How do you prevent blisters from forming on your fingers from bass guitar?
by 
thechief219
ANSWERS: 13
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You play and play and play, ignore the inevitable blisters and then one day you look back and realize ten years have got behind you, no one told you when to run...and no blisters at long last. Other than that you can expect blisters from playing. If they bust open and bleed, while that can be very annoying, it helps to apply a liberal coat of super glue to the cut.
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Blisters just mean you are not conditioned. I never get blisters from bass guitar anymore, but after 2 or 3 hours of really digging in on an upright bass my fingers will literally be bleeding a steady stream. It still doesn't hurt though. It took several years to get to that point.
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You don't. You just keep playing until your fingers harden over, it'll happen eventually. In the meantime, when you get blisters, you can put some rubbing alcohol on them to dry them out, or coat your fingertips with Krazy Glue so it hurts a little less.
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When I first started I got realy nasty blisters on my middle finger of my right hand. Then when I started slapping I used to get blood blisters on my thumb. It's wierd, I go long periods without practicing or playing now and never get blisters almost as if my caouses are now permanent. I believe it is possible to avoid the blisters. The key is the length of time you spend playing per session. If you start to feel rawness or tenderness you must stop playing for that day or switch to a pick. If you are super careful,you might get to the calous stage without having ripped all your precious skin to shreds. I use both a pick style and finger style. I prefer fingers but the pick opens up alot of possibilities as well as saving you from blisters. If your getting them on your left hand the only option is to stop playing.
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[ Hehe, I feel so proud of myself! o(^_^)o Today, my finger bled while bassing XD ] If you are serious and really love bass guitar, then what's a few blisters? It'll hurt in the beginning, but it'll be worth it in the end =)
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You will get blisters until you've played for a while. Your fingers will callous as the skin toughens and blisters won't really form any more. However, if you stop playing for a while the callouses will go and you'll have lovely baby-bum soft fingers again!
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HI, Ya all of us bass players will deal with blisters and sore fingers. Yes, lots of practice and gigin will get you in shape. Lets look at a different angle here. How is your bass set up? String height can be set to high causing you to have to push the string down to hard on the neck, in turn will cause blisters over time and it will slow you down. Also, the slot in the nut may not be deep enough making it extremly hard to make a note on the "E" string. This will make the F,F#,G,G# on the E string hard to fret and easier as you go towards the 12th frett. hope this helps, there is no need to torture yourself. Enjoy.
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The guys today have it easy. You could not imagine what the old stand up bass player went through to try to cover a band with an acoustic bass. Their hands were destroyed. It takes time and you have to develop calluses. Boxers used to soak their hands and face in brine that will toughen up the skin. You could do that to help. I recommend you do not break the blisters just put a band aid on it and keep playing.
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Practice Sorry there's no real quick fix. Various players use different techniques sometimes (like chalking you fingertips) but I would just say PRACTICE. Your calluses will form eventually. If you are really suffering try using flatwound instead of roundwound strings but it will give a different tone.
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Just keep playing. You will go from blisters to calluses, to smooth fingers. The ONLY way I've ever heard of is simply to play past the blisters.
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I can't believe that nobody actaully answered this question. You don't play till you get blisters, if you do they will have to heal and you will have to start over. The best way to develop the callus' you need it to play for a short time at first, then extend your practice time till you can play for a full hour without getting a lot of pain. eventually you will build up nice hard calluss which will make your bass sound a lot better and you will have now pain. Blisters are like getting a sunburn by staying out all day in the sun without preconditioning, wise up
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Dude, you need them. they have to become blisters before they become callouses. it's part of the joy of bass playing.
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That's the way it goes, my friend. They become callouses to protect your fingertips. All guitarists have them.
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