It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 3:24 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 12 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: 1951 Reissue P Bass
Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 4:01 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 5:56 am
Posts: 37
Location: LANCASTER PA
Just bought a 1951 P Bass Reissue. (Thanks for the advise Brother Dave) I noticed some pictures with the Thumbrest on the bottom. Am I looking at this correctly? I like the idea of a thumbrest but not under my G String..(That sounds weird)

Also should I dress it up with Bridge and pickup covers?

Thanks

LIFE IS GOOD

Eric


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: 1951 Reissue P Bass
Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 4:25 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 3:36 pm
Posts: 77
Location: Minnesota
A bass gets cooler the more chrome you put on it.
I vote yes on the covers.

_________________
"I just want to break even." - Richard Manuel


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1951 Reissue P Bass
Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2013 4:50 am
Offline
Roadie
Roadie
User avatar

Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2010 11:21 am
Posts: 256
Location: Guam
Covers are only proper.

_________________
Liam

-Candy Apple Red Precision Bass (Maple fingerboard) carrying Rotosound Steve Harris Strings
-1980-something Bentley Series 10
-Fender Rumble 15


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1951 Reissue P Bass
Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2013 10:10 am
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician

Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2011 8:01 am
Posts: 2842
that's where the "tug bar" was in 1951. They thought a lot of players would use their thumb to pluck the strings and they would rest their other fingers on the tug bar like they were tugging (pulling) on it. Try it .


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1951 Reissue P Bass
Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2013 10:53 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Wed Oct 03, 2012 5:56 am
Posts: 37
Location: LANCASTER PA
Wow ..Thanks..I NEVER knew that!


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1951 Reissue P Bass
Posted: Fri Apr 12, 2013 11:43 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:12 pm
Posts: 6355
Location: Albemarle, NC
Only if you use and need a finger rest, tugbar or thumbrest should you bother installing one. Thumb style players that play in the old school style greatly benefit from them, however there aren't many of those cats left. Holes can not be un-drilled later if you decide it is in the way. However to be era correct it would be in the "tugbar" position on the G string side. Leo Fender got lots right, but he thought everyone would be a thumb style player which wasn't entirely accurate. The thumbrest didn't get moved to the E string side until 1973/74 model year on a P-Bass long after Leo's departure. Era correct would also be the ONE SCREW in the center wooden type tugbar which is not as easy to find as the plastic two screw version that came later. Usually you have to find a woodworker to make one. They are often found on eBay in variety of different woods. Seeing a 2-screw finger rest/thumbrest on these or seeing one on the E string side is a dead giveaway that it isn't era correct. I use the E string as a thumbrest most of the time and I don't play with my thumb much at all, so any sort of finger rest is wasted on me and only gets in the way for me.

The chrome pickup cover and chrome bridge cover look vintage correct. The pickup cover serves two other purposes on these. Purpose one is pickup protection as these pickups are exposed and can be destroyed much easier than a second generation split coil pickup or Jazz pickup which is covered by plastic. Purpose two is RFI shielding which is greatly improved if the cover is grounded, which was done on the real 1951's. The pickup in the the 51 RI is a single coil and that makes it more sensitive to hum and RFI noise than the second generation split coil P-Bass pickup. I prefer the tone of a single coil, but like the noise rejection of the split coil. Through effective shielding you can significantly quiet a single coil P-Bass. The shielding wire to the pickup cover screw was discontinued as being too labor intensive once mass production kicked in and the model took off. They could save a few minutes labor and a few pennies per instrument by eliminating it, so Fender did. The chrome bridge cover protects the bridge and reduces the chance someone's pants will snag on the bridge as they walk by the instrument pulling the instrument over which can also have a very bad outcome. Some people also will ground the bridge cover, which I have also done, but I don't think it makes as much (if any) noise reduction impact as grounding the pickup cover does. Grounding the bridge cover is real easy and quick to do.

When Leo Fender designed this instrument the chrome covers were put there for a reason. That is not just my opinion, but also the opinion of James L. Jamerson who was asked why the didn't remove his chrome covers from his 62 second generation P-Bass like so many other players were doing such a Duck Dunn, etc. Granted on a second generation P-Bass the noise reduction improvement with the chrome pickup cover on is negligible and playing directly over the pickup is something done by lots of players of second generation P-Basses, so the pickup cover gets in the way of that. If James Jamerson could hear a difference, then there is one. I think in Jamerson's case it might have kept him from actually playing over the pickup. A very strong forceful player like him doesn't need to play directly over the pickup for impact and if he had done so his tone would have been entirely different. Nobody ever criticized his tone so far as I know.

I've seen several of these single coil type basses with broken pickups over the years. If you are not going to put on a vintage chrome pickup cover keep these DON'TS in mind. 1. DON'T EVER USE THE PICKUP AS A THUMBREST. While this is a perfectly safe and common practice with a second generation P-Bass or J-Bass in which the pickups are protected by a plastic covers, it is not safe for an exposed single coil pickup like the one on the 51 RI, 68 Telecaster, etc. People used to playing a second generation P-Bass or J-Bass that use the pickup as a thumbrest will naturally do that with ANY bass, including this type. 2. AVOID CATCHING A STRING UNDER THE EDGE OF THE TOP FLATWORK. This is surprisingly easy with low tension string sets when playing finger style but not nearly as big a risk when playing with a pick. 3. DON'T LET ANYONE ELSE PLAY YOUR INSTRUMENT. (I've replaced two of these pickups for other people because someone else used the bass other than the owner and the borrowers either used the pickup as a thumbrest or caught strings under the top flatwork of the pickup pulling the top flat work off. In most cases of a broken pickup on a single coil bass the owner usually starts their explanation with, "I loaned it to a friend..." When that top flatwork gets broken off the pickup can not be repaired. The sound doesn't get softer, it is totally silent and the bass won't make another sound until the pickup is completely replaced. The pickup poles actually will fall out and roll around on the floor when this happens.)

Chrome pickup and bridge covers do complicate things. 1. You have to remove them to make adjustments such as during a setup. 2. You can't play directly over the pickup and I agree there are some good tones right over the pickup for many players, but I do not play a first generation P-Bass without a pickup cover except in very specific and limited situations.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1951 Reissue P Bass
Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 11:53 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2007 6:33 am
Posts: 4583
Location: North of Pittsburgh
Covers are the way to go! They make the bass so much cooler. Now this is just my opinion, and honestly, I hate being right all the time. Ask my wife. :D


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1951 Reissue P Bass
Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 1:37 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2012 1:58 pm
Posts: 1051
Location: SW Florida
I have to agree with everyone and say go with the covers. Not only a good idea, but they look cool.

My AV 57P(and my 60th anny jazz) went from sharp to very sharp with covers in place. I did not install the mutes on either, but still thinking about it.

I am not a fan of installing them on new American Stds as some are doing, only on basses where they are age appropriate.

_________________
Collector of vintage Fender 4 string basses.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1951 Reissue P Bass
Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 2:11 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2007 6:33 am
Posts: 4583
Location: North of Pittsburgh
I went back and forth so much as to drill or not. I used velcro for a few months then finally drilled and made it real. T velcro came off easy enough and didn't hurt the finish.


Image

Image

Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1951 Reissue P Bass
Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 4:42 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2012 1:58 pm
Posts: 1051
Location: SW Florida
Future rock star....very cool

_________________
Collector of vintage Fender 4 string basses.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1951 Reissue P Bass
Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 6:39 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2007 6:33 am
Posts: 4583
Location: North of Pittsburgh
She's fallen in love with my Strat.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 1951 Reissue P Bass
Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 8:26 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2012 3:08 pm
Posts: 474
I don't know how close the Squier Classic Vibe 50's Precision is in tone to the original Fender version...but the CV 50's I played at Sam Ash was AWESOME. It went from soft/boomy and fat...to harsh with the turn of the knob. That little pickup has alot of range.

If Fender/Squier could just replace that neck with a rosewood Jazz....


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 12 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: