LeftyBassist.com

Hello

I am a new member here as well a bass noob (started playing bass on October 2010)

Do you folks have any dieas as to how to avoid having blisters on the fingers and also - any cure for them ?
Are there any materials or liquids to put on the fingers (like magnezioum in gymnastics) ?
Regards

NIR

Play more.

I play about 1 hour each day ... should I play more ??

...until my finger turns to stone ?....

LOL

Until your calluses develop your best bet imo is to tough it out. And yes, playing more will develop your finger callouses faster. Hope you're having fun playing bass, keep at it and your fingers will toughen up in no time.

I know a guy who used to put superglue on the ends of his fingers.
wait for it to dry and you have a cover.

or just switch to flats

I see this type of question weekly on TalkBass. 80 people will say something different.

like I am going to

I have played for sooooo many years and never had a problem, I do not warm-up. I do not play old-daddy material. I do not understand how someone can have blisters unless a couple things are happening:

1. your action is so high your pressing down so hard to fret a note after 5 minutes it hurts and after 15 minutes your fingertips are almost bleeding under the skin.
2. your amp sucks and your trying to make up the difference by hammering the strings so you can be heard.

if #1 or #2 are a factor, those need to change quickly!!!

and finally, are the blisters occurring on your picking hand or fingerboard hand? ( or both )

For me, blisters have always been a part of my life as a player... some people have developed a technique that allows them to play softer and get the tone they're looking for, but... I play way harder than most people I've seen. I have amazing equipment... more than I need, really... but I just like the tone I get when I play hard, and I like being phyisical with my instrument when the time is right.

If I don't gig a lot, my callouses usually aren't good enough to protect my fingers from blisters. I play much softer at home than when I play live... and when I'm playing live frequently is when I usually have the best calouses built up.

I'll still get blisters sometimes, even when playing a lot though...

I have some pretty serious calouses built up right now and I still ended up with blisters on the index and middle fingers of my picking hand after playing a 4-hour set this past weekend on both Saturday and Sunday nights. The gig was outdoors and in high humidity, and even higher heat.

I play hard, and, even though I'm fat and out of shape these days, I'm an active player on stage and put on a pretty physical show as well. I like my tone better when I play a little harder... and with that much physical activity in that kind of weather, I also sweat like a pig.

After the first set, I was DRENCHED in sweat... and calouses do NOT like sweat... so my skin softened and I got some pretty bad blisters. It happens to me fairly regularly, but the pain/discomfort is usually gone in a day or so.

The bright side is that after a good round of blisters, my calouses are usually stronger and better than ever and stay that way for a couple of weeks.

Between gigs or on breaks, daily showering and doing dishes and giving my daughter baths and other things like that make them get soft... playing and practicing at home helps a little... but it's usually constant gigging that keeps my calouses in great shape.

well since you brought it up ADD, you got me thinking ( ya I'm old and forget things already )

I never get anything on my fingerboard hand, but certainly it hurts after a few hours on my plucking hand and a back to back Fri/Sat shows kills the tips of my fingers for a couple days of healing time because they get sore YES, but I can't even remember when I had blisters, usually redness and tip pain from swelling but no fluid under the skin to drain with a needle.

everyone is going to be different that's why I'm glad this was brought up here, to find out everyone's experiences.

I've been playing for almost 30 years now (Yikes! How did that happen?!). Oddly enough, I've never been able to develop calluses on my plucking hand, only my fretting hand. Thus, the tips of my fingers on my right hand look like ET's, but fingertips on my left hand are still relatively soft. This is probably due to years of pressing down frets too hard and/or high action, but I attribute it more to the fact that I'm simply a relatively "anxious" player who has a hard time relaxing when I play. I wish I did have calluses on my left hand, since I've often wished I had a sharper, clearer attack (40+ years of nail biting hasn't helped either, though I used to be a lot worse), but I've since learned how to get my amp to do a lot of work for me. I will concur with others here though and say that you just have to tough it out until you develop calluses on your fingertips. You can, however, as a quick fix, Crazy Glue your cuts and/or tips of fingers if you absolutely must continue playing.

PJmuck has been playing bass for a long time but he still struggle with the use of computer interfaces, hence the double posting.
Or possibly a 4th of July week-end full of abuses from which he has not recovered.

Hahaha PJ,

Are you getting old? Same post twice !!! Just kiddin', I thought it was funny.

Back on subject, They are part of the process up to a certain way. You can get ride(?) of them with a needle that you put either alcohol on it or me I prefer to use fire to sterilized the top of the needle. Then pierce the skin just enough to get the liquid out. That way you keep what you have built and are ready to play some more and build a extra layer of tone !

Sorry for my bad english because this derives a bit from the usual music terms, LOL

Good luck

Duplicate posted deleted, wise guys. Sometimes the old laptop doesn't post quick enough and gives the illusion it never posted.

Me, i rarely, if ever, get blisters on my fretting hand. But they will callous up after about a week's worth of gigs or rehearsals.

My left hand is a different story. I can pop blisters if my fingers go from wet-> dry-> wet -> dry ad nauseum. the key for me is to keep the moisture level consistent, wether it be wet or dry. usually I prefer wet, so I'll wash my hands just before a set, or use string lube.

On a good night I'll waste a small pitcher of beer by shoving my hand in it that usually is good for a chuckle from the bandmates.