D’Addario Varigrip Hand Exerciser–Improve Dexterity and Strength in Fingers

I own a Blue (light tension) Grip Master and a Planet Waves Varigrip. Both are great and have helped my guitar fretting hand. I thought I'd give a quick summary for anyone considering purchasing one of these. I bought the Ruff Rider callus builder caps for the GM, and they really added a lot to the value I get from the GM. Calluses are critical to my being able to play well. If you are considering these, I found that it was a lot cheaper to order the Ruff Rider through Guitar Center and have them delivered for free to a local Guitar Center. I would suggest buying the actual PWV and the GM through Amazon. The PWV comes with the callus ridges on the opposing side (the palm side). So to work on your calluses you need to remove the callus cover and flip the grip over. The downside is that you can't work on finger dexterity at the same time that you are building your calluses. At first I considered this a disadvantage. However I've changed my mind and consider it a distinct advantage over the GM. There are times when you don't want to shred your calluses (show or important practice coming soon) but you still want to work your fingers. If you've put the callus builders on the GM, it takes a little time to pop them off and put them back on again, plus you run the risk of misplacing them, and removing them a number of times may loosen their fit. So I strongly prefer the PWV design for the callus option. I have permanently removed the callus cover from the PWV and it works great without it. Actually it works better for me because it makes it slightly smaller. (With the cover removed the callus builder side just harmlessly presses into your palm and you really can't feel it). I have a preference for the GM when it comes to building strength for bar type chords. This I do by holding the palm side with my thumb and running my index finger along the full set of buttons. I prefer the GM for this because it has two sets of springs in it which allow for a better and more natural (for me) squeeze. As far as exercising for finger dexterity, I much prefer the PWV for two main reasons. It's much easier (for me) to work fingers individually. It's very stable and allows me to isolate individual fingers as opposed to the GM which is kind of sloppy (too much movement) due to the double spring action which leads to unwanted movement/tilting and other fingers slipping off the buttons when trying to work a particular finger. Secondly the distance between the palm and the finger tips is about 1/4" shorter with the PWV (when the callus cover is removed) which allows me to use better form by really curling my fingers and bringing my fingertips in from the very top. I have big hands and still prefer the PWV. If my hands were smaller I would prefer the PWV that much more. The PMV also allows the tension on each finger to be adjusted individually. For me this isn't as big an advantage as the two previously mentioned because increasing resistance is not important to me. A disadvantage of the PMV is that after about 2 weeks it started squeaking which was a bummer for my wife and kids on a one week vacation when I didn't have my guitar handy and wanted to keep me fingers in shape. "Dad - enough already with that finger gadget". However this problem is easily fixed by an occasional shot of Triflo or any silicon spray (I don't recommend WD40). I recommend spraying while the fingers are depressed then wiping with a napkin. For me, finger strength is not as important as finger coordination and speed. I seldom press the buttons all the way down, and I seldom press all the buttons together. I slowly increase speed with partial pushes and various patterns that demand varying degrees of coordination (1234, 4321, 1324, 121314, 1414, 1313, etc.) If I had to pick one or the other I would choose the PWV without hesitation, but that is just my personal opinion. If you can afford both, I would do that and see what works better for you. But, again, both are great and have really helped my playing. Keep on pickin' -Mike

This hand exerciser has improved my finger strength. I first started playing guitar without the hand exerci. And when I started using this I noticed I improved my fretting in my guitar playing. My finger strength was improved, not just in guitar playing but also my grip strength. This is also strongly made cuz I've dropped it a couple times and has never damaged it. Overall a great hand exercise for guitar playing.

My son recently took interest in learning to play bass and I’ve been thrilled to share my love of playing music with him. Just like everyone starting out, his fingers don’t have lots of strength or callouses yet. So fretting notes can be difficult and painful during this phase. I remember using a hand exerciser that looked similar to this one when I was about his age and figured it would be something he could get some good use out of. I bought this one after some research and I’m thrilled with it. It’s much better than the ones I had growing up. I love that the spring tension for each finger can be adjusted! Very smart and useful as typically your pointer and middle finger will be much stronger naturally than you ring and pinky fingers. Also the inclusion of the callus builder is nice under the rubber cushion. He’s using it every day while watching tv or doing homework and his playing ability and finger strength are already improving greatly over the last month! This is a must have tool for any budding guitar or bass player. Of course anyone can benefit from a tool like this as well!

Incredibly durable that helped my grip strength, this helped me during my stressful moments and it fit my hand due to its size. It's easy to use and very helpful during many events.

It provides a good workout for my fingers. I am right handed and discovered that my left hand is much weaker than. I imagined relative to my right hand.

Very good for building finger strength. Each one has an individua dial that controls the amount of effort for each finger.

I’ve always been skeptical of gadgets that are supposed to help you play an instrument. I decided to try this project after a year long hiatus from playing while I recovered from multiple surgeries. I lost a lot of muscle mass and strength all over my body, hands included. I figured a little focused hand workout couldn’t hurt to help me start playing guitar again, so I decided to try this. After a week, I’m already noticing results. On day one my pinky couldn't depress the key halfway, even on the easiest difficulty. A week later I’ve actually been able to up the difficultly a few times and it’s getting easier still. I don’t know if it’s actually building muscle, so much as training my hand muscles to start working again. Playing my guitar I’m noticing less fatigue and more finger accuracy. I feel as though I’m playing with less effort and able to focus on the music, not how hard my fingers are struggling. As a result in sounding better and couldn’t be happier! I’m also experimenting with the right hand, but not sure if it’s making as much of a difference. I want to clarify that this product will not improve your musicality or technique by itself. You don’t need a ton of hand strength to get a good sound, play quickly, or anything like that. In fact, you should be pressing the string as lightly as possible when playing. In my experience this device is an incredible supplement to practice time and has been effective in my personal rehabilitation. I basically use it as a fidget toy throughout the day, but it’s one that supports my guitar playing so it’s a winner in my book. I’ll probably use this until it breaks, then buy a replacement. A+ product!

I was away from my guitar for a few months. Came back to it only to discover how out of shape my fingers, wrist and forearm had gotten. Figured I'd try this, bring it work and exercise while otherwise just sitting at the computer. After one day, I got home and started into practicing. Yeah, noticed an improvement right away. I think it was well worth the few bucks I spent. Pretty good quailty, comfortable to use.

Excellent exerciseur de doigts pour musicien. La résistance est réglable pour chaque doigt indépendamment, ce qui est très pratique pour cibler les doigts les plus faibles. Construction robuste, confortable à utiliser. Idéal pour guitaristes, pianistes, saxophonistes et tous les instrumentistes qui souhaitent renforcer leur technique et leur endurance. Je l'utilise régulièrement et les résultats sont là.

Excelente construção e realmente funciona para seu propósito,mas recomendo para quem já treina a um tempo,prq mesmo a tensão mais leve pode ser um pouco demais para quem está começando.

頸椎の手術を行い握力の低下と指の動きが悪くなったためリハビリ用として購入しました。 昔、トレーニング用として安いものを買って使っていたことがあるのですが今回はちょっといいモノを買うことにしました。 安っぽくなく動きもスムーズで不快な音もなくとてもいいと思います。 強さを調節するネジ（ダイヤル）があるのもいいです。 その時の調子に合わせて強弱を変えられますし指ごとにも変えられます。 しかし小指は強度最弱でも最初はなかなかつらかったです。 強度の調整に関しては使い込んでスプリングがヘタってきた時にも有効かもしれないなと思っています。 グレーの部分は取り外しができ、反対のピストン側に装着することも可能です。はずした側は平らになっておりギターの弦のような模様が入っています。おそらくこれを押さえることでギターの弦を抑えるのと同様の効果を期待して指先を強化するのだと思います。実際押さえると結構痛いです。 病院は待合室で長い時間待つことが多いのでいい時間つぶしになります。 大きなものでも重いものでもないのでバッグに入れて持ち歩きやすいことからいつでもどこでも使えるのはいいところだと思います。 でもねー、ちょっと回復するとすぐにやるのを忘れてしまうんですよねー。 というかサボるんですよね。 思い出しながらがんばって続けます。

Ya tengo un mes con este ejercitador y me ha ayudado bastante, lo compre porque quería ganar fuerza en los dedos inicialmente porque estoy aprendiendo a tocar el bajo electrico y demanda mucha resistencia y cierta fuerza para agarrar el mástil y tocar las cuerdas. Pero, no solamente ejercita los dedos, también el antebrazo y la muñeca si haces los ejercicios adecuados y ayuda a que la llema de tus dedos formen cayos con la parte de atrás del ejercitador. La primera vez que lo use mi meñique no podía ni siquiera mover el cuarto botón, y ahora puedo pulsarlo casi hasta el fondo. También puedes aumentarle la presión de los resortes para hacerlo más complicado de presionar y así lograr más fuerza. Me lo llevo al trabajo para no perder fuerza en mi mano porque luego no puedo practicar ni aunque quisiera y también sirve como un especie de juguete antiestres 😅. Totalmente recomendado, los materiales son de buena calidad y no lastiman las manos, aunque si quieres tener más flexibilidad y coordinación en los dedos para tocar todos los trastes, tendrás que practicar a la par con tu instrumento si o si, pero te ayuda bastante para sea más fácil y agradable tocar tu instrumento. Mi mano es un poco pequeña y mi bajo es de una escala de 34" y parece imposible y complicado de tocar, pero haciendo una rutina de ejercicio adecuada para tu mano si puedes desempeñarte bien en el bajo c: Para este ejercitador recomiendo la rutina del canal: Las Clases de Guitarra, en su canal de YouTube tiene un video de una rutina con este ejercitador y me ha ayudado bastante 👍

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