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Post subject: installation of bridge & pickup covers
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:42 pm
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Hi,

am wanting to install bridge & pickup covers on my j bass, but dont want to stuff it up ...

do i just screw straight in ??


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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:10 am
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Hi DC,

I notice that was your first post, so welcome to the Fender Bass Forums! Don't be a stranger.

I've put covers on a whole bunch of basses. Here's the deal on installing the covers.

FIRST, especially if your bass is finished in Polyurethane paint like most are these days, take some masking tape and apply it to approximately where the screw holes will be. The reason I advise this is I’ve had some big chips come off when drilling through poly finished wood. Usually nitro paint on wood will not chip when drilled but even in those cases it gives you a suitable surface to make a pencil mark. So use the masking tape. It will look better if you ever decide to play without covers to have a nice clean well defined hole instead of a hole with paint chipped off all around it.

SECOND, carefully center one cover and then faintly pencil-mark the center of the screw holes on the cover. (The marks should be on the masking tape.) Remove the cover and eyeball the marks again to see if they still look centered. If the marks don’t look centered then erase them and remark. Repeat for the other cover. Then compare all four marks for balance. When they look good, proceed!

THIRD, select a small bit that is smaller than the cover screws and put it in an electric drill or even Dremel to drill your pilot holes.

FOURTH, the first thing to drill is a hole through a screw off top from a soda bottle. The bottle top is nothing more than a spacer to insure I don’t accidentally drill all the way through the instrument. (That would “stuff it up.”) Check to see with the bottle cap on the bit that you can’t possibly drill completely through the depth of the body. If one cap isn't enough add another but usually one is enough. This spacer (bottle cap) remains on the bit while drilling the pilot holes for the screws.

FIFTH, actually drill the holes into the instrument precisely on the pencil marks at as close to a 90 degree angle (straight up and down) as you can.

SIXTH, carefully remove the masking tape, screw on the covers and enjoy that vintage chrome job!


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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:14 am
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Or, you can use velcro, I couldn't bring myself to drill into my bass so, I figured, what the heck. It works and when you find they get in the way they're easy to get off and put back on.


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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 12:26 pm
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oxfan wrote:
Or, you can use velcro....


Uhhhh. Yes you can use Velcro. However it would not be "period correct." LOL! :P


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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 1:44 pm
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But for those in my age group that can't always decide, it is a viable alternative. :roll:


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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:57 pm
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Well when in doubt I just ask myself, "What would Leo Fender do?"


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Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 9:23 pm
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great instructions ... very helpful
thanks so much !!! :D


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