How to save my fingers

[SlimT]

Greetings!

 

Well, I've got a strange question:

 

How do you save your fingertips for long gigs?

 

I'm playing at a summer festival for 6 days straight from 1:00PM until close.

 

Needless to say, I've never played that long in my life.

 

So, I'm going to turn up and play softly as one strategy. Another strategy is to bring athletic tape for when/if I need some protection on my finger tips.

 

Any other ideas?

 

TIA

[BenLoy]

Johnson and Johnson medical tape (available at any corner drugstore) would do the trick. I would bring some along, but use it only if you are in tears from the pain... I aquired my performance-grade double bass calluses by going on tour with a jump swing band after taking three-month's worth of lessons on the thing...just enough to know how to play without hurting myself...and spent the first three weeks of the tour in utter agony...bleeding fingers, nickel-sized blisters that burst in the middle of the first set and left me with shreds of flesh hanging off...etc...all while having to stay way up on top of the beat and dig in to stay in the groove...ouch.

 

I taped up my fingers twice through the whole ordeal...both times I had gotten to the point where I couldn't even bear the THOUGHT of playing through the pain again, but the next day I forced myself to go back to torturing my fingers again, because the tape made my fingers feel like they were encased in concrete...I lost control of my dynamics. When I mercifully had a week off, my fingers developed a suitable set of thick, hard calluses...that were promptly torn off by the cursed strings as soon as I went back to work with the band. I think I went through a month-and-a half of this torture before I finally developed the supple-yet-leathery permanent calluses I have now...in the long run I think the relatively superficial pain was worth it.

 

I've met drummers who constantly tape up their fingers or use gloves...and they never develop any calluses at all...not to mention remain in blissful ingnorance that they probably would severely reduce the amount of blisters they would get in the first place if they cleaned up their technique and stopped clubbing their drums like cavemen trying to subdue a bear. To this day when I see a drummer who tapes up his fingers or puts on gloves I brace myself for an evening of ham-fisted, high-volume smashing, and it's usually what I get...although sometimes it still manages to groove....

 

End rant. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif

[KAP]

Baseball pitchers used to use pickle brine to soak their fingers to avoid blisters.

 

I tried this and it really helped when I first started playing bass (not baseball). Don't use pickle juice though, it'll turn your fingers yellow! Put a tablespoon of table salt or sea salt in a bowl or soup mug, fill it with hot water and soak the fingertips of each hand for about 15-20 minutes.

[David R.]

When your fingers start to hurt, turn up the amp a bit and play softer. Just watch your volume when you get excited.

 

-David R.

[Ben]

I bring along a few little disposable alcohol-soaked pads to keep strings squeaky clean. For me, clean hands and clean strings reduce sticky-finger to a minimum, which in turn reduces wear and tear. I also use flatwounds, a medium/low action, and a light touch, all of which help.

[jeremy c]

You've got some good suggestions here. Regular white Johnson and Johnson tape from the drugstore works fine, especially after you have blisters. Turning up your amp and playing lightly is a good idea anyway. Having just seen Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten in the same week, I was surprised by how light they are actually playing.

 

You could try rubber gloves like doctors use. it would certainly look weird but would probably do the job.

 

When your fingers are sore, putting vaseline on them helps them to recover. (just don't put the vaseline on and then play the bass, you'll get everything gunked up).

 

This might be a good time to work on your pick technique. When your fingers are bleeding, you could grab a pick and work on your Carol Kaye style. It worked for me when I broke my hand.

 

don't forget, what doesn't kill you will make you stronger.

 

Jeremy Cohen

 

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http://www.jps.net/jeremy/basspage.html

[jeremy c]

You've got some good suggestions here. Regular white Johnson and Johnson tape from the drugstore works fine, especially after you have blisters. Turning up your amp and playing lightly is a good idea anyway. Having just seen Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten in the same week, I was surprised by how light they are actually playing.

 

You could try rubber gloves like doctors use. it would certainly look weird but would probably do the job.

 

When your fingers are sore, putting vaseline on them helps them to recover. (just don't put the vaseline on and then play the bass, you'll get everything gunked up).

 

This might be a good time to work on your pick technique. When your fingers are bleeding, you could grab a pick and work on your Carol Kaye style. It worked for me when I broke my hand.

 

don't forget, what doesn't kill you will make you stronger.

 

Jeremy Cohen

 

------------------

http://www.jps.net/jeremy/basspage.html

[BassLand]

Hi SlimT,

 

Here is what worked for me when I had to play an exstensive upright gig. Get a tube of thick super glue and apply it to your finger tips as necessary. A thin coating will provide protection if you use it as preventative (Before your fingers get sore) and a thick coating will help if you find yourself already in trouble (sore finger wise). Be sure to allow the time necessary to let the super glue dry. IT will not hurt you (Super Glue was developed to use in MASH units during the Korean war to bond skin after emergency surgical proceedures)

 

BL

[zzzzz]

When I had blisters a friend of mine suggested soaking my fingers in vinegar.It actually worked, soak them for about 10-15 minutes a day.I did that for about week and my fingers got about as tough as leather.Hope this helps.

[Ed Friedland]

Yes, soak them in vinegar, add salt, thyme, rosemary, lemon, a little fresh pepper and grill until charred. They make a delicious treat you can bring with you anywhere! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif

 

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www.edfriedland.com

[Chad Thorne]

You could do what I did; almost cut my arm off with a power saw, resulting in nerve damage/reduced sensation im my fingertips. They NEVER hurt! Bwahahahaha...

 

Of course, these other alternatives are good, too...lol

[SlimT]

First, a big thanks to everyone that shared how they deal with fingertip pain and blisters. Also, a big thanks to those who expounded on playing lighter.

 

The good news is that by playing lighter, and having played hard for so long, my fingertips did fine! I was amazed - 6 sets a day and they were fine - well, sure, they were sore, but, no blisters.

 

Playing lighter for all that time was great! The band itself had gotten to a point where we were really listening to each other and our dynamics would swell and shrink quite well together. It was something that I have to admit to not being so aware of before playing with a lighter touch.

 

Also, if you want to get that punchy, percussive thump, playing lighter is the way to go. By turning up and playing lighter, I could really thump it. It was great.

 

To all of you here at The Bass Station, thanks for all you've shared. It has really helped my playing!

[brianrost]

Ixnay on the J&J medical adhesive tape, it leaves too much gunk on the strings. Try "sports tape" instead which is gunk free. BIG difference (props to Mark Rubin who hipped me to it via his excellent doghouse slap bass instructional video).

 

Bring hand lotion (moisturizer) and apply liberally at regular intervals.

 

Apply string lubricants like FastFret to your strings at regular intervals.

 

Bring some picks along if you're talking bass guitar as opposed to upright.