Pinching fingers in mic stands...

R

Robert Healey

Freshman
Jan 20, 2011
69
1
8
Lawrence, KS
Every time I do it, I swear that I'm not going to put my hand there next time. That usually lasts about eight months to a year.

The last time I did it was eight months to a year ago.

Ouch. That is all...
 
Re: Pinching fingers in mic stands...

Robert Healey said:
Every time I do it, I swear that I'm not going to put my hand there next time. That usually lasts about eight months to a year.

The last time I did it was eight months to a year ago.

Ouch. That is all...
Click to expand...

don't know how old you are but... i had a similar experience until i turned about 40-ish. somewhere in there i kinda stopped hurting myself on gear. i'm not sure if i got smarter [doubtful] or i finally got to the place where i got to tell other people to put themselves in harm's way more than i was doing it myself... :)
 
Re: Pinching fingers in mic stands...

Robert Healey said:
Every time I do it, I swear that I'm not going to put my hand there next time. That usually lasts about eight months to a year.
The last time I did it was eight months to a year ago.
Ouch. That is all...
Click to expand...

I have a tendency to get the flap of skin between my thumb and fore finger pinched in the joints of mic stands. And getting a blood blister there.
I can specifically remember it happening in 1980, and last year. (And multiple times in between.)

I feel your pain. Kind of.

Regards, Jack
 
Re: Pinching fingers in mic stands...

I had a classical musician friend on stage for a casual gig I was providing for. He was getting antsy and kept trying to "help" by setting and adjusting the mic stands for the other musicians and, finally, his own stand. I kept trying to get him to leave well enough alone and let me do my job (which at that time was running the drop-snakes) and I'd get to setting up the band when it was the proper time. So.....

He proceeds to pinch the skin between his thumb and index finger in the mic stand. He can't stand physical pain and went berserk, calling me every name in the book and informing everyone within earshot (at that point about a city block..) that, "Your mic stand sliced my finger off!!!!!". The rest of the musicians vacated the stage while he continued to rant. I had told him repeatedly to leave it to me and I'd take care of everything, but he didn't seem to get it that assuming the duty meant assuming the risk.

I think it was about 6 months before he spoke to me again.
 
Re: Pinching fingers in mic stands...

I managed to give another forum member a pretty good bonk on the head with the base of a folding mic stand while we we cleaning up from a show. We had managed to get everything picked up and had established a pretty good working rhythym until one of us broke the rhythym while putting the stands in their case.

I seem to avoid the blood blisters/pinching but I break more fingernails during shows than doing anything else. The more gear I bring to a show, the shorter I have to remember to cut my nails.
 
Re: Pinching fingers in mic stands...

Jack Arnott said:
I have a tendency to get the flap of skin between my thumb and fore finger pinched in the joints of mic stands. And getting a blood blister there.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that used to be my most common injury, by far. As I've aged, I think I've gotten more careful, so it's been a few years since that has happened. I used to regularly stab myself in the hand with the small screwdriver required for the setscrews in Switchcraft XLRs until I switched to Neutriks.

These days, I don't even consider putting up a light stand unless I'm wearing gloves. Too many bad memories there. :x~:-x~:mad:

On a related note, I did a gig recently with a horn player that I'd played with in high school (30+ years ago). He's semi-retired now after a career in a Navy band, and does carpentry work with another horn player, as well as gigs from time to time. I commented on the number of musicians I know who supplement their income with carpentry, and mentioned my concern about smashing fingers in the course of that vocation. He replied with a laugh, "I'm a trombone player. I don't need fingers. I could play with two hooks!"

GTD
 
Re: Pinching fingers in mic stands...

I'm pretty careful with my fingers, but I still periodically "nut" myself when wrapping cables in a hurry at the end of a gig. Speakons hurt the worst. Didn't realize this job required a cup.
 
Re: Pinching fingers in mic stands...

It's that sinking feeling you get when you loosen a clutch on an old fashioned round based mic stand and watch as the upper part falls rapidly towards that spot on your hand that remembers all to well what is about to happen. :cry:

Another painful memory that's hard to forget is when you turn a latch on a new road case that has cheap latches with sharp edges waiting to take big hunks of your finger off - can I get a witness on that one?!
 
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