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Ron.M -> RE: nails again! (Aug. 2 2009 12:17:43)
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It's epoxy.
I tried Arldite for a while...man, THAT is tough sh*t!
It would rip your nails right out of the nailbeds before it would break or come off. [:D]
(Paco Peña used to wear it on his thumb.)
The trouble is that it gives a very "glassy" sound where the Arldite meets the strings, so I used to put some ordinary hard-drying glue on top of that and then nail varnish to finish off.
I eventually became the glue monster with the Freddy hand.
Kicking the glue habit must have been as hard as kicking a drugs habit, as when the glue eventually came off due to the body's natural oiliness, my nails were eventually as thin as tissue paper and the whole routine would have to start again.
I've been nail "clean" for 10 years now and glad of it and would never go down that road again.
For a start, you tend to break nails doing OTHER THINGS than playing guitar.
Any time I've broken a nail while playing has been because of forcing something when I don't have the "feel" for it...ie.. BAD technique.
Guitar playing is not a heavy handed business.
You can't produce a controlled tone without feeling that nail to string contact and responding quickly and intuitively, much like an athlete IMO.
Athletes strain muscles and tear tendons etc by not picking up the signals fast enough or ignoring them and by letting their desire overrule their body feedback.
That's why they get so p*ssed off afterwards.
Guitar playing, especially Flamenco, involves playing with the nail sometimes at just below breaking point (ie within the elastic limit).
More concentration on this is better than researching the nail strengthening products IMO.
I also recognise that there was a certain amount of machismo and honour associated with nail hardeners and could often discuss with girls why my RH nails looked that way... (girls notice these things quickly [:D]) and it would give me a chance to sound like someone really interesting and unorthodox. [:D]
BTW..On the same mindset, I love how the TV chefs these days, have tried to take on this sexy/macho image by gritting their teeth and stirring something really vigourously with lots of gestures.. like it's really strenuous and physically challenging, but no bother to them, given their ex SAS field and weapons training in the past. [:D]
(F*cks sake man...wake up!...it's just stirring a bowl of f*cking fairy-cake mix for Christ's sake!....Stop kidding yourselves....it's just Home Economics, that all the girls did at school...when all the REAL men were doing METALWORK...you f'ing Tossers! [:D] )
Lest I go off on my usual grumpy rant, I shall exit now [;)] [:D]
cheers,
Ron
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