Strings to Help with Hand Injury?

[marnold]

Hi all,

I just got a Spector Performer bass so after a 14 year hiatus I can play bass again. Back when I was in school I had a MIA Peavey Fury p-bass that I always strung up with GHS Boomers. I think I used GHS mainly because they were readily available, relatively inexpensive, and stayed good for a very long time. I liked their bright tone, although when I first put them on they were almost obnoxiously bright for the first couple of weeks.

In 2001 I injured my right hand in a snowblower accident. Not one of my finer moments. The net result was that I severed the first three fingertips, leaving my pinkie and thumb intact. Imagine that all your fingers were the exact same length as your pinkie and you get an idea of what I've got left. I had played bass with my fingers and want to go back to it. I've been playing guitar and am pretty handy with a pick, but I prefer the sound and ease of using your fingers.

I've tried playing with just my pinkie which works remarkably well, except for things like droning eighth notes where I have trouble keeping a decent time because I basically have to "alternate pick" with my pinkie which doesn't work so hot. I think I probably could reteach myself to play with my index and middle fingers, even though my middle is about half its original size. The big issue is with my index finger. Basically there's just skin wrapped over the end of the middle bone (think of skin over the end of a chicken leg). Playing for any length of time starts to hurt. There's no flesh to absorb any friction from the roundwounds.

I considered switching to flats, but I'm concerned that they'd make this relatively dark bass even darker. I'm not so sure how much it would help, except I'm pretty sure my index finger would feel much better without having to deal with the windings on the roundwounds.

I know that Thomastik-Infeld flats are highly recommended here, but I don't really want to spend $55 only to find that I don't like them. GHS makes "Brite Flats" which I believe are groundwounds, but I don't know if they are as smooth as flats.

I guess my questions are these:
1) Do you think that going to flats would actually help with my fingers?
2) If so, what would be some flats that would tend toward the brighter side of the spectrum? I don't do much slap/pop stuff but I'd like to be able to keep it in my repertoire.
3) If not, would it just be best to figure out how to overcome the issues that I'm having with playing with my pinkie?

Thanks in advance,
Matt

[dave_kts]

I play a Highway one Jazz and i decided to switch to flats just for the hell of it... that was 6 months ago and i still have the same ones on it. i think they are diadarrio's, which were still $45 or so. Other than a slight loss in sustain, I really love them. sure, they arent quite as bright, but i don't miss it. the definition still comes thruogh and i still keep my tone controll halfway down. I dont think ill ever switch back to rounds, not on the jazz anyway. I have played that same Fury bass and i remember the pickups were strong, but not to bright sounding...
WAY easier on the left hand, im sure that it might help you out with your right hand situation.
congrats for stickin with it man!

[marnold]

Thanks for the input, dave_kts. I'm toying with the idea of getting some Webstrings flats so that even if I don't like them, I'm not out a lot of money.

Any other thoughts out there in TalkBass land?

[Oren Hudson]

Flats will be easier on the skin. But if you like other types better, just play a little every day and increase the time a little each day so you can build your callous gradually, thus avoiding some of the break-in pain. Ever considered playing with your thumb? That's how Leo intended with the first bass. That's why Fenders had the finger rest bar below the strings. It's the way I learned and wouldn't do it any other way.

[marnold]

Originally Posted by Oren Hudson

Flats will be easier on the skin. But if you like other types better, just play a little every day and increase the time a little each day so you can build your callous gradually, thus avoiding some of the break-in pain. Ever considered playing with your thumb? That's how Leo intended with the first bass. That's why Fenders had the finger rest bar below the strings. It's the way I learned and wouldn't do it any other way.

I guess I never understood why that finger rest was there until you mentioned it. I can play with some combination of my thumb and pinkie. It requires some creative re-thinking. I suppose I just have to decide which way I want to play and run with it. If I were smart I'd probably just play with a pick, but somehow that just seems so . . . wrong.

[fretlessguy]

Marnold-

First, I would like to commend you on not giving up your passion to play the bass when most of us probably would have called it a day. My hat is off to you.

I do believe that something like flats is the way to go. However, many flats are very high-tensioned, which may make you fingers get tired in short order. Go for a set of flats that are not so high tensioned. You may also want to consider Fender's 9120 (I think) which are tapewounds that are very low tension and easy to play with a thumb and may pose fewer problems when using your pinkie, ring, and middle fingers.

If you still wish to play with a pick, it may be easier to use one of those thumbick things. Easier to put and keep on a thumb than trying to hold the pick awkwardly, as I suspect it may be.

I wish you much success in finding the right solution for the problem. Hoping you have many more happy years playing.

[marnold]

Thanks for the kind words and the suggestions all around, fretlessguy. I've been playing guitar since the injury, so the ironic thing is that I'm better at holding a pick than I was before the accident. Basically, I had to relearn it--the right way this time. So it is pure stubbornness that is keeping me from turning into a pick player, not the injury per se.

I wondered about the tension with flats. I don't think that would be as big of an issue as the abrasion of the roundwounds, but I can't say that with absolute certainty.

Mercifully, I'm able to do everything that I could before the injury--with the possible exception of playing the guitar fingerstyle, but I couldn't do that before the injury either. I look at it as an opportunity to come up with my own unique tone and playing style.

[rogueman]

I've had to deal with a hand injury, but it was my left fret hand. Zipped a line up from my lifeline to the tip of the thumb on a table saw a couple of yrs. ago. Thank God the blade was set just an 1/8" up past the material. I found that lighter softer strings helped me fret better until it recovered. As far as loss of finger tips, on your playing hand, you might consider the thumb use more. The picks that wrap around your finger tips might help also. Real sensitive pickups will too. We admire you tenacity to retrain your hand and keep playing. A physical therapist who deals with this type of injury might be of help in giving you new ideas.

[fretlessman71]

I had a dream when I was a budding bass playing teenager... I had lost my right hand 1st three fingers when a door slammed on them, and later in the dream I re-trained my right hand to play thumb-pinky. My thumb went down, my pinky went up, and I created a new technique out of it. No idea if it's feasible in the real world though.

You may also consider using your thumb in both directions, like a guitar pick. I've learned to do this after dealing with my own physical limitations, and I've used it regularly on gigs with no drummer. It's not quite as full of a sound, but it's a combination of finger tone, thumb-pop tone, and pick tone. I spent a long time learning to "scoop" my thumbnail under the string and pry it out, but it's served me very well.

[mozarwasagenius]

Originally Posted by marnold

Hi all,

I just got a Spector Performer bass so after a 14 year hiatus I can play bass again. Back when I was in school I had a MIA Peavey Fury p-bass that I always strung up with GHS Boomers. I think I used GHS mainly because they were readily available, relatively inexpensive, and stayed good for a very long time. I liked their bright tone, although when I first put them on they were almost obnoxiously bright for the first couple of weeks.

In 2001 I injured my right hand in a snowblower accident. Not one of my finer moments. The net result was that I severed the first three fingertips, leaving my pinkie and thumb intact. Imagine that all your fingers were the exact same length as your pinkie and you get an idea of what I've got left. I had played bass with my fingers and want to go back to it. I've been playing guitar and am pretty handy with a pick, but I prefer the sound and ease of using your fingers.

I've tried playing with just my pinkie which works remarkably well, except for things like droning eighth notes where I have trouble keeping a decent time because I basically have to "alternate pick" with my pinkie which doesn't work so hot. I think I probably could reteach myself to play with my index and middle fingers, even though my middle is about half its original size. The big issue is with my index finger. Basically there's just skin wrapped over the end of the middle bone (think of skin over the end of a chicken leg). Playing for any length of time starts to hurt. There's no flesh to absorb any friction from the roundwounds.

I considered switching to flats, but I'm concerned that they'd make this relatively dark bass even darker. I'm not so sure how much it would help, except I'm pretty sure my index finger would feel much better without having to deal with the windings on the roundwounds.

I know that Thomastik-Infeld flats are highly recommended here, but I don't really want to spend $55 only to find that I don't like them. GHS makes "Brite Flats" which I believe are groundwounds, but I don't know if they are as smooth as flats.

I guess my questions are these:
1) Do you think that going to flats would actually help with my fingers?
2) If so, what would be some flats that would tend toward the brighter side of the spectrum? I don't do much slap/pop stuff but I'd like to be able to keep it in my repertoire.
3) If not, would it just be best to figure out how to overcome the issues that I'm having with playing with my pinkie?

Thanks in advance,
Matt

Try Fender black tapewounds (9120's). They are very flexible and quite bright sounding. They only come in one guage (which seems huge) but are very flexible like medium lights from other strings. They are $19 at Musician's Friend and they are sleepers imho

[Baker69]

As has already been suggested, I would recommend using your thumb.

I played this way for some years but now use my fingers. The downside was that it made my thumb sore after a while, so I started using a thumbpick (you know the sort of thing you play an acoustic guitar with).

I found I couldn't hold a plectrum they just kept slipping out of my fingers. With the problems you have with your fingers since your unfortunate accident a thumb pick might be the ideal solution?

[marnold]

First of all, I'd like to thank everybody for their advice and encouragement. I basically made the decision that I'm going to play with my thumb and pinkie. My brain seems to be figuring that out very quickly--surprisingly so. Since my bass is kind of dark sounding to begin with, I'm sticking with roundwounds. I just like the sound better for what I play. The local mom-and-pop shop that I prefer to go to was out of my gauge of Boomers, but they had plenty of Rotosound 66LD 45-105s. So I'm giving those a shot. I'll string 'er up today and see how things go. Thanks again!

[BullHorn]

Pick or middle and ring. It's like the 3 finger technique minus the index.

[P-BASSLOVER]

Right now dude, I'd go with what would work for me best. I recommend DR Fatbeams in
40-95's or D'Addario XL's in 40-95's. I know they are light and you'll probably go thru more sets than usual but they would get the job done with the least amount of pain.
Boost the bass and mids on your amp to get your usual sound, play with your amp volume up higher and pluck your strings lighter to compensate.
Hope you get better soon!