Guitarists: SHIT! Do my fingers HURT!

[bertha katzenengel]

I haven't played for about five years. For shame. I started playing my new Martin Backpacker tonight - just scales, a few chords - and

OOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

Someone kiss the boo-boos. :whimper:

[noahmijo]

1. aww suck it up you'll be playin Malmsteen, Di Meola, and Dream Theater

tunes in no time! :)

[bertha katzenengel]

4. will you hate me forever -- or think me a philistine -- if I tell you that

I don't know who/what any of those are? :blush:

Shee.... I was just tryin' to pick out a Carly Simon tune. :blush:

[noahmijo]

9. I SAID GOOD DAY!!!!

:) don't worry about it. Most people outside of the "I like to play lightening fast" crowd don't know of those artists.

They're part of what's known as "Virtouso" or in DT's case "Progressive Metal" Basically these guys/bands combine schooled musicianship with a hard rock flavor.

If you like Zepplin or Pink Floyd you owe it to yourself to check out Dream Theater.

[bertha katzenengel]

11. Thank you.

I like both, but to listen to.... Still, I'll look for DT. :hi:

[ronnykmarshall]

27. mmmmmm Carly!!!

[bertha katzenengel]

28. hi, Ronny!

:bounce:

[progmom]

2. i know how that feels

:*

[bertha katzenengel]

5. ty, progmom

hope your heddy-head is feeling better. :* back.

[progmom]

7. oh - it still hurts, but it'll be better soon

thanks! :hug:

[eyepaddle]

3. Just think of it as the "happy ache"

Good will come of this.

:hi: Ms Venation

[bertha katzenengel]

6. it'll be the happy ache

until it becomes the bloody ache. ;)

TY, eyepaddle :hi:

[chaska]

8. Ya weenie, you got no right to complain. Just imagine what this guy...

goes through.



Uwe Kropinski - the most innovative guitarist since Hendrix.

[bertha katzenengel]

12. I'm sure that guy has thick callouses on his fingertips.

I can deal with the joint ache in the hand and the muscle ache in the forearm. It's the sore fingertips that kill.

Oh -- and yes, weenie. I'm a weenie all the way. :hi:

[realms]

17. I love non-electric

Here's where the problem sits.
I dug holes between the frets because we played so much. Try to copy a electric on a acoustic. Actually it's possible, My version of "paint it black" comes through. Don't try to play like the jerks who think more notes mean better music.

[enigmatic]

10. A tip

If you got a can w/ ridges on it, rub your chord hand fingertips on the ridges to toughen them quicker. It worked for me in the times where I wasn't playing or didn't have the guitar around so I could keep the callouses..

[bertha katzenengel]

13. Cool! Great idea.

And with that, I'll say goodnight to all.

:snooze:

[enigmatic]

14. Goodnight!

[Cornjob]

15. Do your fingers a Stevie Ray Vaughn favor!

Detune the guitar one-half step on all strings to drop the tension.

This will not load your finger tips as severely.

That old SRV trick saved him a lot of agony!

[Chemical Bill]

16. I thought SRV did it cause Hendrix did it.

And Jimi did it to bend the strings even more. All good reasons....

Bill

[bertha katzenengel]

18. Now there's a good idea.

I was afraid you were going to tell me to put superglue on my fingertips. I often wonder if that contributed to his early death. (Couldn't have been the drugs...)

[NoSheep]

23. Nirvana's songs are played1/2 step down. Perhaps the "key" to their sound

[Modem Butterfly]

19. What kind of strings are you using?

[bertha katzenengel]

20. Martin Marquis, Extra Light

[Taverner]

21. Vitamin E Oil

rub this on your finger tips....

A little trick from one guitarist to another...

[bertha katzenengel]

25. Hmm. Question: When?

Immediately after playing? Whenever practical (like hand lotion)?

[Taverner]

26. Whenever practical :)

[no name no slogan]

22. Those backpackers are FUN

I got a nylon-stringed one about a year ago, and it now permanently rides in the backseat of my car. They're nice, fairly cheap, and don't sound half-bad.

And I'm so sorry about your fingers. :( Those callouses will come back again in no time. I just recently picked up the steel-string again, after not playing one for a few months (playing flamenco on the nylon-string guitar lately) and I can definately relate!

:P

[ProfessorGAC]

24. Suck It Up!

Quit whining. No pain, No Gain! Let me think of a few more cliches and i'll get back to ya.

Me, i can't even feel the ends of my fingers. I just feel through the callouses.
The Professor

[chaska]

29. Here's my backpacker.

Slapped it together in a few days a decade or so ago. It's seen a couple thousand miles of trail and has the dings (and the bird shit stain between the 15th and 16th frets) to prove it.

[bertha katzenengel]

30. I'm impressed!

Are you a luthier?

[Zuni]

31. not any more

they used to hurt like the dickens when I started playing, but my fingers are very calloused now