Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Cuts to your bass fingers


Twunkbass
 Share

Recommended Posts

Last night I broke my record of never cutting myself with a cooking knife due to a nicely timed muscle spasm, got a decently deep one in the tip of my left pointer finger, the most important bit of flesh I have . I can afford a week without playing bass/guitar. But it got me thinking, what if I had a big gig tommorow? are there any tips or tricks of how to get away with it ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry, I don’t have any advice, but I do sympathise.

 

I started mucking about with electronics around the same time I took up playing the bass. I forever seemed to have sticking plasters on my plucking fingers, so I started using a pick. And I still use a pick.

 

As for injuries to the fretting fingers…

 

792AF762-ABFC-4148-9F52-58793674BDA5.jpeg.d32b427a92909c10ae136eff430c555b.jpeg
 

I did this to my ringer finger a few years ago. By the time I could start playing again, I had lost thirty-odd years of calluses. Gutted. And, despite being told that it would heal fine, there is a bump where the break was, which took some time to get used to.

  • Sad 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Superglue to stick the cut together and you can then make a superglue 'patch' over the top to protect the cut. If that is still sore, or it's makes a horrible noise on the strings you can get doublebass finger tape. 

I've got some for blisters when playing doublebasses but have used it for a cut whilst gigging electric. 

It makes a more natural flesh sound on the strings than hard superglue. It's designed not to bleed sticky glue out the sides so won't make a mess of your strings. 

 

Here you go.

 

 

Edited by Maude
Adding link
Link to comment
Share on other sites

While I was doing what most people were in 2021, doing up the garden, I did away with the old washine line and poles in favour of a whirlygig. I dug the hole and got the bag of postcrete ready first. Gave the spike for the whirleygig a couple of taps, missjusdged it and whacked my finger with a 60 year old wooden mallet.

 

It was incredibly sore at the time and I thought at first that I may have broken it but after a while I just got on with the next task of shovelling and wheelbrrowing 6 tonnes of gravel from the front garden to the back. After the first couple of trips I noticed that one of my grey gardening gloves had turned red so took off my glove to find that not only had I given myself a sore finger, I had torn the skin wide open.

 

I had to finish moving the gravel so washed it, stuck on a huge plaster and kept going.

 

Miraculously, it had healed completely by the time we got to the first gig in August. I still have a line going across my finger where it happened but it healed perfectly as good as new again.

 

This is a picture taken after 24 hours when I was changing my plaster

 

 

20210424_094020.jpg

Edited by Delberthot
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many years ago I managed to cut the knuckle of my left hand index finger to the bone. I was DIYing and the Stanley knife slipped! This was one a Saturday afternoon. I dropped into A&E on the way to the gig, but they had a 2 hour wait, so I gaffer taped my finger straight and did the gig with the three remaining fingers, middle, ring and pinky. I had to rearrange the bass lines on the fly, but got through it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I sanded the tips off the first two fingers on my right hand a week before a gig (Friday) . The band had nit played live since 2019 and we'd already had to cancel it once. Even covering my fingers with plasters it hurt too much to hold a pic (I'm on guitar and sax) until Thursday night and playing the sax made me bleed. I didn't tell the band until Friday night rehearsal figuring that the worst case scenario I'm Bez on maracas. In the end it was a great gig, I was able to play ok, it would have been better without having an argument with an industrial sander but hey ho you live and learn.

I have pics if you really want to see what my fingers looked like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember once, many years ago, I had taken some go faster powder and picked up a (skinny string) guitar and decided to learn a bunch of Pearl Jam songs. I played for twelve hours straight. Afterwards, my fingers were so sore that I couldn’t play, guitar or bass, for over two weeks. And I forgot everything I learned that night.

Edited by KingBollock
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Twunkbass said:

Last night I broke my record of never cutting myself with a cooking knife due to a nicely timed muscle spasm, got a decently deep one in the tip of my left pointer finger, the most important bit of flesh I have . I can afford a week without playing bass/guitar. But it got me thinking, what if I had a big gig tommorow? are there any tips or tricks of how to get away with it ?

If it is relatively minor and you just need something to keep the wound clean and closed then I use microporous tape. The stuff that is used to keep dressings in place. The problem with plasters is the bulk and if they are fabric then the fabric itself as well as the pad. Microporous tape is thin and relatively smooth. It keeps the wound closed but only really works if the wound has stopped bleeding or weeping. In your picking hand it wears away so take a roll to the gig. Soak it off in water to avoid pulling the wound open.

 

 

Clumsy? Me?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...