Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

My instructor assigned me The Beatles 'Rain' for practice this week. Caution, do not attempt this tune with steels.
I had recently put on some Hi-Beams, but they gotta go. They sound is great, but I value skin on my finger tips.
Put my Ric strings back on for now. My favs to-date are the Nickel Lo-Riders. I moved them to my 4003s with the humbuckers, so I'll have to get another set for my stock 4003.
Won't do flats. Just not my sound.

You can get blisters with any kind of strings if you're not accustomed to playing them for a lengthy amount of time. I got blisters on my plucking fingers on the right hand when I changed to flatwound strings on my 4004Cii FG. Leave those strings on if you like them. You're fingers will soon get the necessary callouses.

My advice is to let the blisters heal before playing much more. If not you must be prepared to give your Ric a good cleaning........

I've not really blisters, just aggravated calluses.

Ice them after you play. After long gigs (~3 hours) on upright I would put a couple of ice cubes in a small bowl and just press my fingertips into the ice to make indentations in the cubes that fit my fingertips. I would ice them for a good solid half hour, taking brief breaks to avoid any damage. As long as you don't have fluid or blood in there, you can just play, ice, play, ice...lather, rinse, repeat forever.

Eventually, you'll get nice hard callouses that will stand up to anything. Anyting but taking a week off from playing, that is. A few other points:

1. Wear a glove on your right (or both) hand when doing dishes. Hot sudsy water is the natural enemy of callouses.
2. If you do have fluid in blisters, you need to drain them. Light a match to sterilize a pin or needle and then drain the pus. It's fun and entertaining. Then apply ice as above. I've done this procedure literally hundereds of times.
3. If you are a true glutton for pain, rip the blister open with your teeth and then play on the raw pink skin underneath. Despite the suicidal thoughts that will enter your brain, I've found that the raw skin, if stressed gently over time, builds up a nice callous.

Brian, what's up with MID players?

My band broke up about six months ago, and I had not been playing nearly as much as when we were gigging & rehearsing. Two weeks ago, I got an invite to audition for a friend's band, so I have been playing every day, learning the audition tunes. I haven't actually blistered up, but the 'ol fingers are very tender right now, and I'm also feeling it in my hand muscles. It's amazing how fast you start to lose hand strength, speed, dexterity and calluses when you stop playing on a regular basis. It feels good to be back in the saddle again, and hopefully, I'll get the gig.

I agree with Joey that any strings can do this. It's your own fault a lot of the time... happened to me on one occasion with the Ric factory strings, I had just gotten my first (new) 4003 and was playing quite overzealously on its 3rd or 4th gig. I let the excitement get the best of me and then I noticed the red on the strings. I borrowed a pick from the guitarist for the rest of the show.

Learning to turn the master volume of your amp up and play with more dynamics (i.e., softly when you can) is best.

cassius987 wrote:Learning to turn the master volume of your amp up and play with more dynamics (i.e., softly when you can) is best.

So true, but it just doesn't fit the punk ethic....

antipodean wrote:So true, but it just doesn't fit the punk ethic....

I recommend Elixers. They're more expensive, but last much longer. They're round wounds that feel like they're greased. I get callouses too, but the slick feeling of the Elixers is really nice on both hands. And they don't get tarnished and/or sticky like regular nickel rounds so I tend to play them more evenly/predictably. Mediums (45-65-85-105) can be a bit much for a 4001 neck. Most of my new truss rod necks can take them. For the 4001's I go with 40-60-80-100.

If you like dr's,you should try sunbeams,their smoothest feeling rw strings. They are nickel,which is also a bit softer than stainless steel,but sound pretty much the same. I can't remember the last time I had callouses on my fingers,and don't think I need to,turn up the amp,set your action to your liking and go!

woodyng wrote:If you like dr's,you should try sunbeams,their smoothest feeling rw strings. They are nickel,which is also a bit softer than stainless steel,but sound pretty much the same. I can't remember the last time I had callouses on my fingers,and don't think I need to,turn up the amp,set your action to your liking and go!

How do these compare with TI Jazz Rounds? I find them to be the smoothest RW strings I have used but I have never tried DR strings. Is the tension similar to or higher than the TIs?

I can't comment on that,jeffrie,as I have only tried the ti flats,and didn't like the low tension/feel of them. I am using a 40-100 gauge on the CII,and it seems to be fairly "medium" tension-wise.

incubus2432 wrote:My advice is to let the blisters heal before playing much more. If not you must be prepared to give your Ric a good cleaning........

I think this belongs in the 'Suitable for Framing' thread.

I bet you'd never allow this to happen on your Lemmy!

It rubs the lotion on it's fingers, or it bleeds all over the bass again.