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Scratchplates.


Bilbo
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I get that they are to stop scratches appearing on your bass but I just find myself asking, who plays that chaotically that they hit the bass hard enough to scratch it there as opposed to anywhere else? :) Even if I played with a pick, I would still struggle to scratch a bass there. Now, if I played with a Black and Decker a la Paul Gilbert, then maybe there would be a chance of a nick or two but, in 25 years, my scratchplateless Wal has managed to avoid being scratched where the scratch plate would have been had mine been a Fender or a Musicman. Who are these scratchy bass players out there causing choas and the need for flat bits of plastic protection? We should be told.

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My favourite thing about them is that on some instruments it narrows the gap between the body and the strings slightly,which I find to be more comfortable when 'popping' the strings. If there is a massive gap ( like on the Lodestone basses) I find it uncomfortable.

Edited by Doddy
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[quote name='SteveK' post='1170642' date='Mar 21 2011, 01:39 PM']Cos without it my Precision wouldn't look like a proper Precision, and the knobs and socket would be dangling by their wires :)

It was probably easier and cheaper to mass produce Fenders that way, and being as Fenders are the most copied...[/quote]

So it should really be called a "gubbins-hider".

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Theres a bald patch above the P pickup on my Bass Collection where my thumb has worn the paint away, started to appear within months of me buying the bass. Wouldnt be there if there was a scratchplate, would it.

But as has been said, its more likely just a convenient and cost effective way of mouting the pots and pickups / cover the routing etc.

Edited by Slipperydick
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My G&L has an area below the G string (as looked at when playing) that looks like it has been flatted. I'm guessing the previous owner played a lot of slap and caught the body there a lot??? It's right in the middle of the area a scratchplate would cover. Can't say I'm really bothered about it though.

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They were invented so that, in the future, people would post on basschat questions like "where can I get a scratchplate" or "which scratchplate will fit my P bass." :)

More than likley they were thought up to hide a dodogy bit of routing on early Fenders?

Jez

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When I got my US jazz S/H I noticed that there were a lot of scratches on the plate in an area below the G string, I don't know whether the previous owner played a lot of high register stuff and kept missing or what...I've had it about 4 or 5 years now and the plate looks exactly the same as when I got it so I know I've not personally contributed to it. I think I put more marks in wiping them down than actually using them.

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[quote name='KevB' post='1170952' date='Mar 21 2011, 05:31 PM']When I got my US jazz S/H I noticed that there were a lot of scratches on the plate in an area below the G string, I don't know whether the previous owner played a lot of high register stuff and kept missing or what...I've had it about 4 or 5 years now and the plate looks exactly the same as when I got it so I know I've not personally contributed to it. I think I put more marks in wiping them down than actually using them.[/quote]
You get that popping the G string.

it happens on my basses a fair bit.

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[quote name='Bilbo' post='1170611' date='Mar 21 2011, 01:16 PM']I get that they are to stop scratches appearing on your bass but I just find myself asking, who plays that chaotically that they hit the bass hard enough to scratch it there as opposed to anywhere else?[/quote]

i do

the scratchplate on my jazz is covered in scratches from where i've played chords heavily.

and i don't see it as playing chaotically - it's just the way i play.

Edited by ahpook
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You don't have to play a bass chaotically for them to appear. Play the strings in a normal way several hundred times and you're going to get some marks being made by the plectrum below those strings once in a while. It adds up over time.

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[quote name='Jerry_B' post='1171489' date='Mar 21 2011, 11:59 PM']You don't have to play a bass chaotically for them to appear. Play the strings in a normal way several hundred times and you're going to get some marks being made by the plectrum below those strings once in a while. It adds up over time.[/quote]

This man speaks the truth! :)

[attachment=75482:scratches.JPG]

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