What to do about blisters from playing bass and preventing them?

[nukes_da_bass]

Sir Paul even wrote a song about it "I've got blisters on me Fingazz!"

[Sid Fang]

Originally Posted by BrandenSteele

Hello! After a session of playing bass 30 minutes ago I got a blister on my index finger. What should I do? I don't want to have to take a break from bass playing Do I pop it before it gets too big or wait until it gets bigger to pop it?

Welcome to the club. I blister spectacularly easily, and every time I've taken up a new string instrument, it takes me months to develop the appropriate level of callus, and only weeks to start losing it. So you have my sympathy - and I'll share my system for whatever it's worth.

First, *don't* pop the blister, at least not in the obvious way. What you want is for the separated layers of skin to fuse back together again, forming the beginning of a callus. If the blister is small enough, and you protect it, the fluid should simply be re-absorbed by your body within 24-48 hours. If it's bigger, that may not be practical. Over the years, I developed a technique where I take a *sterile* sewing pin or needle, and pierce the blister with a tiny neat hole AT THE VERY EDGE FURTHEST FROM WHERE THE FINGER MAKES STRING CONTACT to drain the fluid, then IMMEDIATELY put a TIGHT band-aid on the blister, tight enough to keep it from re-filling completely with fluid. Most of the time, this accomplishes the same thing as letting the fluid re-absorb, but much more quickly.

[Electricblue]

Wrap the fingertip tightly in electrician's tape and you're good to go.

Years of mountain biking, lighter use and playing guitar/bass have made my fingertips hard enough to strike a match on (joking by the way...)

[Mikio]

I pop them (actually cut them a bit and remove some skin) and when they heal I keep playing, over time it will stop happening, that's when you level up and get your bassist fingers which are tactless!! It's a great superpower

[foxxiroxx]

No matter how much I practice it seems like I can always make myself blister after a gig.

2 schools of thought on blisters as far as draining them or not.

To cut down on right hand blisters I got a pool shooters glove. It covers your index and pointer. Fairly effective and doesn't effect tone that much.

Either hand - liquid band-aid can help.... spray it on and *let it dry* (30 seconds?) before you start to play again.

[nostatic]

Prevent: turn up. If you don't have an amp, get one.

[gordon5377]

Do not break or "pop" it. Go to your local drug store and buy some "New Skin" (located near the Band-Aids). If the blister does break while playing apply some of the New Skin and you should be good to go. If it does break and the skin comes off, you will note some increased sensitivity in your finger.

EDIT: I was always told blisters were a sign of poor technique but I never did believe it.

[awilkie84]

Originally Posted by Nashrakh

Hmm anyone else here not developing calouses?

My fingers are as smooth as silk. Do calouses come in other varieties than cloth ripping patches of thorny, like just thicker skin without any change in how the skin feels?

I always found it kind of odd how guitar players moan about their fingers hurting after playing bass. I can play all day but I just need to look at a guitar and my finger tips start to cry.

The texture on my fingers is smooth, but the skin is thick from years of playing. I get the occasional bit of broken skin, but rarely ever a blister. Blisters I do get, I just pop with a sanitized pin and bandage them up so they can heal.

[precijazz]

Originally Posted by JoeWPgh

... you might want to start with flatwound strings. They are much easier on the fingers.

IME flats tend to be /harder/ to the fingers at least on the plucking hand. With flats, your plucking fingers make more contact with the string than with rounds, so there's more stress to the skin. On the fretting hand it can be different because of sliding, which gives you the "sawing" effect.

My fingertips definitely get rough when I play flats a lot, and smoother when I prefer rounds (with a lighter touch) . Of course everybody is different, so YMMV.

[OshKoshJoash]

surprised no one has mentioned this yet: use cyanoacrylate aka superglue.

whenever I have to play multiple sets a day for several days in a row, my fingers end up getting pretty raw. I just spread some superglue over the sore fingertips and they provide an extra layer of protection and "stiffness" without losing your sense of touch or dexterity.

[Mushroo]

Depends a lot on which brand/gauge flatwounds you choose. I personally use TI jazz flats, which are low-tension and very easy on the fingers.

[Sid Fang]

Originally Posted by OshKoshJoash

surprised no one has mentioned this yet: use cyanoacrylate aka superglue.

whenever I have to play multiple sets a day for several days in a row, my fingers end up getting pretty raw. I just spread some superglue over the sore fingertips and they provide an extra layer of protection and "stiffness" without losing your sense of touch or dexterity.

I have a guitar-playing buddy who once put on a layer so thick he could do slide licks with his fingertip!

[Mushroo]

I used to think using superglue on my skin was completely CRAZY until I read about the medical usage of superglue during the Vietnam War.

[Aznslappadabass]

Don't pop them whatever you do. I remember I was asked last minute to play at a conference and had to learn and mesh with two sets of bands with almost 4 sets each. On top of which a week's worth of practice went into one day and while they got to switch off and rest, I had to learn/practice all day. I developed blisters on 2 fingers on my left and thought the best idea was to pop them...I had to learn how to use one of the guitarist's picks and it still kind of hurt to do that. Let it rest for a little and play some more later.

[uOpt]

Originally Posted by foxxiroxx

No matter how much I practice it seems like I can always make myself blister after a gig.

If this is that persistent you are likely to have a nickel allergy, or one against another metal in the wound strings.

Your skin adapts to the mechanical stress "quickly" (months at most) and wouldn't blister from it anymore.

You should consider trying some different strings. May I ask what you use right now?

[Kmonk]

I don't get blisters very often but when I do, I use a small pin to pop them and never have a problem. I find that I can play immediately and they heal much faster.

I have been playing for 35 years and have never developed a callus (correct spelling). Sometimes my index finger on my left hand gets a little sore though.

[lowendfriend]

Originally Posted by JoeWPgh

I'm going to assume you're new to this, if you have a blister after 30 minutes. If so, you might want to start with flatwound strings. They are much easier on the fingers. After some time on those, you should have enough callus to move onto roundwounds without the blister problem.
Other things to consider are setting you action lower, if possible. And playing with a lighter attack. Those two things can often go hand in hand.

+4 (or +5)

[lowendfriend]

Originally Posted by Mushroo

Depends a lot on which brand/gauge flatwounds you choose. I personally use TI jazz flats, which are low-tension and very easy on the fingers.

Just got a new Jazz and loaded it with DR flats.....since you are a fellow massachutten, they are WICKED smooth. They are not low tension though.....very similar to Detroit SS flatwounds.

[sensei_steve]

Take it easy on the blister for a couple of days, then make a little hole, maybe two, to drain the fluid. Keep it clean and don't pick at it. When the dead skin starts to dry, use a cuticle clipper, they cost about $3, to trim the dead and drying skin as close as you can to the live skin. If you pull on dead skin fragments you will tear into live skin, bleed and postpone healing.
Callouses are tough, but the skin underneath is soft. To prevent tearing off a callous, use a nail file on the callous to keep the pads on your fingertips soft and tough.

[kevteop]

Originally Posted by Fuzzbass

A well-rounded bassist should know fingerstyle, pickstyle, and slapstyle.

Meh. I see where you're coming from but I haven't had a reason to slap a bass since 1996, so I haven't slapped a bass since 1996. Doubt I will ever do it again.

You could say a well-rounded bassist should also play keys and upright (pizz and arco, and slap too I suppose!), and probably euphonium, and should sight read and be able to comp from charts, harmony vocals also a big plus.

Slap is way down the list of priorities.