• 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.

Should i pop my blisters or what?

#21
Pop or no pop, thoroughly soak them with hydrogen peroxide. Do it while you're watching TV or something. Use something to apply it that will hold a little liquid, like a q-tip or tissue, soak it, and hold it on the blister. Work it around to make it soak in. Do this as long as you can. Then overnight soak a bandaid pad in hp and put the bandaid over the blister.
 
#26
DChalo said:
I keep getting blisters lately, (most likely from my craving for chocolate milk) and i'm not sure what the proper and healthy thing is to do. Is it okay to pop them? I cannot imagine playing with the blister still on....

And a side question: Any way to prevent blisters besides avoiding choco milk? Do blisters show up from bad technique or is it normal to get them often?
Click to expand...
Im no doctor or a working musician at the moment. So when i get a bluster i have the luxury of taking 1 to 2 days at the most to just let it chill. Works good and it rarely happens
 
  • Like
Reactions: bassestkkm
#27
I want to say I've heard Steve Bailey say superglue is the way to get through a gig if you do get a blister. I work on picking with 4 fingers just in case.

I'd agree that you're playing too hard. Perhaps you need a better monitor situation, or turn up the mids on your amp so you can hear your notes a little better?

At this point, I only blister if I've gone too long without playing, like if I'm on a vacation and there are no stringed instruments around for 2 weeks.

If the blister impedes your playing, you'll have to drain it, clean it, glue it for the gig, and start preparing to lose that layer of skin.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HolmeBass
#28
J Gold said:
I want to say I've heard Steve Bailey say superglue is the way to get through a gig if you do get a blister. I work on picking with 4 fingers just in case.

I'd agree that you're playing too hard. Perhaps you need a better monitor situation, or turn up the mids on your amp so you can hear your notes a little better?

At this point, I only blister if I've gone too long without playing, like if I'm on a vacation and there are no stringed instruments around for 2 weeks.

If the blister impedes your playing, you'll have to drain it, clean it, glue it for the gig, and start preparing to lose that layer of skin.
Click to expand...

I believe the blisters nowadays only come from my popping technique
 
#30
I used to get them from playing finger style. I would dig in much harder when at bad practice then I would alone. i got caught in a vicious cycle of blisters, popping, healing and more blisters.

I ended up just using a pick. I can get consistent tone no matter where I am.
 
#34
Blisters are NOT caused by bad technique. They are very common when you start using a new part of your finger that isn't calloused yet or you are just starting bass for the first time or after a break of a few months. Just take a break from using that part of your hand for a day or two. After getting blisters then waiting them out 3-4 times in a span of 1-2 weeks, you will probably stop getting them.

If playing hard was "bad technique", Geddy would have to have the worst technique of any bass player in history. Clearly playing hard is a style choice that may at first cause a few setbacks. It's also possible that your choice of strings are particularly painful, but either way, you will eventually stop getting blisters.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DiabolusInMusic, XLunacy, TheDayMan and 1 other person
#38
el_Bajo_Verde said:
People actually get blisters? How does that happen? I play pretty hard, I dig in with rounds and I've never gotten a blister or callus.

Does it have to do with sweat? My hands are always cold and bone-dry, they never sweat.
Click to expand...

If you started playing gradually, like an hour or less a day, it's very possible that you just developed callouses. Blisters are usually caused by really high volumes of playing before properly developing callouses.
 
#40
Keep practicing, your skin will toughen up eventually. I am usually advised NOT to pop blisters, as you should not go putting holes in your skin that allow bacteria/virii/etc in to cause infection. If you must pop them, use a pin and go in parallel to the surface of your skin or at the "bottom" of the blister. Cover with some triple AB ointment and a bandaid.

If you are really in a pinch and NEED to play, the superglue thing does work.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wesley R, Scatabrain and Matthew Fisher

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back