• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Calluses-The pain and other things that come with.

#21
pandaman37 said:
i dont understand how you cant get blisters or callouses.
Click to expand...
Duh, the answer ist easy... don't hack away at that thing

:hiding:

Seriously, some people tell me my technique is "whimpy", but I don't ever hurt myself so no worries haha.

Well, maybe my skin isn't as sensitive as other people's...

Stuggi said:
1. Don't play straight away after showering or washing your hands, it seems as if the skin is dry then it hurts a lot more when playing
Click to expand...
>.<

I always wash my hands right before playing, guess I really have hands of steel lol
 
#24
I've never stopped get blisters on my lead plucker. Everything on my fretting hand has been like plastic for years, but different conditions always 'cause me to have blisters on my #1.

If I'm playing in an open air place during the summer months here, and the humidity is high - I start really "sticking" to the strings. I really like to dig in too, so that doesn't help me any.
 
#25
I sometimes use fret ease or whatever its called. Helps when the fingers are screaming for mercy. It took a good 2 years for me to learn how not to get blisters. Switching to a 5 string help me develop a lighter touch, I think it is because I found a better bass that cut through the mix. The 5 string also feels more comfortable, I dont have to dig in as much.

how about when your guitard friend picks up your bass to "show you how its done", then shamefully (and in pain) hands it back after 30 seconds!
 
#27
I am playing bass for 6 years now and after my Ibanez got stolen, I borrowed another guy's bass. I got .05mm calluses on both my middle and index finger. Sad. I think it is because of the strings, the EB strings barely damage your finger, I also heard Dunlops are nice. But those stock strings for that Yamaha RBX360 4 string just sucked the life out of my finger.

EDIT: And yea that guy above this post is right. I think you can get more blisters/calluses from 4 strings compared to 5 or 6. I think it is because when you use 4 string basses, you tend to grab the whole neck width with your thumb almost near the string which makes you use the upper tip of your fingers. If I am correct, the upper tip has more nerve endings (more sensitive to pain)than the middle tip (the part of the fingertip where it kinda gets pointy and fatty). Since the middle tip has more fats and more soft, it should give less callus than the upper tip. I know im talking nerd stuff LOL
 
#30
I don't tend to get blisters unless I leave playing for a while and come back to it. But as far as callouses go, my fingertips are hard, but there are no visible raised portions. I play two 45 min sets at gigs, generally twice a week and whatever time I can find in the week to practice.
 
#31
In my experience my fingers will be fine for months on end as long as I pick up my bass every day/every other day...If I go for a week + without playing and then binge and wind up playing for like 3 hours straight I will have blisters usually on my index and ring fingers (pentatonic :D)

So yeah the key to keeping your calluses and not blistering is to play a lot.

I have also noticed that if I say for instance pick up a pipping hot bowl of Chef Boyardi Mini Ravioli TM to carry it from the microwave to my TV chair the fingers on my right hand will start to burn up before I'm out of the kitchen, while my left hand is just pleasantly warm (also I rotated the bowl to confirm this is an effect of bass playing and not microwave variance).
 
#32
I remember last year I got blisters then one of them burst on a gig so used a plec from then on (the next week or so anyway...).

Then they callused up real bad, came loose from playing and I cut them off (2 or so milimetres thick) - another half week to a week on plectrum...THINK they were actually blisters again, but with calluses COMPLETELY over them...

Other than those experiences I've not had a problem - but keeping a plectrum or 2 in my pocket at all times has proven invaluable!
 
#34
I've gotten callouses, nothing huge, but I've had 'em. The thing about bass playing for me, though, is that it never hurt my hands in the same way playing guitar did. That was a sharp pain, and it made things very uncomfortable. I've never had the same problem with bass.

Supposedly playing bass hurts the hands, but I've never experienced that. Sure, I've had some fire in the forearms when I'm working on endurance, but never... pain.

Oh, and the whole "playing until my fingers bled" thing seems more like a song lyric (hello, Bryan Adams) or a guitar legend. Hard to believe that one could be reality.
 
#35
aikakone said:
Oh, and the whole "playing until my fingers bled" thing seems more like a song lyric (hello, Bryan Adams) or a guitar legend. Hard to believe that one could be reality.
Click to expand...

I've done that and it sort of relates to this topic. It happened when I was just starting out and was practicing for a couple hours a day. My fingers were still pretty tender and I developed a blood blister on my right index finger. No pain, no gain right? I kept practicing as I had been and on the third day, the blister had become so bad that it ruptured while I was playing. Hurt like hell and I had to stop playing for almost a week because it hurt so bad.
 
#36
aikakone said:
I've gotten callouses, nothing huge, but I've had 'em. The thing about bass playing for me, though, is that it never hurt my hands in the same way playing guitar did. That was a sharp pain, and it made things very uncomfortable. I've never had the same problem with bass.

Supposedly playing bass hurts the hands, but I've never experienced that. Sure, I've had some fire in the forearms when I'm working on endurance, but never... pain.

Oh, and the whole "playing until my fingers bled" thing seems more like a song lyric (hello, Bryan Adams) or a guitar legend. Hard to believe that one could be reality.
Click to expand...

This! :)

I tried to pick up the guitar, and it tore my fingers up so bad, I put it back down.

Bass has never hurt me. Nice bass! Good bass! :)

Cherie:bassist:
 
#37
some people have told me that it takes years to develop calluses. in almost a year of combined guitar and bass play, i have developed calluses, but they arent the really thick ones that block heat and are 2 mm thick. they are kinda thin and not too rough. playing doesnt hurt to bad unless i play for over 5 hours at a time.
 
#38
I don't blister, my fingers just get purple and nerve-endy. I've got a 5-er with gigantic roundwounds on it though, only take's me 2 weeks or so to get the callous's back. i use to have wicked callous's but i stopped bass-ing so much for a little while. got them back now.
 
#39
The amount of callus and the sort of blisters that someone develops are slightly dependent on the genetic makeup that one has. Some people develop more callus with the same amount of labour than another, just like one person will get a big blue brown spot from hitting a door and another one will only have a slight bump.
From my own experience, I'd say that the hours and the intensity in which you play will reward you with callus, more callus is less sensitivity and less pain. Then again, I've seen callus change from 2 spots on my left-hand pointing and middle finger towards a light groove in some hardened top skin. Roundwound strings develop more callus.
Sliding a lot on a fretless neck with roundwounds does that also.
The pain in your fingertips will eventually ease with the increase of playtime that your fingers get.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back