bridge and pickup covers, function?

[lojo]

I love the look of bridge and pickup covers, I think they are still supplied with the new MIA fenders unfixed

Is there scientific (like increased pickup performance etc)

or functional (like thumbresting!) reason for these?

Also I know players used to remove them due to feeling they got in the way, any views on this side of things also?

May be a dumb set of questions, but id love to know as never have

 

[fish slapper]

Well, here we go again.

As someone here old enough to have bought a 70s P bass when they came with covers, let me chime in. Back in the day, the first thing one did when you got home with a new Fender was take those awful things off! With a P bass, yes, I found they got in the way. I can't imagine a J bass with that huge rear cover over both the bridge and rear pick-up.

As for their function, I recall reading somewhere that Leo Fender thought that they helped in blocking RF interference but the prevailing wisdom is that they were a matter of aesthetics and meant to pretty up the "guts" of the mechanism.

Its amusing in this age of "what's old is new again" that covers have made a resurgence in popularity.

 

[bh2]

What again! I've put these on to give my p the vintage vibe and I've just started rehearsing with them... I'm finding that I've adjusted my fingering around them fine, I don't rest my thumb on anything.

Link Removed

In 'the old days' the uncovered bridge and pups were considered ugly and the covers made a more pleasing look, also the pup cover provided some basic rf screening and the bridge cover had some foam mutes glued on the inside.

 

[lojo]

Well, here we go again.
:

very sorry if the questions been done before, i did not search

 

[LCW]

i think people like the look of them more than the function they provide of being able to rest on them , i play with a pick and have never even played a bass with covers

 

[Ric5]

bridge and pickup covers, function?

Their function is to make playing the bass harder and to limit access to the strings.

 

[troyus]

bridge and pickup covers, function?

Their function is to make playing the bass harder and to limit access to the strings.

LOL!

 

[Shadi]

The early 51-57 Precision Basses and the early 1st edition Telecaster Basses had a ground wire connected from the pickup to the metal pickup ashtray cover. This was to help with interference...and occasionally gave people the shock of their life...

 

[funkmangriff]

bling!

 

[Dee_01]

I love the look of bridge and pickup covers, I think they are still supplied with the new MIA fenders unfixed

Is there scientific (like increased pickup performance etc)

or functional (like thumbresting!) reason for these?

Also I know players used to remove them due to feeling they got in the way, any views on this side of things also?

May be a dumb set of questions, but id love to know as never have

The bridge cover is a pain in the butt. Removing screws to replace strings is inconvenient, leaving permanent holes in the body looks bad... but the cover looks awesome on a Jazz. I need the bridge pickup exposed because I rest my thumb on top of it when playing fingerstyle.

I have a pickup cover on my Squier Jazz and it looks nice, but I also like the fact that I can rest my hand on it when slapping/popping. For me, the pickup cover is a good thing. On the other hand, it's forced me into a bad habit because when I play other basses I'm constantly looking for somewhere to rest my hand, and this causes me to mute the strings. Oops.

So yes, the pickup cover is kinda useful but the bridge cover isn't useful for me. Both look nice, though.

 

[GlennW]

Is there scientific (like increased pickup performance etc)

or functional (like thumbresting!) reason for these?

Close, but no 'gar. They're there to attract chicks (they like shiney things).

 

[EagleMoon]

Close, but no 'gar. They're there to attract chicks (they like shiney things).

So do crows.

 

[CapnSev]

Slap deterrent.

 

[Bassgrinder77]

Scientifically, they serve the same function as a foil hat.
Ergonomically, they serve the function of reducing the spaces where you can pluck, pick or slap.
Aesthetically, they serve the same function as all the chrome and wings of 50's/early-60's American cars.
Sociologically, they serve the function of providing a niche topic of conversation.
Metallurgically, they provided all that post-war steel industry something to manufacture.
Tobacconistically, they provide a place for cigarette ashes and butts.

 

[BlizzardBass]

Never liked the looks of them

 

[Joey3313]

P bridge ones serve nicely for me as a place to rest my hand during pick playing.


Otherwise, I just think they look cool.

 

[vinxbass]

They get in the way of my fingers when plucking strings. I took them off the Jazz Bass that I once owned.

 

[T40Chump]

So do crows.

...and monkeys.

Bo

 

[Ziltoid]

It's like a game, you've hit level 2, it gets harder

 

[Disraeli Gears]

I find them obnoxious to play with, but I love the looks. Don't think I'd get 'em on a Jazz bass, but I might consider it on a P.