Sweaty hands

My whole life I've had rather sweaty hands when doing most stuff. This has become quite an issues while playing because it makes the picks even harder to hold on to and it keeps slipping out as well as I have less control sliding up and down a wet guitar neck. I've though about maybe using talcum powder or something similar to keep my hands dry but don't know if that would affect the guitar at all.

One thing that may help is to grab the pick between the "side" of your pointer finger and your thumb instead of between the two tips. You should have half the sweat problem. I don't think you should use any kind of powder. Perhaps someone with more knowledge can jump in.

Originally Posted by: sparkyoneonetwoMy whole life I've had rather sweaty hands when doing most stuff. This has become quite an issues while playing because it makes the picks even harder to hold on to and it keeps slipping out as well as I have less control sliding up and down a wet guitar neck. I've though about maybe using talcum powder or something similar to keep my hands dry but don't know if that would affect the guitar at all.

So, is the sweat coming from your actual hands or your wrist and forearm? If it's your wrist and forearm, you could just try sweat bands on your arms, like what drummers wear.

Originally Posted by: richray01One thing that may help is to grab the pick between the "side" of your pointer finger and your thumb instead of between the two tips. You should have half the sweat problem. I don't think you should use any kind of powder. Perhaps someone with more knowledge can jump in.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the answer I've got a bad habit of holding my pick with the tips of my fingers working on breaking out of that habit.


[QUOTE=GT Staff]So, is the sweat coming from your actual hands or your wrist and forearm? If it's your wrist and forearm, you could just try sweat bands on your arms, like what drummers wear.

It's the palms of my hands. I've had issues with sweaty hands my whole life i've done tings like wearing gloves or using powders to cut back on the sweat but none of that really seems like a good idea when playing. I got some Dunlop brand picks today that have a checkered pattern where you hold them gonna try and see if that helps with the pick issues. My other picks where smooth from front to back.

how about trying these plectrums?
http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/max-grip-nylon-standard

and if the sweat is coming from the palms of your hands would wearing some thin fingerless gloves help?

Do a search on "hyperhidrosis" to see if your symptoms are typical to that condition. I had a friend and upstairs neighbor when I lived in NYC who had it and he frequently apologized for it when shaking hands or avoiding shaking hands. If you don't have that level of the condition, baby powder works. In my bass-playing days I had Fender Precision which had a gloss neck (70's model). I always kept a small baby powder in my case. If you have it bad, powder might not be right for guitar because it clumps against frets and requires a lot of maintenance or you'll get oxidation

I have this problem as well. In general I sweat a lot, but I've always had sweaty hands. The problem I ran into was I would trash strings after a single playing session...they would turn black! I stopped playing for years because of this. Now, I'm take care to wipe my strings down thoroughly when I'm done and change them frequently...every 3 to 4 weeks. Strings are cheap these days, so it's not too bad. Even still, my strings start to turn black as soon as I start playing.

Keep a towl handy to dry your hands between songs. I also find that washing my hands thoroughly with hot water before playing helps...not sure why but it does. Also keep a cotton cloth (old tshirt) handy to wipe the guitar neck down frequently.

Powder could just end up creating a cakey mess that builds up in your fretbaord.

I've noticed Anders seems to have this too. Watching some of his lessons, I'll notice sweat marks form on the fretbaord of his guitar. It's nice to know that even great players like him have this problem...and manage to work through it.

As far as keeping a grip on the pick, I've seen where people would score the pick surface with a knife to make the surface grippier. I like the Dunlp Tortex picks. The surface is slightly rough to the touch...just enough to make them grippy. Lots of players use these picks.

Originally Posted by: sparkyoneonetwoThanks for the answer I've got a bad habit of holding my pick with the tips of my fingers working on breaking out of that habit.




It's the palms of my hands. I've had issues with sweaty hands my whole life i've done tings like wearing gloves or using powders to cut back on the sweat but none of that really seems like a good idea when playing. I got some Dunlop brand picks today that have a checkered pattern where you hold them gonna try and see if that helps with the pick issues. My other picks where smooth from front to back.

Dude - if you're mostly concerned with gripping the pick, you outta try these: http://www.guitarmoose.com/

Great product. I use them all the time.

Originally Posted by: GT StaffDude - if you're mostly concerned with gripping the pick, you outta try these: http://www.guitarmoose.com/

Great product. I use them all the time.

Awesome dude at the price of 99 cents a piece I bought on to try it out.

You're not alone. I'm a hand sweater too :) I've been playing a lot of outdoor venues this simmer. When it's humid my hand sticks to the neck of the guitar and it's hard to slide up and down the fretboard. I keep a towel handy and wipe it down every chance I get. I also wash my hands in hot soapy water after every set. That's the best advice I have so far until I figure something else out.

I've gotten and used my pick grip thing from guitar moose been using about a week and it works extremely well haven't dropped my pick since I started using it.

Originally Posted by: sparkyoneonetwoI've gotten and used my pick grip thing from guitar moose been using about a week and it works extremely well haven't dropped my pick since I started using it.

Awesome! I really like their picks. I use them almost exclusively now. Glad to hear they're working for you as well.

I did what the guy says in this video for 6 days straight, and then I repeated once a week for the rest of that month. Once a month afterwards for three months. Three years later, I only do it once every two months for control and the hand sweating has been gone forever. Ten minutes will change your life.

Instead of the battery I use an old cellphone charger (transforms the power from the wall to 6-12 volt) and stripped the wires. Don't worry, it won't electrocute you at that voltage. Just be careful not to put the two together or to accidentally join the pans. You can buy a machine that does the same, but it'll set you back over a thousand bucks. This approach cost like $10 tops.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc0pj2tf6_4

Hope that helps.