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Some guitarists find wearing finger protector as inconvenient, and they are averse to its use. However, the majority of musicians would surely want to have a nicely sculpted finger protector when playing their guitars. They likewise believe that having their fingers protected while playing the guitar would surely be for their own interest and surely makes sense.
Playing guitar for a long time is definitely taxing to your fingers, and if you have soft fingers, you may develop callous fingers later on after continually playing with your guitars. Moreover, there are health issues concomitant with guitar playing, and without finger protectors, you may end up being susceptible to the onset of these health issues.
Some of these health issues include eczema and callous fingertips. If you have eczema, for example, you will surely find solace in wearing those finger protectors while playing the guitar. Additionally, if you are playing difficult guitar pieces, you may be required to slide down your finger over the neck of the guitar. This act would undoubtedly be very taxing to your skin, and your finger may get injured in the process. Hence, to ensure that your hands are protected from injury, you should use a finger protector. At first, you may find using finger protector inconvenient, but as you use it regularly, you’ll get the hang of it, and you would inevitably become as proficient as ever as if you don’t have any gloves.
Best Guitar Fingertip Protectors
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1) Reusable Rubber Finger Gloves
There are guitar players who think that playing with protective hand gloves are really inconvenient. They prefer the reusable rubber finger gloves which are a good alternative. It is also much smaller than hand gloves. These reusable finger gloves are durable. They are made of the highly specialized compound that is durable and rugged enough to withstand continuous usage. Wearing this reusable rubber, you gain a better grip on the frets. It also helps you avoid finger slippage, and its use is ideal for those with sweaty hands.
These gloves can increase your finger dexterity considering that they are too thin to get in the way of your guitar playing. These gloves, however, do not require you to cover each of your five fingers with gloves. Nope! You simply must choose the finger that you would like to protect. Moreover, these gloves are trimmable to make it perfectly fit your finger. This gives you enough flexibility and versatility in optimizing the use of these finger gloves.
These reusable finger gloves are ingenious products that could help you lessen the painful feeling while playing the guitar. They are also great for avoiding the onset of callous on the fingertips.
2) Silicone Guitar Fingertip Protectors
This type of Silicone finger guard is also a good choice when it comes to protecting your fingertips from soreness and callouses. It is surely an inexpensive option and is produced by BCP. These fingertip guards are made of the fine silicone compound that you can wear on your fingers to protect them from developing soreness and callouses. Its use does not have so much impact on your tactile dexterity. Its use also prevents the aggravation of your wounds if you have wounds on your fingertips.
They come in various sizes; hence, you will surely have no problem finding one which fits your finger sizes and hands. Usually, these fingertip guards come in three pieces per size, permitting you to cover three fingers in a single instance readily. This product is long-lasting.
Since they are designed to be reused, they have sterling durability. They may also wear out after continuous use; hence, they are not designed forever. But they really could come in handy when you need something that could assuage the pain or soreness at your fingertips. They can come in handy likewise if you want instant protection for your fingers. This kind of protector silicone finger guards are also tear-resistant.
When used, they do not preclude you from moving your fingers easily. The thumb guard likewise is not thick but is just good enough to protect your thumb. These fingertip protectors also have embossing on their surface to prevent skidding. Moreover, when using these protectors, your hand is ably protected from scratches caused by the pick. Honestly, I would like to say that, this kind of silicon finger protectors are more suitable for the beginner guitar players.
3) Musician’s Practice Glove
The Musician’s Practice Glove is perfectly designed for musicians and guitar players. Its design is aimed at helping guitarists achieve better playing of the guitar while wearing this protective glove. It is also wrought in such a way that you can painlessly play the guitar for a more extended period without necessarily feeling the usual pain concomitant with long guitar practice. Moreover, it is designed to assuage the impact of sweaty hands while playing the guitar.
This glove is designed with the super thin surface made of woven nylon materials. The nylon material allows your hand to feel comfortable during guitar playing conveniently. It does not, however, prevent you from creating the sounds that you would like to produce. There is definitely no chance too that you would fall prey to overlapping string pushing when using this glove.
The manufacturer of this item surely understands the needs of guitar players, and we are very grateful to them for this product. This glove is perfect if you have allergies to some materials used for making the guitar or if you have skin problems on your hand that you need not want to be aggravated by your guitar playing. Moreover, if you got blisters on your hand, you can easily play guitar if you use this Musician’s Practice Glove for it is designed for such a problem. It is also perfectly designed not to get in the way of your guitar playing, enabling you to optimize your performance despite your apparent disability.
Is It Really Necessary to Use Finger Protector?
It is a fact that if you are a tyro in guitar playing, you would surely have problems with callouses. Soon enough after playing the guitar for several days, you would find that callouses are already appearing on the tips of your fingers. These calloused skins become painful over time, making it difficult for you to play the guitar and to hit the strings properly. But some guitarists would say that you are not really a true guitarist if you haven’t developed those calloused fingers. Hence, using this line of argument, they would further expound that having calloused fingertips is part and parcel of being a true guitarist.
With this argument, it is seemingly unnecessary to wear those gloves or finger protectors just to lessen the onset of callouses. Real guitarists do have calloused fingers. Moreover, if the tips of your fingers become calloused, chances are, you will no longer feel any pain on your fingertips. But more often, if you have been playing guitar successively and stop playing the guitar for several months, you would notice that the calloused skin readily falls off, and new skin which is more tender will soon occupy the previous spot of the calloused skin. Here, is when your problem would start. The next time you would start fingering the guitar strings, you would feel pain because the calloused skin already fell off. In such a case, you will surely be needing a finger protector. Moreover, if your guitar strings are hard, you may end up hurting your fingers badly. Hence, you will need one.
If you are new likewise in guitar playing and you don’t want to develop calloused fingertips, you can start wearing those gloves. In this way, you can preclude the onset of callous and not hurt your fingertips. If at the onset, you become used to wearing guitar finger protectors, you will no longer find it inconvenient to play the guitar with those finger protectors.
It is definitely not necessary to buy those finger protectors and use them when playing guitar or ukelele. However, if you want to get better and better at guitar playing, you will surely undergo episodes of painful fingers. Hence, you may alleviate your pain by wearing these finger protectors. Moreover, there are advantages concomitant with its use. It can spare you the hassles of having calloused fingertips. It can also spare you the agony of having painful calloused fingertips. The thing is, if you want extra protection for your fingers, it is but reasonable to equip your fingers with these protectors.
Playing the guitar requires constant practice. It is not a push-button skill that can always come out at its optimum level if you don’t practice. Hence, you need to practice. Moreover, you need to practice often if your life revolves around playing guitar and if it is your occupation. In such a case, you would surely be needing a finger protector.
Advantages of Using a Finger Protector
If you are a dedicated guitarist who plays in bars and clubs, you would surely understand that finger protectors provide many advantages to regular guitar players. If you play a lot of songs with little respite, you may end up with painful fingers that could no longer pluck or press the string.
There are times too that you would experience a blister or a sore finger. Yet, you have an important gig wherein your performance is badly needed. In such instances, your use of finger protector can help you breeze through your gig as if you don’t have any soreness or blister. Moreover, if you are practicing daily up to one and a half hour, your finger would surely get sore. Chances are, your calloused finger would also burn and pain you. In such an instance, having a finger protector can help assuage the pain or prevent soreness after practicing for long hours.
If you are just a beginner in guitar playing, you may find yourself having calloused fingertips. If you are serious in mastering the guitar, you will soon experience pain in your fingertips, and if you use finger protectors, you may be delaying the growth of callouses on the tips of your fingers. So, if I were you, I would suggest that you refrain from using guitar finger protectors so as not to delay the growth of callouses. These callouses will numb your finger from feeling further pain.