reminding me to play the psg a half-step lower. I’m so used to thinking Neon Moon is in “A” I really have to keep alert to remember it’s now Ab for me…
-- Marc
www.PedalSteelGuitarMusic.com |
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Leif Lomeland
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 25 Feb 2013 7:06 pm
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Like Glen, I file notches but only one on each pick. The notches face each other when the picks are placed on my index and middle fingers. It's works well because you can feel the notches and know whether they're positioned properly without having to look at them. If I used a third I simply wouldn't notch it.
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The concert is good, but brief, so really enjoy the music!! |
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Joe Naylor
From:
Avondale, Arizona, USA
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Posted 25 Feb 2013 7:18 pm
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Richard and Hans has the ideas - red Sharpe Black Sharpe and not mark usually get it - but one side with the shrink works too.
Joe Naylor
www.steelseat.com
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Joe Naylor, Avondale, AZ (Phoenix) Announcer/Emcee owner www.steelseat.com *** OFFERING SEATS AND Effects cases with or without legs and other stuff ****** -Desert Rose Guitar S-10, Life Member of the Arizona Carport Pickers Assoc., Southwest Steel Guitar Assoc., Texas Steel Guitar Assoc., GA Steel Guitar Assoc., KS Steel Guitar Assoc. (Asleep at the Steel) tag line willed to me by a close late friend RIP |
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joe wright
From:
Jackson, Michigan
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Posted 27 Feb 2013 1:15 pm picks
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| I can put on my picks in the dark. They only feel good on their intended finger....joe |
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