Cure for those sticky flats (and balls....) ???

[Creeper]

Whilst I love playing flats for about 45 minutes, I find that they get progressively more sticky and ultimately impossible to play.

im going to give this “below the belt” anti chafing cream a go and report back. This should stop my fingers getting sweaty and thus prevent the stickyness.

It also has the added benefit that I can liberally apply to my bollocks after the first set if I find myself sweating excessively in the groin area,  I should then have lovely fresh smelling bollecks and lose those sticky flats, win win..

i shall report back after my next gig 👍🏻 

Below the Belt Grooming Fresh & Dry Balls, 75 ml, Fresh https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B013L1WT30/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_1YB7BbRTN5QXN

Edited November 15, 2018 by Creeper

[JapanAxe]

I play flats all the time (D'Addario Chromes) and the strings never feel sticky. 

The old bag o' marbles is a different matter entirely...

[Creeper]

17 minutes ago, JapanAxe said:

I play flats all the time (D'Addario Chromes) and the strings never feel sticky. 

The old bag o' marbles is a different matter entirely...

I think it depends on how much your fingers sweat, I don’t think mine sweat too much, but still after about 45 minutes it’s like playing on glass..

[Bolo]

Maybe some FastFret?

[franzbassist]

Try nylon flats, or maybe Dunlop string cleaner?

[ChrisJaxon]

I find that if my flats get sticky during a gig, a quick rub around the face with the finger tips, especially around the base of the nose, gets enough grease to make them slick again. Works every time. Grim but true.

[Guest MoJo]

14 hours ago, Creeper said:

I think it depends on how much your fingers sweat, I don’t think mine sweat too much, but still after about 45 minutes it’s like playing on glass..

 

36 minutes ago, Bolo said:

Maybe some FastFret?

I've never had a problem when playing on D'Addario Chromes, but I find my hands don't sweat a great deal and I use Fast Fret before and after a gig

[Creeper]

I’ve used fast fret before and found it ok but not great, but I’m approaching this on the principle that the issue is too much moisture and heat and not a lack of lubricant, this stuff should “hopefully” make playing after two hours the same as after two minutes, we shall see.

i have a set of TI flats strung on my Jazz bass for my next gig a week today, I’ve found that they play like butter for an hour and then I struggle with them, I shall see what happens.

[Creeper]

52 minutes ago, franzbassist said:

Try nylon flats, or maybe Dunlop string cleaner?

I’ve never tried nylon flats before, what’s the deal with these feel / tone wise?

[Fionn]

I only ever play flats (Ernie Ball Cobalts), and I find that they are sticky for the first few days of play. After that though, they are fine. I wouldn’t put anything in the strings just yet. Play them a bit more. See how you feel about it this time next week. 

[Fionn]

Ahhh, sorry... I didn’t read the post properly. I get you.

Nose grease is the WD40 of Bassdom 🙂

Edited November 16, 2018 by Fionn

[Delberthot]

Anything that you put on your fingers to make them slippery is going to shorten the life of your strings.

I'm a bit OCD about having clean hands when I am playing plus I point a fan at my fingers so they don't sweat in the first place and keep a clean microfibre towel nearby to give my hands a periodic wipe inbetween tunes

Edited November 16, 2018 by Delberthot

[Bridgehouse]

7 minutes ago, Delberthot said:

Anything that you put on your fingers to make them slippery is going to shorten the life of your strings.

I'm a bit OCD about having clean hands when I am playing plus I point a fan at my fingers so they don't sweat in the first place and keep a clean microfibre towel nearby to give my hands a periodic wipe inbetween tunes

So no w*nking before playing then!

 

[Delberthot]

3 minutes ago, Bridgehouse said:

So no w*nking before playing then!

 

Winking? 

[Paul S]

A little talc would do it.  I use it when playing the rubber bands on the Uke bass which feel very sticky in no time.

[Bridgehouse]

2 minutes ago, Delberthot said:

Winking? 

I do a lot of that before I play live. And also wonking as well

In fact, many in the band often complement me on my winking - “He’s a complete winker”

[Bridgehouse]

1 minute ago, Paul S said:

A little talc would do it.  I use it when playing the rubber bands on the Uke bass which feel very sticky in no time.

[Creeper]

1 hour ago, Paul S said:

A little talc would do it.  I use it when playing the rubber bands on the Uke bass which feel very sticky in no time.

I started looking at liquid talc, this stuff looks like it will do a similar job, if it prevents moisture it should stop them getting sticky.

[Creeper]

UPDATE:

A tube of this stuff arrived today nice and early from amazon, since my next gig is not until next Friday I thought I’d give this cream a go for it’s intended purpose, whilst I didn’t purchase it for this, it seems appropriate to see how it performs. 

So after my morning shower I liberally applied a pound coin sized quantity of cream to the happy sacks, there was a definite initial tingling sensation followed by a definate warming, I was a little concerned that this was going to be like applying deep heat muscle rub, however it soon plateaued to a rather pleasant warming feeling.  

So far so good, it smells fresh and has applied well, we shall see if it also performs on the fingers.

Edited November 17, 2018 by Creeper

[stewblack]

1 hour ago, Creeper said:

UPDATE:

A tube of this stuff arrived today nice and early from amazon, since my next gig is not until next Friday I thought I’d give this cream a go for it’s intended purpose, whilst I didn’t purchase it for this, it seems appropriate to see how it performs. 

So after my morning shower I liberally applied a pond coin sized quantity of cream to the happy sacks, there was a definite initial tingling sensation followed by a definate warming, I was a little concerned that this was going to be like applying muscle heat muscle rub, however it soon plateaued to a rather pleasant warming feeling.  

So far so good, it smells fresh and has applied well, we shall see if it also performs on the fingers.

You paint pictures with words.

Pictures I now can't unsee.

[Creeper]

Update

This is not a cure for sticky flats, it was a shocking idea, my balls remained fresh and fragrant throughout the gig, however my fingers felt like they were playing sand paper all night, knacker lacquer is not for bass strings..... it’s for knackers....

[leschirons]

My question is how did "bollocks" get past the mods?

[Ricky 4000]

What you want, is Raynauds disease.

HTH. 👍

[ezbass]

Perhaps some rock climbing chalk will sort you out.

[Bolo]

Lard