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Nails?
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ToqueNW
Posts: 16
Joined: Nov. 20 2008
From: Seattle
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RE: Nails? (in reply to at_leo_87)
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What a good question--and one that touches on a long standing (and surely pathological) obsession of mine. I don't know where you all fall in the spectrum, but I've got fairly weak nails, and, as such, have experimented with a lot of different approaches. - Products: There's no way I can get a solid practice (let alone a two hour show) in without something on my nails (I mostly play for dancers). I've tried superglue alone, but found that it chips off way too easily. Fiberglass (applies like silk) with glue works pretty well for strength, but still only lasts me a day or two (four tops). What I've been using lately (as in the last five or six months) and absolutely love is an acrylic "dip." A "dip" isn't what it sounds like--it's actually a jar of fine acrylic powder: you put a thin coat of glue on your nail, then dip it in the powder. I usually do three layers. The stuff sets up in about an hour, but sometimes I put it on before bed and work on it in the morning just to make sure it's solid. Anyway, once you've got the stuff on (I cover about half the nail), even it out with a medium file (80), then again with a fine (100). The acrylic will be smooth but sort of dull. I usually smooth and buff it (with a buffing block). This will make it look better--and I can't help but think my tone is just a bit sweeter with the smoother surface. This whole process sounds time intensive, but (setup time aside), now that I have a system, I can do it in about 20 minutes. The result is a thicker, harder nail--in my case it hasn't failed me yet (knocking on wood). Sometimes the edges start to come up, but a bit of glue will put them back down (I use glue with a brush applicator). The other nice thing is, if you do loose a chunk, you can "re-dip" the missing area only and re-shape; it blends smooth. I usually have to re-do my whole hand about once every two or three weeks. (My apologies if this is obvious to a lot of you, but I had never heard of this stuff before, so I'm explaining it like it just fell out of the sky. I did warn you that I have a "special" relationship with this topic.)
BTW, I DO NOT recommend the Sally Hansen brand "nail hardeners." These make nails "shiny" by putting a layer of not quite hard stuff on them--stuff that sounds crappy and scrapes/peels off in a day or two. I also don't mind saying that the fumes from this stuff made me physically ill. - Tools: A medium/fine emery board (I like the soft core ones) and a buffing block. I've experimented with metal and glass files. They work all right, but they don't feel very good (for what that's worth).
- Shape: I'm in the same boat as Stu:
quote:
my nails seem to be getting shorter as I progress. One thing I've notices since I've started in with the acrylic is that I have to file my nails more often--I'm pretty sure this is because I'm no longer wearing them down on my bass strings (i.e. they're holding up better). Also like Stu, I have also started ramping my index and middle up away from my thumb. I find this helps my picado a lot--it means that I can have a "shorter" nail thumb-side, so that fast runs are easier to hit with a flesh/nail combination (does that make sense?), but so that my nails on the little-finger side are still long enough for a crisp rasgueado. This has done some unholy things to the angle of my wrist during some passages (i.e. canted it back just about as far as it will go), but I've also found that by turning my wrist a bit and using the short (ramped) nail edge, the hand position makes up for the difference in length between my index and middle finger. This makes certain picado runs easier--and, just as importantly, doesn't seem to make other things harder. It took me a while to learn how to relax my wrist in this position, but so far so good. Regarding the thumb, I again agree with Stu:quote:
someone on the foro (koella??) posted that he had some advice to make his thumb nail shorter, and it massively improved his alzapua... I tried it and it did exactly the same!! I (alas), didn't pick this up of the foro, but I too find that a shorter thumb makes for a much easier fast alzapua. My recommendation: shave a bit off, try some alzapua, shave a bit more, try a bit more. It all depends on the shape of your thumb, but, in my case, anyway, once I hit the sweet spot (or length, as it were), I knew it. I also find, with a short thumb nail, that keeping a slight amount of flexion in the last joint of the thumb makes for wicked attack and control. (I find, having written this, that a lot of the "nail shape" stuff might not make a lot of sense. If anyone's interested, I can elaborate later. If not, well, that's fine too.) Okay, I realize that got really tangential, but my takeaway point is perhaps, like other people have mentioned here, that nails (like fingers, arm and torso length, etc.) are pretty personal. I'm usually a bit suspicious of someone who says they've got the right answer for everyone--I don't think there is a right answer for everyone (not that anyone here has done that; I'm just sayin'). But there are things that work well for some people. In any case, this is what I've found. BTW, I get a lot of my beauty . . . er, "nail care" products from a company called Trans Design. You can find glues here, dips and fiberglass are here. Also, I realize any discussion of nails of this length automatically opens one up to an irresistible temptation to ridicule. I also realize it's probably not wholly unwarranted. If I admit openly that this level of concern over nails is ridiculous, might I mitigate the inevitable heckling? I suppose we'll all see. Anyway, I hope some of that is useful. Best, Andy
_____________________________
Ravenna Flamenco www.ravennaflamenco.com
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Nov. 27 2008 0:11:00
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mark indigo
Posts: 3625
Joined: Dec. 5 2007
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RE: Nails? (in reply to Stu)
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i have really tough strong nails, and haven't broken one for years (touch wood!), but if i do a lot of dance accompaniment, and do a lot of hard and/or fast rasgeo it just wears away at the surface of the nail. it did happen once when i did a lot of rehearsals that one of my nails got so worn it got quite thin, and a tiny hairline crack appeared at the end of the nail, at which point i reached for the superglue! actually, i have tried lots of things, including super glue (and super glue and laters of rizla papers!), and for years used sally hansens "hard as nails" varnish (not the rubbery hardener crap). problem being that gets worn down too quickly and i'm lazy so i don't like spending too much time re varnishing. currently i'm using "nailene ultra quick" glue from boots/chemists. it dries quick, is rock hard, but seems slightly flexible. i clean it off and reapply every couple of weeks, but i usually let it get in quite a chipped and knackered state before i bother cleaning it all off and starting again. i don't like the acrylic powder you're supposed to use with it 'cos it goes too brittle and chips too easily. my finger nails are short, i and m almost straight across, a angled towards my pinky.... 'cos that's where i contact the strings....
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Nov. 28 2008 9:18:13
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