How are your fretting finger tips right now?

I'm just curious as to the condition of GT players finger tips - whether they're long time players, full time musicians or new starters.

Sort of a straw poll.

With about an hour a day playing mine are OK just now but i still get the odd twinge and numbness and I wonder if my finger ends will ever stop flaking skin...!

On electric I could go for days. When I pick up the acoustic, it's hours. Back in the day when I played solely acoustic, I could go for days. But that was my thing back then and all I did as much as possible. My fingertips were like wood. ...back in the day. ;)

Originally Posted by: SlickStringI'm just curious as to the condition of GT players finger tips - whether they're long time players, full time musicians or new starters.

Sort of a straw poll.

With about an hour a day playing mine are OK just now but i still get the odd twinge and numbness and I wonder if my finger ends will ever stop flaking skin...!

I imagine everyone's is different. Mine are nice and hard little tips. Almost get a little click sound (versus the soft thud of the other) if I tap my finger tips in a table.

Mine no longer peel but I think that goes to how each persons skin is.

Sort of hard, with little furrows across them.

This is the perfect spot to warn people. First of all; except for my middle finger, if I play for at least 45 mins a day they do ok (on the electric).

The warning: Take extra time when working on things where there's a chance you can hurt your fingers... I've worked construction in the past and I have built many things in my lifetime and have never hit my finger like I did three months ago. It split it down the middle of my nail and basically messed it up pretty good. When the specialist told me that fingers are one of the most time intensive wounds to heal, I took it with a grain of salt. Well he was not joking!!!
I'm just getting back to where I can fret with it but it is very painful. He also said that it could take another 3 to 6 months before the pain will completely go away.

Anyways; for the sake of playing that beautiful instrument without any interuptions, please all, don't rush anything where accidents can happen.

PS. The deck looks great though!! :D

Cheers for the posts all. I was trying to see the variation between different players.
Good advice hickwe, I'm busy laying a patio and I'm wearing gloves and being VERY careful not to jam my fingers between two slabs! Hope the healing goes well with you, good luck.

Been attempting to play for a bit now :)

Would have to say that for the fretting fingers, they are getting tougher now. It seemed that for the first 6 months or so, I did get a bit of pain and/or raw feeling. Seems now that the callouses are finally starting to accept them strings. I think I would have to atribute some of the strength to the recent purchase of one of them "Varigrip" excercise thingies :)

Certainly heed hickwe's advice. Fingers are most important! I smashed the crap out of my left index finger many years ago. Fortunatly had a great Doc to put it back together. Can't feel hot or cold with it, so great for party tricks, but lucky enough to feel pressure with it, so it still is usable. And I'll add in that wear them damn safety glasses whenever ya can! I'd certainly trade a finger for an eye if I had too! ;-)

Cheers!

Andy

I have some nice healthy calluses. They do tend to flake and bust up here and there but I think thats natural with balls of dead skin on the tips of your fingers! There is always some toughness underneath as a base but the outermost skin goes through cycles! I wash my hands a lot with work and notice that when my hands are constantly getting wet my skin will soften a bit...or have some effect on the calluses. I play mostly acoustic. A friend of mine for whatever reason rarely changes his strings and wow does that hurt! Keeping some fresh strings on your guitar is a benefit!

Great advice from all. Keep in mind, as you first start playing, your fingers are generally weak, even those with strong hands may not be accustom to the different movements that guitar fretting will require. As you become accustom to these movements, your strength, in your fingers will morph into a more appropriate configuration. The many muscles that make up your hands are constantly changing trying to conform to the required movements of playing.
As you progress with your playing abilities, the required movements change and adapt. The skin of your finger tips is the same way. As you improve, your able to apply more pressure to the strings thereby increasing or changing the requirements of your skin to thicken. After 30 years of playing, my finger tips are constant, not to stiff, not callused, I can see some dulling of my finger prints on the tips, but other than that they look normal.
With all this said, as you become more experienced with playing your choice of instruments will also improve. When I first started, I played anything I could get my hands on, now, it's about the same but my choice of strings and a learned ability to set up my guitars, allows me to adjust my action to better suit my needs. You can save yourself a lot of agony and time, when starting out, if you'll let a pro luthier help you with your set up. And always remember,
SOMETIMES A CHEAP GUITAR IS JUST A CHEAP GUITAR, but there are many inexpensive guitars that are manageable.