Double Bass Advice for Sore Fingers and/or Blisters

[LBS-bass]

You can ice your fingers after the gig/jam session. If the blisters end up being bonified big, puffy ouch blisters, you can take a sewing needle and carefully lance the blister to relieve pressure. Smaller the hole, the better. Your finger will still be sensitive, but with the fluid drained, it will ease up quicker. Ibuprofen before the next gig starts and a well placed band-aid or two, then do it all over again...showtime!

I have done this numerous times, because I hail from a time when home remedies were sort of common and not as scary as many people today find them to be. The only things I'll add: sterilize the needle first so that you don't inadvertently cause an infection. You can do this either with fire (pro tip: use something other than your fingers to hold needle while heating) or with rubbing alcohol. Squeeze the liquid out once it's lanced, and apply an antiseptic ointment.

Observations on this: When I've done it, it stops the blister pain instantly. If you leave the skin over the blistered area alone once you lance it, it is better protected and will heal better.

Hope this helps. Ultimately, if you play frequently, you will develop callouses instead of blisters and this won't be a problem unless you take enough time enough for those to disappear.

 

[walking Bass]

After slamming the middle finger on my left hand in the shower door, I've realized once again the need to take better care of my hands. Rubber gloves inside leather gloves afford quite a bit of protection when gardening or doing heavy work, just rubber for other times and always more caution. Healing takes a long time. Prevention just seconds.

 

[Biggbass]

play more

 

[h00v3r]

+1 on urine for turning blisters into solid calluses quickly - my understanding is that this is a trick all the great players used and anyone that dismisses or ridicules it as a viable solution is demonstrating contempt for tradition.

You might be repulsed by this, but if not, urinate on them and let it dry. Not kidding. A Google search will confirm this as an old remedy for laborers etc with blisters. I learned it from a conga player from Panama. Unless you've got an infection, urine is sterile.

 

[Sam Reese]

Blisters can form under even the most developed callouses. I never get blisters playing bass guitar. When playing upright bass, there are many contributing variables to needing to play extra hard. Playing hard "loud" can happen for many minutes before I even realize my finger tips are catching fire. These situations are both amplified and acoustic. I just want any nay-sayers to know that blisters can form under beautiful (urine-free) callouses. The kind of callouses that you can stick a pin into and shake your finger around and it stays in!

 

[TheDirtyLowDown]

I'm from the other side of town, but have some experience with blisters and fingertip wounds that took over a year to heal.

1st, don't use crazy glue. It works in extreme emergencies, but ultimately made things much worse for me.

2nd, it ain't fun, and you can't play as articulately as without, but with a little practice and care in applying them - bass can be played with bandaids on your fingertips. You won't be at your best game, but if you have to play with busted up tips, its better than abusing them even more. You'll notice the difference in your playing. Nobody else will.

3rd, until you're fully healed wear rubber gloves around the house for any dish washing, laundry, etc., and while this might not be necessary for you, I had to find the mildest, non allergenic soap available and use only that to wash my hands for a while.

And finally... if you get a chance to just not play for a while, disregard all the above. They'll heal and eventually, if you keep doing what you're doing, turn into callouses.

I'll go back home now. Hope that helped some.

I can second the above. I like to cook, and if I spend too many days (especially around holidays) with my hands wet, the next couple of practices and gigs can be tough. Rubber gloves for dishes, and disposable plastic/latex gloves for food prep are a big help when I feel the calluses start to soften or tear.

And I can second the comment that you'll notice the difference, but your bandmates and audience likely won't. It's amazing what people won't notice if you give them the chance . I'll add one other piece of advice to the above:

4th: Make yourself a small medical kit and keep it in your bass/gear bag. Mine contains Neosporin (to disinfect), 3m Transpore medical tape, and Nu-Skin liquid bandage. I had a callus start to tear at the beginning of a 3 hour gig, and Nu-Skin (applied between sets) saved the day for me. Also, small scissors, a nail clipper and file are good ideas too. I've torn nails during load-in more often than I've had callus problems.

Good luck!

 

[Sam Reese]

Good point regarding fingernails! I carry a Leatherman micra as my "problem solver". It has scissors to trim fingernails and cut loose callous skin off; a file to repair a ragged broken fingernail; tweezers for splinters (some people may use it as a roach clip, but I only heard that). It also has Phillips, flat-head screwdrivers, bottle opener and measuring capabilities English and metric. Very handy for finger surgery (scissors and file).

 

[what the pluck]

This is what happens after a month holiday... it eventually popped like the one on my middle finger and gunk went all over the bass.. It was epic.

 

[bigshiny]

Coaches tape.....
I’ve used it for years.
Tear it into thinner strips. You can find it at just about any drugstore (Walgreens).

 

[slapshot]

Bag Balm. It's used on cow utters to prevent/cure chaffing. You can get it at Tractor Supply or any feed store.
Apply it am and pm for a week. Then apply after practice/gigs. UB player gave me the tip years ago, and I haven't had a blister since.

 

[Roger Davis]

Oh dear, this is me from 1960 and look at those fingers! I used to bind them with Prestoband, a surgical tape that sticks to itself and not the skin. Of course I didn’t have an amp in those days and gigs were considerably longer than today.
Now I do avge two gigs a week and that maintains the calluses without getting blisters.
If I have a lay off and I get a blister a soak in surgical spirit and two days rest sorts it out. But no tape anymore.
Sorry about the pic, hope nobody’s frightened.

 

[JAKBOUND]

View attachment 3411862 Oh dear, this is me from 1960 and look at those fingers! I used to bind them with Prestoband, a surgical tape that sticks to itself and not the skin. Of course I didn’t have an amp in those days and gigs were considerably longer than today.
Now I do avge two gigs a week and that maintains the calluses without getting blisters.
If I have a lay off and I get a blister a soak in surgical spirit and two days rest sorts it out. But no tape anymore.
Sorry about the pic, hope nobody’s frightened.

Curious bridge on that bass. Fully adjustable.

 

[Roger Davis]

It was a Selmer aluminium three pointer. Yes, easily adjustable with a screwdriver. They were quite popular back then. The bass is a Boosey and Hawkes Czech lami, bought a year before brand new for £45.

 

[Don Hergert]

Nice pic!!!

From my reading here in TB/DB the bridge is probably a Slowey, also apparently marketed by Selmer and Framus.

Interestingly, it looks like Pops Foster used one for a time (in process of double checking in his biography).

Edit: Confirmed, Pops' Biography page xxvii shows a pic of him playing a bass with one of these bridges on it. This or a similar bridge, possibly on the same bass, is also shown in another pic from ~1945 of Pops playing with "Jimmy Archey and His Jazz Band", page 154.

 

[marcox]

View attachment 3411862 Oh dear, this is me from 1960 and look at those fingers! I used to bind them with Prestoband, a surgical tape that sticks to itself and not the skin. Of course I didn’t have an amp in those days and gigs were considerably longer than today.
Now I do avge two gigs a week and that maintains the calluses without getting blisters.
If I have a lay off and I get a blister a soak in surgical spirit and two days rest sorts it out. But no tape anymore.
Sorry about the pic, hope nobody’s frightened.

I love everything about this photo. You had some serious style!

 

[Roger Davis]

You’re very kind, I’m not proud. The local jazz club organised an all night jazz session. We had Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee topping the bill just after Hootin’ Blues came out. I thought I’d make an effort/get into the spirit. And sure enough I made the front page of the local paper with headline ‘Roger Davis faces up to the glare of publicity’.
And the beret was my mum’s.

Sorry to hijack.