Pick or fingers

[Bluesboy998]

Which do you prefer.

 

[NomadMike]

A hanky or tissue for me.

 

[László]

I dunno, fingers come in really...handy.

 

[Bluesboy998]

I use my fingers late night practicing, now I've got so accustomed to using my fingers I find it hard to go back to my pick.

 

[Texas_minor_blues]

both!

 

[Kazz]

Whichever works best for a song. If it was as written to be finger picked it'll be difficult or impossible to play (as written) with just a pick, and on the other side I'm not interested in tearing my fingers up trying to play metal songs without a pick.

 

[Huggy Love]

Pick mostly, but thumb for my late night Wes Montgomery kinda noodling.

 

[wardog]

fingers

 

[markintime]

Fingers. Never could do "Scarborough Fair" with a pick. But I'm trying....

 

[sergiodeblanc]

A hanky or tissue for me.

winner.

 

[tabl10s]

Started pick, but the before the 17-year break, I never had a pick when I would go to stores. Now, I can barely hold one firmly while practicing scales. Fingers most of the time with a sprinkle of hybrid.

 

[prsrocker1988]

Fingers to use a pick.

I hate when guitar stores won't let you use picks to try guitars...I mean I understand the idea, but it basically makes me sound like @ss as I don't do fingerpicking and can only play little noodley stuff and I come across as having less talent than I do and it sounds really wanky.

In fact I won't buy from a local store like that, I chose the local stores that let me play with picks. I understand kids coming in just to show off their brootalz and bang stuff up, but if I'm going to buy something I need to play it the way I play and I just can't do fingerpicking. For one I have huge hands with long piano type fingers that extend way past the strings and it isn't comfortable to finger or hybrid pick for that matter. It isn't physically possible. Same for the reason I put my thumb over the top of the neck. It isn't comfortable to play any other way as I have huge hands and it physically hurts to put my thumb behind the neck.

 

[jfine]

Hybrid (pick and fingers).

 

[Mixstar]

Finger pickers all the way . . .

 

[jay]

70% fingers
30% pick

Fingers, other than giving more diverse possibilities, incentivate me doing less notes, which tends to be a good thing for me.
There are things though that I can't do without a pick (even non super-fast things).

 

[CoreyT]

Pick 100%.

 

[veinbuster]

Classical: all fingers
steel acoustic: 70% fingers
electric: about half and half

I always start playing with my fingers and then grab a pick when I want to play something that sounds better with a pick.

 

[CVS]

Today at home - fingers 40% pick 60%
Today when playing in band - pick 80% fingers 20%
3 years ago - pick 100%
Goal - 50-50 all situations

 

[NomadMike]

Interesting the two hand positions between the two, and Chet seamlessly switches between fingers and using just a pick for some of his speedier runs.

Finger pickers all the way . . .

 

[garrettb]

Hybrid in general. It's been hard to NOT play that way since learning it.

Fingers for slide and for other situations when it makes sense for the sound I want.

A lot of variation available between pick and fingers. Well worth exploring.