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Posted by: slash48 Aug 12 2011, 11:16 PM

Hello, I've gotten some pretty interesting information about building, and maintaining calluses over the years. These are some of my own discoveries, some of Clapton's discoveries, and some from all over the internet. Keep in mind that although these tips are useful to developing nice, thick calluses, none of them can substitute actual playing ...Enjoy

1. Play... This is the most obvious one of the bunch. Make sure to play every single day.... Even if it's only 5 minutes a day because calluses need maintenance.

2.Isopropyl Alcohol-The Magical Elixir This Eric Clapton secret is one of my favorites. He puts this on his fingers to keep them dry and to ease pain. The dry fingers make building calluses such a faster process in my opinion...I recommend putting this on your fingers 3 to 8 times a day.

3.Rinsing Your Hands Rinsing your hands before you play really preserves your strings but it can be detrimental to building nice calluses if your not careful. To avoid this, use cold water, do it quick, and don't use the skin-softening soaps. If your hands still feel wrinkled and soft fingertips after, wait till they feel hard before playing....

4.Taking a Shower/Doing Dishes Wear gloves when your taking a shower or doing the dishes. I know another GMC member mentioned this so I'm not the only weirdo! The hot water couldn't possibly remove your calluses but it can stall you from playing for an hour or so. The shampoo/conditioner/soap could though.... Go out and buy some latex gloves as soon as you can!

5.Play on HEAVY strings String one of your guitars up with 12s or 13s and have a blast. This method will obviously hurt like hell but it should give you some nice, thick calluses pretty quickly...

6.Hotel California My final and favorite tip right here. Go and learn the Hotel California solo....seriously. You do so many bends and so much vibrato that it'll be a callus workout. Plus, it's a mind-blowing solo, you'll have a lot of fun, you'll train your ear, and the solo will teach you how you can highlight certain chords with certain notes... If you can't get enough when you've learned the studio solo, learn the one off "Hell Freezes Over" too, it's just as brilliant, I promise.

That's all I've got for you on the topic. If you loved the thread or want to add a tip of your own, just post below and I'll add your tip to the list!

Cheers,
Dylan

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Aug 13 2011, 12:36 AM

hahah great post! I've never knew about this methods... my only method for this has been playing a lot!

Posted by: Daniel Realpe Aug 13 2011, 02:08 PM

hehehe this is some great info seriously. I know it hurts to play guitar, literally. I remember saying: "it looks like it hurst" when I was playing some shredding solo.

And the fact is that probably it would to someone who's never done it but through practice we condition our muscles to endure,

Posted by: Todd Simpson Aug 13 2011, 05:08 PM

Some great tips here! Also, pick up an acoustic (steel string not nylon) guitar and start trying to play lead solos and fast metal type rythms. It will seem pretty tough at first. But it will work up your hand strength and toughen up your finger tips!


Todd

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Aug 15 2011, 09:14 PM

I got another method: Every morning keep the tips of the fingers for 15-30 minutes on hot cooker plates. That should create stone-quality calluses that will last for years

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Aug 16 2011, 09:34 AM

Ivan's method seems effective enough though I considered that playing is the most simple way. When I was 14 years old I used to play till I bled...What I did was kind of stupid if u ask me now

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Aug 16 2011, 12:03 PM

Yep, playing is the best way

Posted by: Fran Aug 16 2011, 01:31 PM

QUOTE (slash48 @ Aug 13 2011, 12:16 AM)

4.Taking a Shower/Doing Dishes Wear gloves when your taking a shower or doing the dishes. I know another GMC member mentioned this so I'm not the only weirdo! The hot water couldn't possibly remove your calluses but it can stall you from playing for an hour or so. The shampoo/conditioner/soap could though.... Go out and buy some latex gloves as soon as you can!

Cheers,
Dylan

Posted by: Adrian Figallo Aug 16 2011, 08:04 PM

QUOTE (Ivan Milenkovic @ Aug 15 2011, 03:14 PM)

I got another method: Every morning keep the tips of the fingers for 15-30 minutes on hot cooker plates. That should create stone-quality calluses that will last for years