Medical Mystery Tuesday: LR for Tuesday, August 2, 2011

[zapcosongs]

Welcome to Medical Mystery Tuesday.

First though I want to thank all who participated yesterday. Great stuff. I plan to follow up on the music/emotion theme tomorrow, and let you know what’s so moved me as well. But I thought we’d do something a little different today before going back to that stuff.

I do wish to say, astutzmann, that your brother is in our thoughts and prayers.

Okay. I’m getting hungry. What shall I have? Hmmmmm….. I’m feeling like a good gyro. Cucumber salad on the side. Watermelon. Ginger beer. Anybody want to join me? I’m buying today! Yes, you can buy me a Stella or a Pilsner Urquell. I may be a moron, but I’m not totally stupid!!!

* * * * *

Do we have a doctor in the house? I have a guitar-related medical problem and I am in search of a solution.

About two years ago, I got me my first G&L bass guitar. I’m not a bass player, mind you (and I hardly qualify as a guitar player) but I know quality and on the recommendation of several G&L enthusiasts – most notably our friend ///Brock – I bid on and won a first-style SB-2 in rare Bahama Blue. It looks black, until you see it next to a black instrument. It is an incredible, woody, thumping tone machine. Love these MFD singles.

Anyhow, I started to teach myself a little bass, mostly by playing along with some of my favorite “Classic Rock” CDs. Lo and behold, after not too many hours of playing, I developed this!



Yep, right there on the business surface of my third finger, I developed there a round, raised painful sort of lesion, that sports a nasty-looking cratered middle. To make a long story short, I can no longer comfortably use my (third) finger to try to learn bass, and I’m wondering what the hell this is and whether it’s just something I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life.

Should I go to a doctor and have the damn thing excised (it’s been there nearly two years without changing much if at all)? Do I need to develop an alternate technique if I am to continue to explore the low end? Should I go to a pick, and if so, should it be a hard plastic plectrum, or one of these softer felt-like spongy things? Anybody out there care to help me out here? Anyone have a similar experience?

I am also seeking your stories of either medical issues that you developed from playing, and/or stories about medical conditions you have experienced that made it difficult or impossible for you to play. How did you cope with your situation?

My final question for the day – G&L related – seems easier and more straightforward (to my feeble mind, at least). You have before you your very favorite G&L guitar or bass. What about it – if anything – would you change about it, and why?

That will do for today. Have a great Tuesday! - ed

[astutzmann]

Thanks so much for you thoughts and prayers. He has a long haul ahead of him, for sure.

I have no injuries from playing guitar, but i am the type that always gets hurt in one way or another and I really feel it while playing. In january I took a nasty crash on the ski hill and bruised my shoulder and also tore some of the ligaments. Its getting better now (strumming arm) but I still feel it if I play for a long time. Worse yet, it feels fine all day long but driving the car makes it hurt, weird.

So far I haven't cut off any fingers yet, but have gotten close a few times, lol. That's what happens when you let un-handy people do handy work!

RIght now (after 2 pick guard changes) I have my blues boy, legacy and Special Deluxe exactly where I want them. The special has a wide C neck and I'm finding it harder to get used to, but I love it. No changes needed on them right now.

By the way, I meant to mention yesterday that you are a hero for taking care of your
parents like that, my wife and I both did it, its hard, but they are gone now and we miss them terribly.

Good luck,

Alf

[westsideduck]

Pansy ass, just play through the pain I don't play bass much, just for recording, but I'm guessing that bass players get calaouses there as guitar players get them on the other hand and they just build up over time. You could go with flat wound strings, they are a lot smoother on the fingers.

My favorite, wouldn't change a thing, Leo got it right the first time!

[darwinohm]

Good stuff yesterday Ed. Your lunch proposal sounds great but I can't get there in time.

You should not get a nasty finger like that playing bass. especially on the left hand. Me thinks it looks like an embedded sliver, (have seen these from cactus spines) in the finger and it has been trying to naturally eject it to the surface but can't. The bass playing may have irritated it. I would have it looked at. I find that I get more sore fingers playing regular guitar than bass. I do use flatwounds on the bass.

If I were to suggest a change to my favorite G&Ls, it would be a micro tilt in the neck. It is quite inexpensive from a production consideration and G&L probably thinks it is not necessary as many people would never need it but I have at least 3 G&L's that I have shimmed. Shimming takes time as it may require removing the neck 2 or 3 times. The bottom line is that Leo really had it right and I think that BBE has done a great job. One final comment is that after shimming the G&S will play with a very low action, something that many guitars will not with out fret work. This is certainly an endorsement for the plek. -- Darwin

[sirmyghin]

I am with Darwin, it looks like a sliver or something. I myself don't callus like most folks, the ends of my fingers are just hard not lumpy at all. If I am really out of practice on bass and do a very long session (3+ hours) I will occasionally blister my right hands fingers. That happened a lot when I was playing in a band due to the aggressiveness of the music. I also had bad tendinitis for a while in both thumbs, which forced me to hang up for a bit and I have never actually gotten back into thumb style playing (albeit it was not the cause).

I would also really like the microtilt back. I shim necks to get em perfect, the tilt makes that a little bit easier. I shimmed my G&L shortly after getting it.

[zapcosongs]

Darwin, it's on my the middle finger of my right hand, right where the finger contacts the string... - ed

[sickbutnottired]

I have no idea what that is on your finger, but what a terrible spot! Bass is hell on my wimpy guitar player hands. I can blister my right-hand fingers on my brothers j-basses in one song! He uses monstrous round wounds, why? I don't know.

On my F-100, I would love the tuners for restringing, but I would like a little more mechanical advantage. They are really touchy to adjustment. No big deal if I am playing it all the time, but if I go back to it I make a mess of things while micro-tuning for a while.

Enjoying the week. AZ, yea best wishes to you and your family RE: you brother..

[Ken Baker]

Anyhow, I started to teach myself a little bass, mostly by playing along with some of my favorite “Classic Rock” CDs. Lo and behold, after not too many hours of playing, I developed this!

Yep, right there on the business surface of my third finger, I developed there a round, raised painful sort of lesion, that sports a nasty-looking cratered middle. To make a long story short, I can no longer comfortably use my (third) finger to try to learn bass, and I’m wondering what the hell this is and whether it’s just something I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life.

Dang - right there on the end of your reconnaissance finger. That ain't good. A callous from normal playing wouldn't look like that and wouldn't normally be painful once the skin hardens.

Should I go to a doctor and have the damn thing excised (it’s been there nearly two years without changing much if at all)? Do I need to develop an alternate technique if I am to continue to explore the low end? Should I go to a pick, and if so, should it be a hard plastic plectrum, or one of these softer felt-like spongy things? Anybody out there care to help me out here? Anyone have a similar experience?

I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on TV, but I'd guess you picked up a metal sliver (or some-such) somewhere along the way. Maybe from the bass, maybe from the backyard. Your body can't seem to eject the thing, so it grows hard skin around the sliver to isolate it. If the pain is sharp, like something is sticking you, then it becomes even more likely. So get your ass to a doctor - preferably a dermatologist - and get it looked at and removed. I've had slivers like that a few times. Sometimes I can dig them out, other times I can't.

I am also seeking your stories of either medical issues that you developed from playing, and/or stories about medical conditions you have experienced that made it difficult or impossible for you to play. How did you cope with your situation?

Arthritis in my left thumb. The trapezium is essentially bone-on-bone and I can't play at all right now. It hurts ALL the time, from just a nagging thing to sharp pain that damn near makes me pee my pants. Surgery. Soon, I hope. (Had to come back in and fix that. I must be becoming a typing dyslexic.)

My final question for the day – G&L related – seems easier and more straightforward (to my feeble mind, at least). You have before you your very favorite G&L guitar or bass. What about it – if anything – would you change about it, and why?

The very essence of G&L, the pickups and basic build, will always remain original with very few exceptions. Electronics & preamps are fair game. Still, any change must be totally reversible.

Ken...

[bassman]

Hi Ed, Nice job on the Lunch Reports. I know that you are not a moron and you are one hell of a good father and you have one of the cleanest L-1000s that I have ever played and your SB-2 is great too.

About your finger tip- bass playing may cause blisters and callouses but aside form blisters, nothing should be causing you pain as you play, unless you have arthritis, but that is not a skin disorder.

I agree with the others that you should have your finger checked for a splinter of some sort.

I have had blisters from bass playing and they were worse when I used flatwound bass strings. I don't like flats on my main bass for that reason, but I do think they have their place on the right bass and in the right situation.

I think that roundwound bass strings helped me hear myself better so I don't pluck the strings as hard as as used to.

[blargfromouterspace]

Ed - my dad had something identical on his finger, it hurt so bad he didn't play for about 5 years until he decided to go to the doctor and do something about it. So get to the doctor and cut that thing out! Like Ken says a dermatologist might be best.

[Kit]

Ed, I don't have the medical knowledge to know what is on your finger, but I agree with everyone else that it is best taken care of by a a doctor. Sometimes the procedure is simpler than you can imagine. I hardly ever play bass, and even when I play it is never more than a couple of hours at a time. I'm lucky that I've never developed any problems with my fingers playing bass.

Since I'm definitely getting older now I notice that I have pain in my finger joints occasionally. It may be arthritis, but fortunately it hasn't gotten bad enough to keep me from playing. The only other problem I've had is a couple of time when I'm playing a long session, say over an hour and a half, and I'm playing a lot of barre chords, my fretting hand has cramped up. The 2 or 3 times that has happened it has always been a warm day. I think I should have been more properly hydrated.

I'm quite happy with my G&L guitars. Both the LE and the SC-3 have single coil pickups, so the only thing I would like changed would be more complete shielding in the cavity and under the pickguard since the single coils can sometimes get noisy.

Kit

[jonc]

I'm not sure what it is and agree you should have it checked out. though i do know one thing it's not.

[youtube]OaTO8_KNcuo[/youtube]

[Philby]

Lunch sounds perfect Ed. Whip me one up as well will ya?

+12 that the lesion on the end of your finger isn't a normal guitar player's callous. I too reckon there's a sliver of metal in there that needs excision.

Recently I've developed tendonitis or arthritis in my left elbow (chording arm). I don't know how it happened or whether my diagnosis is correct but it hurts, especially when doing bends or playing fast runs. Some of my guitars aggravate it more than others. Smaller, thinner necks which feel more naturally comfortable to me cause the most pain. Unfortunately that includes my G&L's. My larger, club necked guitars cause the least discomfort so I've been putting them on high rotation lately. I have a v-neck guitar that is just about perfect for minimising pain.

As far as mods to my G&L's, I now wish they all had beefier v-necks (see above).

Phil.

[stagecoach]

Medical - Playing guitar I generally have no problems. My first guitar teach told me to put my fingers into Mentholated Spirits to help toughen the ends up. I have played electric bass for an hour without any problems (That is about it at a jam session, would rather play guitar). Double bass is where my pick hand gets sore. i think it is trying to get the beast to make volume. I generally can't do more than 3 songs before it starts to blister. On Mandolin I find no more than 20 minutes and the short scale along with double string starts to cramp and hurt, lucky that is the limit of what I do on mandolin.

G&L - The only thing I would change on my baby would be a Middle MFD, out of phase, on my ASAT Special. Just looking for that "Nashville" tone along with the Buck Owens tone. I already changed the tuners to Locking tuners with a drop D. How about a 7th string to get the Baritone sound. Like I have found in the past, what I think I want on paper never is what I get in real life. e.g. I got a Nashville B bender and I played with it for over a year, swapped pickups, changed wiring but could never get a good Spank out of the strings. Flew to the USA and went to GC and played a Tele Deluxe (Wood and pickups were what I thought I wanted) and found that the standard Tele had more of "my" sound. Then I was in a Ghruns and tried all the Fender Tele's and none of them spoke to me. On the way out they suggested a G&L. I thought, I might as well give it a try, the only other thing I was going to do was listen to more music on the strip. And guess what, I fell in love the G&L and the MFD's

[Aussie]

First things first ....

astutzmann. Best wishes for your brother and the people around him (including yourself). My wife had a stroke last year and it was a worrying time for sure, but I have to say that her recovery has been remarkable and just as the doctors told us it would be.

Ed. I just had our Chief Medical Officer take a look at your finger and while he put all the riders and qualifications you would expect (and as a lawyer you'd have been proud of him!) he concurred with the majority view that it is most likely an embedded foreign object and that you should have it checked. We just need an address for his bill.

Personal ailments that impede playing. I do have some early signs of arthritis in a couple of fingers on both hands. Hasn't really been much of a problem so far although playing a four hour gig was starting to be a bit painful ... but as Chopper Reid would say - you've just got to harden up princess!

cheers, Robbie

[sam]

Ed, agree with others on getting yerself to a doc and get it looked at. If you are playing with a pick and not fingers, where we would expect the sliver to come from, you may have picked it up when just picking up the guitar.

As I have modded most of mine already, I think a 4 way switch should be offered from the G&L boys.

[Brock]

I’m not a bass player, mind you (and I hardly qualify as a guitar player) but I know quality and on the recommendation of several G&L enthusiasts – most notably our friend ///Brock – I bid on and won a first-style SB-2 in rare Bahama Blue.

Yay! First-style SB-2.

You have before you your very favorite G&L guitar or bass. What about it – if anything – would you change about it, and why?

I wish my first-style SB-2 wasn't bright red. Other than that, I'm most pleased. A great instrument.

-Brock

[zapcosongs]

Thank all of you once again for your kind, thoughtful and enlightening responses. I think I’m gonna cry a little bit now…. ;+)

Seriously, I think I’ll work backwards this evening, so here goes:

Aussie: Appreciate your getting me that professional assessment. Seems to be the consensus that I have something embedded and ought to see a doctor. Lucky I have health insurance. Not so lucky with the high deductable though!

Regarding the bill, send it the same place your going to send those Iced Vovos. You know what they say about a spoonful of sugar…..

Stagecoach: So glad that guy at Ghruen’s pointed you in the right direction before you found the door. I’ve heard nothing but great things about that place. May just put it on my bucket list. Also, I’ve been itching for years to give the Mando a go. Any advice?

Philby: Sorry to hear about that left elbow. I can imagine how frustrating that might be. Glad though that you’ve found somewhat of a solution in the larger V neck profile. PM me for my address. I would be honored to take those painful, sknny-necked instruments off your hands. And yes, I will spring for the insured shipping. It’s the least I can do.

jonc: You crack me up, man! I love that movie. Can you guess MY favorite line? I bet you can….. btw, you should hear that old AC-4 with the (4 ohm) Webber. Night and day. I’m thinking of taking your advice, boxing the original speaker in the Vibro Champ
and sticking the same one in that thing. You bonding with that Hollow Atom yet?

Kit: I’m with you on the shielding. That’s something I wish came with ALL my single coil guitars. The MFDs actually don’t seem quite as bad as most other single coil guitars, but shielding would probably make a worthwhile difference. Hope your joint pain stays mild and manageable….

Blarg: Five years? Man, that’s a long time. Luckily, my problem doesn’t interfere with my six-string playing, but 2 years is about as much as I can take with these two great G&L basses and nowhere to go with them.

bassman: Thank you so much for the kind words. I think I’m tearing up again…
It pains me that I really haven’t been able to play either the SB-2 (great set-up, btw. Thanks!) or the L1K for more than a few minutes at a time. I’ll get this checked out. In the meantime, here’s my little slideshow featuring you and my G&L basses for those who may have missed it:

http://s87.photobucket.com/albums/k156/ ... =slideshow

Btw, you’re a fine gent yourself. Your wife and kids are lucky indeed!

Ken: You can’t play at all now?!!! That’s absolutely terrible. When is the surgery? Let us know and I’ll get you a catheter. ;+) btw, I thought you DID play a doctor on TV!
Cool mod ideas. Very cool web site, so here’s your plug. For those of you who may have missed it, check out BassesByLeo, Ken’s baby. If memory serves me, there’s a link to the site on the “Links” feature on this very site. Go figure! But check it out!!!

sick: Yeah, when I first started trying to learn bass, I too developed a new and healthy respect for our low-end brethren. When I get over this medical problem, I look forward to developing caluses on my right hand fingertips. But what I really wonder what it will take to develop the muscle strength and endurance necessary to hold up the low end song after song. These guys really are unsung heroes….

sirmyghin: I too like having the micro-tilt, but as a practical matter, I have seldom found the need to use it (interestingly, I have a Fender guitar – a Japanese reissue of the ’72 Thinline model) that has the feature and I’ve needed to adjust that one quite frequently). The four bolt G&Ls, for me, have been incredibly stable, but I admit to liking to have the ability to make that adjustment, should the need ever arise.

Darwin: See above. I’ll add that I’ve never touched a pleked G&L (or any brand, come to think of it). When G&L was doing the frets the old fashioned way, it’s very clear to me that they were giving the fretwork the attention to quality that was required. After all, if the frets aren’t right, the rest of the guitar doesn’t really matter much, does it?

duck: I can almost hear that S-500 through that Fuchs and Avatar cab. But sometimes, “almost” isn’t good enough. Have any clips? That would be a joy!
Btw, who are you calling pansy-ass? I may not play very well, but I’ll drink your ass under the table any day. Ha! [Last call, Ed!]

alf: Your kind words are inspiring, but I’m no hero. Just a daddy and a son, trying to get through each day, one day at a time. Glad you were able to do good for your folks as well. Doing good is its own reward. It’s kind of like skiing, actually. A worthwhile endeavor, but with the pleasure one can expect some pain…. As you well know.

Well, time for me to dredge up something to talk about tomorrow. It’s probably high time that I man-up. In the meantime, I just want to note that I’m a bit surprised that nobody suggested that I try a pick on the bass guitar as a work-around for my non-tumor.

Have a great evening, and we’ll talk tomorrow. - ed

[stagecoach]

Mandolin - It is a relatively easy instrument. It is tuned the same as a violin EADG (inverse to guitar, it is 7 frets to get the pitch of the next string-not 5 like the guitar). My problem is getting it to sound like a Mandolin rather than a guitar player playing a mandolin.

All you need to learn is 1 chord and move it around. eg the 2nd and 4th image below. from that point you can play along with your fav tunes

[sirmyghin]

so tuned 5ths not 4ths + M3

[zapcosongs]

Settle down sirmy!

Thanks, stagecoach. This is particularly cool since I sometimes feel like I'm viewing my guitar backward or seeing it upside down. I may yet find my niche! Appreciate the simplification. Great moron material. Ha! - ed

btw, I got my wife a Uke (or is that "an Uke"?) for Xmas. She picked it right up but then again, she doesn't play guitar at all. That thing vexes me...

[sirmyghin]

Banjos are the instrument I just can't do anything with, the neck is so dinky my bass playing meat hooks can't cope with the string spacing.

[Ken Baker]

Ken: You can’t play at all now?!!! That’s absolutely terrible. When is the surgery? Let us know and I’ll get you a catheter. ;+) btw, I thought you DID play a doctor on TV!
Cool mod ideas. Very cool web site, so here’s your plug. For those of you who may have missed it, check out BassesByLeo, Ken’s baby. If memory serves me, there’s a link to the site on the “Links” feature on this very site. Go figure! But check it out!!!

A catheter? <shudder> My right paw will still be working, thankyouverymuch.

Thanks too for the plug!

Ken...

[GDub]

Do we have a doctor in the house? I have a guitar-related medical problem and I am in search of a solution.

Looks like a plantar wart. I had one on my foot when I was in my 20s. I removed it myself, but it took months of abuse to kill it off. Better to have someone who knows what they're doing remove it. It'll heal very quickly.

(Oh, and I did a little research--we were 49th at the end of 2010! When the song was made we were 37th. And the beat goes on...)

Sláinte,

--GDub

[zapcosongs]

So, gw, my guess wasn't too far off... Sad. - ed

"Oh, Canada!"

[Brock]

Banjos are the instrument I just can't do anything with, the neck is so dinky my bass playing meat hooks can't cope with the string spacing.

I had this same problem. Solution? Mod a Banjitar!
1. Buy a banjitar. We're a Musicorp dealer over here so my wife ordered the J. Reynolds one in and surprised me for Christmas (had it shipped to Mom's house). It works well enough that I don't see it being replaced, but of I had to do it again, I'd ask for the the Dean. It's a little more money but it's nicer.
2. Cut two new notches in the nut for an evenly spaced four.
3. Cut two more notches in the wooden bridge for an evenly spaced four.
4. Put on a set of heavier strings so all four are wound. Act like those unwound strings don't even exist.
5. Remove the two unused tuning machines.
6. I went ahead and bought nylon hole plugs from the hardware store to fill in the missing holes. Four total, one per side per hole. Push 'em in and the appearance is much more clean.

Ta Da! Banjo with bass player friendly spacing. Mine is tuned E-A-D-G for added familiarity, but that's at guitar pitch of course.