Wearing out my fingers...

[Joe Nerve]

First, for anyone that doesn't know me, I'm not a newbie. Been playing over 30 years, always active, have toured lots with lots of different groups, played in bands that play 5X a week, yada, yada...

My new band however is a new animal. I've had a string of gigs like never before. Played 7 shows in the past 2 weeks, and they're all three 1 hour sets of fairly high energy music. In between those gigs I'm learning new songs, so I'm playing now more than ever before.

My right hand fingers are for the first time ever getting ripped to shreds and I have to do something about it. It's painful and I'm starting to get concerned about permanent damage, or infection. I started using a liquid band-aide thing before playing, but it only helps minimally. It allowed the cut to heal, but my finger is raw, and if I don't lay off the bass for a couple of days it's going to open right up again.

I've heard of the crazy glue method of doing things, but I'd like to know more. Anyone know if that can cause serious damage to an open wound? Is it a safe thing to do? Does it really work?

Are there any other options aside from the idea of lightening up, which I have - but sometimes don't want to.

I may have to resort to a pick playing till this thing heals completely, but I don't want really want to do that either, unless absolutely necessary.

Thoughts? Help? Info on crazy glue? Experience?

 

[dreamadream99]

For me, I got a better sound once I quit digging in to the strings so hard. A lighter touch translated to a more nuanced sound. I am still able to get some good clack when I need it without resorting to digging in.

By the way, the number one cause of digging in too hard? Not being able to hear yourself well enough on stage. I am just more relaxed in general when I have my volume slightly louder than I want it, and play lighter to bring it down.

 

[bholder]

Crazy glue works, I use it when I've lost my calluses and start getting blisters. They use it to surgically close wounds, so I'm pretty sure it's safe for superficial fingertip wear.

 

[Joe Nerve]

For me, I got a better sound once I quit digging in to the strings so hard. A lighter touch translated to a more nuanced sound. I am still able to get some good clack when I need it without resorting to digging in.

By the way, the number one cause of digging in too hard? Not being able to hear yourself well enough on stage. I am just more relaxed in general when I have my volume slightly louder than I want it, and play lighter to bring it down.

I agree. I'm using IEMs now, and just got new ones. Still adjusting, but that's without a doubt a key. What happens is we play 2 sets of ballads and dance stuff, then rock out the last set with GnR, RHCP, and a lot of other aggressive stuff. Everything gets louder, and I start digging in like a mofo, instinctually. Last 2 gigs I had a "duh" moment and started pushing my volume for the last set. I think that might be a key to long term success with this. Thanks.

 

[Joe Nerve]

They use it to surgically close wounds, so I'm pretty sure it's safe for superficial fingertip wear.

Is that true, or is it just something someone once said that people have come to believe? Are they using actual crazy glue, as in the same chemical compound? Or something that surgically glues wounds together that seems to work just like crazy glue?

 

[GrooverMcTube]

Put your heels back in the closet and get yourself some flats...

Crazy Glue (cyanoacrylate) is used surgically: But use Dermabond as in this article: Three things you didn't know about gluing skin

 

[two fingers]

I was right there with you a decade go. We were getting after it hard. We once did 14 days in a row with a double on one Saturday. We also did three shows on another Saturday...three full four hour shows. We also got crazy and broke the previous record at a club by playing over 4 1/2 hours with no break. (We even ordered a pizza from stage and I ate pizza with my right hand while tapping out a bass line with my left. )

Here's what worked for me.

1) Your calluses should build up at some point. At that time in my life, if I tapped my plucking fingers on a table it sounded like you were tapping the table with a ball point pen. They still sound kinda plastic to this day. I have no feeling whatsoever in the last 1/4" of my index and middle finger.

2) Brother, trust me here. Get down with a pick. It took me well over 15 years of playing to cave and start learning with a pick. You could probably find posts of mine from years ago here where I blasted picks and pick players. I have seen the light for several reasons. First off, it gives you another weapon to create a different sound (never mind a sound that would kill in your GnR songs just to name one artist). Second, it gives you a safety net. Get a bad cramp in your plucking hand? Grab a pick and work it out when the song is over. Cut your plucking index finger on your wife's bra hook? No biggie. Grab a pick and go to work. Go to a shop and buy every color in the rainbow of picks (cuz their cheap) and use what works for YOU. I use everything from the ones that feel like a plastic quarter to the ones that feel like piece of a milk carton. My mic stand pick holder looks like a bunch of squished Skittles. I grab whatever pick works best for a given song or technique.

I am still primarily a finger player. But I am equally as comfortable with a pick. Anything I can play with my fingers I can play with a pick.

3) Get down with the side of your thumb. If you are playing in a party band your are bound to be breaking off some Motown and ballads. Wanna cop that Jamerson tone? Use the side of your thumb to pluck up by the board. No he didn't do it that way. But was wasn't a regular mortal human either. Wanna cop a fat round upright sound? Same thing. Yes, the side of your thumb will be sore for a little while too. But once it's up to speed, it will give your other fingertips a well-deserved break. Just use the bottom of a pickup as a "tug bar" and anchor point. Then stroke downward with the side of your thumb. I don't mean thumbing like Larry Graham where you drop the hammer on the string. I mean plucking like you do upward with your index finger, only downward with the side of your thumb. This one will won't require nearly the practice that a pick will. In fact, you can implement this technique the next time a ballad is called your very next show. I am currently working on my upstroke as well. No, I don't need Victor Wooten licks. But it does add yet another dimension to it that could prove useful later on. Just like using a pick, you don't have to do it up by the board. It works just as well near the bridge and offer even more tonal variety. I have gotten so sure with it I can do it without even anchoring these days. It almost looks like I'm holding a pick but I'm not.


You get those other techniques up to par and not only will you have half a dozen new tones at your disposal, and a safety net for injuries and pain, but you will give your fingers a break so they probably won't hurt as bad anyway.


Best part? No pills!

Congrats on having lots of work!

 

[DavC]

GHS Pressurewounds ... yes , they're still rounds ... easier on fingers/fret ...

i've gone as far as duct tape , gaffer tape , electrical tape ...

i have seen the super glue stitches kinda stuff after a few of my wife's neck/spine surgeries ... not quite like super glue , ... but close .

when i've jumped back into bass playing , my plucking fingers often get raw ... i'd keep a pick handy , or use my thumb here and there ... maybe use the pick for learning tunes , to save your fingers ..?? i have rubber , felt and a wide variety of picks ( that i rarely use )

 

[okcrum]

Eventually you'll be able to dig back in as much as you want. You really are at the next level as far as physical playing goes, so it'll take a month or two to build up to it. It's about the same as taking up DB as far as building additional chops.

 

[HolmeBass]

Is that true, or is it just something someone once said that people have come to believe? Are they using actual crazy glue, as in the same chemical compound? Or something that surgically glues wounds together that seems to work just like crazy glue?

Cyanoacrylate was used as a spray in the Vietnam conflict. Some formulations, it turns out, are mildly toxic, but there are medical formulations available over the counter. They are listed in the medical section of the wiki:

Cyanoacrylate - Wikipedia

 

[BassBrass]

Any trauma surgeon has some crazy glue in his kit. well maybe not, but yes, it's used for things like fingertips. I've seen many a double bass wound, blister on the whole pad because of how they pluck. Crazy glue helps allot.

 

[markjazzbassist]

play lighter gauge strings and learn to play with a lighter touch and switch to flat wounds and learn to let the amp do the heavy lifting (ie use the volume knob instead of digging in). IEM should help too (turn yourself up in them so you don't have to play hard to hear yourself).

 

[AnthonyW]

Another vote for the pressure wounds. I use Rotosound 55s, they almost feel like flats and they almost sound like rounds.

 

[CryingBass]

I know I am going to sound like a real idiot here, but would a volume pedal help at all? For mid-song corrections?
( vs trying to change the bass or amp vol mid-song )

 

[Ant Illington]

First, for anyone that doesn't know me, I'm not a newbie. Been playing over 30 years, always active, have toured lots with lots of different groups, played in bands that play 5X a week, yada, yada...

My new band however is a new animal. I've had a string of gigs like never before. Played 7 shows in the past 2 weeks, and they're all three 1 hour sets of fairly high energy music. In between those gigs I'm learning new songs, so I'm playing now more than ever before.

My right hand fingers are for the first time ever getting ripped to shreds and I have to do something about it. It's painful and I'm starting to get concerned about permanent damage, or infection. I started using a liquid band-aide thing before playing, but it only helps minimally. It allowed the cut to heal, but my finger is raw, and if I don't lay off the bass for a couple of days it's going to open right up again.

I've heard of the crazy glue method of doing things, but I'd like to know more. Anyone know if that can cause serious damage to an open wound? Is it a safe thing to do? Does it really work?

Are there any other options aside from the idea of lightening up, which I have - but sometimes don't want to.

I may have to resort to a pick playing till this thing heals completely, but I don't want really want to do that either, unless absolutely necessary.

Thoughts? Help? Info on crazy glue? Experience?

Neosporin to keep infection away. You're not going to get permanent damage from the skin wounds so relax as your usual self does. Tendinits? Maybe. More on this down below. This is the first time I've seen your Nerve shaken!

It might be hard to develop a substantially lighter touch while you're so busy working as you will naturally gravitate toward playing the same but turning up should at least let you chill out a bit.

Be sure to stretch your hands, fingers and forearms; I assure you that you don't want tendinitis which may be lurking right around the corner. I got it last year and it took 4 months to get rid of it. I have seriously lightened my touch and float my thumb now or very lightly rest it. It requires a lot of work to get it down, to get a good attack angle and to play with the very, very tips of your fingers. After dabbling for several months I have literally done nothing for the past month but work on my technique, the vast majority of it on plucking speed, lighter touch, floating/movable anchor and alternate plucking. I'm talking hours a day and my callouses are far less than they were when I spent the same time playing hard... yet I still get a good attack now. Like everything else, it takes time as you know. LISTEN TO ME (quoting you from the other day).

 

[FirewalZ]

Agree with what others have said: Smoother strings, a lighter touch and really trying to relax your hands and play with less effort. I did this a few years back, once I really started focusing on how much pressure and force i was using, i realized it was often a lot more than needed.

 

[nonohmic]

If you rely on callouses you have to manage them with sanding, moisturizing etc. Also take a play from the climber handbook; use this stuff after each set. Or similar.

 

[Ewo]

I've sometimes wrapped a sore fingertip in surgical tape, on both fretting and plucking hands. Best to do that right away when they get sore, and avoid letting a blister raise up.

 

[AnthonyW]

I just remembered a teacher many years ago telling me, if you have trouble with blisters, take the fingerprint off the offending area with an emery board. This take the friction away which is what causes the blister. I remember I did it a few times and it seemed to help. but then I changed strings and didn't need to anymore.

 

[AztecViking]

While preferring fingers I've learned to spot songs which actually sound great with a pick. I tend to "dig deep" with the fingers but if I find myself approaching deep blister territory I'll offload certain songs with a pick. Usually the ones with a lot of pedaled 8th notes. I like keeping the intricate and "ornamentalized" stuff done with the fingers.