interesting, i play arco a huge amount. i will start wiping the strings and see if it changes anything.
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Double Bass Callouses on Right Hand
- Thread starter Ethan Marsh
- Start date
interesting, i play arco a huge amount. i will start wiping the strings and see if it changes anything.
just ordered some rock tips, hoping for the best. thank you!
would love to go guts, but I play arco (classical too) too much and the PC chainsaw tone isn't what Im going for. good to know though!!
all of it!
while i no longer play DB, i would recommend:
- the right tape to prevent/mitigate ongoing problems, and
- reassessment of string choices, plus
- the right adjustments to technique, along with
- the right amplification to keep up with what you're doing (i.e., the various ensembles and gig contexts).
it's time to change things up, OP --- you've been suffering too long! good luck!
note: ethan is an accomplished player and a younger star on the scene in cincy! he's very, very good!
Appreciate you!! not sure if we've met or not. seems like its a combination of issues, not just one thing I'm doing wrong. Keeping calm and not getting "too into it" is my deepest struggle. When the music takes me, I'm in it and let my hands do what they do. Holding back from that feels unmusical.
So do I. That really gritty tone is definitely avoidable through careful technique. Check out this thread for some examples. It's always going to be a little different from steel or synthetic, no doubt, but it doesn't have to come across Paul Chambers/Jimmy Blanton/Charles Mingus rough sounding.
Besides, I think part of that was just how close the mic was when they were recording, anyways; some of that raspy sound will always be there under your ear, but it disappears to anybody about six feet or more away.
I just ordered some Rock Tips. I'll post how it works out for me.
I have successfully used 3M cloth tape, but would prefer if it were skin colored:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001TSJ8X...p=&crid=3O9ASJVHC151Z&sprefix=cloth+tape&th=1
I'm also going to try some moleskin - I'm reading the reviews as some brands appear much better than others (isn't that true of most things?).
I have also ordered some Rock Tips. Buy Rock Tips
I will post a follow up to let y'all know what works best for me. I may also go back to my Gut G string as that will probably help and I don't bow that bass.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001TSJ8X...p=&crid=3O9ASJVHC151Z&sprefix=cloth+tape&th=1
I'm also going to try some moleskin - I'm reading the reviews as some brands appear much better than others (isn't that true of most things?).
I have also ordered some Rock Tips. Buy Rock Tips
I will post a follow up to let y'all know what works best for me. I may also go back to my Gut G string as that will probably help and I don't bow that bass.
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So, I got Rock Tips. That stuff really seams to work. I have used it on one gig so far and am playing with a heavy handed pianist and drummer tonight so this may be the acid test.
I'd be interested in knowing what is actually in this stuff (and I hope my fingers don't start falling off after repeated use.
The one quibble I have is that the package says it comes off with soap and water. I DON'T THINK SO. I'm actually wondering if this stuff is actually just Super Glue (or a close relative).
What is seems to do is to put a thin, hard but flexible coating on your finger. I don't find any negative effect on my plucking feel or sound - less so than the medical tape - which certainly works but you have to be careful how you apply it and it does have the effect of making your plucked tone brighter (crisper?) Some might think that's a good thing. I prefer the feel and the sound of a finger unfettered by tape but I'm willing to compromise to not get blisters.
I'll report back after tonight's gig.
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Wow...We don't see many "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" references anymore here on TB!
Nice.
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Yea, I think most of us are a little embarrassed that we lived through that time.
If you’re getting blisters, draining them causes the mojo to drain out. If you insist upon draining them, be sure to drink what comes out.
Just kidding of course. Sometimes if you are sweating or your hands are too slick, it can also be a problem. Or you could be playing too hard.
Just kidding of course. Sometimes if you are sweating or your hands are too slick, it can also be a problem. Or you could be playing too hard.
I used to get both regular blisters and blood blisters on my right hand when I first started gigging out a lot, in the early 2000’s when the swing dancing craze was in full effect. I was in a 7 piece swing band and we played 3 to 5 nights a week for a few years straight.
I remember blood blisters popping during the gig and I would have to alternate to using a different finger for the rest of the night. Sometimes I recall playing the last part of the gig with my ring finger on my right hand as my index and middle weee torn up.
I found that as others have said it’s best not to pop or lance the blisters. If you let them heal naturally they eventually will form calluses. In those early years though here was a lot of discomfort to plow through on the gigs.
I sometimes used tape or bandaids but those usually fall off pretty easily, and I found that “New Skin” liquid bandage sometimes helped but would often peel off after a tune or two.
I ended up using regular superglue in my most desperate times when my fingers were just too raw but I had to play a gig. The superglue works quite well and stays on much better thank liquid bandage. Of course it’s probably not great to put super glue chemicals onto an open wound but it worked for me in those desperate times.
Eventually all of my bass playing fingers have developed thick yet smooth and soft calluses. The only trouble I’ve had recently was after a long break from Covid my calluses had softened a bit too much. It took a year or two of regular gigs to get them back in shape. In that time I never got blisters but they would just get very sore.
I remember blood blisters popping during the gig and I would have to alternate to using a different finger for the rest of the night. Sometimes I recall playing the last part of the gig with my ring finger on my right hand as my index and middle weee torn up.
I found that as others have said it’s best not to pop or lance the blisters. If you let them heal naturally they eventually will form calluses. In those early years though here was a lot of discomfort to plow through on the gigs.
I sometimes used tape or bandaids but those usually fall off pretty easily, and I found that “New Skin” liquid bandage sometimes helped but would often peel off after a tune or two.
I ended up using regular superglue in my most desperate times when my fingers were just too raw but I had to play a gig. The superglue works quite well and stays on much better thank liquid bandage. Of course it’s probably not great to put super glue chemicals onto an open wound but it worked for me in those desperate times.
Eventually all of my bass playing fingers have developed thick yet smooth and soft calluses. The only trouble I’ve had recently was after a long break from Covid my calluses had softened a bit too much. It took a year or two of regular gigs to get them back in shape. In that time I never got blisters but they would just get very sore.
I thought super glue was invented as a means to close wounds in extreme situations (mobile hospitals and such)... It is called cyanoacrylate though, and that sure doesn't sound like it could be good for you
