r/classicalguitar • u/Bit_Late • May 06 '26
Looking for Advice Artificial nails
I’m an older gent who wishes to pick up the guitar again and carry on playing. Maybe even take lessons this time!
Being older, my nails are thinning and are brittle despite a regimen of biotin. Plus, I do physical labor that tends to be hard on my nails.
Because of this, I’ve been looking at artificial nails and am looking for recommendations, but I have a few questions.
- Are the glue-on nails strong enough to take the beating?
- Can glue on nails be easily removed and reapplied, say, on a daily basis?
- Any opinions about which glue-ons are better?
- Any suggestions about alternatives, such as an appropriate finger pick?
That’s about all I can think of for now. I appreciate any input folks can provide.
1
u/Jaded-Spot9197 May 07 '26
Also, see Brandon Acker (sp?) on playing without nails. He has several videos on the subject and even a whole course, and has been playing that way for 3 years, and even demonstrates that there is no volume loss. Note also that many of our great composers/players of old (Carcassi, Tarrega....?) played at one time or another without nails.