Faqs

• How do Tiptonic Finger Picks stay on? Tiptonic Finger Picks hold tightly onto your fingers—even during aggressive strumming—due to an innovative attachment mechanism that combines slotted sidewalls (that grab underneath the corners of the free edge of the nail) with a micro-thin layer of tacky, re-usable adhesive on the nail plate. While picking or strumming can't eject the pick, a slow pressure downward and outward away from the cuticle easily pops the pick right off when you finish playing.
• Will Tiptonic Finger Picks damage my nail? No, under normal use there should be no evidence at all that they had been used. Our adhesive is medical grade, and safe for contact with human skin. When taking off your picks, the adhesive comes cleanly off of your nail, and stays on the pick. A correct fit does not involve squeezing or bending the nail in any way. Your nail will remain protected no matter how demanding the performance, therefore there should be no damage at all to your nail or finger.
• What does the material sound like? Tiptonic Finger Picks produce an exceptionally well-balanced tone. We make our picks from Delrin, a widely used pick material know for its durability and the quality of sound it produces. In addition, Each playing surface on the pick has been carefully crafted to provide the right amount of surface area, mass, smoothness, and edge to provide silky and clear highs, strong bass, and increased volume (when you play harder). In contrast, fingernails sound thin, fingertips sound muddy, and banjo picks sound metallic and brittle. Optionally, Tiptonic Finger Picks can also add a bit of length past the end of your nail. This gives you the ability to play up and down strokes without your finger hitting and dampening the string on each stroke. Single note glissando passages can easily sound like you are using a flat pick. We offer different lengths so that you can dial in the exact right length for your style of play.
• Do I need long fingernails to use Tiptonic Finger Picks? Finger Picks work better if you have a small amount of overhanging free edge on your nail, but those with broken or short nails can use them too. We recommend that you shoot for a minimum nail length of 1-2 mm (about 1/16"). Since our picks catch under the nail on each side and not in the middle, just tiny bit of overhang on the sides is required. The slot is only about ten thousandths of an inch deep in this area. If you can see at least a tiny bit of "white" overhang on the side then your nails are ideal.
• Do I need to trim my nails to use Tiptonic Finger Picks? Not necessarily, but many musicians who adopt Finger Picks realize that you no longer have to obsess over the length of your nails. So they tend to wear them slightly shorter than they would if they were playing with the natural fingernails. Tiptonic Finger Picks add a minimum of 0.050” (1.27 mm or slightly less than 1/16") past the end of your nail. Thus, if you want the Finger Picks the exact same length as your nails when you were playing with nails only, then you should trim the nail very slightly. Many players, however, like one or all of their Finger Picks to extend further out past the end of their nail to minimize string contact with the fingertip (enabling much faster picking). We offer different playing lengths so that you can select the correct pick for your music.
• Can I play my Tiptonic Finger Picks with a broken nail? Yes, Finger Picks still work fine if the nail is completely broken. If you have a little bit in the corners of the free edge of your nail, leave it on. For best results, don’t trim off the longer parts of a broken nail until it grows back in some. The most important areas to have are a bit of overhanging nail on each side where the nail leaves the nail bed (known as the free edge). Sometimes a Finger Pick one size narrower than your normal one can grab a broken nail. We give you a range of sizes in the Starter Kit so you have narrower picks for just such an emergency.
• I play fast rock solos on electric guitar with a flat pick and only do a little bit of finger picking. Can I use Tiptonic Finger Picks for soloing? Yes! Tiptonic Finger Picks work great for fast up and down strokes on single string runs. The smooth finish will give you increased speed and precision. Using Finger Picks that are longer than your nails moves the string contact area away from your fingertip increasing speed much in the same way that flat picks do. But you can also drop right into fingerpicking without having to toss or palm your pick.
• How do Tiptonic Finger Picks increase the dynamic range of my playing? Tiptonic Finger Picks add mass and increase the surface area for string contact thereby dramatically increasing your playing volume when you hit hard. You will have total control from whisper quiet to full throated screams. The ability to play much louder when needed, ultimately increases your dynamic range.
• I do a lot of finger tapping. Can I use Tiptonic Finger Picks? Yes. Since our Finger Picks mount on the nail and not the finger, the pad of your finger is free to attack the string.
• Do you make Finger Picks for the Left Hand? No, since our Finger Picks go over and around your nail they are side specific. At present, we are offering Right hand picks only. Lefties, check back for a future release.
• What colors are available for Tiptonic Finger Picks? Tiptonic Finger Picks are currently offered in opaque white only.
• Where can I buy / Where do you sell Tiptonic Finger Picks? Purchase Tiptonic Finger Picks and related products right here on our website. We make Tiptonic Finger Picks in the U.S.A. We sell and ship anywhere in the United States as well as Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and the UK. If your Country is not listed please contact us for more info at britt@tiptonic.com
• How long can I leave on Tiptonic Finger Picks? Once you activate and put on your picks they will stay in place all day if needed. We recommend removing them when you are done playing for the day, and generally, we do not recommend sleeping overnight with your picks on. It is okay to wash your hands with Tiptonic Finger Picks on your nails, neither the adhesive nor the pick material reacts with water. Remove your picks before using hand oils, lotion or handling greasy food as oils interfere with the adhesion. You can clean accidental oils that contact the adhesive by wiping lightly with an alcohol swab or rubbing alcohol.