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Damaged fingertips


FinnDave
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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1405860042' post='2505857']


Can be - horses for courses, I think...Unless you're a cynic who has done about five thousand gigs, or you're playing Jazz, or something... :)
[/quote]
Thanks - I guess the nature of the OPs question kinda self-selected replies from 'hard hitters'. I'm a cynic working on his first 1000 gigs :-) My style is a jazz/something fusion :-) but I too will be packing liquid plaster in future, and some petite fans... ;-)

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[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1405863383' post='2505917']
Flatwounds?
[/quote]

Does help. I find roundwounds really shred my fingers... and frets. Flats will still hurt your plucking finger(s) if you play too hard/too often though. I'm using Status Half-Wounds as a viable compromise between the two - they go 'thump' and they go 'boing' as well.

Edited by discreet
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[quote name='r16ktx' timestamp='1405859881' post='2505855']
A while back I was in a heavy metal band with two guitarists locked in a volume war and so I ended up hitting the strings as hard as possible (i thought) as the amp just couldn't get loud enough (hartke 3500). I didn't end up with calluses though, but from some of the other replies on this thread it seems that this is expected, so am i right in thinking that using a high enough volume to allow for a mostly light, soft touch generally regarded as good technique? Or is it possible either my 'hard as possible' isn't really very hard or that my skin is related to rhinoceros hide?
[/quote]

If you play on a good stage with very good monitoring, the chances are you'll hear so well, you'll back off from playing hard
and everything will seem so easy. I find I can't play anything like I can play at home, live, if I have to play hard, and one of the reasons
I take powerful amps is so I don't have to...but it is a hard game to match perfect playing sound to small rooms...and bass seems so
senstitive to rooms in its own weird way...

My best ever playing conditions tend to be outside with enough power as opposed to having the fight sound off walls inside etc..

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Personally, I don't dig in and play hard to get more volume, but because of the feel. I had flatwounds on the P but found I always picked up the J instead. Since changing the P to flats, I have not played the J at all. I can play with a plectrum but it feels so dead, no feeling, no expression at all. I am happy to accept this as a fault on my part, but like Popeye, I yam wot I yam. Will be buying surgical spirit, liquid plaster and cyano to the gig kit tomorrow.

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1405867535' post='2505965']


Does help. I find roundwounds really shred my fingers... and frets. Flats will still hurt your plucking finger(s) if you play too hard/too often though. I'm using Status Half-Wounds as a viable compromise between the two - they go 'thump' and they go 'boing' as well.
[/quote]

Status Half-Wounds are the bollox. They feel nice and smooth, and like you say they go 'thump' and 'boing' as well. I still get blisters though! :-)

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[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1405887787' post='2506219']
Status Half-Wounds are the bollox. [size=4]They feel nice and smooth, and like you say they go 'thump' and 'boing' as well. I still get blisters though![/size]
[/quote]

You just need to play more - or simply exercise your fingers by doing something that's likely to give them callouses. :D

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1405887950' post='2506221']


You just need to play more - or simply exercise your fingers by doing something that's likely to give them callouses. :D
[/quote]

Yes, or not play so hard as others have mentioned above.
Trouble is I get a bit over excited and don't realise how hard I'm playing.
(Steady now)

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[quote name='Riot_Code' timestamp='1405895097' post='2506334']
To go with the plaster idea, you should try climbing tape, it works better against sweat and abrasion than standard plasters, should work though a gig!
[/quote]

Ah, that sounds interesting. Have you used it at gigs yourself?

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+1 for Fast Fret - it can be quite soothing on sore fingers and reduces the friction that causes soreness.

If possible wait a day or two until the soreness has died down, then try to play more frequently to help build up some callouses.

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[sub] [/sub]
I use superglue - the one sold in a small bottle with a brush attached to the cap when you open it.
Yes - in an ideal world it would be nice if we could all find the time to play bass for a couple of hours per day to build up those calluses - but my job/family commitments mean that I usually only get to pick up my bass about 3 days per week. I daresay there are plenty of other “weekend warriors” out there in the same real-world situation. (And I also can’t play with a pick – so there’s no plan B for me there either).
I play in 2 bands – so last Saturday after spending the morning on home practice, the afternoon rehearsing 2 sets with one band and the evening spent gigging with the other band; the superglue came in very handy. Once dry it really does help to massively reduce friction between strings/plucking fingers. :)

Edited by Krysbass
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Id steer away from superglue. I played a gig on a Friday night and was struggling to hear myself so I dug in more. It was in my early playing days so I blistered quite badly. My amp wasnt the loudest or best and there was no room on the pa for a di.

A friend of mine suggested superglue for my gig the next night, which was duly applied. Halfway through the first set the superglue started to peel off my index and middle finger of my playing hand and by the end it had actually taken the cap off both fingers from the end phalange over the nail.

The skin underneath was understandably raw and I struggled through the rest of the gig with a borrowed pick and what was left of my fingers. My fretboard was covered in blood which looked cool but actually nearly made me pack in!

In the end I found that an enforced rest, surgical spirit and a change of string brand did the trick. Since ive swapped to elites ive never blistered like that. So my best advice is to rest, but if you have to play then surgical spirit is the best.

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[quote name='jonsebass' timestamp='1406057133' post='2507943']
Id steer away from superglue. I played a gig on a Friday night and was struggling to hear myself so I dug in more. It was in my early playing days so I blistered quite badly. My amp wasnt the loudest or best and there was no room on the pa for a di.

[/quote]

The secret with superglue is to use it unless you know that your fingers aren't going to blister!

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[quote name='Leonard Smalls' timestamp='1406100250' post='2508230']
The secret with superglue is to use it unless you know that your fingers aren't going to blister!
[/quote]


OP, the "secret" is to play with a light touch (up the amp volume) and thus avoid the problem completely. ;)

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