lewey8705 - Posted - 03/11/2010:  18:53:39

Anyone have any ideas (other than the obvious lotion) to get rid of these painful calluses? I've been playing daily for almost 2 months now, and believe it or not, it hurts to use my calculator in my classes with my left hand because I have so many damn calluses on there? Ha ha kind of a silly question, but I'm almost certain other people have had the same experience

MitchellB - Posted - 03/12/2010:  08:20:08

It is not the calluses that hurt, but the lack of them. Just keep playing through the pain and they will toughen up. Also make sure your instrument is set up properly and the action is satisfactory. Often a high action or heavier strings than necessary will make playing painful for extended periods, even for seasoned calluses.

dpete210 - Posted - 03/12/2010:  13:29:57

lewy8705, you must be talking about callouses on the fingers that fret the strings. That is normal and the more you play, like MitchellB said, the tougher they will get. One thing to keep in mind is to only fret the string with enough pressure to produce a clear note. You don't have to squeeze the strings to death. Many beginners have problems producing a clear note due to improper string pressure, either too light or too tight, or improper location. Fret the chords/notes right behind the fret wire, not on, not half way between. But as for the callouses, you want to have them on the fingertips and unless one plays very infrequently really can not avoid them anyway. If that is the case, the fingers will never get toughened up and will always get sore when you play. Build those callouses! Good luck!

un5trung - Posted - 03/12/2010:  18:28:33

I get three fingers and the thumb on my right hand done at nail salon so I can play clawhammer banjo and fingerstyle guitar. The gals who work at the salon I go to are all Korean. Sometimes I see my friends wife there -- they are Korean as well, Not long ago Jae told me that his wife had overheard one of the gals describing the fingertips of my left hand as looking like "the bottom of her husbands feet."
;-)

Dale Farmer - Posted - 03/13/2010:  08:09:24

dpete210 is right. When I started I had the most painful calluses, then they got very hard and scaley and the pain was much less. But now after 30 years of playing, and I play now more than ever, I hardly have any calluses at all. That's because I only use the necessary pressure to get clear notes and my guitars are set up very nicely. They're a little harder than my right hand finger tips but you can't see a difference. I'm not sure how much effort it would take a beginner to consciously do this as its one of those things that takes much time and muscle memory to perfect, but I'd at least keep it in mind and try to reduce that finger pressure as much as you can. Good Luck... and remember, It's a good kind of pain.

moconno1 - Posted - 03/13/2010:  19:24:12

I would recommend a new product on the market called Rock-Tips, which is a specialized liquid callus builder made for musicians. Google the name.

jazzrambler - Posted - 03/16/2010:  05:34:49

When I played out every night, I often played off my callouses, leaving raw skin. They would start peeling and by the end of the gig, be shredded. I made good use of various snake oils and elixirs, Corn Huskers was a fave. Udder Cream- yeah, sounds weird, it's at WalMart, was really good. Cheap hair conditioner, like Suave, works well, too. Plain old Vaseline is about the most effective and commonly found. Unfortunately, most 'hand lotion' was thin and stung. I've never liked getting crap like that on my guitar either. I do put Vaseline on my fingers in the evening before bed, especially when I've been playing. I've never gotten thick, hard callouses. but there is a difference in my left and right fingertips. The fingerprints are virtually gone on the left tips and they are shaped differently. My right fingers are slightly longer and taper more, the left look, well, a bit stubbier. I have no visible callouses, but the skin is thicker and less sensitive on the left. My thumbs look like they are from two different people. The right looks 'normal,' the left looks unrelated. The constant pressure against the back of the neck has morphed it into a big toe. Hey Dale Farmer, is that a B-25?

ChikPicker - Posted - 03/16/2010:  09:31:04

After six months of playing at least once daily, I have finally thickened the tips of my left hand fingers as well. But those first few keystrokes Monday morning at work are usually still pretty sensitive. I won't say pain like it was, but still definitely sensitive.

tomm - Posted - 03/18/2010:  06:35:49

I recon, if I understand the question...why would you want to get rid of them? You push, gremiss, and cry to get the things in the first place.
I do though, as some have said...if I play say a 3 or 4 of times over the course of a day or two ( not a tad of practice....but show's etc.) find they may want to peel or get alitle sore, but (me personally) I would never put anything on them that might soften them, that defeats the purpose. Grtten through that dosen't even compare to workn' up them puppies first time around.

fiddlepogo - Posted - 03/18/2010:  15:31:59

I kind of overdid on steel string acoustic guitar yesterday.

Normally for a gig I do about 1/2 to 2/3 fiddle, and 1/3 guitar, and that mostly cowboy chords.

Yesterday was St. Paddy's Day, and I did TWO Irish-themed senior gigs.
I was doing some songs I probably hadn't played since a year ago, and so I had to practice more than usual before the gigs,
and one of them seemed
to require a lot of B minor chords... and evidently those B minor barre chords were hitting in a place where the
calluses were thin- OUCH!!!!

I have a bottle of Aloe Vera liquid in the fridge... since I had used some on a burn a couple of days previously, and the middle finger hurt almost as much as a burn, I thought I'd try it.
I actually soaked the middle fingertip in a little of it until it looked like it had been soaked in water, like after a bath.
And it helped a lot- it's sore, but not nearly as sore as yesterday.
And the callus feels thicker.
And it doesn't leave any greasy residue.

moconno1 - Posted - 03/24/2010:  05:30:00

I've developed a non-toxic liquid callus/fingertip protector called Rock-Tips, which you brush on your fingertips. It creates a thin but very tough shell over your fingertip and allows you to play a lot longer at a sitting.

I've been a player (not a very good flatpicker, alas...) for over 20 years and I still have problems with my fingertips, especially when they're cold.

Anyways, I think it will be of great benefit to the guitar community - you can read about it at Rock-Tips.com

Billbo - Posted - 03/26/2010:  10:57:02

well here goes -- new to the forum - my first post. I have caluses on 3 of my left hand fingers. And they hurt sometimes just sitting here not doing anything. I actually am getting a little bit concerned about TOOO much of a caluse. I am concerned about any possible permanant finger tip damage. Has anyone else felt this way or have finger tips hurt even when NOT playing??? to my way of thinking -- this can not be good!

Bill from Louisiana

Christopher K. - Posted - 04/07/2010:  20:13:01

First time poster here, too.

When I was playing gigs 3 nights a week, going to weekend jams twice a month, and practicing 2 nights a week, my hands looked like baseball gloves. I had callouses all over both hands - the left fingers from fretting and gripping the neck, plus the left palm, and the right hand and fingers in odd places from scraping over the strings or plucking them. The fretting fingers got so bad after sweating and playing PB strings in the Florida swelter that they turned green and started to peel off on a daily basis. It looked like I had a skin condition on that left hand.

And in that fine condition, green fingers and all, was how I met the lady who is now my wife. So the moral of the story is: If you want to stay single just don't expect that green, scaly fingers are any kind of deterrent for a determined lady.

Pickerwannbee - Posted - 04/22/2010:  05:35:08

One of the bands I was in years ago rehearsed 2 nights a week then played gigs Fri, Sat. & Sun. Talk about some serious calluses! But, the more I played the less it hurt....naturally. Now a days the problem lies in typing on a computer. My left finger tips have a hard time feeling the keys but that I can live with, hurting fingers from playing...No can live with! JMHO

moconno1 - Posted - 04/26/2010:  14:18:43

The trick, as most old-timers will tell you, is to play every day.

Stefan - Posted - 05/05/2010:  04:24:14

Oh you sissies! Just stop crying and play your guitars! Some calluses havenīt hurt anyone!

Joking aside; My fingertips hurt as well after a few hours of jamming but I donīt worry about it much. There isnīt musch you can do other than getting lighter strings and lowering the action, which will give a worse tone...

Stefan - Posted - 05/05/2010:  04:26:00

Also remember this; The more you sweat in practise the less you will bleed in battle.

Edited by - Stefan on 05/05/2010 04:26:46