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Club Sadowsky!!!

#54,241
Fuzzbass said:
I love all the black/maple. :) I also love the extra chrome, but I currently have a pickup cover on just one bass, a '58-style P5 (non-Sadowsky). Looks awesome, and I'm gradually adjusting to playing around it, but I'm not 100% there yet.
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I think those of us who obsess over vintage-p-with-a-b basses would love to have a pic of that bass. Not me of course. Asking for a friend.
 
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#54,243
SzunaP said:
Never understood this PU cover thing. Why? What for? To make playing more difficult? :thumbsdown:
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Because it looks cool.

I mean, not to get all culturally-inappropriate, but I've studied the history of Hungary at various times (fascinating), including the awesome mustachery and outfits of the pre-Christian era, and I've got to assume that 'because it looks cool' applies out there as well!!!!!


:help:
 
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#54,245
SzunaP said:
Never understood this PU cover thing. Why? What for? To make playing more difficult? :thumbsdown:
Click to expand...
PU cover works out just fine for these guys:
Motown-James-Jamerson-mcrfb.jpg

WillLee2.jpg


I am not remotely close to those guys. I simply love the vintage look. I'm at the point where I can gig with the cover well enough in my very-classic-rock and oldies bands. I won't use that bass in bands that play trickier tunes.



--begin off topic--

And by request, here's mine - parked next to my guitarist cousin's modded '65 Bassman and 1x15 cab (which sounds glorious at bedroom volume). The bass is not a Fender (and I never claim it is); it was hand built by a skilled neighbor who managed to procure the spaghetti decal.
IMG_20200222_213813.jpg


EDIT: the Sadowsky leather strap makes this partially on-topic. :D

--end off topic--
 
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#54,247
Fuzzbass said:
PU cover works out just fine for these guys:
View attachment 4046729
View attachment 4046730

I am not remotely close to those guys. I simply love the vintage look. I'm at the point where I can gig with the cover well enough in my very-classic-rock and oldies bands. I won't use that bass in bands that play trickier tunes.



--begin off topic--

And by request, here's mine - parked next to my guitarist cousin's modded '65 Bassman and 1x15 cab (which sounds glorious at bedroom volume). The bass is not a Fender (and I never claim it is); it was hand built by a skilled neighbor who managed to procure the spaghetti decal.
View attachment 4046724

EDIT: the Sadowsky leather strap makes this partially on-topic. :D

--end off topic--
Click to expand...


I am so sorry for the derail, and so very thankful to have seen that. WOW that is cool.
 
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#54,251
ElMon said:
Once upon a time ... weren’t the pickup covers wired somehow? Obviously the bridge cover had a mute in it.

Thought they served a purpose.
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The early 50's P basses were grounded to the pickup cover. Later I think it was just for shielding. I have a love hate with the thing as well... I think they look great. On a P bass they are right over the sweet spot for me though, so its a no go haha. On a J, I tend to pluck further towards the bridge so it works. Still not totally comfortable with it as it does limit movement(I float my thumb on a 5). The coolness factor is right up there though ;)
 
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#54,252
I swear years ago I heard and this was way before there was an internet but the reason for the pickup covers on the precision and jazz basses was kind of the same reason Rickenbacker has the pickup cover over there bridge pickup on there 4003 basses was to reduce grounding-hum, hey I'm no expert so that is just what I heard, I know when I use to take off the pickup cover on my old Rickenbacker 4001 and 4003 I would get grounding-hum sometimes and when I would be in a recording studio recording the engineer would have to have a piece of wire connected to my Rick and sometimes to my Fender Precision and touching somewhere on my body to stop the grounding-hum, this was back in the early eighties, I use active basses now so I don't get any grounding-hum issues what so ever now.
 
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#54,253
AMJBASS said:
On a P bass they are right over the sweet spot for me though, so its a no go haha. On a J, I tend to pluck further towards the bridge so it works.
Click to expand...

I’m with ya on both. I like the sound of a P or PJ when played right over the P pickup and for a J, I tend to play closer to the bridge. I had covers on my jazz basses, but it was strictly as a palm rest (cheat) for the rare times I’m required to bust out some slappage.
 
#54,254
People used to smoke a lot in the 50s and 60s, so the ashtrays were useful.
Also roundwound strings hadn't been invented, so muting under the bridge cover kept any unwanted clatter down.
And the finger rest was below the strings so you could support your hand while you played with the thumb.
Leo put these things in for a reason.
When I started playing with rounds and a pick I received quite a few insults regarding the sound.
Hands over the ears kinda thing.
What? You can't imagine life without a cell phone? Jeebus.
 
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#54,257
gwangi said:
...the reason for the pickup covers on the precision and jazz basses was kind of the same reason Rickenbacker has the pickup cover over there bridge pickup on there 4003 basses was to reduce grounding-hum, hey I'm no expert so that is just what I heard, I know when I use to take off the pickup cover on my old Rickenbacker 4001 and 4003 I would get grounding-hum sometimes and when I would be in a recording studio recording the engineer would have to have a piece of wire connected to my Rick and sometimes to my Fender Precision and touching somewhere on my body to stop the grounding-hum, this was back in the early eighties, I use active basses now so I don't get any grounding-hum issues what so ever now.
Click to expand...
If that was the case, the ground wire from the bridge, which was present in all those basses, had failed somehow, because those are always supposed to be there, which also means the strings are grounded, so you don't/shouldn't need a pickup cover to provide that.
 
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#54,258
AMJBASS said:
The early 50's P basses were grounded to the pickup cover. Later I think it was just for shielding...
Click to expand...
it was always about shielding, not grounding. yes, shields and grounds are generally connected together, but usually, the bridge, and hence the strings, were always connected to ground.

The reason we hear a reduction in hum sometimes when we touch the strings has more to do with amplifier design as well as the "false ground" the capacitance of our human bodies represent.

generally speaking the whole idea behind the covers on both the P and J basses was to improve shielding, not fix grounding problems... because especially in the case of the J, those were single coil pickups, so you'd always get noise when soloing/favoring one, which of course you can't really solve, but with optimal shielding, you can at least reduce. in fact, for shielding to even work, you have to have a good ground to connect the shield to. look up "faraday cage" if you want to know more about this.

in the case of the P basses with the "Z" pickups, those were already humbucking, but regardless, it was still about shielding, even though they didn't have single coil hum.
 
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#54,259
HeavyJazz said:
Covers portray a historical image and particularly if you're a busy player, it tones you down so you can focus more on serving the music. Call it a modern day "bass brake" for noodlers?
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Quite a bit. I kept the cover on my 4003W for a while, and it is exactly as you describe. Playing fingerstyle, I was almost exclusively neck side of it, but it mean the bass wasn't particularly useful for a fair number of songs that I, personally, couldn't play as fast that far up. It works for Al Cisneros, but not for JoshS - I don't have a fraction of a fraction of the talent. It was a huge brake. Since I primarily play 5s and have a 4003s/5, I didn't think that much of it, but I just didn't play the 4003W that much. I took it off and it was more useful, but I still don't play that bass much. :(
 
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#54,260
Well, thanks guys for the answers, the shielding function didn't occur to me, it is a REAL reason. It doesn't look cool to me anyway, but it's just a matter of taste, I grew up on 80's players/records so it's just a strange thing.
And couldn't concentrate for the music while strugglin with a metal plate I think, but maybe should try it... :D
.
 

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