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Bassist talk
- Thread starter Cash434
- Start date
Calluses
Grow up playing violin or guitar
super glue
Grow up playing violin or guitar
super glue
Put in a few months of playing/practicing at least five hours a day at least six days a week and you’ll have callouses that will not blister unless you touch a hot skillet or engine component.
This. Blisters are just callouses in training.
Stevie Ray Vaughan used to put super glue on his arm, put his fingers in it, let it dry, then rip his fingers off and pull the skin off his arm when he had blisters.
I don’t recommend it
but I rarely get them anymore.
I don’t recommend it
but I rarely get them anymore.
Better onstage monitoring so one doesn’t dig in so much.
When you're new at this (the OP didn't say . . . ), especially with roundwounds, this is just going to happen until you've got enough hours at it where the skin will form callouses. No real way around it. I've heard the SuperGlue treatment, but it's something I'd have never done. I wouldn't really want it mixing with my body chemistry, plus . . . . I can be just ham-handed enough I KNOW I'd have wound up gluing myself to the bass or something nearby. As Inspector Callahan pointed out, 'A man's got to know his limitations . . . . .'
In Kendo, we get some bad blisters on our feet man... but as you get better and practice more you never get another one again. Fishing got a lot bad ones from holding onto line.
When I played Upright I had some bad ones where my teacher actually told me to chill.
Practice, but do not over do it inappropriately like I did. With time they will heal and not hurt. If they bother you really really badly, flatwounds and tapes may delay the blisters a bit.
Good luck.
When I played Upright I had some bad ones where my teacher actually told me to chill.
Practice, but do not over do it inappropriately like I did. With time they will heal and not hurt. If they bother you really really badly, flatwounds and tapes may delay the blisters a bit.
Good luck.
Is this supposed to be on the double bass side? I don’t think I’ve ever had a blister from electric bass guitar, but maybe it was so long ago I don’t remember.
I’ve had serious blisters on more than one finger on both hands from upright bass..
I’ve had serious blisters on more than one finger on both hands from upright bass..
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Best way is to avoid getting them in the first place, so lighten up Charlie. I have a remedy I’ve used for a long time, but I assure you it would not be approved the AMA, so I’m not going to post it.
devnulljp
Supporting Member
When I just started on bass, I got blisters all the time. The way I dealt with them, which I DO NOT recommend, was by simply ignoring the pain. I kept going on like that until calluses began to appear.
When i first started thrashing, it was bloody at times, but after years, no blisters or even calluses. It boils down to a lighter touch and just repetition---it really doesn't even matter if the strings are the roughest around---you just get accustomed.
It's like smoking good cigars, you cough at first and accidentally inhale too much, but after 1,000's of cigars, you just get better at it.
It's like smoking good cigars, you cough at first and accidentally inhale too much, but after 1,000's of cigars, you just get better at it.
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Super glue is often for cuts in a pinch. Duro-Bond is the medically approved version. Blisters not so much. The damage when a blister appears is more horizontal and circular in nature. A cut is more vertical, localized, and involves multiple layers of skin. Usually a blister only involves one or two layers, so glue isn’t going to help much.
A blister that forms from playing bass is like a having 2nd degree burn. As part of the body’s response, fluid will build up to protect the damaged area to prevent further damage. However, as this fluid builds up there is nowhere for it to go and the pressure will cause the layers of skin to separate beyond the damaged area.
Continuing to play on this blister will cause more skin area to separate and more additional fluid. Just remember all skin that separates, including callous buildup, will eventually die and fall off in a few weeks.
In 50 years of playing bass with rounds, I've never had a blister. I think it has to do with technique.
