Pickin' on Mosrite...

[Veenture]

Hey gang, finally got my cd of Merle Travis and Joe Maphis and let me tell you it is a joy to listen to the kinda pickin' I've missed the first time round. You see, my interest in Mosrite only started with the Ventures playing them, …but there was Mosrite of course, prior to them also. I'm a little late but catchin’ up now …incredible stuff!

(CMH Records CD-8445)

Another cd is on the way: Joe Maphis – Fire on the Strings (Columbia)

[TimR]

I've got the lp (remember vinyl?) of "Fire on the Strings". Great album ........

[MOSDAN]

Veenture, I'm glad you like your new CD. The cover reminds me of an old friend and neighbor of mine that passed away about 6 years ago. He grew up with Merle Travis and used to sit on the Mulenburg County Courthouse in Bowling Green, Kentucky as a young man and pick guitar with Merle. His name was Andrew Penrod and let me tell you even in his old age he could really finger pick guitar. I learned so much about finger style picking guitar from Andrew that it brought a new deminsion to my playing. He told me many stories of he and Merle Travis when they were growing up together and believe me it was a true music history lesson every time we picked together and he started talking of the times he had with Merle before Merle became famous. Yes, he was friends with the Travis family, including Thom Bresh, up to do the day of his passing. Thought I would just share this with you.

[Veenture]

Thank you for sharing that wonderful account MOSDAN. I wish I could finger pick. You know something...I didn't realise it at the time but now I know for sure that the finger picking style of Nokie Edwards, playing his lead with the Ventures gave the Band a new exciting sound. So many notes coming from one single guitar ...amazing style woven into Rock & Roll guitar instrumentals!

Another fine country style of playing is by DON RICH (of Buck Owens' Buckaroos). I absolutely love his playing on that Tele of his. It would be great to hear him play on a Mosrite he had though (still haven't found any pic of Don playing it).

[MOSDAN]

Veenture--the hard part about finger picking is not the actual picking with the fingers. It's getting that darn thumb to do what it is suppose to do. Of all the fingers it is the most stubborn digit and you better believe it has a mind of it's own and will do everything but what you want it to. My friend Andrew mastered his thumb, Hah-hah, made it look so easy. He used it just like Merle did and taught me to learn the thumb part first before adding the rest of the fingers. It was easy for him to say and do but my thumb just didn't want to learn. Eventually I learned from my friend Andrew and also my friend Doyle Dykes gave me some pointers. No, cussing at your thumb won't help but the image of a guy sitting there with a guitar cussing at his thumb brings up some laughs. I now do a lot of hybrid picking with a regular pick and my fingers in the Johnny Hiland style with the pick picking bass and rhythm and the fingers picking melody. This style is great for "Chicken Picking" and playing lead in country music and the style sounds fabulous on a Mosrite. I don't know where you live but someday, by chance, if we could get together and do some Mosrite picking I would share the many styles I have learned over the years. Maybe I could also learn some new forms from you.

[MWaldorf]

I suppose this is wandering off topic, but whenever I've tried the hybrid picking (using a pick and fingers) I can never get the finger picked strings to have the attack and volume of the plectrum picked strings. I suspect it would be easier if I could tolerate having longer fingernails, but the neurotic in me won't let that happen.

[brutus]

Hey if you play Mosrite you got to keep the fingernails trim on the left hand or it gets a little hard to fret the notes. I do some finger picking stuff so I have real short nails on my left and long nails on my right.
I do this thing were I hold my pick in the crook of my ring finger while finger-picking
then flip it back when I'm done, anybody else do this?

[GattonFan]

I am a thumb-picker, and agree with Mel, that the attack is less than that of a flat pick. For flat picking, I usually revert to "faking" by using the nail on my index finger - seems to be more versatile than even a pick. There are trade-offs either way you choose to play - pick or fingers.

Dennis

[Veenture]

Veenture-- I don't know where you live but someday, by chance, if we could get together and do some Mosrite picking I would share the many styles I have learned over the years. Maybe I could also learn some new forms from you.

That sounds good...so if you're around Amsterdam one day, who knows...?! You're perfectly welcome but I don't know about this old dog here learning some new tricks...
Mosdan, GattonFan, brutus and Mel, interesting to read how you guys do your finger & thumb thing. Sometimes when I play the rhythm part on one or two songs, for certain numbers (open accords) I just use my thumb to get a more subtle or gentle attack and sound...and it definitely gives me a better/closer, more accurate feel for the strings (Braile reading comes to mind). End of ramble...