Fender ashtrays on basses - just fashion or useful?

[Matt R.]

Originally Posted by Joe 1956

"crap" "crap"

Troll thread.

Mhm

[fuzzy beard]

I liked them so much i installed them on my Mustang bass (never came from factory with covers ever!).

I played a Pbass with them and loved the feel and cosistancy they provided. As a newb i would drift back and forth with my plucking hand with the covers i rest my palm on the PU cover and pluck just under the neck for a thick tone. And rest my hand on the bridge cover and pluck behind the pickup for a more agressive hifi tone. I have also experimented with foam.

So i installed them on my Mustang. Jazz cover over the bridge. And a P cover over the PU. And i am no slap player but have had several people mention how it was nice to rest there palm on the PU cover and slap my bass.

To each his own hang air freshenrs of them if you like! But for me i love them for both looks and function.

[lang3735]

Originally Posted by 2meterbassman

Hi everybody,

I see a lot of Fender basses (j and p-bass) with those chrome ashtrays over the bridge and the other metal thing over the neck pu.
Also a lot of players in here buy that stuff to install it on their basses.

Well, I remember the old times in the 70s and 80s when the first thing almost every bass player did, was to rip that stuff off the bass, to play the bass, to have enough space for fingerstyle playing or slapping.

And today, al lot of players have that imho crap on their basses.
Hey guys, it was made for the old style of bass playing, resting the forearm on the ashtrays, the fingers on that finger rest beneath the strings - to play with the thumb (or a pick), Bill Wyman style.

I wonder why you all buy that crap?
Ok, it looks nice - but imho it's not useful for modern playing.

Or is it only G.A.S, the lust in bass modding?

Greetz

I find that the chrome pickup covers on both P and J basses and the bridge cover on a J bass get in the way (except the bridge cover on a P bass), but my girlfriend plays her 73 P bass with both pickup and bridge covers on with no problem at all. They look cool.... but they get in the way.

[LanEvo]

I use the front cover as a thumb rest: I usually play just behind the neck pickup, so it's perfect.
I also rest part of my arm on it when slapping/popping.
I don't like the bridge cover because it gets in the way when playing over the bridge pickup.

[Pet Sounds]

I love 'em and have 'em on most of my vintage Fenders. Back in the day, people kind of looked down on you if you didn't take them off (or if you played with a pick), but who cares about that stuff now? They worked out OK for Jamerson, after all.

[king_biscuit]

Not functional at all, and for me they are really in the way -- I like to play all over with my right hand and palm must quite a bit. However, covers do look great on Fenders!

[Rip Topaz]

I've got the pickup cover on my SCPB, but that's mainly because the pickup route is slightly bigger than the pickup and my thumb slips down into it. I don't use the bridge cover because I like to be able to play a little closer to the bridge than it allows.

They both go on for pictures.

[JoeWPgh]

They make the instrument difficult to play for me, but they look good. And some girls are more bashful and won't be seen without their bra and panties.

[Blue_Whistle88]

Neck covers can be very handy for resting your wrist for slap playing, or pick playing, but it's not for me. Bridge covers on the other hand are something I could never deal with, because I make minor setup adjustments pretty much every week, and I'd get frustrated having to remove and re-attach the cover all the time. They would be handy for wrist-resting when using a pick, but definitely not worth it in my book.

I personally would never use either, and neither of my basses support them anyway.

[Lee Bruton]

I took off the stuff, also the thumb rest, not needed here, but I can see why others like them!

[cfsporn]

Originally Posted by king_biscuit

Not functional at all, and for me they are really in the way -- I like to play all over with my right hand and palm must quite a bit. However, covers do look great on Fenders!

+1

[Billy K]

Chick magnet for sure .Can you say Bling?

[bassbenj]

Originally Posted by Rip Topaz

I've got the pickup cover on my SCPB, but that's mainly because the pickup route is slightly bigger than the pickup and my thumb slips down into it. I don't use the bridge cover because I like to be able to play a little closer to the bridge than it allows.

They both go on for pictures.

I'm the opposite. I find the pickup cover gets in the way but I never play close enough to the bridge for the ashtray to matter. And since I really like the look of both of them, usually only the ash tray is in place. Except as Rip says, for pictures.

As for utility beyond looks I actually find them anti-utilitarian. First off you'd think they'd add more shielding. (I grounded my ashtrays) but my experience is that they make no difference to hum on or off!

But ashtrays and pickup covers do make ever so slight difference in tone! They slightly change the magnetic field layout and it produces a tone that to my ear is just a bit more distorted and less pure than without the covers. I have decided I like the coverless tone better, but hey, an artiste has to sacrifice for his art! So I leave the cover on anyway just for looks. The tone effect is minor.

[MEKer]

I put "quick-release" snaps on the ashtray of my Fender back in the day. Then if the bar erupted into a fight, I could have at least some sort of "cup" protection.

[Dragan]

Originally Posted by Spleenface92

The real question is, has anyone ever used one as an actual ashtray?

no,the real question is has anyone ever used real ashtray as a pick up/bridge cover.

[petrus61]

Hi, OP!

It's just one of those things that if you have to ask, you probabaly are better off not knowing. See, here in the U.S., where Fenders were born, we have this thing called "bling". It's just another name for something that we do because we can. Sorry you have such a hard time wrapping your little head around the concept of style.

[millsbass5]

Originally Posted by 2meterbassman

Why do people like you don't use their brain for an answer instead of offending others?

A little advice. Don't throw rocks when you live in a glass house. Your first post, and then, this one? Kinda like "the pot callin' the kettle black", ain't it?

[Bisounourse]

Originally Posted by petrus61

Hi, OP!

It's just one of those things that if you have to ask, you probabaly are better off not knowing. See, here in the U.S., where Fenders were born, we have this thing called "bling". It's just another name for something that we do because we can. Sorry you have such a hard time wrapping your little head around the concept of style.

Ahum, even German made basses had them; http://www.framus-vintage.de/modules...tID=4621&cl=EN

It's a PU cover whit a handle. You could put foam in there en pull the handle so it would soften the strings, or you could pull it up an play brightly. (I have a similer one, without the bridge PU, the cover never bothered me).

[backup]

i use the covers on my jazz to rest my idle fingers on. i thought it was bad technique but it was very comfortable. then i realized, james jamerson did the exact same thing. so it's ok. and it is really comfortable. now i don't want to play anything without them covers on

most people seem to use it as eye candy though, which too is a good reason.

[Rip Topaz]

Originally Posted by bassbenj

I'm the opposite. I find the pickup cover gets in the way but I never play close enough to the bridge for the ashtray to matter. And since I really like the look of both of them, usually only the ash tray is in place. Except as Rip says, for pictures.

As for utility beyond looks I actually find them anti-utilitarian. First off you'd think they'd add more shielding. (I grounded my ashtrays) but my experience is that they make no difference to hum on or off!

But ashtrays and pickup covers do make ever so slight difference in tone! They slightly change the magnetic field layout and it produces a tone that to my ear is just a bit more distorted and less pure than without the covers. I have decided I like the coverless tone better, but hey, an artiste has to sacrifice for his art! So I leave the cover on anyway just for looks. The tone effect is minor.

When you say you grounded your ashtrays, did you run a wire between them and the shielding? Can you explain your process?