Blisters

[hairyhatman]

Didn't play for about six weeks and then developed some very beautiful perfectly formed blisters after gigging for three hours (naturally). Just curious what my bass brothers and sisters think. Just tough it out or do you have any tips? One tip I saw was to pee on your fingers haha. Anyone doing that?

Edited February 11, 2015 by hairyhatman

[Bilbo]

It goes with the territory, I am afraid. I play regularly with a lot of great players and mostly I am ok but, occasionally, when a Simon Spillett or a Gilad Atzmon comes along, you are driven farther and faster than normal and, under these circumstances, soreness and blistering is a distinct possiblity. 6 weeks without playing is more than enough time for the skin on your fingers to soften. There are creams you can get to help but, overall, I think that maintaining your callouses through regular playing and practice is the only foolproof way of staying on top of it.

[TPJ]

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1423646945' post='2687319'] 6 weeks without playing is more than enough time for the skin on your fingers to soften. There are creams you can get to help but, overall, I think that maintaining your callouses through regular playing and practice is the only foolproof way of staying on top of it.
[/quote]

^^ This.

Recently I changed strings and got a blister under my callouses, and they were pretty built up. If you manage the blisters well, they firm up nicely. Just try to keep the skin from peeling. If you know you will be playing a lot and your fingers aren't ready, you can either tape them or carefully apply supper glue.

[BobVbass]

I use tape ever since I built up a really tough callous on my forefinger which then proceeded to blister and peel away during a (admittedly long and fast playing) gig. Micropore is best

[Hector]

To an extent, blisters and calluses are part of DB life. You could also consider (with the help of a good teacher?) how you are pizzing the string - proper technique, using the right amount of flesh on the finger etc. - as this can sometimes make a difference.

[Bilbo]

Agreed, Hector. I seem to be able to play all night on the side of my index finger without any problems but, if the lines are more involved (funk, some Latin, soloing etc), I find it near impossible not to move to a two fingertips approach and that is when the risk of a blister can increase exponentially.

[Hector]

Glad that's someone else's experience! I noticed the blisters got less serious/frequent when I got my act together and started putting more fingermeat on the string when I pizz. Wasn't sure if it's just I'd been playing long enough to callus more thoroughly or if it was the technique change; so nice to have it confirmed.

Yeah, have been trying to work some bop vocabulary at faster tempi, and have noticed the pads starting to get a bit sore.

[TPJ]

What's also tricky is doubling. I have thick callouses on my right index and middle finger from playing slab. I got the blister under the index finger but to the side as I was using the meat of the finger for DB. My right index finger ends up looking like a Chupa Chup when I have a lot of gigs on both slab and db

[Owencf]

I can see that Bass players finger tape being linked soon .

i patched my blisters up with a dab of superglue once its broken to hold the skin together a bitty longer to allow the meat under to toughen a little.

[Mr Bassman]

Get a bottle of surgical spirit and keep dabbing some on your fingers where they come into contact with the strings.

Start using it before the heavy gig.

Works every time for me if I have a lay off.

[hairyhatman]

Thanks folks for all the great tips. Time to experiment.

[gilmour]

Steve Vai (I know he's not an upright player) advocates peeing on your own hands to build up tougher calluses.

Rumour has it no one will shake hands with Steve Vai.

[Owen]

[quote name='Owencf' timestamp='1423679331' post='2687893']
i patched my blisters up with a dab of superglue once its broken to hold the skin together a bitty longer to allow the meat under to toughen a little.
[/quote]

Superglue before the event. As soon as you get to the stage of thinking "hmmm...I might blister up here" then put a layer of glue on. It holds everything together. I have not blistered for years and in no way keep my right hand match fit because my gigging is MUCH more infrequent these days.

[Huge Hands]

If they get worse and burst - I once did a gig with burst blisters on my fingertips - they were red raw. Superglue was suggested on this forum and I put a layer on before the gig - this helped me get through the gig quite well, and much better than "New Skin" which I think was also suggested (seems like the same stuff but weaker concentration). I did have to apply a new layer every couple of songs or so, and make sure I blew them dry while the singer was waffling so I didn't stick to the strings!