Today I got a shipment of strings, cables etc. and a TRBX 504, so I had to open a sturdy cardboard box. I’m physically fine, but I knicked my thumb with a knife and was kinda shocked for the past three hours.
I recall, as I was cutting the box, thinking “don’t do it like this, you’re gonna §%$%%§”& arrgh!!" I put a plaster on it and texted my friends to receive virtual hugs, which I did (phew).
This comes when I had a few mini burns from the oven over the past week. I do not own a dishwasher, so latex gloves it is for now. The moral of the story is: definitely don’t do what you shouldn’t do. Listen to that inner voice and stop. Also: get a dishwasher.
I’ll post pictures of the bass tomorrow, because that had some slight colour issues which I wasn’t sure about today, seeing I was basically a wreck after that mini cut / knick.
Be safe and always leave the plaster box open outside of the cupboard - I learned that a long time ago and it paid off today. And ask your friends for virtual hugs!
I took a guy to the hospital once. He was walking a large dog that started to take off. He reached out to steady himself and tore up his hand on a rough stucco wall. When he got to the emergency room (it wasn’t an emergency) there was a long wait. In an angry, frustrated tone, he told the staff…
“You don’t understand. I play keyboards!”
Ugh, I still cringe at the thought of it.
On a completely different note, I later married the lady that checked him in and she gave me two wonderful kids. Even though we’re no longer married, we’ve managed to stay friends for over 30 years. His dramatics ended up working out pretty well for me.
As a fellow who commonly has tools in his hands, I’ve found i need to listen to that little voice in the back my head.
Pulling out the packing in a valve with a screwdriver, thinking to myself “this Really is the best way to stab a hand with a screwdriver”-it was.
Shaping a door latch with a chisel, thinking " it would hurt to put that into your thumb "-it did.
So, the plan is when that little voice talks, i listen. Fingers take forever to heal. There’s just really no fun tickets in it.
Sometimes you gotta just take the beating. Such is life
I slice my hands/fingers regularly at work with my double sided razor knife. No real way around it, just as long as the slices aren’t on the fingertips and I can still play
I have been really lucky with these things, and I usually follow the advice of “cut towards your buddy, not your body”. I finally learned that one when I ended up in the ER after trying to pry apart frozen food in my left hand with a serrated knife. That was four years ago.
I find these things come in batches, too. Maybe when I am a bit stressed out I rush things, I guess.
Here are the virtual hugs I got from my buddies, I’ll pass them on to you!
and
Me too. I bought a TRBX174EW as my first bass just about a year ago, and replaced it with the TRBX604FM last month.
I would have waited until the 1 year mark, but this one came up and I decided I should jump on it since I had been looking for a reasonable used one for about four months already…
Glad you are okay. I spent my whole life working with blades power saws and have always been very careful. Exaggerated moves around the saws, think before you cut etc. never had a serious cut from them. One day about 12 years ago we were watching a large dog and he grabbed a bag of chocolate. While trying to remove it from his mouth he clamped down and crushed my left index finger. I ended up losing about an inch of the tip. I wasn’t playing bass at the time. I have recently started playing again and am learning how to play with a short finger on my fretting hand. It’s a Calle he, but workable. I tell this story to remind everyone that your hands are gold and be careful and think before putting your fingers into the meat grinder. One second of not thinking can have permanent effects!
I sometimes watch home improvement shows and table saws kinda terrify me. Must be a primal thing. Carpenters just pushing a piece of wood towards the saw with their hand always makes me concerned.
To your story about the dog: an acquaintance from the college choir had to restrain a stranger’s dog to save her own dog and tore a ligament in a finger. Dogs are super strong. I heard somewhere that a medium-sized dog might weigh 120-150 pounds, and most of that is muscles.
Still, now you are the Tony Iommi of bass playing!
Funny you mention Tony Iommi. I had a a thing made for my finger to extend it like he used to use. I couldn’t get along with though. I preferred just dealing with shortcomings (pun intended ) of not having a finger tip.
I also have a TRBX304 new but was never happy with the tone and ordered the 504 two weeks later. There was nothing the matter with the build quality and realized that I should have got the passive/active option and upgrades from the get go.
I tried to sell the 304 but it was just a joke what people thought they could get it for when it had less than 8 hours of playing time on it, and the store I purchased it from renegged on their replacement agreement, so it just sits there in it’s original packaging for now.
If something drastic were to happen to my 504 I believe I would just order another 504 because I really don’t see the 304 as a backup bass after 2 years with the 504. The 504 upgraded pickups, electronics and especially the active/passive switch worked out perfectly.
Of course all these things are all my preferences and mine alone. Selecting any musical instrument is such a personal choice and in my case the TRBX504 worked out perfectly
I use a table saw every day. To be honest I am way more uneasy when I have to use my skillsaw. The blade on a table saw is fixed, so as long as you use it responsibly there’s nothing to worry about. My fingers are often times just inches away from the blade but once you get comfortable it’s no big deal. Being afraid of the saws leads one to use them without confidence and that is what’s dangerous.
I have had a few things bind against the guide and the blade which creates a very nerve wracking moment when the thing you are cutting suddenly gets slammed around, often times taking your hand with it. Sometimes you forget just how much force is in that motor!
) of not having a finger tip.