Rings on your fretting hand

[northcountrybob]

May be more of an off topic question, but I was wondering what you folks with weddings bands on your fretting hand do when playing bass? 

Can you not feel it, do you take it off, do you have a thinner ring rather than a wider one, do you wear it on your non-fretting hand? 

 

I don't ever wear rings. I due to get married and looking around at rings. I kinda worry about how it will feel to play? 

[uk_lefty]

I'm left handed so it doesn't affect me, but the right handed guitarists in my band both remove theirs to play because it causes them issues. 

[toneknob]

No problem here with mine, that part of the ring finger tends to stay out of trouble just off the lower (in height) side of the neck.

If you grip the neck really hard with a thumb-over type of grip you might have more to deal with though

 

[chris_b]

IMO it's down to your technique.

 

I would imagine rings would be more noticeable if you grip the neck like a baseball bat, but should be less of an issue if you position your thumb on the back of the neck and arch your fingers.

[snorkie635]

Always remove mine as it gets in the way - a lot!

[neepheid]

Mine doesn't bother me, it's nowhere near the pads of my fingers and I don't cradle the neck when I'm playing therefore it never touches anything except the finger it's on.

[Cliff Edge]

Never had a problem with my wedding ring. 

[northcountrybob]

The answer I guess is going to be, try it and see how I feel, but it's nice to know taking rings off isn't uncommon. I wondered if some people use thinner rings, like 4mm or less just to not feel restricted. 

 

Maybe I could permanently wear a slide 🤔 

 

 

[neepheid]

I don't think the thickness of ring will make much difference - they all sit much and such in the same place so it'll either hit something or it won't and it appears to be entirely dependent upon one's technique.

[Heathy]

Actually played a short set at my wedding, and never gave it a second thought.

[Brucegill]

Mine doesn’t bother me, but I used to wear a flat ring and that caused me issues. Now I have a curved ring that’s curved profile on both outside and inside face and feels much better and seems to get out of the way. 
 

 

[OzJzF]

Prior to getting married I never wore rings. Mine bothered me initially and clanked against the frets. However the idea of taking it off and losing it and the concomitant loss of spouse led to me persisting. I found my technique adapted itself (no conscious input) pretty quickly and I don't notice it at all now.

Edited January 3, 2024 by OzJzF

[ped]

I never wear a wedding ring for exactly that reason!

[neepheid]

Keeping my wedding ring on must be the reason I don't have hundreds of people wanting a piece of me at/after gigs.  Surely got nothing to do with the bass, or my face...

[Baloney Balderdash]

Get the ring tattooed on instead!

 

Problem solved!

[northcountrybob]

 

 

17 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Get the ring tattooed on instead!

 

Problem solved!

 

Ha! I have been looking into materials other than gold for the ring... I didn't think of a tattoo though! I have got a lot of tattoos but I never felt I'd do hands neck or face unless I was totally covered elsewhere. Just a personal preference. 

 

[toneknob]

1 hour ago, Heathy said:

Actually played a short set at my wedding, and never gave it a second thought.

Same here. In fact for the curious I'm happy to share a photo of my ring on my wedding night

*insert kenneth williams gif here*

 

I'll dig it out later on.

[steantval]

8 minutes ago, toneknob said:

Same here. In fact for the curious I'm happy to share a photo of my ring on my wedding night

*insert kenneth williams gif here*

 

I'll dig it out later on.

 

[MoonBassAlpha]

I think particularly chunky rings can wear the  neck finish. The Rick I recently bought has relatively no fret wear but a  fair bit on the finish of the neck that I can only imagine was caused by finger and thumb rings. A bit odd really!

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I used to remove my wedding ring whenever I played, but I was worried about losing it at gigs so I stopped wearing it altogether and put it somewhere safe at home. I've not worn it for years and currently have no idea where I put it.

[mep]

No problem for me either.

[MichaelDean]

I've been fine with my ring. Took a little while to get used to it, but it's been fine. It does sometimes hit the bottom of the fretboard, but not often/hard enough to worry about marks.

[TimR]

Mine used to annoy me but never took it off. Just got used to it. It'll take several months to get used to wearing a ring anyway. 

 

I put it on a chain when walking in the hills or climbing. 

 

What do you do as a job? I took my ring off about 10 years ago (after wearing it for 15 years). We had a big project on at work, I sat through the safety briefing, and it's sat in a draw ever since. Just before the pandemic one of our guys lost a finger due to wearing a ring. I'm not a fan. YMMV. 

Edited January 3, 2024 by TimR

[Baloney Balderdash]

Get a ball and chain around your foot instead...

 

Problem solved!

 

 

Edited January 3, 2024 by Baloney Balderdash

[PaulThePlug]

Moderate width Court - curved inside and out - no issues.

Flat, inside or out, will have an edge.