Calluses on fretting hand

[Burnsen14]

What should I try when the calluses on my fretting hand are so hard that they start catching too much on strings when I pull off? I've got semi-permanent grooves in my fingertips with hard ridges on either side. I feel like I should soften them up by soaking them in something or buffing them down with an emery board or pumice stone, but I guess I'm concerned about possibly going too far in the wrong direction with any of those approaches.

By the way, those grooves are not perpendicular to the ends of my fingernails. They're more slanted downwards in the direction of my thumb at almost a 45 degree angle. I hope that doesn't indicate that I've had badly incorrect fretting hand position all these years.

Anyway, I'd appreciate any advice from the community.

[The Bard Rocks]

I've had them, not so slanted as yours. They seem to come and go without influencing anything. And they seem to disappear after a few hours of not playing. Doing the dishes should make them disappear - until you start playing again.

[mawmow]

I am always amazed to read guys can get such thick callusses.
I always suspect there is an action issue...

I hate creams and other stuffs, so I just file my calluses as I do file my nails.
When they get thicker, they tend to peel off.

P.S. Forty-five degrees angle ? Really ?
My fretting hand posture varies from almost parallel to the neck to some thirty degrees.

[Treky]

I play every day and I just file mine a little when they get ragged and use a little lotion. Good to go.

[buddyhu]

Originally Posted by Treky

I play every day and I just file mine a little when they get ragged and use a little lotion. Good to go.

Me too.

A couple of swipes with an emory board smooths and levels them.

In the past, I have used lip balm to soften them a bit. But I don’t do that anymore.

[DBW]

Originally Posted by mawmow

I am always amazed to read guys can get such thick callusses.
I always suspect there is an action issue...

I have developed rough calluses on this tips of the first three fingers of my fretting hand. All of my guitars are set up so for me it's not an action issue. It is from playing alot on steel strings.

I've had areas flake away and catch on the strings. Sometimes all it takes is not playing for a while (like the rest of the day). Sometimes I take a nail clipper and gently cut away the flaky area. That's what works for me.

Also, the tips of my fingers have become numb over time. That just takes some getting used to.

[rdeane]

Sometimes the calluses will flake off a little, and that's my cue to start filing with an emery board. There can actually be a silver lining to having well developed calluses on your fretting fingers.

This week I was chopping onions and sliced the end of my left hand ring finger right at the tip. It did bleed a little, but it was mostly cut on the callus. The bleeding stopped much sooner than if it had been on my other hand. The callus was sliced about halfway, so I just had to file it down a lot to get it fairly smooth again. I am much more careful chopping now.

[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by Burnsen14

What should I try when the calluses on my fretting hand are so hard that they start catching too much on strings when I pull off? I've got semi-permanent grooves in my fingertips with hard ridges on either side. I feel like I should soften them up by soaking them in something or buffing them down with an emery board or pumice stone, but I guess I'm concerned about possibly going too far in the wrong direction with any of those approaches.

By the way, those grooves are not perpendicular to the ends of my fingernails. They're more slanted downwards in the direction of my thumb at almost a 45 degree angle. I hope that doesn't indicate that I've had badly incorrect fretting hand position all these years.

Anyway, I'd appreciate any advice from the community.

I am plagued with the same problem. When my Calluses become to thick...they are so hard that the string just rolls off. This makes accurate fretting hard to do. The string won't sit in is normal location of the fingertip and rolls to the side. Big Problem

So then of course I sand down with nail file. But then my fingers will hurt as I use medium gauge strings. It is a vicious circle. My calluses will be fine for a good period...and then it is file off and back to the hurt zone.

I have also asked this question before.

Besides filing, (if I remember...and I don't very often) you can put cream on your fingertips just before you go to bed. This does help. It is just hard to remember to do it! Guitar Hands...is a non oily feeling cream.

Some things that Have helped me.
1. Guitar nut depth ....This is a big one. Most factory guitar companies do not have the time to get the Nut depth to a proper height. And there is plenty good reason for this. One swipe to much..and then you have string buzz. It takes a lot of knowledge, a good amount of time to properly make a nut. Too much time for factory operations.

If your Guitar Nut depth is lowered to where it should be...you will not need to press as hard.

* I believe, that nut depth...is more important than saddle height. Why? well the first few frets are close to the nut. As you get further away...the frets are farther from both the nut and saddle. Even if you play at the 12 to 14 frets...they are still almost halfway...away from the saddle. It takes less pressure when you are farther away to push down.

2. If you put to many winds on your post, This makes the string angle over the nut more dramatic. I have a theory I have been working on that says less angle means less pressure on the first few frets.

3. I am trying( and this is a hard one for me as I am a very passionate, expressive player) to apply less pressure. If your nut is adjusted properly, you can apply less pressure....

Less pressure and that means your calluses may not become as hard. Or at the very least, they will not become as hard as fast.

Hope this helps

[donlyn]

Calluses on fretting hand

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks

*

Doing the dishes should make them disappear - until you start playing again.

I am the chief dishwasher in the house, and I find that it helps to refresh the callus build-up.

Don
.

[Mirosh]

Some strings abrade the fingertips more than others. I use D-Addario PB lights on most of my guitars most of the time, but put some Ernie Ball Aluminum Bronze lights on one a few days ago. The surface of those strings is noticeably grippier - some would say rougher. Lots of little bits of skin came off the fingers while playing.

My callouses are thinner and the indentations less deep than before. The skin shedding is happening less now that my fingertips have less skin on them and the strings probably have some skin between the windings, making them less abrasive.

[Dbone]

Originally Posted by Burnsen14

What should I try when the calluses on my fretting hand are so hard that they start catching too much on strings when I pull off? I've got semi-permanent grooves in my fingertips with hard ridges on either side. I feel like I should soften them up by soaking them in something or buffing them down with an emery board or pumice stone, but I guess I'm concerned about possibly going too far in the wrong direction with any of those approaches.

By the way, those grooves are not perpendicular to the ends of my fingernails. They're more slanted downwards in the direction of my thumb at almost a 45 degree angle. I hope that doesn't indicate that I've had badly incorrect fretting hand position all these years.

Anyway, I'd appreciate any advice from the community.

When that happens I use a fingernail file and lightly sand them. Works like a charm.

[Denny B]

I guess I'm fortunate that I've never developed callouses...the skin on my fingertips just seemed to thicken up and has stayed that way as long as I'm playing regularly. I know I can play as long as I like, and my fingertips never callous, and never bother me.

I probably owe a great deal of that to the fact that I've been fortunate enough to be able afford fairly nice guitars and have them set up well.

I know I've seen some pics of callouses that looked like the guitar must have been strung with heavy gauge barbed wire...

[campfireplayer]

The only thing I ever need to do is sometimes file them with an emery board.

[Bridgepin]

Yup, I file mine as I do my nails.

[biotechmgr]

Originally Posted by campfireplayer

The only thing I ever need to do is sometimes file them with an emery board.

Same here, or pull off the shedding skin.