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Topic: Picks/ Bobbe Seymour ??? |
James Sission
From:
Sugar Land,Texas USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2005 11:46 am |
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| I was recently a bar to listen to a friend of mine play steel in a band. There was another steel player in the bar listening as well. At the break, the 3 of us were sitting at a table talking when I mentioned that I was having trouble with the finger picks. I mentioned that coming from the Telecaster with a B-bender and playing it with a volume pedal and using my fingers has made the transition to steel a LITTLE easier, but the finger picks really cause some seriously clumsy right hand action. One of the guys commented that I could play with my finger nails or even the meat of my fingers, the same way I pick my tele and the other picker mentioned that he had never seen anyone play without picks. Well, that was a couple of weeks ago and I am finally getting to where I can use the picks a little easier. HOWEVER, I was looking at a video of Mr. Seymour playing and I swear he was not wearing any picks. I couldn’t see it very well, but I can just about say for certain that he had no finger picks on, just a thumb pick. Maybe he could answer that, or maybe some you have a comment on the picks? I actually think I am going to be able use them with more confidence, with more practice of course, but I was still wondering how important they really are.....James |
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Bob Eldridge
From:
Bartlesville, OK USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2005 12:34 pm
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James, GREAT question! I've had a little 'bump' (not the forum kind) under the fingernail of my index finger which the doctors say isn't going to go away without surgery. The pick makes my finger hurt after an hour or so on the steel. I play guitar without picks, and have tried to do the same thing on my steel.
The tone is altered a ton, of course which I suppose could be over come with electronic compensation ... pickup, FX, etc.
I'd be very interested to hear from some of our professional friends out there on this one! I'm just coming back after about a 20 year break from the steel and don't what to start any bad habits if I can avoid it! 
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Bob's Place bobeldridge@bobeldridge.com GFI S-10D - ProFX2 + 2 Nashville 1000's
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 28 Apr 2005 2:56 pm
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Try these past threads:
http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum15/HTML/006373.html
http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum15/HTML/000505.html
It's amazing what the Forum "Search" function will turn up. Myself, I use thumb and 3 fingerpicks, since I'm "fingernail-challenged". On guitar, I use a flatpick and two fingerpicks (Middle, Ring fingers). I've heard players do it either way, I think it's purely personal preference. I'm for anything that works in the service of the music. On guitar, I need to do some fiddling around if I want to get the more 'popping' bare finger sound. I just choke the picks up as far as they will go, leaving a little flesh showing, to round out the sound a bit. Danny Gatton used superglue on his nails to toughen them up, I've thought about it. |
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Sonny Priddy
From:
Elizabethtown, Kentucky, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 28 Apr 2005 4:43 pm
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Bobbie Seymour Plays Great Without Picks. He Plays Great Any Way. SONNY & MELVA.
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Doug Seymour
From:
Jamestown NY USA (deceased)
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Posted 28 Apr 2005 5:03 pm
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| I started playing without picks (except the thumb pick) on my C6th S10 afew years ago & it works, but I feel that you maybe need them for the E9th neck to sound best. |
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Doug Seymour
From:
Jamestown NY USA (deceased)
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Posted 28 Apr 2005 5:04 pm
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| I started playing without picks (except the thumb pick) on my C6th S10 a few years ago & it works, but I feel that you maybe need them for the E9th neck to sound best. |
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George Redmon
From:
Muskegon & Detroit Michigan.
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Posted 28 Apr 2005 5:38 pm
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Hi James..i use a thumb, and two finger picks...my problem is..the d%$# things feel
like they are going to fall off my fingers..a couple of times they have! I unlike most players like a thin finger pick.
I like to "Feel" the string hit the pick. I
am a very light picker..i have seen guys just about rip the strings off a steel. But i
like a soft touch and make up for it with a little more volume if i need it..don't get me wrong, one can also have a light touch on a drivin' Haggard song as well! i keep bending, pressing, hammering with beer cans..just trying to bend them there picks to stay on, ever notice how Reese wears his finger picks? wrap's them around the front of his fingers all the way under....experiment with diffent types, gauges...you will hit on something...
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Whitney Single 12 8FL & 5 KN,keyless, dual changers Extended C6th, Webb Amp, Line6 PodXT, Goodrich Curly Chalker Volume Pedal, Match Bro, BJS Bar..I was keyless....when keyless wasn't cool....
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Charles Dempsey
From:
Shongaloo, LA
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Posted 28 Apr 2005 7:15 pm
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A few years back, a bicycle and a missing tar strip put my right arm in a cast. To keep from going crazy I taught myself to fingerpick. Nobody told me better, so I used my flat pick and my other three fingers (and my cast destroyed the finish on the front of an old Melodymaker in the process). These days fingerpicking has pretty much taken over my style. I've got four picks to most people's three, and it works pretty well on steel too. I guess I don't get the same tone as a steel pick, but it's not better or worse, just different.
I beat up the soundboard of a flat top trying to learn to use steel picks. I can't play consistently using them, and my thumb doesn't like to operate independently of my index finger. Maybe I could train 'em, but I don't like the finish damage, so I'm going to stick with what works. And I bet you can't show me someone who can play Wipeout using a thumb pick without using their index finger to support it :^).
The fingernail thing has its drawbacks. In winter the nails get brittle and crack unless you use hand cream. Use too much hand cream and they get soft and wear faster. You have to file them regularly to maintain the proper angle. If you play too much they wear down faster than they grow. I've thought about using artificials, but so far I haven't drawn a gig when I had a broken nail.
I understand James Burton plays the same way and calls it "chicken pickin". I dunno. He lives here in Shreveport, but I've never seen him play in person.
Charlie |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 28 Apr 2005 7:55 pm
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James Burton is well reported (e.g., on his Hot Licks instructional video, or his website bio, here: http://www.james-burton.net/biography.html) to play with a flatpick and a single fingerpick on his middle finger. An interview with James that I read many years ago convinced me I should try a fingerpick, but I sorta decided, why not on both M and R, more is better, right?  Well, not necessarily I suppose, but I'm glad I did. I'll tell you though, I have to put 'em on real tight or I struggle with 'em.
I agree, "whatever works". |
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BobG
From:
Holmdel, NJ
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Posted 29 Apr 2005 2:37 am
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Picks?.. never use em'..
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Bob Grado, Williams D10 (lefty), Peavey 1000,
Profex ll.
[This message was edited by BobG on 29 April 2005 at 03:45 PM.] |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 29 Apr 2005 4:21 am
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an oddity for sure..
I play the Tele/Strat with NO picks and the Steel with picks...
Don't know how that happened...
Guitars no picks since the mid 70's
Steel with picks from the beginning, early 70's...
But I do know why it happened..
I wanted to get that Jim Messina Tele tone back then..and when I found out he was not using picks back then , I put mine down too...
geeze Louise...
t |
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James Sission
From:
Sugar Land,Texas USA
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Posted 29 Apr 2005 10:58 am
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| I appreciate all the feedback, I was thinking maybe I was the only person who was having trouble with the picks. George, one thing I did learn from watching Bob Bowman play. He sprayed a small amount of hair spray on his finger and then slid the picks on. Obviously hair spray is pretty sticky and therefore he didnt have to worry about them slipping off. The slipping is not so muc the problem with me as is I was feeling pretty lost without my finger tips being in contact with the stirngs. I guess thats how I kept my place on my Tele all these years, I didnt realize that until I tried these picks.Anyway, I am steadily getting used to them, so I am going keep working with them since I can actually tell a pretty big difference in my sound without them....James |
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Randy Reeves
From:
LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 29 Apr 2005 11:04 am
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the finger pick thred again....good.
I have been playing for years and years with a flat pick and my middle finger.
I get nice tones and I feel in control.
last year after my Sho_bud arrived I put on steel finger picks and thumb pick. sure felt odd. I managed to get then to work, but I dont care for the tone.
steel on steel doesnt do it for my ears.
I do want to try again with finger picks, but not steel.
Q. are there plastic finger picks around. ?
I am sure this has been mentioned before...I am too lazy to hit Search. talking is nicer.
hit me. |
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James Quackenbush
From:
Pomona, New York, USA
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Bobbe Seymour
From:
Hendersonville TN USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 29 Apr 2005 11:13 pm
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I only use finger picks once in a while. Not very often, but I can use them or not. Usually don't.
Always use a thumb pick. What would I recommend? What ever is the most comfortable to you, the player.
Thank you James,
Bobbe |
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Bobby Lee
From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
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Posted 30 Apr 2005 10:56 am
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I'm not Bobbe  but I thought I'd chime in here anyway...
The first 7 tunes on my Home Recordings CD were played barefingered. On the diatonic tuning, the noise from the back of my picks touching the adjacent string was distracting, so I decided to play it without picks. Funny, but that sound doesn't bother me on E9th or C6th. 
I found that I had more dynamic range without picks, but it was trickier to control. Often a note would "jump out" louder than expected. I think it's because fingernails aren't as consistent as metal picks. I ended up applying compression to some of the tracks to "fix" those notes. I've become increasingly dissatisfied with those recordings in recent years for that reason.
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 Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra SD-12 (Ext E9), Williams D-12 Crossover, Sierra S-12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop 8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster (E13, C6, A6)[This message was edited by Bobby Lee on 30 April 2005 at 11:57 AM.] |
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Bobbe Seymour
From:
Hendersonville TN USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 30 Apr 2005 3:43 pm
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| What b0b said, this is true. |
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