Hobohodou Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Hi there, first real post on the forums I guess, but was wondering if anyone could help, i've been playing on and off since I was 12 years old, i'm now 21, nearing 22 at the end of the year, so nearing 10 years on bass, but never advanced as much as i'd have liked because I'm allergic to strings, most times I play, within 24 hoursI gain blisters/irritation on my gingers between my middle and ring finger, and sometimes worse if i pay for more than about 3 hours, sometimes it's blisters, sometimes it just develops into open sores, and, well...I know i'm allergic to some kind of metal the strings use, as i've always been allergic to watches/belts etc etc etc, and I'd love to ask for some help from a real bass playing community. Y'see, I love bass, and I've loved bass playing for a long time, in the past couple of years, I discovered Justin Chancellor, Tony Levin, and Les Claypool, and as much as i'd love to learn a lot more of their stuff, everytime I play I end up in pain. which means I have to limit myself to playing 2-4 hours maximum per week. This always happens when playing bass, and is worse if i pick up electric guitar, I'm guessing it's the material the strings are made of, which I'm also assuming is Nickel, so I ask for help finally, I went to the doctor after I discovered I was allergic and was given a steroid cream which did well.....nothing at all pretty much, pain was still there, still broke out in blisters and gave up playing bass for a year or so when younger, at this moment in time I really want to move on to recording, perfecting songs and hopefully joining a band if I can, but the one thing that always holds me back is my allergy. So I beg of you community, do you know of any strings that may help me out? Does anyone else here suffer the same problem? and if you know a specific type of string that's helped you out could you link me to a place to buy it if at all possible? (finally, this one is less important, but if anyone knows of any Standard electric guitar strings which fit the profile too, i'd love to know, as I love music to death and would love to play more, but I always feel limited as I can't play for very long without an outbreak) Many many thanks in advance to anyone who can help me, and sorry if this is in the wrong section !!!! also before anyone asks if i can just wear gloves, I tried that when I first started, and it didn't work out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Nickel strings give some people allergies. Something made my fingers flare up for a bit, bit weird, maybe it was a particualr brand, but I generally use stainless steel. Anyway, you want try Elixirs, they are Goretex coated, feel a bit weird, but should sort the allergy, plus they stay bright for ages, should suit looking at your influences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faiz0802 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 (edited) Nylon, anyone? [url="http://www.bass-strings.com/about-nylon-tapewound-bass-strings"]About nylon tapewound bass strings[/url] [url="http://www.activemusician.com/item--MC.RS88L"]RotoSound Trubass Flatwound Black Nylon Bass Strings - Standard, 1 set[/url] Am not sure how these are, just aware. Hope you get better, have you consulted a doctor regarding your problem? Just a note, I'm allergic to dust or something a such, dunno what it is, but Ceterizine based pills help me out. You should ask your doctor about that. Hope this helps. Edited March 23, 2011 by faiz0802 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Burpster Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 3 makes of nylon wounds - Rotosounds (as above) D'Addario GHS. And wipe a cloth with anitsceptic hand gel and clean them after each playing - Sorted. (BTW if your wondering if they are any good - Herbie Flowers uses them listen to some of the stuff he's played on) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatEric Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Hi - Worth trying something that I have used. I bought 5 sets of Adagio coated bass strings off of e.bay, just to see what they were like - £9 ish a couple of years ago. Cracking strings - I have a set on one of my Odyssey basses and they are "Allergy Free" as they are coated in Titanium. Well worth a go for around a tenner and Very Good strings. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wil Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Nickel sets my hands off something awful. I used Elixers for a long time but they are nickel plated steel under the coating, and it did occasionally irritate my hands when the coating wore away. Stainless strings that I know don't cause me problems are DR Highbeams, D'Addario Pro Steels, Dean Markley Blue Steels, Elites Stadiums and Rotosound Swing 66s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
270degrees Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 You could try wearing gloves, as someone on here does (albeit for different reasons). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I've got Rotosound 88 nylon strings on my fretless (sound samples here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=127277"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=127277[/url] and you can compare them to the metal roundwounds on my other two basses). They're not a direct replacement for metal roundwounds at all soundwise but if the sound is right for you then they'll certainly solve your allergy problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el borracho Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 It's actually surprisingly common. A friend of mine has a nickel allergy and uses Stainless steel strings on guitar. Try stainless bass strings - they are freely available. I use them out of choice. It is a problem that also affects flute players - the cheaper ones are nickel plated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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