Damn LaBella Jamersons (blood blister content) - Page 2

lorenk · #21 08-17-2009, 12:05 PM

I beat my bass and strings like a redheaded stepchild and I've never had an issue with blisters. I have cracked/split my calluses though, which makes me think you might be having trouble with your calluses because your hands are dry, perhaps try using some kind of lotion before playing to make em a little more pliable?

As for you pinky, the reason your blister is slightly off the pad is (I'm guess) that you rotate your hand a little which puts the point of contact slightly to the side of the pad.

fishsticks · #22 08-17-2009, 12:22 PM

i say turn your amp up! play less hard!

BigOldHarry · #23 08-17-2009, 12:28 PM

Country punk...?

Sounds like you need to move to roundwounds to cut through.

insain · #24 08-17-2009, 03:04 PM

pop those things and soak your fingers in pickle juice

john-boro · #25 08-17-2009, 03:07 PM

Superglue helps on a gig-by-gig basis...

I've found that with anything skin related, if you keep doing the thing that caused the blister enough, you'll stop getting them. This can be tough, because it means doing a lot of the kind of playing that's causing it, which sometimes only occurs in those loud, sweaty gig situations where the monitors aren't really working.. :P

mrufino1 · #26 08-17-2009, 03:27 PM

I played TI's for about a year and thought I absolutely loved them, but noticed what you said, I was kind of getting lost in a mix. I went back to higher tension flats and COULD NOT play them comfortably anymore. I got GHS precision flats, the lightest gauge they make, paired with their regular B, on a stingray 5. No more problems with tone, and the tension is higher than TI (everything is) but still quite flexible and comfortable. I never thought I would use light strings but I do say that these sound better to my ears on this bass than any string I have tried. I am most definitely going for an old school thumpy kind of sound, but sustain is not a problem either when I want it. I used to get horrible blisters when I first started gigging regularly about 15 years ago, did nu skin, all that stuff, but over time my fingers got used to it and I had to make an effort to play lighter. I started on upright, so I always approached the electric as an "acoustic instrument" that got help from an amp, which resulted in plucking way too hard. I still think that way, and don't use a really high powered amp, but have more than I used to. But really concentrating on plucking lighter was the key. Sounds better to if you want a nice round tone.

willieG · #27 08-17-2009, 08:17 PM

I had the same problem recently.......I have been using the "Labella Jamerson" set for years now....on my 57 and 62 P bass....however my fingers were getting really tired towards the end of the night....

I changed the 57 to LaBella nylon Black flatwounds.....and the 62 is Sadowsky flats....105 on the e string......

The change was the perfect solution......at my age, just have to lighten up abit....

WillieG

sonic assassin · #28 08-17-2009, 10:17 PM

i use a pretty powerful attack as well, and ive had blood blisters. i havent found a way around it. if the show takes me there, its just a casualty of war.. part of the show.

really, its a sign that i had a lot of fun haha

bassrique · #29 08-18-2009, 08:44 AM

The blister thread:

Blisters - leave 'em / pop 'em / superglue ?

odin70 · #30 08-18-2009, 08:51 AM

I used roto 77 strings for a couple of gigs and the blisters i got where terrible. I played way to hard, but its really hard not to do so when playing metal in a rather loud live situation.

GeneralElectric · #31 08-19-2009, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasper383

They are not a string to be trifled with.

I think that they sound fine with a light touch, after they break in. The idea that they only sound good if you really dig in is flawed.

I think Jamerson's touch was a lot lighter than many might think. You can't hop all over like he did, with such feel, if you're slamming the strings.

I've been using the LaBella JJs on and off for years. For years, they were the only strings on my main P-Bass. I stopped using them about 1 1/2 to 2 years ago after I kept getting **** strings from LaBella and they wouldn't replace them. I switched to the Roto Trubass 88s on my P, and then switched back to the JJs after about a year with the Trubass on my P-bass.

I usually play with a lightish/medium touch most of the time, but when you dig in with the JJ's you get this nice percussive thunk when you dig in. Its not even a volume issue, since if I wanted to turn up, I could. It has to do with tone. I'm playing by the bridge, since I find that the E string is a bit floppy when I play up by the neck when I dig in.

I'm also using the Roto LS77LE Jazz flats... I think they're called. Heavy gauge with the 110. I've got those on 3 basses (Jazz, Ric, and my Squier). I've got JJs on my custom Jazz and my 62 RI P-bass as well. Its not like I'm unused to playing heavy strings, its just that I've been playing harder normally than I usually do for long periods and its killing my fingers.

I've tried bringing 2 different P-basses with rounds, as well as my G&L with rounds. They all lack that thick fundamental that I need. I've tried the LaBella Deep Talking Flats before, and I used to use the GHS Precision Flats for a long while (and I still do on one P-bass) I guess I'll pick up a set of DT flats when I can, and bring the GHS equipped P-bass tomorrow to rehearsal before our gig. See if that works out. If anyone else can recommend me some strings that have a lot of fundamental and not many overtones that'd be awesome!

Thanks for all the tips so far. My fingertips thank you.

We've got a gig tomorrow, so I'm going to trying taping up my fingers to see if that helps.

jasper383 · #32 08-19-2009, 07:15 AM

You have tried Fender flats? The 9050M or ML set offer fundamental with few overtones as well. The M set comes close to Jamerson tension, but not quite. The ML set will get you there, have less tension.

The only issue I have with Fender flats is they take longer to break in than any other flat. The Jamerson set I have was pretty well broken in after a couple weeks. Several months for the Fender M set before the E string lost its "tang".

Britbonic · #33 08-25-2009, 06:29 PM

FWIW in my flat pursuit I very briefly had a set of LaBella DTFs on my P. The tension was just unbearable and then switched to TI which were at the other end of the spectrum. I've settled on medium gauge Chromes and couldn't be happier. And going from light to medium feels like it add a bit more bottom to my tone.

BTW, don't be afraid to tweak that truss rod a bit. I'm blessed with a AVRI 57 PBass that had a fantastic neck and low action but noticed I needed to tweak the truss rod to get the action where I wanted it when I went to the medium gauge strings. Just about 1/8 - 1/4 turn - that's all. Ease if you take the neck off.

GeneralElectric · #34 08-26-2009, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Britbonic

FWIW in my flat pursuit I very briefly had a set of LaBella DTFs on my P. The tension was just unbearable and then switched to TI which were at the other end of the spectrum. I've settled on medium gauge Chromes and couldn't be happier. And going from light to medium feels like it add a bit more bottom to my tone.

BTW, don't be afraid to tweak that truss rod a bit. I'm blessed with a AVRI 57 PBass that had a fantastic neck and low action but noticed I needed to tweak the truss rod to get the action where I wanted it when I went to the medium gauge strings. Just about 1/8 - 1/4 turn - that's all. Ease if you take the neck off.

My main bass is a 1982 AVRI 57 P-bass. I haven't tweaked the neck in years, and it really isn't an action issue. My neck is very very very stiff. This bass went from JJs, Trubass, TIs, and back to JJs in about 2 years, and never needed a truss adjustment.

I've tried the chromes before, and my issue is, is that when the G string breaks in, it doesn't sound like it belongs with the rest of the set.