I go w/ either quarters and/or my fingers when picks aren't available. Fingers can get you a better tone than using a pick I think, but its harder, and not easy to master. Works great for like slow blues stuff or funky chunking of chords. The quarters on the other hand give this great tone, although thinner or more metallic sounding than a pick, its very different. Billy Gibbons sounding I guess. :rolleyes: It can be uber rough on strings though. I'd start fingerpicking just cuz it's very handy when you lose your pick or when dumb friends don't have any, and the tone is a definite plus. Go buy some picks though. And you know what, if you hang with enough musicians you're bound to find dozens of them lying on the floor anyways.