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Post subject: pick-ups cover
Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 1:11 am
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hey i'v got fender higway one jazz bass and my friend gave me a pick-up cover so anyone can tell me if its just for beuty or its helping in some kind of a way


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Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 5:48 pm
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As far as I know pickup covers are just for looks.
but don't quote on that?


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Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 4:11 pm
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I think they are just mainly for looks, although it's possible they provide a very small amount of shielding. Most people seem to remove them so they can gain better access to the strings. Personally, I like the way they look. Since I'm not a real bass player, I added them to my MIM jazz bass. The large one over the bridge pickup is the least restrictive. I could see the one over the neck pickup being somewhat in the way.


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Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 10:35 am
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That's the problem for me, they get in the way, else I would put the covers on. Both covers on a Jazz are right where I like to put my fingers. The same went for my '78 P-bass with the cover over the pickup (I kept the bridge cover on). If it wasn't for that I would put them on 'cause I really like the look. Both basses have much cleaner lines and look much snazzier with the covers on.

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Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 9:18 pm
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The pickup covers on most basses serve about the same purpose as fender skirts on a 56 Desoto automobile. They are there for looks.

On the early Fender P-basses there actually was a ground wire that went to the screw hole on the pickup cover's "G" string side and the cover was truly intended to be a shielding device. Leo Fender quickly found there was little benefit to that and discontinued the extra ground wire due labor costs, but kept using the covers.

Asked how he got his signature sound, James Jamerson once said Leo Fender put the covers on there for a reason and that he kept his on at all times. I can't tell the difference in a 2nd generation P-bass with or without the pickup cover at all other than without one you can play directly over the pickup and get a snappier tone. The pickup cover does restrict you to a certain range of motion and tone.

I do strongly suggest using a pickup cover on the first generation P-Bass design as it is the most fragile bass pickup Fender ever made and the cover protects it from abuse. If you try using the edge of that pickup as a thrumbrest you are risking a multitude of problems. The problems tend to escalate when you loan your bass to another player and their thumb, which is accustomed to safely using the pickup as a thumbrest on 2nd generation basses, rips the top of the bobbin off the pickup and the pole pieces fall to the floor. The bass is then DEAD until the pickup is replaced. 51 RI P-Basses that this has happened to show up on eBay sometimes.

The bridge cover on J and P-basses concealed various muting devices over the years, the most common of which was the rubber weatherstripping foam. There was a brief use of four individually adjustable felt mutes mounted on spring levers under the Jazz Bass bridge cover. I use my bridge covers to conceal felt wraps or chunks of packing foam to kill the undesirable overtones from new strings until they break in a bit.

The bridge cover also prevents clothing from snagging on the bridge as people walk by the instrument while it is on a stand, which can have very bad consequences for your instrument.

Since Fender's modern bass pickups are fully covered by a plastic cover, they are not as fragile as the first generation single coil P-bass pickup. The covers haven't been grounded since about 1951, so there is little if any shielding benefit. I use pickup covers on my '51 RI and '54 Frankenstein P-bass because of the fragile pickup and because they look vintage.

I always took the pickup cover off my Jazz basses but would leave the bridge cover on for anti snag and muting concealment reasons and because the big "F" looked cool.


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Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 10:33 am
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i use a 63 jazz with both covers, bought it new, i'm 64, played them with and with out, can't tell any diff. i use a pick,i like to rest my hand on the cover while playing. love the look! 8)


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