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Accidental NBD woohoo
- Thread starter BigBadaBoom
- Start date
Don't change a thing. In fact..I was thinking about adding those covers to my new US Geddy.
Beautiful bass. I would remove the pickup cover for access but leave the ashtray coz they look cool. But it is your bass so do what YOU like. Dangit, now I want an yellowed oly white tort rosewood J. And a black and maple P and a....
Personally, I think it looks killer as-is, but you have to like it of course. I love how the pickup covers look, but I don't know whether they'd inhibit playing or not (I have a set that I've been debating mounting on my fretless... for about 5 years). There's probably a reason why a lot of players removed them and Fender stopped spec'ing them.
If you want to change out the pick guard and like white, I have a white/black/white 3-ply pick guard from a '98 MIJ Jazz that I'll happily trade you for, as I've been considering getting a tort. Mine is not drilled for the pickup cover, which may or may not be beneficial, depending on whether you remove the covers. If interested, PM me.
If you want to change out the pick guard and like white, I have a white/black/white 3-ply pick guard from a '98 MIJ Jazz that I'll happily trade you for, as I've been considering getting a tort. Mine is not drilled for the pickup cover, which may or may not be beneficial, depending on whether you remove the covers. If interested, PM me.
I always wondered, how do you set up the intonation/relief on those basses with that great big cover on?
I would guess one would unscrew/remove it for access. Or were you being facetious?
Keep the covers unless you do a lot of slapping. They don't really get in the way for fingerstyle once you get used to 'em.
That color on the MIMs was called Vintage White. Sort of a pre-faded Olympic White.
That color on the MIMs was called Vintage White. Sort of a pre-faded Olympic White.
I'm not really the facetious type. I did wonder if he'd just take the covers off, but if they're attached to the body with wood screws, the holes would get chewed up pretty quickly, wouldn't they?
Depends on the kind of screws. Standard wood screws do tend to give problems if you take them in and out a lot. (Note all the threads on toothpick and glue fixes) Metal screws with sharp threads that cut the wood work better. On all my basses with ashtrays I installed threaded inserts just because of that problem. (Yeah, I know it's overkill! So what? Takes a couple minutes to do and fixes the problem) This is the same problem you run into with basses that use wood screws on the battery cover plate.
I would also mention that while the covers over the pickup really don't shield any hum (even when grounded) they do change the tone slightly because they change the magnetic field of the pickup. The effect is very slight and my opinion is the tonal shift is for the worse, but the look of the covers is so cool I leave the ashtray on in spite of the tiny tone change.
And taking the covers off leaves the screw holes in the pickguard and bass. Changing the pickguard solves the pickup shield problem, but for the ashtray holes, I usually put a short screw with a nice shiny head in each hole so they look like they are doing something rather than just leaving a nasty screw holes in the bass.
Take off the covers if they bother you. Put the screws in the holes to preserve them. The pick guard looks great as is. You did well on this trade.
Wow thank you all for the nice compliments!
Well heres an update I played it for several hours last night and just couldn't get comfortable playing with the covers, it's weird and hard to explain unless you've tried it yourself? So as much as I liked the look of them -off they came and to my surprise there were 2 pickups and a bridge hiding under there -who knew?
So I took your advice and put the ashtray screws back into the body and it looks better than open holes IMO. I also put the screws back into the PG but the one above the neck pickup was interfering with my thumb when I use the pickup as an anchor point so I took them out. Is it possible to relocate the "tugbar" so that it could be used as a thumb anchor? I am NEVER going to use it in it's current location.
Well heres an update I played it for several hours last night and just couldn't get comfortable playing with the covers, it's weird and hard to explain unless you've tried it yourself? So as much as I liked the look of them -off they came and to my surprise there were 2 pickups and a bridge hiding under there -who knew?
So I took your advice and put the ashtray screws back into the body and it looks better than open holes IMO. I also put the screws back into the PG but the one above the neck pickup was interfering with my thumb when I use the pickup as an anchor point so I took them out. Is it possible to relocate the "tugbar" so that it could be used as a thumb anchor? I am NEVER going to use it in it's current location.
You can use the tugbar as a thumbrest I used one of the existing PG holes and drill the other. If you aren't a thumb player it would be a better position for you and if you ever become one you can move it back
YUM! I love it.
Do what you want with the pickup covers, but PLEASE don't lose the tort! That is such a classic and classy combo.
I wish I had that bass; it's a lot like one Dee Murray (Elton John) played for many years, and I just joined an Elton John tribute project.
Congrats and enjoy!
Do what you want with the pickup covers, but PLEASE don't lose the tort! That is such a classic and classy combo.
I wish I had that bass; it's a lot like one Dee Murray (Elton John) played for many years, and I just joined an Elton John tribute project.
Congrats and enjoy!
