Carles Trepat has a new video out. Just gorgeous:
Thanks to Tate Harmann for alerting me to this talk on nails and the lute. The nail debate in the lute world is the inverse of the guitar world — i.e. there’s a prejudice against nails. The first half of the video gives an excellent historical overview. I never knew that Francesco da Milano used fingerpicks (or rather, thimbles with small quills attached):
Tonebase did a one-hour conversation with Brandon Acker on playing without nails. Excellent as always:
This is in German, but it’s a brilliant overview of the flesh/nail question in the 19th century. The whole site is a must-visit for those interested in 19th century guitar history: https://biedermeiergitarre.jimdofree.com/spieltechnik/anschlag/
I don’t think I’ve ever shared a video of this trio on the site. Daniele Sardone and Danilo Delli Carri both play without nails (I’m not sure about Luigi Staffieri, thought it seems that he does as well). They have released several beautiful videos recently. For example:
No-Nail Guitar 
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