Brent Mason picking technique

[Jay Isler]

Hey all,

For about a year or two I've been trying out the Brent Mason style of picking and I really like it. However, my nails just melt away after about two hours of playing. I've tried to use just the meat of my fingers and I don't like it as much as using the nails. Do any of you have this problem and if so, how do you stop the nails from melting away?

Jay

[psychotelepathic]

Originally Posted by Jay Isler

Hey all,

For about a year or two I've been trying out the Brent Mason style of picking and I really like it. However, my nails just melt away after about two hours of playing. I've tried to use just the meat of my fingers and I don't like it as much as using the nails. Do any of you have this problem and if so, how do you stop the nails from melting away?

Jay

Most players have this problem if they try to use their real nails. I know alot of guys use clear flat fingernail polish to strengthen the nails. Yes you might get made fun of, but you'll play/sound better. My nails break alot to so I know how you feel.

[Guitarzan]

If you look in Bad Dog and elsewhere there are threads in the archives about hardener and about acrylic nails.

[Acephspades]

I've been known on occasion to use steel finger picks like a banjo player would. James Burton turned me on to this. However you just don't get that snap like you do with your nails.

[Leon Grizzard]

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/bad-dog-c...-solution.html

[Echoplex]

Here's 5 new videos with interviews and playing from Brent and Randy Mason.There are a lot of close ups in these video.Little Ballerina on part 3 blew my mind.What a beautiful tune.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=m2UF0teCjTI&feature=related

[jsntg]

Some use acrylic 'wraps'. I found super glue works best for me. Procedure:

1. Wash hands with soap and dry with hair dryer.
2. Rough up nail with a nail file.
3. Apply thin layer of super glue then hit with hair dryer for 3 minutes as hot as you can stand.
4. Knock down the edges/bumps with nail file and otherwise rough it up a bit.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 as required.

I do 4-5 applications to the end of nail (roughly half). When I have it sufficiently built up, I shape the nail with a Revlon 2 sided file. It ends up about 2 mm thick which gives me a nice crisp sound.

Acrylic nails last about a month but with super glue you can keep applying/shaping the nail indefinitely. If the application begins to separate from the edges, I just file it down and cover with a couple coats and reshape.

This stuff will not erode no matter how hard you play. I get the 6-pack of '5 Star' super glue from CVS which costs about $3. Much cheaper and more durable vinyl wraps.

Hugh

[Scottlr]

I just go to the nail salon and get my middle and ring finger done with acrylic nails. I have a Brent vid where he says he has them, too. He was semi embarrassed to say so Anyway, the first day I walked in and asked for 2 nails, the little Asian girl says, "guitar player, huh?" Turns out they have several players as regular customers. I also find I can let them grow out until they are almost off my finger before I have to replace them. Now that I have done this, I can't see not doing it anymore. Makes typing a bear, though.

[Grin'n'pick]

I've tried acrylic nails because my natural ones last about three seconds. They do the job pretty well and are robust, but unless you're playing a lot they can get you some funny looks, well, at least where I live anyway. Maybe I shouldn't paint them pink next time (joking - it was a French manicure ). The girls in my local nail place laughed at me the whole time, and the second time they insisted I took my guitar and showed them why I wanted them. They said that they had a few guitar playing male clients.

I also have a bottle of strengthening nail polish but I get inconsistent results with that.

Those Brent Mason clips are amazing, great to see Randy Mason playing on there too, what did they put in the water when those two lads were growing up? Watching those videos has made my night, and as usual with Brent inspired me to pick up my guitar and not put it down for a few hours.

[mlp-mx6]

Oh, man. Those videos are excellent. Inspiring and humbling all at once. I'd love to take some lessons from Brent.

[Grin'n'pick]

I can't stop watching those vids! And that sunburst VA BSM sig, I'm GASsing, shame it's a one off...

[Scottlr]

Originally Posted by Grin'n'pick

I've tried acrylic nails because my natural ones last about three seconds. They do the job pretty well and are robust, but unless you're playing a lot they can get you some funny looks, well, at least where I live anyway. Maybe I shouldn't paint them pink next time (joking - it was a French manicure ). The girls in my local nail place laughed at me the whole time, and the second time they insisted I took my guitar and showed them why I wanted them. They said that they had a few guitar playing male clients.

I also have a bottle of strengthening nail polish but I get inconsistent results with that.

Those Brent Mason clips are amazing, great to see Randy Mason playing on there too, what did they put in the water when those two lads were growing up? Watching those videos has made my night, and as usual with Brent inspired me to pick up my guitar and not put it down for a few hours.

I get a kick out of the women there getting the full French Nails thing looking at me wonder why on earth a guy would be there getting only 2 nails done. They haven't asked me yet.

[Jay Isler]

Thanks guys for the tips. I asked my wife if the next time she got her nails done if I could go with her. Thinking something was up she asked "why"? When I told her that I wanted to get two of mine done all she could say was "uh---do what"? I explained it to her but I still think shes wondering if I'm gonna experiment with cross-dressing.

[bcbeak]

Acrylic's are awesome. Had em for a year and they give you great attack on the strings for both electric and acoustic playing. You will have to have thick skin to put up with stares, the trips to the salons, etc. I hid my right hand at my day job. Eventually I gave up on them because of the labor and cost.

My new approach is to use Sally Hanson "Stong Nails Now" Nail strengthener. It is a glossy coat that will give your nails strength and can be quickly buffed to a dull finish so you can barely notice them. this is not as good as the acrylics but will add strength to your nails and make them last longer.

[Scottlr]

I never tried anything else, but my poor nails are so flimsy and brittle, I'd be afraid of one breaking just when I needed it most. The acrylics are not gonna break! Hell, they barely get any wear on them. I thought about asking them to make me a little flat square of that stuff so I could shape it into pick!

[CLAZ]

fake nails won't make you johnny hiland! learn the licks first then worry about your nails...if you still care by that time

[fenderguy]

+1

[Flat357]

Originally Posted by CLAZ

fake nails won't make you johnny hiland! learn the licks first then worry about your nails...if you still care by that time

I disagree .

Although I see your train of thought , it isn't perfect advice .

It's kind of like telling a guy to learn to play the banjo , before he worries about using finger picks , or learn the guitar before he uses a plectrum , or a violin before he tries the bow .

If the guy couldn't play the guitar , he would surely not be thinking about playing Brents licks , and at the same time , Johnny would find it difficult to play those licks without his nails , or why would he use them ?

Things like that need getting used to , and putting it off is not sensible if it is a required progression .

I have the same problem as the poster , where as my nails take a battering occasionally and I posted a similar thread ( actually the one Leon highlighted ) .
I can play various hiland , Mason , Gatton tunes , but to start with false nails may prove to be a pain in my butt , but it's something I need to try , or find a suitable alternative , if i'm to play in that style regularly .

Playing for 2 - 3 days , then finding I need to wait another 2 weeks for my nails to grow back is not going to help the situation at all .

[Rizo]

I don't pick guitar like that, but I play clawhammer banjo which involved banging my nail in the strings for hours at a time.

I've done the super glue trick myself. It works for a couple days and then you can reapply. As a plus it's slightly manlier than getting your nails done.

[gtech]

Last year, I went to the nail salon a few times, and the price was the same for 2 nails than for both hands.

I had a strange look from a couple of co-workers, but the funny thing is when I went to the salon the really first time. One of the women who was there knew me and when the other women looked at me in a strange way, she told them it was because I was a guitarist and they looked satisfied with the answer.

It is one of the things that is part of what people consider "normal" for a musician, like tatoos or long hair, and getting to bed late at night...

I have a new job this year, and as most people don't know me at my new work place, they wouldn't accept these things as easily...

Anyway, what I used back them is gel nails. Not as strong, but cheaper.

[Bandit]

Dig out an old Jerry Reed record and learn it note for note. Play with a thumb pick and find a way to chicken pick that is comfortable for you, everyone is different. I like the warmer sound of the fingertips striking the strings.

Pedals: Compression set to give you the sound of a duck quack and a
Boss Delay Pedal.

There's also a studio trick I got off of a Pedal Steel Player.
The steel guitar rag sounds reel cool with a Delay pedal set to double the note you play.

Try the guitar boogie shuffle (a walking bass line) in E. Set your delay pedal to repeat the note you play. You can get the Hot Rod Lincoln sound by only playing half the notes.

Brent is talented enough he does not need to do this.

But for guys like me who aren't Van Halen it sounds cool.

[Scottlr]

I'm not even a country picker, but once I started using the hybrid, I can't go back.

As far as price, the place I go to charges $3.50 a nail. If they charged $35 I'd not know how I like them.

[Dakota Red]

oops

[Dakota Red]

I played "hybrid" style for 3 + decades before I finally figured out to get my wife to take me to a nail salon. It's not for everybody, works great for me.

Some [often Vietnamese] nail-salon workers across USA are initially nonplussed why you'd only want 2, 3 or 4 done, but simple " guitar" explanation's always been understood. BTW in Prague it's "Chitarra", pronounced "kee-tar-rah", works there too. Unfortunately no matter how many languages I use to tell the guy in the mirror to "play like Brent Mason" it just ain't gonna happen...

[CLAZ]

to me learning the material is most important!

(ps..I wouldn't consider fake nails the same importants as a fiddle bow)

Redd Volkaert for example...doesn't use fake nails and uses 11's (ahh..shock) and plays better chickin pickin', western swing, fake steel guitar stuff (the right way I might add) all with just a "25 cent flatpick and two regular plain ol' I just changed oil in my car fingers"....and has more knowledge of country music more than anyone around today


i am done with this thread now

[Flat357]

Originally Posted by CLAZ

to me learning the material is most important!

(ps..I wouldn't consider fake nails the same importants as a fiddle bow)

Redd Volkaert for example...doesn't use fake nails and uses 11's (ahh..shock) and plays better chickin pickin', western swing, fake steel guitar stuff (the right way I might add) all with just a "25 cent flatpick and two regular plain ol' I just changed oil in my car fingers"....and has more knowledge of c