awel Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 I am playing since 1992, and since almost the beginning I am playing on 10s regular string gauges on electric standard tuning and everything was fine. But since 2 years now, I am playing 2h gigs at least once a week plus a rehearsal, after the gigs, my fingers hurt a lot everytime so if I have a second gig the next day by exemple the end of the second set is really painful. I like the 10s feeling but it hurts too much after on gig and risk to compromise a second one, so I decided to go down to 009-046. It for sure sounds stupid but I feel weak to play 009, I know Billy F. Gibbons plays 007 but I grew up with SRV and his 13s, Buddy Guy and his 11s as well as Kenny Wayne Shepherd 11s. I find this is strange to go down one gauges after more than 20 years of playing and it is not a matter of get used to 10s because I play for hours everyday, it is really like my finger tips flesh has moved under my skin and so painfull. I play Blues Rock and feel like I am using a light shredder gauges Does anyone ever feel something like this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 These are issues commonly experienced by a variety of musicians.. RSI, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Arthritis etc , etc....:blink: Violinists, flautists, guitarists, pianists, accordionists.... A bit like athletes and sportspeople....over-use of anything can be harmful and damaging I use 9's, 10's and 11's on various acoustic and electric 6 and 12str guitars Previously used 12's, 13's and 14's on some guitars (whilst still favouring 10's on most)... Suggest keeping a diary of practice/gig times and comfort/pain levels.... If the body is complaining....something has to be done....(without IMO taking analgesics).... Some of my best tone comes from a Guild acoustic strung with 9's..... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 I see no shame in using whatever is suitable. The sound may be slightly different, but you need to address your pain too. I have osteoarthritis in my thumbs so have had to adapt my playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 When I finally swapped out all all 11's on my guitars with 9's I felt like I had finally stopped being stupid. Recently I swapped Melody Maker over to 8's. That's been hard to play in tune since . I need to work on my grip more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Wow! Since God was in Guitar Player in August 76, 77, somewhere in there, I used Ernie Balls, 9 - 42, every guitar, never even changed brands. At 55 years old I switched them all to 10s. Weird. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awel Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 Wow! Since God was in Guitar Player in August 76, 77, somewhere in there, I used Ernie Balls, 9 - 42, every guitar, never even changed brands. At 55 years old I switched them all to 10s. Weird. rct funny you did the opposite as myself, except that I don't really want to switch but this hurt so much. I have a tv live recorded gig of one hour saturday afternoon and a 2h gig at night, I am already afraid of the pain I will have the last song we will play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 funny you did the opposite as myself, except that I don't really want to switch but this hurt so much. I have a tv live recorded gig of one hour saturday afternoon and a 2h gig at night, I am already afraid of the pain I will have the last song we will play. Well brutha, if I get to that kind of pain, I'll go to 8s if need be. I do hurt after a long night, but nothing catastrophic. It isn't weakness, it is doing what you have to do. Playing is better than not playing. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awel Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 Playing is better than not playing. rct +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHTom Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Play what ever you are comfortable with................... They more comfortable you are, the more you will play and the better you will play. I worked in a shop in the 80's and was kind of the poster child for "Hey, try this!".........every sample pack of strings through the door they gave to me. I tried every brand/size/style on the market back then. I settled on 9-46 and stayed there since the 80's. In the last six months, I got a feeling that I needed to play heavier strings (yup, I drank the cool aid), so I tried a few different ones and settle on 10-52........after a couple months, I said screw it and went back to my old 9-46. If it sounds good and feels good, it's the right choice! NHTom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 use what works man,, it's as simple as that. regarding the pain, where is it? finger tips? knuckles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awel Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 use what works man,, it's as simple as that. regarding the pain, where is it? finger tips? knuckles? Finger tips, really after 2h gigging, it seems like de flesh under the skin has slide a bit and are away from the bones specially on the third finger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Finger tips, really after 2h gigging, it seems like de flesh under the skin has slide a bit and are away from the bones specially on the third finger Oh! You shoulda said so! Mine always feel like that at 2am! I thought wrist and back of hand pain, I get that somewhat, not real bad. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Finger tips, really after 2h gigging, it seems like de flesh under the skin has slide a bit and are away from the bones specially on the third finger I think over time, everyone's fingers will get a little fatigued do you only play electric guitars awel? Maybe it's that you just don't have the callouses built up on your finger tips. I play a lot of acoustic, (12 gauge strings - which are lights in the acoustic string gauge universe) but I have some pretty tuff callouses on my left hand's fingertips despite the lighter gauges on the acoustic. I can play non stop for quite a while before I feel any sign of fatigue in my finger tips. My only problem is early morning, I can get numbness in my fingers due to a bit of Carpal Tunnel while playing both guitar or piano. When that happens, I gotta stop for a bit, and go back later. eventually, (mid morning or so) it no longer seems to show up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awel Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 I think over time, everyone's fingers will get a little fatigued do you only play electric guitars awel? Maybe it's that you just don't have the callouses built up on your finger tips. I play a lot of acoustic, (12 gauge strings - which are lights in the acoustic string gauge universe) but I have some pretty tuff callouses on my left hand's fingertips despite the lighter gauges on the acoustic. I can play non stop for quite a while before I feel any sign of fatigue in my finger tips. My only problem is early morning, I can get numbness in my fingers due to a bit of Carpal Tunnel while playing both guitar or piano. When that happens, I gotta stop for a bit, and go back later. eventually, (mid morning or so) it no longer seems to show up. I play mainly electric. Callouses seems to be a controversial subject here some says you should have some others thanks god they never had :) Anyway I have callouses the issue seems to really be under my skin, in the flesh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awel Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 Oh! You shoulda said so! Mine always feel like that at 2am! I thought wrist and back of hand pain, I get that somewhat, not real bad. rct How do you deal with pain? Because mine has negative impact on my playing, my bends at end of the gig feels like that someone is putting a needle under my skin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Yeah.. Nothing to feel guilty about.... Ive bee playing 9s all my life (EB super slinkys).... You must do what ever makes you feel comfortable.. End of... All my necks have slim 60s necks too which I have always found suited me better.. When I play certain types of fat necks I get cramping in my hand pretty quickly (between my thumb and first finger). And its not like my hands are small they are probably about average... As I say you just got to do what ever you need too.... There is no right or wrong about any of it. It is what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Like others have said, there is nothing to feel guilty about. If you have the finesse and light touch to play a lighter gauge, don't let me stop you. They stopped saying finesse around me years and years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awel Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 Yeah.. Nothing to feel guilty about.... Ive bee playing 9s all my life (EB super slinkys).... You must do what ever makes you feel comfortable.. End of... All my necks have slim 60s necks too which I have always found suited me better.. When I play certain types of fat necks I get cramping in my hand pretty quickly (between my thumb and first finger). And its not like my hands are small they are probably about average... As I say you just got to do what ever you need too.... There is no right or wrong about any of it. It is what it is. But I have the feeling I have failed because not able to handle normal, heavy gauges like my idols, like I said if I was into shred or metal I will not care about playing a light gauge but I am into blues rock, so people that are known to play hard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 But I have the feeling I have failed because not able to handle normal, heavy gauges like my idols, like I said if I was into shred or metal I will not care about playing a light gauge but I am into blues rock, so people that are known to play hard Well you are you.. You are not them... Everyone is different... As I say I have only ever played with 9s.... I can play (well try to) everything from Metal to Rock through to Blues... The string gauge has never entered my mind as having anything to do with it.. You want more bass on the strings, turn the bass setting up and so on... you want more sustain turn up the reverb or get a pedal that does that for you... that's what the controls and pedals are there for. How you achieve your sound is neither here nor there as long as you are comfortable and happy with it... doesn't even matter what anyone else thinks. No one is perfect, we all just do the best we can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Forget all that crap. Always trust your ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digger Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 I see no shame in using whatever is suitable. The sound may be slightly different, but you need to address your pain too. I have osteoarthritis in my thumbs so have had to adapt my playing. Same problem in my thumbs and isn't it inconvenient? I got toa point where it hurt me to hold the neck of a guitar. Turmeric capsules have removed most of that pain for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 How do you deal with pain? Because mine has negative impact on my playing, my bends at end of the gig feels like that someone is putting a needle under my skin I remember always that even though some stupid with a flare gun burned the place to the ground, they soldiered on. So I do too! rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 Finger tips, really after 2h gigging, it seems like de flesh under the skin has slide a bit and are away from the bones specially on the third finger very strange.. I've been playing guitar for 50 years, and I never remember having any thing even close to this happening. Perhaps a call to a doc, you could have some sort of nerve thing happening, I'm not a neurologist, but this doesn't sound quite right. regarding callouses, I don't know why anyone wouldn't want them... do you do excessive bending when soloing? does tuning down to Eflat help? and your comment about "Failing",, you're just whacking yourself over the head for no reason at all. One of my bestd buds, whom I've gigged with for the last 30 years plays on light gauge strings (09s elec. 10s acoustic) I have nothing but respect for his abilities and playing. USE what WORKS for YOU.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awel Posted January 24, 2017 Author Share Posted January 24, 2017 very strange.. I've been playing guitar for 50 years, and I never remember having any thing even close to this happening. Perhaps a call to a doc, you could have some sort of nerve thing happening, I'm not a neurologist, but this doesn't sound quite right. regarding callouses, I don't know why anyone wouldn't want them... do you do excessive bending when soloing? does tuning down to Eflat help? and your comment about "Failing",, you're just whacking yourself over the head for no reason at all. One of my bestd buds, whom I've gigged with for the last 30 years plays on light gauge strings (09s elec. 10s acoustic) I have nothing but respect for his abilities and playing. USE what WORKS for YOU.. I don't think it is neurological, it is really a pain that comes at the end of a long show, I think my problem comes from the fact that I am so in my stuff that in some lead like pride and joy or some other medium gain lead part, I put to much pressure on the strings. Do you think it can comes from that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 Same problem in my thumbs and isn't it inconvenient? I got toa point where it hurt me to hold the neck of a guitar. Turmeric capsules have removed most of that pain for me. Not heard of this Digger. Thanks for the tip. I'm on it... PS I may make a vid showing how to play without using thumbs (forget bar chords though!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.