who plays with pick cover and bridge cover on?

[gub]

I am thinking of putting a bridge cover on my fender jazz ,i would love to put a pick cover on too but feel this would get in the way as i tend to rest my thumb on top of the pickup . anyone else play with these on?

Edited May 23, 2011 by gub

[Roland Rock]

Yes, I've just started to do so. I find it encourages me to play nearer the bridge where it's beautifully plumby in tone. I'm also using the the thumb rest for the first time. I can also play down the bridge end for a tighter fingerstyle funk tone. Effectively, it splits the bass into two tone options. And it looks sooo lovely.
I'm unsure about the reason it was there in the first place - anyone?

Edit, mine's a P, not a J

Edited May 23, 2011 by Roland Rock

[73Jazz]

[quote name='Roland Rock' post='1242165' date='May 23 2011, 09:08 PM']I'm unsure about the reason it was there in the first place - anyone?[/quote]

under the bridge cover there was a little bit of foam sticking underneath in the early years, so you have that little mute on the strings from above.
over the pickup it was used to prevent interspersion?(do you call it like this in english?)
that is what i know about it.

i love the look of the covers on j and p basses, but on a p the pickup cover is at my sweetspot, so i only use a bridge cover.
same on a J..unfortunately..because i really dig to the style with pickup covers as well.

[EssentialTension]

Pickup cover also acted as a rest for the heel of the hand when using the tugbar.

[Bloc Riff Nut]

I use only the pup cover. I used to rest my thumb on the pup, now I rest it on the pup cover and it's no problem. The pup cover also helps with my sloppy slap technique, I rest my hand on it sometimes. I now pluck nearer to the bridge so I'm wary of fitting the bridge cover.

[hairyhaw]

I play with the cover on my Rick - just never got round to taking it off, so I'm just used to playing it that way.

I used to play with covers on my Precision (same one in avatar) but the bridge one came off after a couple of years when I realised I did a lot of palm muting and then the pick up cover came off when I started learning slap as the strings kept rattling off it.

I do quite like them aesthetically though, and if you play finger stylee or with a pick, then its pretty do-able.

[Gareth Hughes]

I did for the last few months - but I guess after all those years of resting my thumb on the neck pickup that I just fell in love with the tone found there and missed it too much, so off they came last week.

[chris_b]

I've got a very "road worn" Precision but the covers look brand new. They've been in the sock drawer since the day I bought the bass. I've never played a bass with the covers and as I play right on the pickup I don't even know if I could!

Edited May 24, 2011 by chris_b

[lojo]

My Jazz bass before I sold it had both covers on , and I gigged it like that

Don't have them on my P but considering it

[Doddy]

I have a pickup cover on both of my 4 string Jazzes,and really like them.

[slobluesine]

John Entwistle reckoned his Fenders sounded better with pup covers on, they become magnetised over the years apparently

[Cat Burrito]

I have done for about 15yrs now

[arthurhenry]

I keep the bridge cover on, just because it's there! It prevents me from a "fading out" technique I used to use by rolling my finger/hand onto the strings from the bridge and occasionally wears my little finger a little. It produces an F# when flicked.

[bubinga5]

there are many tones you can get from your finger as we all know, depending on where your pluck, pick, strum from.. there is no doubt these (cool looking) pickup covers get in the way.. i like to use the whole breadth of the string, so they get in the way.. but ive got to say i love the look of them.. erm.. ive left them on sometimes.. fashion over function and all

IMO (only talking Fender here) its the only silliness, in Fenders brilliant design

[Geek99]

[quote name='73Jazz' post='1242181' date='May 23 2011, 08:20 PM']under the bridge cover there was a little bit of foam sticking underneath in the early years, so you have that little mute on the strings from above.
over the pickup it was used to prevent interspersion?(do you call it like this in english?)
that is what i know about it.

i love the look of the covers on j and p basses, but on a p the pickup cover is at my sweetspot, so i only use a bridge cover.
same on a J..unfortunately..because i really dig to the style with pickup covers as well.[/quote]
I think you mean interference ? They were originally wired in as part of the shielding in '51 precisions - see The Fender BASS Manual book

[73Jazz]

[quote name='Geek99' post='1243839' date='May 25 2011, 09:22 AM']I think you mean interference ? They were originally wired in as part of the shielding in '51 precisions - see The Fender BASS Manual book[/quote]


Yes..that word sounds good as well:)

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I got 'em the full set of bridge & pickup cover on two of my Precisions & a pickup cover on the fretless precision and my jazz. I shamelessly stole Jamersons technique of resting my right hand on the cover. Unfortunately that's where the similarity ends.

[arthurhenry]

So come on, what note does your pickup/bridge cover produce? My '72 is an F#, '73 is a G.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

No note - I deadened mine by using self adhesive rubber strips under them

[Cat Burrito]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='1244764' date='May 25 2011, 08:46 PM']I deadened mine by using self adhesive rubber strips under them [/quote]
Yep, foam under the bridge cover for me too.

[Telebass]

The 51RI has a full set of covers. The Pickup cover on these is only slightly wider than the strings, and is easy to use as a thumb rest. The standard Precision has the covers on sometimes. Not at the moment, The pickup cover is much wider to cover the split-coil, so is much less comfortable as a thumb rest. Similarly, the Jazz pickup cover is quite wide. Either pickup cover is good as a plam rest, of course. Damn, but they look good when they're on, especially on an all-black P!

[Roland Rock]

When did Fender stop making Precisions with bridge/pickup covers? Is there a timeline of changes on BC/the web? I looked, but the only one I could find (vintageguitars.org.uk) is unsatisfactory, as it only really describes changes in the colour options

[Telebass]

Sometime over the end of 70s/ early 80s, when the Yamaha team (John McClaren/William Schultz/Dan Smith) were bought in by CBS. Insofar as it's possible to pinpoint, 1982 seems to be the year they finally disappeared for good on standard basses.

[gub]

Well i ended up putting a bridge cover on her and got a nice rosewood thumb rest while i was at it , i think it looks loads better now

[Telebass]

Nowt like a bit of chrome! Just put the covers back on the black P - looks the business!