Well, I just started guitar like 3-4 months ago. When I first bought my guitar and played it - it hurt so bad. I asked some of my friends who has been playing guitar for more than 5 years. They told me it was normal when you start out with an acoustic because it has metal strings. But even after the skin peeling process, my finger still hurts. I told my friends about it and they tried my guitar. It hurts for them too. They told me my string was too far from the fret board so you will have to press harder thus making you tired fast and hurting your finger. Is there a way to lower down the strings? I was going to bring to TGS to ask if they can do anything about it but I should ask here first. One more thing it wasn't a cheap acoustic guitar i bought for rm100. TGS suggested i get the rm800 acoustic with no pickups (costs rm1k with it). But i seem to have a pretty bad deal. Any help?

RM100 for an accustic is still consider a cheap one....if u are trying to get something decent...go check out Guitar Collection at Mid Valley, they have some pretty decent China made accustic guitar...tried a few, quite playable for a 300 bucks accustic...alternatively u can also visit Woh Fatt, which carries many type of affordable accustic and electric, mainly from Korea and China, if accustic is your type...

it's ok to feel the pain while playing....it's pretty normal....all you have to do is practise, practise and practise...altho a better guitar do help abit.....

You can try to use nylon strings instead of metal ones...a lot less hurtful
Most of my frens started of with classical guitars...with nylon strings
For me..I first started out using metal strings too..it hurted my fingers..which is normal..

Good luck~~

My guitar costs RM800. It isn't me, my friends who have been playing guitars for years think the build on my guitar isn't too good. The strings are too far from the fret board. That's why I can't do bar chords with my guitar but picking up other acoustic guitars i can play bar chords without any muted sound. Chaning them to nylon won't allow me to bend my strings i play alot of electric guitar songs on my acoustic so i need to bend alot.

u may need to adjust ur string action
send it to a shop to get it done
and of course, play more.. soon u'll get used to it..
and remember, ur on guitar... bass players have a harder time...

[GeNe],

I dont think it's anything to do with your guitar, IMHO ... I think its you.

Just don't simply blame the guitar (which everyone does). If you actually bought an acoustic guitar worth Rm5000 and still your finger hurts, so what or who are you going to blame now ?

I'm guessing you're a right handed person so the fingers that are in pain is the one on the left hand right ? (The fingers that are forming the chords). It's because the edge of the fingers are not seasoned yet. Seasoned meaning that your fingers are actaully harder then your right hand fingers.

Your fingers will actually get seasoned by the materials of the strings (regardless of metal or plastic) and your sweat. These two agents will make the edge of your fingers harder.

Don't believe me ?,

You actaully said that you experience skin peeling right ? The skin that is coming out is the hard type. My friends told me that you're actaully peeling off the seasoned layer of your fingers. They'll rather keep it then peeling them off.

So all I can say is .... keep playing and playing.

No Pain, No Gain.

It could be your guitar. You can lower the action. Or it could just be normal. Play more and built up a thick layer of skin. When you can poke your finger tips with needles and don't feel anything then you're on your way to becoming a master guitarist.

Lower the Bridge at the Saddle and the one in front.
How to do it:
1. Take apart the strings, and remove da saddle (just a light push shud take it out)
2. Buy a sandpaper, preferabbly a rough one and a fine one.
3. Place sandpaper on a flat surface. Or else the shape of your bridge wl run
4. Move the bridge on the paper Until you get the desired height.

Thats how i DIY
Shops wanted to charge me rm80 for that..

BTW, wat brand is your guitar?
An rm800 acoustic cudnt be so bad in quality.

no pain no gain....
juz leave the callus(sp?) alone

I started on a 1 meter (exaggeration) action guitar too.
I felt it was damn hard,
But everything was good for my electric guitar, because after that I felt so easy playing it.
If you're not thinking of moving on to electric, try to get Classical.

get it set up by a shop if u dont dare to do it diy. i think its the setup. the action is too high.

higher strings always benefit you in the end.. keep on playing! don't give up! of course.. don't peel away the callouses as they develop. keep them. and later, you'll even amaze girls on how hard your finger edges are..

opps sorry dude, my bad...too much weed i guess....
if that the case, then i suggest u bring ur guitar to the shop and get them to lower the action for u....and while u are at it, try on other accustic guitar to feel their action...compare to your guitar

@nerd....how to impress the gals with hard finger???? .....

@Whacker.
I know it's part me. I'm a beginner and yes these things happen but i'm pretty sure the strings are a little too far from the fret boards. I'm training hard.

@m|ng.
Yes, that's what i'm looking for. I'm sending it to the shop to do it, i seem to screw up stuff

Anyway, thanks y'all.

ur guitar is jumbo frets one? the seller told me that jumbo frets guitar is for the 'white people' one.....haha
just got my guitar back and felling good now...it's an electric guitar....after my class start i'll tell u what i felt.....

Get your guitar setup properly and see if it still hurts that much. If so, there're a few things you need to check :
1) Strings gauge - you might be using a string that's too thick for you, try a lighter set.
2) You sitting posture & playing technique. Make sure you're sitting at a right posture, back's straight, no chicken-flipping-out arms etc... They might seem insignificant but they contribute to your overall performance (& injuries too). Make sure you're using the right or recommended technique too.
3) The pressure you apply on the strings. When you fret your chords or notes, try to make sure that you apply just enough pressure and not overdoing it. Otherwise the more prone you're to injuries.

oh ya.....thx u...i've to correct my sitting style....coz i was slept on the bed and play the guitar just now....

One suggestion,

Whatever music instruments you start to play, you will feel it's hard in the beginning. The better way is just practice and practice everyday, so you will be used to it. Every music instruments you learn it's hard, but after a long time, you will feel normal with it.

i dont know how but i certainly noe y!!
must be his other "finger" isnt hard enuff, so must use his real fingers that are hard to impress girls
lol jk

@gene
prolly cuz ur fingers not really developed yet? maybe the string action is too high?

u said 3-4 month . Do you practise everyday ?? Not like play 1 day then rest 1 week . Like this for sure 3-4month also not enuff for u man . Practise at least 5min a day . Every guitarist went through this , i passed this period in 2 weeks. I agree what nerd says , if u play classical , u have to stretch yr finger alot. Practise make thing perfect , even my mom this year is 58 liao , she can passed this suffering period in 3 weeks.

When I first bought my new acoustic guitar (the Ibanez), every time I played, the strings hurt like a b***h. Don't forget.... I've been playing guitar for a DAMN long time already... I get used to it though........ Now that the calouses are built up.... Doesn't hurt a single bit.

minimum 5 minute a day ?
more like 30 minutes weh

haha.. this is a true story.. a fren of mine asked me how does a guitarist feel when playing guitar.. as she heard that it hurts.. and d fingers will get harder. so i told her to just use her nail n poke the edge of my finger.. n she took it away immediately n said the hardness was "freaky".. lol

This post has been edited by nerd: Oct 30 2005, 11:59 PM

Oh.... mine would be her version of Nightmare On Elm Street (I'm a sucker for old school horror slasher flicks)

we impress the girl on stage la.
ahahaha
after that see how la she reacts to our super hard fingers....
hahahaha

if a girl want to play a guitar.....they have to sacrifice her beautiful finger....i think this is the reason why there r less girl play guitar....

IMHO, you could try installing electric guitar strings instread of the acoustic ones which is easier on the hands i started with a no brand guitar which the neck was bended so bad tat the strings were about 1 cm away from the fret board @_+ continue trying bro will get used to it sooner or later.... playing guitar is a passion... GLHF

Electric guitar strings are designed to sound softlylar... it won't work.

Haha... which part of hers are you refering to? XD

acoustic strings copper/bronze coated...
electric nickel coated....

it can be done but it would be pointless anyway.... the action will still be almost the same....
use the rumoured SRV technique la.... superglue
*kids dont try this at home*

Aiyo, better use acoustic guitar strings on acoutic guitar and electric guitar strings on electric guitar lar. The sound might be different/worst if you use different instrument strings.

It applys to only guitar wound strings.

We really need more female guitarist..... Interesting to see their perspective on the harshness of "guitar string fingers". That's why I think that's why guys like to hold girl's hands while walking....... sooooooofffffftttttt.....

If like this I won't let any of my girlfriends to learn guitar from me...

Oh..... then it's a whole different catorgary if you're teaching girls..... lots of chance to improve their "techniques" if you know what I'm saying!

but i'm glad to teach a girl to play a guitar....not bcoz i'm hap sap or want ot take the 'chance'......this is why bcoz i can teach her and by the way i can refresh my memory.....but i dun have the talent yet....maybe 7 or 8 years later....haha.....

This post has been edited by ANGELING: Oct 31 2005, 11:18 PM

Just teach a girl the classic 3 chord punk progression......
G C and D power chords.

Hehe.

I see I see.

Gene..is your problem solved yet?
For the price u pay and having a guitar that is,compared to others, uncomfortable to play(high action)....i duno lar. Like kena tipu lar. Sorry to say this.

I too suspect action too high. Maybe your strings are cheapo strings dat came with the guitar...i duno. Should change ur strings i suppose...besides correcting the action.

i had this prob while i learn acoustic guitars, i hav a trick which sounds weird but works ..... .
Use superglue (the elephant 1), drop few on ur left fingertips, wait for a while then ur finger will bcome harder. though its burn ur skin abit, give it a try

Good idea I must say. Are you really a female? How old? Just curious, I'm sorry.

I remember when I first play guitar.. That time suddenly my friend pull me out to the living room and give me the kapok guitar.. teach me.. I was shocked but he said must learn.. wahseh.. I press abit.. oredi my fingers pain like hell ... then everytime come he force me..aiii but i oso feel like wanna play.. so i ma follow la...

but i still seldom play .. then I oso not sure how high my interest is...
and suddenly got somebody selling 1 Hofma... Classical guitar for rm60.. 2nd hand.. include bag la... so i saw cheap and tot of take 1 simply play see i can build interest or not..
then at first oso play.. fingers still pain.... and when at night want chatting oso pek cek.. type and type... fingers abit pek cek
haha but i still keep training...

woooo at last.. till someday... hooray.. the pain is no more...then i moved on to get my Ibanez... well, now i everyday oso addicted to guitar... must play.. if not my finger can't tahan.... and when i keep touching the "fingers' hard-skin"..... feel like so suang.. haha... well, it means u really play with ur guitar.....

This post has been edited by davidlow7: Nov 4 2005, 06:41 AM

davidlow7 > show us what you got ! join the virtual jam (thread "My Song")

yea start recruiting pix
still need a 1 more i think including zeroleet and blacktrix

i reckon the virtual jam thing is a good way to learn from others...
im certainly up for the next one...

i'd prefer audio conference... i play a song u solo u play a song i solo.. did it with led zep

ehe but too bad I am not a pro yet.... emmm what i learn now everyday is learning the exercise.... major scales, minor scales 12 keys ...... some pentatonic... just practising... all these basic things.. currently.. for me, i hope to start out from basics more then only start playing more songs
but when got time oso got play some songs.. (to ease my boredom). currently playing Metallica's ONE lead.. the intro part nia.... ... and "I For You" - Luna Sea's song...

well.. but need alot of practise...
hopefully one day can be like u guys... can handle the guitar very well

Not really. I suck at guitar. I'm just playing Pentatonic scales over and over.....

This post has been edited by blacktrix: Nov 4 2005, 09:51 PM

blacktrix, don't be cruel with yourself.

anyway, davidlow7, i think it's good you keep practising in your room over and over. Maybe one day you'll become SO darn good that you'll let your friends listen to yourself. But because they don't know nothing about music, they can't realize how good you are. You're obviously very disappointed, and instead of suicide, you decide to practice few more years so that even "untrained" people can appreciate your music and notice your sickly unatural ability to master the axe. So you keep training ovver and over. 50 yrs later...
By that time you're already so old that you totally lost touch with any friend you had when you were younger, and you can't even record yourself because computer technology had become so much more complicated than last time you lay your hands on a keyboard. How do look at a 3D holographic screen anyway ? Well, too late, you past away and nobody had the supreme chance to listen to your guitar playing. Nvmind, they all were a bunch of ignorant pretentious loosers, because they didn't want to listen to you. .. Or did they ? Fjooking memory...

I must be worse then, I can't even play a ping.

WTF... you have lost it, haven't you??

Hi GeNe! guess who??

Oh my God you're Jackie Chan!!!!

(Family Guy inside joke)

?????

nah ... GeNe is my friend from school ... didn't know he was on Lowyat.Net

theres a plaster for playing guitar...can go buy 10 in a pack for only RM 2.50

the pain will go away ...when i was active loooonngg looongg ago.. i played so much until all my fingers got blisters...after while they go numb and get a bit hard, i used to use ernie ball electric strings on my acoustic, abit softer on the hands, acoustic strings were a bit hard for me...as for sound suited me at the time...(me amateur playing for fun only)

also if u slide a lot u can use fast fret.

I say, if you can't handle the guitar strings...... Stop playing.

i agree with blacktrix... if ur eager to play.. pain = nothing... no pain no gain man.. when iwas starting.. hurts alot.. but i kept playing cuz i know its own gain

Poor me. After nearly a year of not playing (my guitar back home ler, hard to bring it to my dorm, takut hilang) my fingers are soft again. Funny thing is when I play on my friends guitar it doesn't really hurt. Even if the calouses are gone you somehow learn to ignore the pain already.

when the 1st and 2nd day i started to touch my guitar....i felt pain on my fret hand fingers.....but i dun want to stop playing it....just bear the pain.....but when the 2nd week(this week)....i felt ntg with it unless i pressure the string hardly.....i'm not sure whether this happened after i changed the string or the cell of my fingers all dead...cannot felt pain anymore....

This post has been edited by ANGELING: Nov 10 2005, 11:44 PM

Advice: DON'T CONTINUE PLAYING YOUR GUITAR IF YOUR FINGERS ARE STARTING TO BLEED.

I got my first real six-string
Bought it at the five-and-dime
Played 'til my fingers bled
It was summer of '69

Bryan Adams, Summer of 69.

Aiyo, it's like torturing yourself. Don't have to be that "rajin" to practice la...

play until bleed too much
means guitar set up wrong liao...

last time i remember one of my friends, while learning to play the guitar, he use Superglue to coat his finger tips.. then practise without pain..

I'm sick of all those technics. Apala.

A little Blood goes great with your guitar's paint job!!!

And I still remember you all were talking about removing the pickguard to let the scrathes goes into your guitar and making it as "history scratches". Now somemore decorating it with blood.

This post has been edited by ZidaneZCustom: Nov 11 2005, 01:52 AM

next... BURN BABY BURN!!! hendrix

This post has been edited by XCcude: Nov 11 2005, 08:44 AM

that's artistically true .... but blood can actually cause rust on the strings.

I had that experience before. It was during my church events, I snap my left index finger and blood was pouring out. After the event was over, the guitar strings were starting to rust already ....

What happened???
Reminds me of SRV, he used to play until his fingers were all worn out and bleeding. Guess that means dedication, or maybe nobody told him that .10 strings exist.

yeah blood can cause rust really fast coz it's heavy on oxygen...gawd...i am experiencing what the thred starter is experiencing after such a long time in retirement ... been playing all night and my left hand is numb..

actually i read on an interview that SRV uses light strings more than his .013s
the strings were too hard on his fingers and he couldnt play because of the bleeding...

OT/ read on the article... SRV wanted to imitate his brothers trick, which is to bounce the guitar off the wall...
ended up with a broken neck instead....HAHAHAHAHAHA
its hard to imagine his reaction... especially with that southern accent....lolol

What about his Lenny guitar??? He uses .13 on that too? Sounds pretty huge in the El Mocambo DVD, tho a bit more twangy.

Hah bounce the guitar of the wall?

I think he used 10s or 11s...
i know lenny was strung with lighter strings... only 4 springs at the back
pickups were microphonic and they came with the stock guitar

I said blood on your paint job..... not on your strings....
Wipe 'em off your pickguard.

Hmm, same thing whetever it's on the strings or body.

If you want blood on the guitar body, make sure the blood do not touch the pickups, termolo system or any metal hardware. If not, say hi to rusty hardware.

My friend's guitar kena before, it was during the same church event where my left index finger kena snap. The strings kena rust and somehow the screws on the guitar pick guard got rusty after the event. And the best part is, the screws cannot open !!!

Very impresive guitarist, play until bleeding.

I rather paint it using other materials than blood, like wasting my body liquid.

Wow.... sounds like a bloodfest in your church.....
wonder what kind of church it is......

Hahaha! Don't tell me it's the blood of ........

Haha, my church still focus on God. The only "blood" you'll see is at the Holy Communion ... that also is Ribena Blackcurrant

I snap my finger while I was trying to open the Music Stand for my guitar chords. Somehow, there's so many steps to open it ... and i think i missed one of the steps in result of snapping my finger

BTW: this thread is getting way off topic ....

Last time something like that happened, my index finger were alrdy blistered badly...so i play like usual, then the blister pop up...imagine all the content came out, so paining. To add the misery, by the 3rd song, my A string snapped on me...everything happened on stage

OMG, the topic is like taking my blood away. Scary...

You guys are tough enough play until bleeding, I never done that before. But a past few years, I was playing my guitar for about 9 hours a day, that's wasn't making my hands to bleed but pain. Or, do I have a good fingers?

haha... power la u chapree..
mine at least not so bad..
had blister the day before gig cause praticing...
then gig day, on stage, blister never burst yet... but started bleeding internally... i was like cooool... got one buldge on my middle finger with blood and puss together... and when i cut the skin, the content gushed out... haha... kinda freaky... thats what happens when u slide too much

Heh.. If it still hurts..
Just listen to Trivium

"PULL HARDER STRINGS ON YOUR MARTYR.. change martyr to GUITAR*

PULLL!!! HARDER!!! STRINGSS!! GUITAR!!! XDXDXDXD

i dont have any problems with my fingers:P... sliding... use fast fret

wow snapping a bass string impressive

i found that a rusty string really hurt my finger........the 1st string parts rusted already.....can't pressure it already

i use fast fret or not makes not much diff...
that time cause hardcore ma.. whole day practicing..
so far i only snap my bass string while tuning it... tension hilang, PIANG....core snap...

i heard bass strings are very expensive.. rusty strings better not play.. if u cut urself and the rust go in ur blood.. not good.. kancing gigi.. am i right?

yea kancing gigi. tetanus.

arhh spm tension getting to me..

Hey if it really hurts you can always play slide. Get those glass tubes thingy and dress up like a surfer dude.

send ur guitar to guitar shops and change ur nut and saddle to bone,remember to lower the action then,it might help,if possible change ur strings to super light gauge string....u'll find ur guitar extremely comfortable when u play.............

Yup, it is. More strings u play, the more your wallet suffer.
Good String 5 string bass set is RM 35.
Ernie Ball 5 string set is RM 125.

Uh, rust in blood...scary

This post has been edited by chapree: Dec 29 2005, 03:31 PM

Strings hurt ur finger? Use ur feet then. Or play the piano.

Or a more practical approach is to lower the guitar action and practise regularly to turn ur fingers into hard die-cast iron.

the PAIN for PLEASURE!!peace