In pertickuliar..on the left hand..
For fretting..
Do you cut them short or let them grow.. n use them..
How do they..ahfect your playing..?
Some fretless banjos slide on the nail of the left hand, but otherwise I would trim them short. You risk creating ruts in the fretboard. I have some divots on guitars from untrimmed fretting hand nails.
Short-- stop the strings with the pad of the fingers. I am careful to keep my nails from hitting the fingerboard exactly for the aforementioned reason above.
I play antique banjos. I want them to continue to be played after I am gone.
A few of the banjo players in Trischka/Wernick's Masters of the 5-String Banjo said they intentionally kept a bit of nail on their fretting hand to improve the tone of the 2/3 slide on the third string by pressing down with the nail instead of the flesh. I forget who all said this... maybe Hartford? I don't have the book on me at the moment.
I keep mine short for non-banjo-related reasons.
I keep mine relatively short.*
They don't "affect my playing," as there's some sort of disconnect between my brain and fingers .... before any signal (?) gets to the ends of my fingers.
* and fwiw, I periodically clean 'em, too!! 
Keep my fingernails very short so when I fret, the nails don't mute the strings.
John McEuen , when recording the Circle album, noticed that Earl had longer fingernail on his right middle finger with a groove in it for getting a better sound when sliding on the thin first string.
I keep mine clipped short,, don’t like them hitting the fretboard.
Am I doing something wrong here ? I don't fret with the tops of my fingers. My nails don't touch the fretboard.
quote:
Originally posted by chuckv97John McEuen , when recording the Circle album, noticed that Earl had longer fingernail on his right middle finger with a groove in it for getting a better sound when sliding on the thin first string.
I keep mine clipped short,, don’t like them hitting the fretboard.
Huh...
I do that too but on me index finger. On me left hand..
As i gots picks on me right hand..
Tha Earl was pretty trickey... ;0)
Edited by - STUD figmo Al on 04/16/2025 16:54:02
STUD figmo Al
we’ll just call youStudEarl from now on ;-)
quote:
Originally posted by chuckv97STUD figmo Al
we’ll just call youStudEarl from now on ;-)
Oops, I meant on Earl's left hand finger
Edited by - chuckv97 on 04/16/2025 17:33:29
Heh..
Thought so... ;0)
My dad used to paint his fingernails. Pink on the weekend, if I remember correctly. It's not something I do. I hope this helps.
I find I get my best 3-2 pulloffs when my LH middle finger nail is almost a little too long for proper fretting. I don't actually pluck the string with my nail, but it acts like a retaining wall to stiffen the blob of flesh that is my fingertip. Otherwise, I keep my nails short.
I think Terry Baucom may have felt that way, though he explained it differently, IIRC.
Edited by - Ira Gitlin on 04/17/2025 06:07:14
quote:
Originally posted by Ira GitlinI find I get my best 3-2 pulloffs when my LH middle finger nail is almost a little too long for proper fretting. I don't actually pluck the string with my nail, but it acts like a retaining wall to stiffen the blob of flesh that is my fingertip. Otherwise, I keep my nails short.
I think Terry Baucom may have felt that way, though he explained it differently, IIRC.
Bingo..
That sounds familure..
I get that , Ira, if doing a true pulloff,,, but I usually do a pushoff with the 3-2 on the 3rd string. Snappy push/pulloffs work best for me if I have lots of callous and I initially press hard into the fretboard with both fingers.
(as per Tom E , "I ask no one to agree") ;-)
Edited by - chuckv97 on 04/17/2025 06:47:14
