Finger-strengthening devices?

#21
iamprowla said:
I'd have a good think about which bass to buy; I've had one or two which have hurt my neck-hand, including a Warwick 5-string which I wanted to like.

You could try different ones and also gauges of strings and I'd also suggest a low action, because there is no value in having to exert excessive force just to get the string to touch the fret.

A Status Graphite 5-string Energy with Status strings is the easiest to play bass I have and it is not one of their eye-wateringly expensive ones.

I'd also suggest, which kind of lines up with other comments, that you need to learn to recognise when discomfort/pain is your body whinging at you versus when it's telling you you're doing something wrong; I have this with my karate training, where my knees especially are shot - I can't do 100 repetitions of a kick, so I do a few and then listen to the feedback (mind you, I am 57, so the fact I can do a head kick at all isn't a bad thing).

You can take that concept with you when you try out some basses too; you don't have to buy the very first one.
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I'll take a look at the Status.

The fact is that I am very well tuned in to what my body is telling me, which is why I am heading down this path. I've been playing guitar for the most part of 21 years and I know what my arms, shoulders, back, hands, and fingers are capable of right now, and it isn't good enough for me to enjoy playing. I'd rather build up strength and stamina through artificial exercises without playing a bass, without even owning one right now, than stare at a rig in the corner that I cannot play as much as I would want to and be disappointed and frustrated while I do hand exercises.

As far as potential basses, I love the Ibanez SR line. I've had some SR 300s, but my holy grail was an SR1200E, headstock seen in my little avatar pic above. Very comfortable to me, string spacing, neck, nut width, etc., all worked for me. But I had a major problem with the SR1200. The on-board eq and pre-amp was just too complicated and "moody" for me to work out. I really couldn't get it dialed in to sound like I wanted it to, and it was very frustrating to me. Looking back, I should have taken to my guitar tech and had him disable all of it and just left the pickups and tone knobs working. I would have enjoyed it much better. Because of that, I will probably just look for a good J bass when I feel I am ready to buy. The J necks and nut width are similar to the SR and work well for me. Probably going to shoot for a good deal on a used J bass, probably a CV or a VM. I don't see any reason to buy any more for a long time.
 
#23
mambo4 said:
A family friend underwent serious arm surgery , ended up loosing some nerve functionality which ended his Jazz guitar days.
He now has a collection of small , short scale ibanez basses to play with, precisely because they are so easy on his hands.

good luck on your recovery!
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Thanks, man. BTW, love the theory tutorial in your signature, particularly the fact that it is in PDF form. Just saved it on my desktop here at work. I need a refresher course.
 
#24
Spin Doctor said:
Now, I realize that everyone on TalkBass is an expert on everything from basses to neurosurgery, but this post is exactly why I said the OP needs to ask a specialist. If he is as weak as he says, and from some neurological disorder, this isn't just a case for "buy a bass and do what anyone else does". He may need to take very specific steps in gaining strength that will not "F" him up all over again. You listen to these jamokes and you will end up writing with your freakin' toes...
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And you can have blind faith in some Quack, and then....

Pachap said:
The services of a competent PT are why I am going about this way I am. In fact, my PT is the doctor that actually diagnosed me correctly. I went to two neurologists and two orthopedists, and both whiffed on the root of the multiple problems affecting me that all emerged at the same time. The PT got it right, and I was able to get proper treatments, surgery, and meds from there.
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Good for you in getting a 2nd and 3rd opinions, just because these people have Medical degrees, doesn't mean they are good at what they do, or give a poopie about anything other than belonging a Country club.
 
#26
I'm a firm believer in the idea that no one knows your body the way that you do, as many have said, "pain is an indicator that something is wrong". Obviously, self-diagnosis is first, if you go to one of these specialists, one would have to at least give them somewhere to start. But even then, like many, I didn't see a doctor for 30 years, then I turn 50 and I'm seeing them more and more. I don't get a real warm feeling from a lot of them...
 
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#27
Well, I bought two different inexpensive hand and finger exercise devices off of Amazon and I have been using them frequently every day. I take them to work and use them while I'm staring at spreadsheets all day, then I bring them home and use them here during downtime. And there has been a lot of downtime the last few days because my company is shutdown because of Irma.

Just in the last week the difference is crazy. I feel like my fingers a lot more limber and more responsive, but I still need a lot more work to get to where I want to be.

My routine also includes 20lb dumb-bells 3x-4x per week. That has been going on for a while now. I just do standard curls, shoulder presses, etc. on recommendation from my PT to help build some general strength back.
 
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