Plucking finger pain

[lowlandtrees]

I have come to bass late but a practice a lot. However every time that I have a bath or do the dishes or get my skin wet for longer than a few minutes, it seems that my plucking finger hardened skin gets damaged and I go back two steps. I am in a new band that has a gig in a couple of weeks. I can definitely play one set ...we are only playing one but it is a right pain in the cheeks. I have started rehearsing with a plectrum which is ok but not the same. Been thinking about limiting my bathing but my wife is not keen.

[casapete]

Start with using Marigolds for the washing up....😄

Sounds like it's a skin problem rather than muscular then? Have you tried regularly using a good quality hand cream? A guitarist mate of mine has a similar problem and finds that doing this helps him a lot. E45 is pretty good and not that expensive too. 

[Mykesbass]

Surgical spirit, or flatwounds (or both).

Edited March 30, 2019 by Mykesbass

[TheGreek]

Spoonerism?? What's a "plinger"??

[chris_b]

You can do all that stuff. . . but how about not digging in so hard?

I can do 4 set gigs or 5 gigs in a week and the washing up on all of those days and my fingers are fine. I don't have hard skin or callouses.

As far as I know the only difference between us is I don't pluck the strings hard.

[Cuzzie]

All the above, turn the gain up on the amp and pluck lighter.

Look at Rocco Prestia and how powerfully But lightly he plays

[casapete]

6 minutes ago, chris_b said:

I can do 4 set gigs or 5 gigs in a week and the washing up on all of those days and my fingers are fine

When I do 4 or 5 gigs a week these days I'm too knackered to do the washing up. 😅

[ubit]

Buy a dishwasher!

[DrBike]

2 hours ago, chris_b said:

You can do all that stuff. . . but how about not digging in so hard?

After years of "digging in" I found it much better to turn the amp up more and just play lighter on the strings with my plucking hand ... Let the amp do the work.

Something else I've done is take a tub of vaseline and just rub a little on the ends of my plucking fingers.  It helps avoid blisters when you do have to dig in.

[chris_b]

5 minutes ago, DrBike said:

Something else I've done is take a tub of vaseline and just rub a little on the ends of my plucking fingers. 

In the 60's a bas player called Binky McKenzie used to put Vaseline on his left hand so he could get around the neck a little easier.

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, ubit said:

Buy a dishwasher!

I married one 

A guy i know soaks his fingertips in vinegar the day of a gig. Also saves getting vinegar on his after-gig chips i reckon.

I used to get similar when i first started playing bass because i played so hard with my plucking fingers and even had blood coming from my finger on one occasion. Turn up the amp and lighten your touch. You may also need to adjust your EQ as a lighter touch with more gain i find has more low end and i usually pull the bass back a little to compensate.

I use moisturiser on my finger tips both hands. I have an issue with my index finger on fretting hand due to digging in with certain basses that have higher frets. I occassionally put some Voltarol on my index finger but only if i have any jagging pain. I don't get it with any other fingers and i never get it when playing my Jazz bass. Its usually my PJ with the taller frets.

Dave

[DoubleOhStephan]

3 hours ago, chris_b said:

You can do all that stuff. . . but how about not digging in so hard?

^^this^^ it's all about the caress 😉

[lowlandtrees]

Thanks will try some of this stuff. I have a an Ibanez artcore short scale 5. The string tension is high and may account. I tried lighter strings but they seemed floppy to me. I like the feel of flats but not a fan of the sound. I might dig in too hard although I mainly notice the problem when practicing at home. Will take note at the next band practice.

I read somewhere that old DB jazzers ...when they needed some lube on their plucking fingers mid set would rub said fingers down the side of their noses...presumably their own noses....I have tried this with some success....I don’t think that my own nose is greasy enough though....might have to bother the drummer 

 

[dmccombe7]

That just sounds disgusting and i'll never buy a bass from you now. 

[Dan Dare]

You say you've come to it late and practice a lot. Have you been playing long? It takes a bit of time to develop good callouses. Also, you refer to your plucking finger singular. Are you only using the one? If so, I presume it's the index. Try alternating first and second fingers (I know Jamerson used only his index finger, but he was a one-off). You'll halve the amount of stress on the skin of each.

[BassTractor]

6 hours ago, TheGreek said:

What's a "plinger"??

A professional beggar, according to Wiktionary. Whoda thought! 🙂

[lowlandtrees]

1 hour ago, Dan Dare said:

You say you've come to it late and practice a lot. Have you been playing long? It takes a bit of time to develop good callouses. Also, you refer to your plucking finger singular. Are you only using the one? If so, I presume it's the index. Try alternating first and second fingers (I know Jamerson used only his index finger, but he was a one-off). You'll halve the amount of stress on the skin of each.

I have been playing around 7 years. Recently moved to DB but then joined a rock band 6 months ago so have been playing a lot of ebass. I mostly use my thumb and forefinger. I can alternate with two fingers but find the thumb much more comfortable and fluent. I think Jamerson originally played DB and moved to ebass and used a lot more open strings? Yes a one off. Bet he never volunteered to do the dishes!

 

[sunfish]

Interesting posts. Ive been playing for many years but im now getting a very sore index finger after every gig. Good point about playing softer. I start off playing soft but after a couple of songs im really digging in again. Cant help it. Im even considering learning to use a pick on  few songs.  I will have to try to control myself.

[dmccombe7]

Is that your plucking hand index finger ?

I get it on my fretting hand index finger but my new Sandberg bass has a super low action at 1.2mm and i don't seem to get it.

I also found lighter gauge strings or less tense strings helped too.

 

[NJE]

What strings are you using? I find certain brands very rough and unpleasant to play.

I have been playing for 20 years and I don’t have hard skin or calluses on my fingers. I used to think that this is what you needed to play for long periods but it really isn’t.

like others have said, it’s sounds like you playing too hard and it’s hard to change that overnight. I found turning my amp up louder than I needed it made me play so much softer and then it just became part of my technique.

[dmccombe7]

11 hours ago, NJE said:

What strings are you using? I find certain brands very rough and unpleasant to play.

I have been playing for 20 years and I don’t have hard skin or calluses on my fingers. I used to think that this is what you needed to play for long periods but it really isn’t.

like others have said, it’s sounds like you playing too hard and it’s hard to change that overnight. I found turning my amp up louder than I needed it made me play so much softer and then it just became part of my technique.

Good point with the strings. I found the DR Sunbeam nickels were a bit rough. Currently i'm back on Fender nickels and Sandberg steels on my Sandberg. I have Elixir strings on my Warwick Thumb and they are smooth but quite tense but again that has quite a low action.

Dave

Edited April 29, 2019 by dmccombe7

[fleabag]

Good for me, but i've never been plagued by this. Regardless of showers or baths, i dont lose the hardened finger skin.  Then again, gigging or not, i play every day so the fingers in question never get a chance to soften up. It probably helps that i'm not an animal when plucking strings.  Handy i suppose because i've never  had to play with a pick, and wouldn't want to, as i detest the sound

[sunfish]

Rotosound steel roundwounds seem particularly harsh on the picking fingers. I've changed to nickels or D'Addario nickel. But it really is down to playing too hard. But that's where I get my sound. I'll keep trying to be more gentle.

Next weekend I'm playing in two bands one after the other. That's four 45 minute sets with an hour between bands. 

[Delberthot]

I remember a thread from a year or so ago regarding using various lubes such as nose grease on your fingers but I thought at the time and still do that surely that's going to deposit more gunk in between the windings of your strings making them go dead quicker?

For me it was a matter of finding the correct strings and string height. I use D'addario EXL nickels as they are the smoothest roundwound strings I have found after years of using flats. String gauge is also crucial - too light and the strings feel like rubber bands, too heavy and it can become a real effort to play. A case in point is that I use 45, 65, 85, 110. I tried the balanced tension strings either side of this. EXL220BT are 40, 55, 70, 95 and EXL160BT are 50, 67, 90, 120. They both felt wrong so I went back to the ones that I normally use

Unfortunately everyone is different so it is up to you to find the correct balance that matches your playing. A second issue is that it can also depend on your bass so if you find yourself changes basses regularly then you can soon find yourself going through lots of strings to get the right ones for each bass

[uk_lefty]

I don't think I can offer any new advice except to say that what has already been said is great advice: turn up the volume to dig in less, it's less forgiving on technique errors but it will save your fingers. Maybe practice with the lightest touch possible. Try a good compressor/ enhancer to aid in getting the balance of touch/ tone/ gain and output volume. Try getting better monitoring on stage (amp louder or directed better for you to hear) so you don't have to dig in so much. Nickel roundwound strings are to me more comfortable than steel but flatwounds are by far the most comfortable if the difference in tone suits your style and nylon coated strings feel good too. Also I recommend practicing to play competently with a pick, even if you can keep the fingertips well worn in for plucking you could easily damage your finger or hand in other ways that means playing with a pick is your only option, something I've had to do due to blisters, cramps or sporting injuries before 

 

Edited April 29, 2019 by uk_lefty