Calluses

spantini

spantini

COO of me, inc.
I got a new Yamaha bass several months ago and haven't done much with it other than to make sure everything was working
and no defects. Recently upgraded all the electronics and have begun writing a bass part for a recent project - I was up all night
playing to a scratch guitar track.

I haven't played bass for years and have lost the great calouses I had when playing regularly. Now they're coming back
and man are they sore. I laid off playing today to give them a rest - see how they're doing tomorrow. If they don't blister I'll
be a jammin tomorrow night!

The calouses on my fretting fingers are coming along ok, but the ones on the tips of my my plucking fingers haven't made an appearance yet.
 
Last edited:
I hear ya, man.
I always think my fingers are pretty tough but when I have to do bass for a few songs I'm reminded otherwise.
Mines a Yamaha too, btw. RBX-170 with a pickup upgrade. What have you got?
 
You'll feel like playing nothing but Motown grooves...but then, that's not really a drawback.

I mostly use my bass with flat-wounds...and I can EQ it enough to get brighter tones even with the heavy gauge I use.
The bass with the round-wounds collects dust...'cuz I never much liked the "clang-n-clack" of lighter round-wound bass strings.
 
I like the timbre of round wounds, cuts through and growls. But I find people have a difficult time endearing themselves to it; they are used to the classic sound that flats give; especially on a P bass. I really should change them out on mine.

As for callouses.... I don't really have them anymore. My fretting fingers are nearly the same as my picking fingers; old and crusty. Ha ha But for real, any callouses I had, I lost eons ago.
 
Steenamaroo said:
I hear ya, man.
I always think my fingers are pretty tough but when I have to do bass for a few songs I'm reminded otherwise.
Mines a Yamaha too, btw. RBX-170 with a pickup upgrade. What have you got?
Click to expand...

Ha! Same bass! I just added the EMG Geezer P-J kit and it's terrific. It's still got the factory round wounds, but I bought a set of La Bella flats for later.

I remember an old SG bass I got for next to nothing with an Earth amp & cab - that had really old flat wounds.. they were black with crud. I did a lot of note sliding and the higher friction flat wounds tore at my calouses and peeled them off so's I had to let them heal over and burn in some new ones. I switched to round wounds after that.
 
Chili said:
I like the timbre of round wounds, cuts through and growls. But I find people have a difficult time endearing themselves to it; they are used to the classic sound that flats give; especially on a P bass. I really should change them out on mine.

As for callouses.... I don't really have them anymore. My fretting fingers are nearly the same as my picking fingers; old and crusty. Ha ha But for real, any callouses I had, I lost eons ago.
Click to expand...

Years ago, I had some good calouses on my two plucking fingers, to the point where the edges would raise up and I could make a pluck sound like a flat pick.
 
I like the TI Jazz flats. They're low tension. I have another set of low tensions from Labella (I think? It's a green pack), but I haven't tried them yet. The latter have a little better balance in the specs/gauge. The TI's drop from like .100 down to .70 on the A. It's weird at first. I'm used to it now and really like it. Play much longer than I did on the higher tension strings, and the slightly thinner tone is actually better for recording. I used to have GHS Strings M3050's. Those felt like suspension bridge cables and would cramp my hand a bit.

Steem, you'll probably have to do a full setup on the bass changing from rounds to flats. If I remember you did a neck reset so I'm sure you can setup a bass.
 
spantini said:
Ha! Same bass!
Click to expand...

Me too!! Love that bass. In fact, it might have been my suggestion that prompted you to look at the yamaha's. I refinished it with a burled walnut veneer.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0416web.jpg
    IMG_0416web.jpg
    143.8 KB · Views: 16
Chili said:
Me too!! Love that bass. In fact, it might have been my suggestion that prompted you to look at the yamaha's. I refinished it with a burled walnut veneer.
Click to expand...

Sure was.. I think I dug up an old post of yours and then gave one a spin at GC.

That's a cool finish. I used to work for Oldsmobile and Cadillac and saw a lot of it on their interiors.
 
spantini said:
I used to work for Oldsmobile and Cadillac and saw a lot of it on their interiors.
Click to expand...

Way cool. There was an old member here who built archtop guitars. Beautiful work. He got his start at Rolls Royce working on the veneers in their cars.
 
Chili said:
I like the timbre of round wounds, cuts through and growls.
Click to expand...

If I ever get a short-scale...(I have two long scale basses, and **need to get rid of one** ;) ) I would use it with round-wounds...but my long scale will always have flat-wounds...and now that I think about it, I've not changed those flat-wounds out in like many, many years.
Of course, I only play the bass when I need to record it...so the strings don't get the same kind of use as they would by an actual gigging bass player.

AFA callouses...I don't have too much problems with the left hand, since I try to keep them always built up just from guitar playing...but when I don't play bass too long, and then I go to record for a couple of days...my right hand finger tips can get a bit ragged from playing, but now I find playing with my fingers more comfortable than when I use to play bass with a felt/rubber pick in the early days. It took a little practice to get the right hand finger playing...but now I'm quite set with that.
I also often play guitar with just my fingers, and use my forefinger like a pick...and I've gotten more and more fond of playing like that, and sometimes I forget that I never grabbed a pick... :D ...so because of that, my forefinger also has a decent callous on it...but a couple of days of bass playing will always get it humming, and it can swell up a bit, but it never fully blisters out.

**Speaking of the two long-scale basses... :)
I have an Epiphone Thunderbird bass, like-new. I think I've played it maybe a dozen times since getting it. Very clean, no issues.
If anyone is interested...PM me...I'll let it go cheap, less than what you see for used ones at GC or eBay... though it will have to be US shipping only.
 
I usually play guitar with my fingers anyway, so going back and forth isn't much of an issue. What gets me more if I haven't played bass in a while is the muscle/tendon issues of longer stretches, wider necks, and having to hold the strings down that little bit harder.

Back in the 90s when slapping and popping was a thing, my bassist could slash his thumb and forefinger with a razor blade and never feel it. :)

Can't do flatwounds myself. If I want that duller sound I'll turn down the T pot and/or change my attack. My more recent bassist played those silk wrapped strings on his fretless for a while and it kinda pissed me off cause I struggle to get any useful attack out of him on his "normal" bass. I did play a Squier Bass VI a while back with flats on it, and was pretty surprised at how zingy they were, though.
 
Last edited:
I play flats on my Hofner, tried round wounds for a while ...&%$#@#*&% oh bother, the D string on my classical just broke sitting there on its guitar stand...but prefer the flats.
 
I always used round wounds on my Hofner. One benefit was practicing unplugged along with acoustic guitarists.

ashcat_lt said:
... What gets me more if I haven't played bass in a while is the muscle/tendon issues of longer stretches, wider necks, and having to hold the strings down that little bit harder...
Click to expand...

Often, I'll use my pinky and get things nice and stretched out. I used to have a forearm like Popeye :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top