bridge covers

[Adumb]

i have a p bass. i put a lipstick pickup in myself so it not standard but i was wondering what the purpose of a bridge cover was. thank you

[Phat Ham]

Back in the day all Fender basses came with the bridge cover. It's also called an ashtray. They used to have (I don't know if they still do) a piece of foam in there that rested against the strings as and acted as mute. The idea was to try to get the Fender bass to have the decay of an upright bass. There are also people who have it on there just for looks.

[Ultimo_Dragon21]

Im getting ready to put one on mine, and chrome out the whole thing. Like "Pimp My Ride", but it's "Pimp My Bass"

[Stingraymund]

Before I learned about James Jamerson:

I thought bridge and PU covers were the ugliest thing on earth. I once borrowed a yellow P-bas knockoff and promptly removed them.


After Jamerson:

I WANT A '62 P-BASS WITH THE COVERS!!!

[Treena Foster]

There is also a theory that the pickup and the cover create a magnetic pull between each other, thus making the bass louder when the covers are on.

I do not notice an audible difference without the covers but if you scope it, you'll see a difference.

I do own a 1961 Rickenbacker 4000, this bass has one original horseshoe pickup that has the metal cover, (not the plastic covers that Rickenbacker uses today) and there is a huge difference in the sound and pickup power when this cover is removed.




Treena