Many guitarists have questions about playing with fingerpicks versus using bare fingers.
Both ways are fine and unique. They offer different sound colors. I personally like to often use fingerpicks but depending on the nature of the music I go with bare fingers also. The guitar is always like that. There are many ways to play the same things achieving different results in terms of comfort, tone, etc. Ultimately is the music dictating what is needed. If you don’t listen to it you might ruin a perfectly beautiful composition by producing a forceful sound which might not go with the mood.
Technically speaking it is true to say that there are specific techniques or tricks that can be played much easily with picks than without them.
When it comes to what picks to choose I personally use most of the time plastic fingerpicks and preferably the brands Dunlop or Planet Waves. And I say “most of the time” because I also use metal fingerpicks in some occasions.
When it comes to fingerpicks you have to count on the type of sound you want, the type of sound your guitar has, the type of music you are playing and the quality of the fingerpicks maker.
Let’s go step by step...
I use Dunlop and Planet Waves because other brands I have tried make their picks with a thin plastic that besides not giving a nice tone they break easily and don’t stay firm on your fingers. If the plastic is too thin picks become flexible and don’t hold well. Also this makes them to not create enough pressure against the strings so your sound will be light and without good definition. The only time I would use thin picks (if I get some that can stay firmly on my fingers) is when playing something that is only simple strumming of chords, background kind of stuff.
About the type of music you are playing....
Certain styles like Blues or Bluegrass usually call for a more aggressive sound. So sometimes depending on the guitar I use I would put on some metal picks to get dirty. But metal makes a lot of noises when striking the strings and their tone sometimes is too bright. If I feel that they are too much I change to plastic.
Also if you play these styles in a band situation metal strings give you and extra punch to cut through the sound of the band and be heard.
Another case would be playing for instance Hawaiian music, plastic here would be real nice, warmer, with less noise and more even.
About your guitar sound...
As you probably know there are no perfect guitars in terms of one guitar giving you all kind of sounds. But there are many things we can easily do to get them. Like using different types of strings and in this case picks.
For instance; if your guitar has a wide dynamic range, gets super loud and it is really bright you might never want to use metal picks. (Well, unless you need a really piercing super bright sound).
In a “normal” guitar you can have different sets of picks so you compensate and balance its sound using one set or another.
The type of sound you want…
This would be your ultimate goal. Keeping in mind the things I just told you when you approach a piece of music you want to have the ideal guitar sound on your head. That becomes your guide in order to take decisions. So be careful when getting too caught up in the thinking of things. Make sure that you always step back and connect with the music. This habit will not only help you with what we are talking right now but will also give you much insight about other important musical decisions.
This article comes from “Advanced Steel Guitar Method Vol. I by Fernando Perez”.