It seems that whenever I play in the higher register of the bass for a fair amount of time, my fingers end up getting sticky and it makes it hard to play and feel free on the bass because my fingers are sticking to the strings!
I wipe down my bass and strings after I use them and I just put on new Obligato's a few days ago and this problem is still happening! It may be from the rosin that's currently on my bow but I don't even know how to get this sticky stuff off of my fingers anyways! Soap and water seem to clean but they're still sticky! It's quite a phenomenon....
I have dry skin on my hands so my callouses peel and fall apart very easily. It's hard to see but it comes off in very tiny pieces. While you're playing make sure you keep your fingerboard clean and just have an extra towel to wipe your hands with.
The funny thing is when I changed my strings I took the finest steel wool and baby oil and wiped down the fingerboard and I'll admit it did take off a lot of gunk but who knows if it took all of it off so there might be some remnants.
Maybe I just need 2 keep a towel on hand to wipe off with constantly.
Sticky fingers are annoying, but when I notice there's rosin on my fingers, that just reminds me to A: Clean my strings, and B: get that bow down closer to the bridge, where it should be!
I meant in terms of having my fingers be less sticky. Of course going closer to the bridge is better because your even farther off the fingerboard! The problem is your always touching rosin =/
I like to pretend I'm Gary Karr, and always play like 1/2" away from the bridge. That way not only does my tone kick ass, but I don't get sticky fingers. Well, from playing bass anyway...
Plus, that way it always sounds like I'm torturing an aluminum cello!
A few very warm days ago, I had one of those runny rosin incidents in my bow case. The Carlsson stuff turned to goo when the earth moved into the sun letting it shine on my bow case that was leaning in the window of the venue I was playing in. This stuff needs a package with a roof like Pops has. Totally unexpected. While I was trying to remove this mess from the rosin pocket I got it all over my right hand finger tips. It doesn't come off easy, but it seemed to give my fingers a little extra pluck when I started to play again. Hmmm.
Perhaps this is not the kind of sticky that you experienced. I usually hate having clammy or sticky hands while playing (usually it's the weather I blame), but having a little rosin on the fingertips of the right hand is something I'm going to experiment with. My fingertips seemed to get more pluck with less effort and didn't slip off of the strings like they sometimes do.
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