I think you can get a good strong pick attack with minimal nails, especially when your calluses build up. I keep mine just below the edge of my finger and pick with a combination flesh/nail.

To me the thumb is a different story. I saw Leo Kottke play and he had a really long thumbnail and a sharp angle to the string to provide the attack. Me, I use a Fred Kelly bumblebee pick that feels like a jazz sized flatpick, but clamps to your thumb. It give me a good attack, a natural hand position, and I can even flatpick on it now.

Excellent thread Tom. Thanks for starting it.

I have changed styles a lot in the 40+ years I've been playing off and on. I think (it's not easy to remember) that I started with a flatpick, and soon thereafter switched to bare fingers (and back then I practically had no fingernails at all - always tore the ends off from nervous habit). So I played the majority of my years with bare fingers that were all flesh contact - even my 12 strings. In the last 15 years however I was able to start growing my fingernails (although I still can lose one during an adventurous movie once in awhile). I learned that the nail really can allow a lot of flexibility in playing style (for me).

In the meantime I went back to flatpicks for a brief period. But in the last 5 years I have used a combination of nail and flesh for pseudo-fingerstyle playing.

In the last few months - maybe a year (and after reading how Tommy Emanuel uses a thumbpick along with bare fingers) I have started using thumbpicks and now started wearing a single Pro-pick F-tone on my index finger. I particularly like how the Pro-Pick F-tone has the metal loop around the outside of the contact area and a center of exposed flesh for an alternative. If there was a plastic material that was strong enough shaped the same way, I would be anxious to try it, but I'm not sure that such a material in such a configuration would last very long (if anyone knows of any such animal, please let me know).

Anyway, that's my story.
Tom

There's a entire forum on nails and strings at the classical site www.delcamp.net. I suppose much of that info is applicable to steel stringers. Many of the posters at Delcamp cite Scott Tennent's Pumping Nylon as their preferred guide to nail length and shape.

My nails only extend a tiny bit past the tip of my finger. Looking at my fingers from the front straight on, you can see only a sliver of nail around the fingertip. I find this length works well for both steel and nylon. I could go a little longer for nylon, but I don't like a pure nail sound (i.e., without flesh) on a steel string guitar. The most important thing for me is to polish the edges and under the nail with the finest sandpaper I can get (I sand the paper against itself to make it even finer). Otherwise I get non-musical noises.

Right now I'm using Onymyrre to prevent breakage. I haven't broken a nail since I started using it a a couple months ago, but I'm not yet ready to give the credit to Onymyrre. Many swear by this stuff and have used it for quite awhile. If you decide to try it, get it from an online beauty product store. It costs over $20 at the guitar shops, and $8 at the beauty product retailers.

i find that i am more comfortable playing bare fingered. i find that every time my nails are longer they get smashed somewhere somehow. it just feels better having them cropped down.

i'm no longer even using a thumbpick.

I have been trying to learn finger picking for a while and have tried various different formats, picks, angles, etc. for my thumb and myfingers.
I recently gave up on the finger picks. They were never comfortable and I didn't have any touch (or much coordination) using them. [For me the thumb pick is a must. I buy them buy the handful at McCabes because GC and other chain stores don't provide sufficient options. I find the key to be a plastic thumb pick that is not too long.]
For my fingers, I have been using bare skin but the sound is a bit dull and the difference between the thumb and fingers too noticable. Additionally, whenever my nails start to get long enough to use for picking, the strings tend to slice them up quite nicely without any warning.
Yesterday, I went by the drug store and purchased a nail "hardener" that was intended to be used under and over nail polish. I put on two coats on my middle and index fingers (the only fingers I pick with). The nails are very hard and the result was even better than I had hoped or expected. [I had to adjust the angle of my fingers a bit.] This is a new option but it seems to be working well.
When I grew up, men didn't use polish, etc and I never expected to have a few shiny nails. But I think that I am sold on this product.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: NoSkilz Paul,

I found this link to a Michael Hedges seminar. About 1 minute and 50 seconds in he talks about his approach to nails and nail maintenance. The sound quality is poor. He performs so much, his concerns may be different from the average player.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV4dpV2vL58

Excellent thread on a topic I have wondered about quite often. Thanks to everyone for all the solid responses.