Why I'm liking gloves more and more

I'm sure gloves aren't for everyone. Perhaps they wouldn't even liked by most players. I don't know, but I would guess that most players haven't even tried them. Being the curious type that I am, I started experimenting with gloves; first left hand alone, then gloves on both hands. I started with cotton photo print gloves and decided to give musicians gloves a go. I'm glad I did.

At first it's hard to get over the psychological impedement of just looking geeky, because let's face it- few of folks, even only a few of us have seen bass players wearing gloves, right? But having used them more and more over the past two months or so I've gotten to really appreciate them. In fact, in the last two weeks I did a couple recordings and found that I preferred wearing the gloves on my bass tracks. Why, you ask?

Comfort. It took awhile to feel at home in gloves while playing. They never did impede my playing in the slightest from the first day I tried them. But they do offer a different feel which may take a bit of getting used to. But once I did get used to them I think I'm feeling more at home playing with them than without them, but it's close to 50/50 either way. My hands with poor circulation would get cold, especially holding my left hand higher than my heart when playing. In fact, I think the gloves have helped my circulation overall, even without them on.

Efficiency and endurance. On the left hand there I can definitely feel more endurance while wearing a glove. I didn't recognize how much effort is required to overcome the "stiction" of the bass' neck, though satin necks do make it easier. But then sliding up and down the strings is easier too, unless I use some Finger-Ease, but no need for that stuff with gloves. I find I'm less fatigued at the end of an excersize or session when I have a glove on the left hand.

Consistency of attack and sound. Getting consistent attacks is important, which means I have to pay particular attention to my fingernails. And even when short I still get that "nail ping" on the attack. And getting a consistent pull on the strings? With gloves the material seems to slide off the strings more consistently than with flesh and nails. The sound of the front of the note isn't as sharp, which is a good thing with some music, but taking the right glove off changes the entire sound palette as well. There is a *slight* overall timbre change with the glove on the left hand, but it is noticeable to me, but probably not at all noticeable for an audience. I think my recordings have benefitted from gloves on both hands.

And so that's pretty much the story. If we ever get out of this covid thing and I play live again, I'm relatively certain I'll be wearing one glove fairly consistently and both when the sound permits.

Thanks for taking time to read this.

 

Must be a challenge to play trumpet while riding.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Glove...e&qid=1592958967&s=musical-instruments&sr=1-5

Here's a link for the one of the selections. Be aware that you have to select both size and color. Use the size guide. FWIW, I round the black large to be slightly larger than the tan large version, but not far off. They are very stretchy. If a little small will they will feel snug and with some compression. If too large you can adjust them for finger length and will have less compression. FWIW I started with the medium size as noted, but subsequently ordered large gloves. I like the large a little better because it doesn't restrict my circulation so much, as my hands get very cold, which is one of the reasons I started exploring gloves.

You could use thin cotton gloves, but it has been my experience that there is more feel with these.

I hope this answers you questions.