Blisters

[post toastie]

i played bass last night for the first time in a while.

sure enough, 20 minutes into the jamming i had to switch to using a pick because my fingers (index, middle) had become sorely blistered.

is there a solution for this ?

[One Bad Monkey]

Re: Blisters

Sadly, play more and build up callouses.

Another option would be to switch to a different type of string. If you're using stainless steel strings, switching to nickel will be a little easier on your fingers as it's a softer metal. Also, you could switch to flatwounds if you like, as they're a much smoother alternative.

However, you still have to build up callouses, and that comes with playing regularly.

[jon the art guy]

Re: Blisters

Brush a little of the flexible super glue on your fingertips. Instant callus.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

[ErikH]

Re: Blisters

I got this tip years ago from Greg Chaisson after seeing a Badlands show. I had been playing bass at the time and had the same issue. He told me to pop the blister then dip my fingers in to warm saltwater. I did that a few times after having blisters show and built up some nice calluses that way.

[blueman335]

Re: Blisters

is there a solution for this ?

Yes, it's called practice. Build them fingers up. Check your action. If it's high, it's harder on the fingers (tips and muscles); maybe a truss rod adjustment is needed. You ought to look at flatwound strings too.

I just started playing bass again (after years of not doing it), and have no problem playing it an hour, with lots of runs.

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: Blisters

Yeah I could play for hours upon hours on flats and my fingers still feel fine afterward. Gotta get it set up for them though, plus the tone is a lot heavier and less twangy and it could take a while to get used to it, or just flat out won't cut it for you. Their kind of tone doesn't degrade with age much either and they don't build gunk as easily so the frets and strings last much much longer, which you might prefer since you don't play bass as frequently.

[marcboomer]

Re: Blisters

I play both round and flats regularly. (2-3 gigs a week) And I hurt my fingers the worst ever once when playing flatwounds. It was so easy (at the time) sliding my way across them that I was burning my fingers. So be careful either way. My solutions have been play, practice, jam, play. If need, crazy glue until up to speed.

[threechordcharlie]

Re: Blisters

Callouses are the only protection. Super Glue is your buddy untill you get them built up.

[post toastie]

Re: Blisters

isn't superglue poisonous ? should it be put on an open wound ?

thanks for the quick replies guys.

[Chris of Arabia]

Re: Blisters

From Wikipedia

Some rock climbers use cyanoacrylate to repair damage to the skin on their fingertips.[9][10] Similarly, stringed-instrument players can form protective finger caps (in addition to calluses) with cyanoacrylates.

CA glue was in veterinary use for mending bone, hide, and tortoise shell by the early 1970s or before. Harry Coover said in 1966 that a CA spray was used in the Vietnam war to retard bleeding in wounded soldiers until they could be brought to a hospital. Butyl cyanoacrylate has been used medically since the 1970s. In the US, due to its potential to irritate the skin, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration did not approve its use as a medical adhesive until 1998 with Dermabond.[11] Research has demonstrated the use of cyanoacrylate in wound closure as being safer and more functional than traditional suturing (stitches).[12] The adhesive has demonstrated superior performance in the time required to close a wound, incidence of infection (suture canals through the skin's epidermal, dermal, and subcutaneous fat layers introduce extra routes of contamination),[12] and final cosmetic appearance.[13][14]

[threechordcharlie]

Re: Blisters

On a side note:
I'm diabetic and I check my glucose 5 times a day. I used to hate it before the new technology came along allowing me to test on my forearm. I would have to set the lancet on the strongest setting it had because of the calluses!

[post toastie]

Re: Blisters

wow. thanks.

[Adieu]

Re: Blisters

i played bass last night for the first time in a while.

sure enough, 20 minutes into the jamming i had to switch to using a pick because my fingers (index, middle) had become sorely blistered.

is there a solution for this ?

Wait, NOT the fretting hand? Hmmm... Huh??

Dunno, really bad sharp wind strings? Dirty corroded maybe?

Probably something wrong with how youre hitting the string on fingerstyle....are you trying to emulate guitar pick strums and really sliding/grating against the grain of the wind? Bigger string gauge & scale length tuned an octave lower really make bass strings behave far differently than guitar. Try "bouncing" fingers off them instead of dragging your fingers past, maybe? Does that make sense?

[post toastie]

Re: Blisters

maybe i'm just tender handed. i've been playing keys lately too and i'm finding a return of blisters on the sides of my thumbs next to the fingernail. i had totally forgotten about those. haven't had those since oh 1979.

bouncing the fingers. hmmm. i'll give it a try.

[Bludave]

Re: Blisters

isn't superglue poisonous ? should it be put on an open wound ?

thanks for the quick replies guys.

There are several versions of "Super Glue" Many people don't know but Super Glue was originally designed for the battlefeild. If you buy the correct kind you should be ok.

This is the stuff you should consider.....

Medical Glue
new CAs were developed with the express purpose of use in surgery. 2-octyl cyanoacrylate (Derma+flex® QS™, SurgiSeal, FloraSeal and Dermabond) causes less skin irritation and increased flexibility and strength compared to traditional 'Super Glue'. In 1998 the US FDA approved 2-octyl cyanoacrylate for the closure of wounds and surgical incision and in 2001 was approved as "barrier against common bacterial microbes including certain staphylococci, pseudomonads, and Escherichia coli".