I know this was covered 5 or 6 years ago, but not in a positive, serious way that might help some of you so I’d like to share some recent experiences.
I’ve been playing bass exclusively for 20+ years. I started playing guitar in 1957. I play Blues, Bluegrass, Folk, Traditional, and Classic Rock. I play in several local bands. Although I play a fretted J Bass, my style is very fluid and smooth as if I was playing a fretless bass. I slide all over the neck.
In humid summers, I always run into the same issue, my finger tips won’t slide easily on the strings. I’ve tried lubing my finger tips and drying them with alcohol or powder. I use flat wounds and in the past two years I’ve switched to tape wounds which are a step in the right direction, but not a solution. Two months ago I found a solution, with benefits.
After watching Scott play with a glove on his fretting hand I thought I’d give it a try, but not the kinds of gloves that have been tried in the past, instead, I did an Amazon search for “Thin Cotton Gloves” and came up with 50 cent white thin cotton gloves, about $8 for 16 gloves, no right or left, they work either way.
The bottom line is that my fingers now glide over the strings as if they were on ball bearings! Plus, I don’t know why, but all the speed I thought I had lost and had written off to getting older is suddenly back. What a nice surprise.
So if you have an open mind and want to give something a try that might surprise you, give a thin cotton glove a try. Yes, I’m not crazy about the look, but the benefits are too good to pass up. At this point in my life I’m far more concerned with how I sound.
I’ve been playing bass exclusively for 20+ years. I started playing guitar in 1957. I play Blues, Bluegrass, Folk, Traditional, and Classic Rock. I play in several local bands. Although I play a fretted J Bass, my style is very fluid and smooth as if I was playing a fretless bass. I slide all over the neck.
In humid summers, I always run into the same issue, my finger tips won’t slide easily on the strings. I’ve tried lubing my finger tips and drying them with alcohol or powder. I use flat wounds and in the past two years I’ve switched to tape wounds which are a step in the right direction, but not a solution. Two months ago I found a solution, with benefits.
After watching Scott play with a glove on his fretting hand I thought I’d give it a try, but not the kinds of gloves that have been tried in the past, instead, I did an Amazon search for “Thin Cotton Gloves” and came up with 50 cent white thin cotton gloves, about $8 for 16 gloves, no right or left, they work either way.
The bottom line is that my fingers now glide over the strings as if they were on ball bearings! Plus, I don’t know why, but all the speed I thought I had lost and had written off to getting older is suddenly back. What a nice surprise.
So if you have an open mind and want to give something a try that might surprise you, give a thin cotton glove a try. Yes, I’m not crazy about the look, but the benefits are too good to pass up. At this point in my life I’m far more concerned with how I sound.
