Fender Pickup Covers

[bassjamm]

Hi everyone,

Just been looking into vintage Fenders etc and i've noticed that one or two have pickup covers with a mute attached...i just wondered what that was all about?

Is that a common feature with bridge pickup covers? If not, is it just a simple case of glue-ing a bit of foam to the cover in order to create a mute? Also, by having the mute there, what tonal changes do you have...is it similar to the sound when you plam mute?

I've only ever played a Jazz bass with a the covers on and i found them to be more of a hinderance than i helping aid...what are they actually for?

Thanks guys,

Jamie

[aido43]

Ive got a Fender 51 Sting reissue and it came with a standard P/Up cover which I cant get on with--it just seems to cover the area you pick at and with it on it forces you to play either forward or back of the p/up. I took it off but cant say I like the holes left behind. It looks nice on but for me is just impractical.

[DirkThrust]

I think whether or not you have the covers on or off depends on personal taste and what suits your playing style. I like having the pickup cover on because I find it comfortable to rest my thumb on and I like the greater tension of the strings when playing behind the pickup. I also really like the look of a vintage Fender with both covers but I'm sure just as many people hate that look. In the 1950s and 1960s when these basses were conceived, I would think that having chrome covers hiding the functional bits was very much in keeping with the fashion of the time. Look at American cars of that period.

The vintage Ps had those foam mutes under the cover, presumably to give it more of a double bass-like thud, but obviously modern sounds and playing styles are different and most people like to have more sustain. Listen to James Jamerson for a good example of a P bass with mutes. The Jazz bass had seperate mutes for each string, fitted in front of the bridge. You don't often see them fitted these days but you can often see the mounting holes on old Jazzes.

But most of all, Fenders sound so much better with the covers fitted!!

Edited January 9, 2008 by PaulMartin

[ped]

I found the bassmute was a good alternative to foam inside the cover itself. www.bassmute.com

[chris_b]

[quote name='bassjamm' post='116656' date='Jan 8 2008, 11:10 PM']Just been looking into vintage Fenders etc and i've noticed that one or two have pickup covers with a mute attached...i just wondered what that was all about?[/quote]
The original Fenders were trying to sound like double basses. They were all being sold to DB players, after all, and the foam mute, chrome covers and finger rest were what Fender thought a bass guitar player would need. There is a strap button on the back of the headstock because Fender though players might use it, as acoustic guitarists did at the time. Most players immediately took the covers off, but if you recorded in the 60's and 70's you were likely to be asked to put a large lump of foam under the strings to stop the notes ringing. It sounded terrible live but seemed to work well in the studio.

[paul h]

I have covers on my Aerodyne mainly for aesthetic reasons. No mutes though.

The cover over the neck pickup evens up my playing a bit. I am a bit heavy handed at times and quite often slapping over the neck pickup would produce loud pops. I like my pickups quite high so the cover is a good way around the problem.

I have just taken off the bridge cover so I can palm mute. Specifically so I can play "If You Want Me to Stay" heavily muted and double thumbed.

p.

[Beedster]

I find the covers on my Precisions get in the way

UNLESS...

I'm trying to get an authetic Motown sound. I have a tendency to play right over the PUP with my thumb anchored on the PUP case. However, with the PUP cover on, I am forced to play nearer the neck, which results in a much more Motown-esque, deep and sweet tone. Without the cover, my hand always wanders back over the PUP, with it on, it can't, so it works for me playing that syle of music.
Bridge covers are fine until you break a string and don't have a screwdriver
Chris