Budget finger picker

guitarjack66

Soupman said:

@spev11 try Alaska picks. I use them when a nail snaps. I've tried most types but these are the most natural I've found. Cost much less than a new set of strings.
For a thumb pick I use Fred Kelly speedpicks.
  

Those speedpick things look decent. I keep trying a Black Mountain? thumb pick but just cant quite get used to it myself.

Mellish

@guitarjack66 ; FK Speedpicks come in yellow (most flexible), Orange, white, and green. Those are the ones I have though there may be others.

White is my favourite. It's quite rigid. But regardless of colour/degree of flex, they all feel much less bulky on the thumb than other thumbpicks, and I like em for that reason. Plus they don't break. 

 

bertie

@guitarjack66 ;;

dont listen to him...........................................................I reckon he's on commission    

LOL

Mellish

^^^  

guitarjack66

bertie said:

@guitarjack66 ;;

dont listen to him...........................................................I reckon he's Fred Kelly  


Probably.

spev11

Quick update, after some investigation it would appear that nearly all the guitars in my price range with a wider nut all have the same bridge spacing so the difference at the picky end is almost no existent. So I bought a Cort AP550M parlour guitar (110 quid) to keep at the shop, practice makes it work anyway.
Ta for all the advice though, it pushed me to just getting on with it and doing rather than thinking

Mellish

@spev11 : happy NGD mate.

spev11

cheers, its actually quite good for the price,and being cheap I wont worry about it too much, it'll be a good workhorse for practice

bertie

I am very annoyed with you,    was going to use it as an excuse to get up to Intersound..............

spev11

Ah sorry, i'll still go nest time i'm in Bristol

Pjon

spev11 said:

Quick update, after some investigation it would appear that nearly all the guitars in my price range with a wider nut all have the same bridge spacing so the difference at the picky end is almost no existent. So I bought a Cort AP550M parlour guitar (110 quid) to keep at the shop, practice makes it work anyway.
Ta for all the advice though, it pushed me to just getting on with it and doing rather than thinking

I like my Cort a lot. And I like parlour guitars, so I'll have to pop in when I'm around and try your new guitar. The only problem is that I'm rarely in town during the week these days!  

spev11

I’m there on Saturdays

spev11

Your always welcome

Tannin

drofluf said:

spev11 said:

Hi Pjon, I’m good ( I think) I’ll go have a look at that now, wonder if I could just string it as a 6?

Doesn’t really work, you’ll either have all the strings offset to the bottom of the fretboard or the B & E gaps being weird. Probably easy to get used to but will make it harder when you pick up a “normally” spaced guitar. 

It works just fine. I have done it many times, on at least three different instruments made in three different decades in three different continents. (Eston, Italy, 1970s, 50mm. Yamaha Japan, 1980s, 48mm. Cole Clark, Australia 2020s, 50mm.) Simply take the octave strings off and (ideally) replace the other six strings with something a little heavier. Swapping back to a six-string is a non issue except that you will find the neck feels very narrow.

Note that 48mm is *very* wide for a six string, though on the narrow side for a 12. (The 12-string standard is 50mm, though 48mm is common too.) 

Most people will find 48mm a bit much for a six string. The go-to width for a fingerstyle player is 46mm. Happy medium: enough room to play intricate stuff, but still slim enough to be comfortable and to slip your thumb over now and then if desired. Most European makers offer 46mm nuts. 

45mm is actually quite uncommon. Many people (including me!) are guilty of describing American imperial-measure 1.75" nuts as "45mm" for convenience but they are actually 44.5mm. And yes, that half millimetre really does make a difference. Swapping between my small-nut (44 and 44.1mm) guitars and my Guild (44.5mm) it is quite noticeable. And going to the baritone (48mm) is a delightfully roomy luxury.