Do you have grooves in your fingertips?

[LiveMusic]

I seem to have good calluses but I get grooves in them from playing and they stay there a long time. And occasionally, I'll hit a note and it's OUCH cuz it kinda digs in deep. A very searing pain. I play acoustic. Just wondering if other people have almost permanent grooves in their fingertips, out of curiousity. And hey, I play a lot of different chords, it seems.

[Darklava]

What's an acoustic?

[Dak Lander]

Get rid of those barbed wire strings.

I play either .010 or .011 sets on my acoustics. Anything above that makes them, for me, unplayable for more than a few minutes.

I think, if you're talking about the Cobalt, it came with .012 or .013 size strings on it.

My personal recommendation for acoustic guitars are the DR Strings Pare Phosphor Bronze strings, either the RPML-10 or RPML-11 sets. I'm primarily using the 11s lately. For your use, I'd try the 11s first and see if there are any associated intonation problems that crop up due to the smaller size. You likely won't notice a change with that small drop where going down to 10s might just set the strings in the saddle too low.

[LiveMusic]

Originally posted by daklander:

Get rid of those barbed wire strings.

I play either .010 or .011 sets on my acoustics. Anything above that makes them, for me, unplayable for more than a few minutes.

I think, if you're talking about the Cobalt, it came with .012 or .013 size strings on it.

My personal recommendation for acoustic guitars are the DR Strings Pare Phosphor Bronze strings, either the RPML-10 or RPML-11 sets. I'm primarily using the 11s lately. For your use, I'd try the 11s first and see if there are any associated intonation problems that crop up due to the smaller size. You likely won't notice a change with that small drop where going down to 10s might just set the strings in the saddle too low.

Yes, I have been using 13s for a long time. I even had them on my Taylor. I don't know what's on this Carvin Cobalt and the Takamine but they're either 12 or 13.

[Tedster]

Bro, I always got a groove goin' on in my fingertips...

[NMcGuitar]

I don't get grooves so much as dents. Especially my middle finger. The callous seems to get "flattened out", so that it's a bit concave. It's always worst just after playing, and it gets better over time, but it never seems to completely round out like a normal fingertip. It doesn't hurt at all, but when my hands are real cold the dents can make fingering a little tricky.

[Shannon]

I get grooves in my finger tips but only when I play my acoustic... I acredit this to two things. One is that I never have enough time to play as often as it takes for my fingers to keep a strong callus. Two my acoustic is in such bad shape the neck is warped and the action is so high that you have to have very strong hands to fret the strings and the pressure leaves a huge dent in my fingertips, but it does eventually go away, just depends on how long I play it. It doesn't hurt at first, then after about 15 minutes it's downright painful, then it either stops hurting or I stop noticing.

[Guitarzan]

nice avatar Shannon,

i don't get grooves, i do however chew up the skin on my fingers till it looks like i am shedding. my fingers are fairly tough now. i work with rubber at my job and the oils in the rubber seem to dry my finger tips out abit. helps keep the calouses.

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

I don't even have calouses anymore. At some point, the body adapts.

 

Bill

[Werewolf by Night]

"I gots grooves in my fingertips,

and feel to my toes;

so I'll have music wherever I goes.

 

Yeah, grooves in my fingertips,

and tone out the @$$;

so I'll have music, whatever'll pass!"

 

Hey, seriously, I've had similar divoting in my calluses when I played a lot more often, and played acoustic a lot with very heavy strings. (.014" through .059", standard-pitch, standard-tuned.)

 

If they got too rough and had bits that'd catch and snag, I'd use some nail clippers to cut the offending-most rough raised parts down flush, and even kinda sand 'em a little with a fine nail-file.

 

I'd use a little suntan-lotion that listed silica as an inactive ingredient in it, followed by an application of St. Ives "Hair Repair" intensive conditioner, on my nails to strengthen them. I'd often use my fretting-hand fingertips to rub both into the nails of my picking-hand, so the calluses would sort of get conditioned without softening too much; they'd just get more resilient and supple, but still "tough". That'd usually help.

 

Some skin-care products have exfoliates in them- you DON'T want that, it takes away the callous material!

 

If they got sore and cracked, I put Neosporin Plus cream on 'em. Kills infections, promotes faster healing, and includes a topical pain reliever.

[BiC]

Originally posted by bpark@prorec.com:

I don't even have calouses anymore. At some point, the body adapts.

 

Bill

ditto

[Base]

What you need is the latest light-weight guage, the .000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001

[miroslav]

Stumbled upon this thread...

...and just happened to have a related comment.

 

Have you ever pulled apart a little of the skin from the fingernail...just enough to expose the tender, pink flesh under the nail...and then it hurts like hell for a few days until it heals?

 

It happened to me yesterday, 'cuz I like to keep my left-hand nails nice and short, so's I can play without leaving gouges in my guitar necks!

 

And wouldn't you know it...I pushed on something a bit too hard with my middle finger...and of course, the skin and nail separated a bit...and it hurt, especially when I continued to play!

 

Well...I found a quick remedy that helps get rid of the hurt and further injury by about 75%...good 'ol Krazy Glue!!!

 

I just place 1/2 drops...just enough to get a run along the tip of my fingernail...and I let it get under the nail too, where the skin separated (it's OK....it doesn't sting)...

...and then I just held the finger and the nail together while the glue dried for a minute.

 

Man...it works like a charm!

 

The tip of my finger is still a bit sore...but at least now it not pulling apart any further...and it keeps shit from getting in there (like hot water...OUCH!).

I bet if I applied it as soon as it happened (yesterday)...it would have been even better.

 

Anyway...just thought I should pass it along!

 

Oh...for finger calluses...I usually take an Emory board...and give my finger tips an occasional light buff...that way, the calluses don't get really nasty and cracked/dented...but I never take too much off to remove them altogether.

[Chad Thorne]

If you put light strings like .10s or .11s they may not drive the top of your acoustic so that you get all the tone it's got. I don't get grooves anymore. Too many layers of callous; plus, I always tweak the truss rods on all my guitars for maximum neck flatness without string buzz. I run .12s on my Guild D-40 and it plays as fast as an electric with .10s.