Upcoming Gig, Callouses Gone. Tricks?

[Lowandfat]

Never expected this to turn into the worthless comments parade, but here we are.

 

[Altitude]

You: What should I do?
Bunch of People: Pace yourself and turn up your amp.
You: I'm a grown man, don't tell me what to do.

Cute.

Patient: Doc, my arm really hurts when I raise it above my head.

Doc: Don’t raise your arm above your head.

Maybe technically right but not very useful.

Which I say respectfully. You always have an informed point of view. That post wasn’t your best work.

 

[chris_b]

Which I say respectfully. You always have an informed point of view. That post wasn’t your best work.

I get it. You want an instant fix to the potential problem. Some have given you that and some, I guess me included, have ignored the immediate requirement and have tried to suggest ways of avoiding the problem in the first place. Good luck with the gigs.

 

[Altitude]

I get it. You want an instant fix to the potential problem. Some have given you that and some, I guess me included, have ignored the immediate requirement and have tried to suggest ways of avoiding the problem in the first place. Good luck with the gigs.

Honestly, the advice to “play lighter” presents as notional. I don’t think it’s realistic to subject a body part to repetitive motion and friction over a three hour period and not expect soreness doing it for the first time in a year. Unless you play so “light” as to compromise dynamics completely, maybe not even then.

 

[sean_on_bass]

Another vote for play softly as well as doing whatever practice you can before the gig. Using some sort of lube on the fingers can help too, like fast fret or the oil from the skin on your nose.

 

[Altitude]

When my hands start to pain me from playing I switch over to a pick. I will usually reset the EQ. You need to find the right pick for your style of playing.

I'm not sure that a person unaccustomed to playing with a pick could do it for a long period of time. Seems like that requires some conditioning too. But easy to try out and low risk.

 

[Matt Zory]

Hey, thanks for all the coaching on technique, but that wasn't my question. I'm 51 years old, have been playing bass for 37 years and have a jazz minor in college. I probably wouldn't hit an internet forum for advice on whether I should be playing hard enough to develop callouses - I've got that.

Others - I have a bottle of New Skin coming. I've used it in the past for cuts but never used it preemptively to prevent friction on tender fingers. We'll see how it goes.

There are sports bandaids for knuckle and fingers. Newish product I think. Takes the edge off and will avert blisters. I’ve used it on electric and upright. They are made of fabric and you’ll be amazed.

 

[Altitude]

Well the gig came and went. I experimented through the week leading up with New Skin and Super Glue and decided to try super glue on the gig. The New Skin wore off a little too quickly.

First, I'll change my problem statement - it's not about callouses exactly, it's more a matter of the nerve endings in the tips of my fingers becoming less sensitive the more frequently I play - therefore after a layoff there is some inevitable soreness during a full night of playing. Same as how your butt feels after you do a bike ride when you haven't for a minute. If any of you guys are "playing so lightly" that this doesn't happen to you, I can't imagine your playing comes off as very assertive. But never mind.

The verdict is that the super glue helped only incrementally if at all. It was a fun gig but my fingertips still got sore. Also, this is an IEM band and I could hear a different sound coming off my strings because of the super glue on my fingers, was slightly offputting.

Seems like the solution is just to grit through it and get back into the schedule so my fingers don't hurt anymore.

One surprising thing though was that when I sat down to apply the super glue, our sax player saw me doing it and told me half the bass players he works with do it too.

 

[Matt Zory]

Well…these definitely change the feel of the string but I’ve found them game changing. My story is usually: I think I’ve work hardened but after the first day of rehearsal(s) I’ve got hot spots. 24 hrs later they’ve settled down but another day of rehearsals, bang, sore with hot spots and I haven’t even played the

several concerts to follow. I usually can put one of these bandaids on for one day or one concert and then in essence, you’ve then bought yourself an extra day of healing/quieting down.

 

[ArtechnikA]

...prevent friction on tender fingers. We'll see how it goes.

If friction prevention is your goal -- Finger Ease...