blood blisters

[mjsbassist]

hello i've been playing bass for about a year and a half and im 14. I've been playing the crap out of my bass recently and got a blood blister on my index finger. I was wondering if there was anything i could do? or if im doing something wrong. Any advice would be much appreciated.

[tplyons]

Did you get the blood blister while playing or what?

You could pop it, or wait for it to go away. If you pop it, make sure you clean it out with peroxide, and put a bandaid on it if you're going to play. Or superglue it.

[kjones]

I got the exact same thing when I was about your age and experience (30 years ago, ack!) Follow the good advice of the mod, but as soon as you can, keep playing. At some point, if you just keep playing, you develop permanent calluses so deep you never get blood blisters again.

Just caused by playing hard, and a lot. You may want to consider playing easier and turning up a tad. That will increase your speed, as well.

Mine burst all over my bass at a gig. The blood added a lot to the Kiss songs we were playing.

[SnakeAnthony]

All good suggestions so far. First, you gotta pop it if you wanna keep playing. Just some small scissors or a knife or whatever, but get the blood out and clean it with peroxide. You can throw a band-aid on there, or superglue it. Superglue kinda stings, but it fixes the wound up and allows you to play without a bandage.
And seriously, don't play so hard. Live that is gonna be good to have that energy, but if all you can do is attack the bass, your gonna sound horrible in any studio setting. So if you need more 'umph,' turn up your settings. Go for a lighter touch and you'll find that your speed and accuracy will increase, and you'll get a better sound. Peace.

[Bassbarbie]

I've had them in the past. Usually when I haven't been playing too much and suddenly had to do a few consecutive long gigs. I ended up playing with my finger taped up. Not ideal, but it got me through.

There's a product here called Nu-skin which is like a protective covering you can paint on open wounds. It stings but seems pretty good. I've never tried it to play bass though. I don't know if it'd hold out.

Originally Posted by kjones

Just caused by playing hard, and a lot. You may want to consider playing easier and turning up a tad. That will increase your speed, as well.

+1....In my experience a lighter touch on the string while working with the volume & tone controls on your amp and Bass will give you a better and more full tone. IMHO you don't need to get blood blisters or heavy callouses to play aggressively, it's all about touch.

George