And does it ever stop hurting? I feel like I have to go right up next to the quick of the fingernail bed with the clippers to get them short enough. I’m tempted to get a fucking fingernail file at this point, lmao.
I did get some of these:
And those do give me more control, but I’m constantly having to fiddle with them. I had no idea my fingernails grew this fucking fast.
As you mention, fingernails grow quickly. For most people (non-players), it’s largely not a problem to use clippers to keep nails from going nuts.
When I learned to play fingerstyle guitar, I grew my nails as classical guitarists do. That worked great to be able to play with accuracy and dynamics.
But the problem every fingerstylist knows well was maintaining the nails’ shape and contours, especially since steel strings constantly wear them down unevenly.
My classical guitarist friend turned me on to using a crystal nail file instead of clippers, and that was the answer. Since I got my first nail file, I’ve never used clippers again.
Here’s the one I use. It makes short work of keeping nails…short.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TDDI6IS?ref_=ppx_hzod_title_mob_b_fed_asin_title_0_1
Hey that’s interesting I never would have even thought about maintaining the exact same shape and everything when I clip them I mostly just irritated cuz it hurts lol. I will definitely grab a file, thanks for the link. More toys lol.
Glad to help.
I grab my file any time I feel my nails even starting to click strings as I pluck. It just takes a few seconds to file them down to perfect length. 
Yeah, I also use a combination of clipping close and then a glass/crystal file to smooth off anything that’s left.
I thought I was doing this very regularly, especially on my plucking hand at one or two times a week, but having starting trying to learn a little guitar too, I’m at them like every other day. Stupid skinny guitar strings.
I got this one because I was already getting polish from Holo Taco. What’s more punkrock than painting your nail, amirit?
As is the case with playing any string instrument with fingers, your fingerstyle plucking touch will evolve to be more refined and lighter the more you practice.
Of course, there are some genres that require an aggressive attack. But most fingerstyle guitar playing does not.
I literally rip them off myself, have done so my entire life.
No clippers, no files, and it’s like a built in game to see if you can get one off in one piece.
D;
You Shouldn’t have to cut them so short that it hurts or requires special tools or techniques. Sometimes I use nail clippers, most times I find myself using my dykes at work when I hang one. My hair and nails grow super fast, but everyone’s different..
Try to aim for plucking with the meaty pads of your fingers and not the very tips and you’ll find that you won’t need to keep your nails painfully short.
That’s a good point, thank you. My plucking still sounds like hot bullshit tbh. As they grow out a bit I should try flattening my fingers more.
Mileage may vary here. For my index finger only, I have to keep it super, super short, as there’s not much pad on that finger and any slight bit of excess nail length will start clacking away at the strings.
I invested in a decent pair of sharp clippers that have a slightly different leverage mechanism than I typically see. Works really well and makes short work of nail maintenance. I mean, decent but not excessively fancy or anything. They do the job.
My girlfriend uses that too and told me that this is the most gentle way to do it.
I use a nail clipper and keep it really short, always did, cause: martial arts.
But her method is better, though time consuming … and you need to do it more often.
Hey, when you’re done with your fingernails, join a climbing/bouldering group and start clipping your toenails, too… 
I learned that there are no secrets:
Nail polish is the next thread, I reckon. I don’t like it, it feels as if someone has glued the top of my fingernail shut. But it looks cool!
I’m a chipped matte black kinda guy, usually 
I’ve found that as my technique improves, the length of my nails matters less. Not none, but less. I can play with my fingernails the length a “normal” person keeps them at.
Lol. Yup!
I actually enjoy nail polish on occasion. But because of the climbing thing, only my toes are painted. (First real gig I have, I am totally going to paint my fingernails a complimentary color to my bass.)s
I have the same problem. The middle finger has more padding, but the index finger is more slanted, so the nail has to be very short.
Instead of clipping them, I file my nails every other day. I aim to file all the whites away. So they are as short as possible, but not so short that they would hurt.
If I forget to file, then I have to cut them (I prefer nail scissors than clippers), but the best results are by filing them every other day.
(The only annoying thing about having short nails is that sometimes I have trouble opening knots, or picking up something small and flat from the floor 
. Never had this kind of problem when I had long nails.)
I just chew my nails 
(joking)
If ones finger nails are to long it makes it difficult to avoid hitting them on the strings.
If ones nails are to short it makes it impossible to use the nail like a pick, the right amount of nail for the style required.
Most people do best with very short nails for their entire bass life, not everyone wants or tries to play like Geddy.
I do the same thing lol
chipped black polish is like 75% of my personality, though I’ve been branching into more color options over the years.
