Finger-picking Fingertips...

GarDAN State · #1 05-05-2008, 11:55 AM

I'm a pick-less bassist, playing hardrock/metal. our tempos aren't ridiculously crazy or anything, plus i get a decent attack due to the calluses forming on my fingertips.

last friday i had a gig, and think i may have gone a bit overboard. i've gotten blisters before, but this one takes the cake. after a day or two of being bright red and looking like there was some liquid inside, the size (and pain) has subsided, and i am left with a almost-black fingertip.

any ideas if this is normal? is this something i should be concerned about? has this happened to anyone?

Shishkbob · #2 05-05-2008, 11:59 AM

actually i have had a couple of those. looks like a pretty good blood blister, i would let mine sit for a couple days then pop it. i don't know if that is the best solution, i just couldn't stand having it on my finger tip too long.

GarDAN State · #3 05-05-2008, 12:05 PM

thats the thing...it feels pretty solid now, so i dont think it would change status if i stuck a pin in it.

i know the pictures suck, but I only have my camera phone on me...its pretty flat, smooth, and just grossly discolored.

OtterOnBass · #4 05-05-2008, 01:03 PM

Yikes. Next time make sure your monitor is loud enough so that you don't feel you need to play so hard.

Traver · #5 05-05-2008, 01:12 PM

Next time you play a gig, pop it slightly open, so it will be ripped open during the gig. Playing bloodsplattered strings would be fing metal.

badlands2233 · #6 05-05-2008, 01:14 PM

i got blisters like that only two times, only when i started playing, and eventually they stopped being blisters and started being calluses. and i still play really hard, in fact i find myself turning down my volume as i warm up, but now we have some +8 minute songs and i am straining to last for the whole song. i just really like the attack and decay of very well-plucked notes.

my advice for the future is to play everyday to keep those calluses on your fingers so that you don't get blisters like that again.

Slax · #7 05-05-2008, 01:20 PM

Yikes, last time I got a blood blister that bad I got my fingertip jammed in a door hinge....

GarDAN State · #8 05-05-2008, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Next time you play a gig, pop it slightly open, so it will be ripped open during the gig. Playing bloodsplattered strings would be fing metal.

ha ha...so true. i was playing a gig, and half of my fingernail got ripped off midset, bloodying up my strings...

now i always clip em before a gig, just in case.

crazyguy832 · #9 05-05-2008, 02:24 PM

When I get blisters, I usually heat up a pin and pop em... seems to work better than letting them sit.

That said... turn up rather than play harder if it's at all possible.

theshadow2001 · #10 05-05-2008, 07:51 PM

Well thats a bunch of stale blood trapped underneath your skin. I'd just pop it clean it out and start one the callus fresh.

skater710 · #11 05-08-2008, 06:05 PM

Hey everyone.

I've been playing bass for about 4 years (I'm 19), and I had a family friend approach me and ask if I could give his son some beginner bass lessons. I accepted, because I've always wanted to do something like this, and I have a lot of ideas that I can teach him. But I was wondering if you guys could just tell me a few REALLY important things to teach, so it will help him along.
Even if you point me in the direction of somewhere so I can have a quick read, that would be great.

Thanks!

skater710 · #12 05-08-2008, 06:06 PM

Whoa ***, I was supposed to start a new thread with that post. I'm such a ******.

bassrique · #13 05-08-2008, 10:35 PM

Here ya go:

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

ErebusBass · #14 05-13-2008, 10:07 AM

If you pop it and burn it it'll turn into a calus overnight, but it hurts like hell. Alcohol helps

joelc1319 · #15 05-20-2008, 02:04 PM

Krazy Glue

mrjim123 · #16 05-22-2008, 07:50 PM

I had bloody blisters onstage a few times. It was always after an extended downtime, when I hadn't practiced as hard as I should have. Like one guy said, keep up with the practicing when you're not actually playing.

Sullivan · #17 05-22-2008, 08:16 PM

For a while I'd problems with blisters, and it caused pain during hard rehearsals, often at the end of long shows... But now I don't have any problem with it anymore. That's because I began to practice difficult "two hand" tapping licks some years ago, and this causes thick calluses on your tips. At the beginning, you feel the pain after each practice when you first do a lot of tapping, but after months you become more endurant and theses calluses protects your fingers much more than you need when you play with a band!