Thump Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 How long did it take you to build up enough hardened skin on your fingers so as to not be in pain when trying to play? I thought my fingers would be fine with the shift to bass from the previous two decades of guitar playing. Not so. In fact fretting is a little sore at times and it feels like i'm developing blisters on my fingertips. Guess i'm just gonna have to ease back a little and let them recover , which is the hard bit. Generally when i'm not working or looking after my kids there is a bass in my hands , i just can't stop trying to improve my playing at every given opportunity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I actually have the opposite issue... I'm fine on bass after years of playing but when I occasionally play guitar the strings cut in like cheese wire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Took a while...hard for me to place exactly how long, but I can remember coming away from rehearsals with shredded fingertips a good two or three years after I first took up the bass. If I remember rightly, it stopped hurting quite a bit before that. I did find GHS Fast Fret was quite good for reducing the friction between my fingertips and the strings, especially as I would have been sanding off a lot of skin back then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lw. Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Couple of months maybe. Though I still get little blisters now if I do several nights in a row with a lot of digging in on the strings (depends on the band/sound). Have you considered not plucking the strings as hard? Or installing flats? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thump Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 [quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1427302352' post='2728612'] Have you considered not plucking the strings as hard? Or installing flats? [/quote] I like the sound a good hard pluck makes. And as for flats , they will be a future excuse for more basses just like a fretless , 5 string , 6 string etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coilte Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 (edited) [quote name='Thump' timestamp='1427303835' post='2728631'] I like the sound a good hard pluck makes. [/quote] That could be a part of your problem. As I see it, another part might be playing for too long at a time. My advice would be to give the fingers a day or so to recover. Then play for about half an hour to forty five minutes a day for about five days to a week. After that, increase the time to an hour. Ease back if you feel any pain. One other thing to consider is whether you are pressing down too hard when you fret. It might seem annoying and frustrating not to be able to play when and for as long as you want, but it should only be for a short time. Besides, what can be more annoying and frustrating than having those dreaded blisters. Edited March 25, 2015 by Coilte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twincam Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Depends what strings but within a month, when i first started playing i literally bleed on strings. High tension flatwounds still hurt not the skin but internally to the bone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeEvans Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Years ago I was playing a gig with my beloved cream Tokai Jazz copy, probably fairly drunk, and I noticed that the people at the front of the audience were really staring at my bass. I assumed that they must have been wondering what kind of rare and precious instrument could produce such an awesome sound, or perhaps gazing in astonishment at my amazing right hand skills. But then I looked down and saw that the bass was all spattered with blood because the end of one finger had kind of come to pieces without me properly noticing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thump Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 Yeah i guess i will have to cut back for a while and let things happen as and when they will. Will be a bit frustrating but its not forever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seashell Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I can't remember how long it took to build them up. But a few weeks ago my washing machine broke down and I had to do loads of hand washing before I could get a replacement. My callouses started softening up! Oh no! Got a new washing machine before my hands totally reverted to total princess mode. Phew! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeEvans Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I heard it said that if you mop a little bit of surgical spirit on your fingertips regularly it toughens them up. No idea if this is true, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Sausage Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 to be honest i don't mind a bit of finger pain. It's tendon pain i dislike! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 [quote name='Thump' timestamp='1427300709' post='2728579'] How long did it take you to build up enough hardened skin on your fingers so as to not be in pain when trying to play? [/quote] It didn't. I play for hundreds of hours a year and I don't have blisters or callouses. If you're in pain when you play you're doing it wrong. Never mind your fingers, you're risking RSI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentalextra Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1427310817' post='2728779'] It didn't. I play for hundreds of hours a year and I don't have blisters or callouses. If you're in pain when you play you're doing it wrong. Never mind your fingers, you're risking RSI. [/quote] Strangely I never suffered from callouses. Although apparently I have hands like bunches of banana's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 [quote name='JoeEvans' timestamp='1427308903' post='2728733'] I heard it said that if you mop a little bit of surgical spirit on your fingertips regularly it toughens them up. No idea if this is true, though. [/quote] This is true, I used it last summer after a gig on a very hot night had made my fingers soft because of the heat & humidity. We had a gig the following night and my fretting fingers were very sensitive, I wasn't sure I'd be able to finish the second set. Surgical spirit repaired the damage before the next gig a week later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 (edited) Strangely enough I never have any problems with this when practicing or rehearsing, however when I play gigs I always end up with sore fingers the next day. I obviously play much harder in front of a crowd. And all this after 30+ years of playing. Go figure. Edited March 25, 2015 by White Cloud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thump Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 Its not that i fret too hard or anything, i just can't put the damn thing down! My wrist is fine , my fingers are fine , zero pain from anything tendon related. But the fingertips.... not tough enough. Yet. To enlighten further , if my wife is at work and the kids are at grannies house for the day , then i'm playing bass. The entire day. I will practice for as long as possible. Literally. The other day i managed a seven hour session with only breaks for toilet etc. I simply cannot help myself , bass has become an all consuming passion for me , the more i play the happier i am. I used to smoke , up until my friends 21st when we both agreed to stop. That was 15 years ago and i have not looked back since , no regrets at all. No yearning for it , nothing. But bass? totally different. I have to take a bass into work with me just in case i get a quiet period so i can practice some more. I just do not want to stop playing them. EVER. Maybe some Iommi style fingertips are in order... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 That's all good, but you've got to find a way to modify your technique and play with less force in both hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles'tone Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 What's the set up and nut height like on you bass? You may benefit from a better set up so you're not trying too hard and nickel strings as they are smoother generally. Just throwing that out there so sorry if this doesn't apply to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 IN my own experience the trick is to stop playing before blisters form. Once you have blisters the skin will invariably come off and you're back to square one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman Steve Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I find flats are worse. I figure that this is because they have more surface area on the skin (like a racing slick). The other trick is to plunge your fingertips into the hottest water you can stand. The fretting crushes the little blood vessels in your fingertips and the hot water opens them back up again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kendall Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 [quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1427300938' post='2728583'] I actually have the opposite issue... I'm fine on bass after years of playing but when I occasionally play guitar the strings cut in like cheese wire. [/quote] Exactly this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No lust in Jazz Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Around 18 months ago, I returned to playing fingerstyle after years of playing with a plectrum. For the finger tips of my plucking hand, it was a painful experience, but it took longer for the tendons in my fingers to become robust enough to gig. It took 6 months of regular playing before I was happy enough, not to have a plectrum handy - I practice for around 2 hours most days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Yeah a bit of surgical spirit put on daily did the trick for me when starting out. Also it might be worth looking at changing brand of string. Some are much tougher on the fingers than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qlank Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Try nickel wound strings. A lot easier on the fingers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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