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Pickup cover on a P bass question.

#41
Jason151 said:
He apparently played the bass for the song "Baby I don't care". That might be the only example of hearing him actually play it.
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I just love that in the first chord change section he forgot to change chords, and left the root unmuted during the break. He got it together for the remaining breaks though.... better than most non-instrumentalists could do in that situation.
 
#42
Jason151 said:
I get that it restricts access to the strings from the middle so I might not get that middle "register" sound from it (even though p basses are full of that already).
That's part of the charm of the p bass in its simplicity, isn't it? Depending on where you pluck the strings, you can get different tones from it. So would I be limited to playing only near the bridge (highs) or by the neck (lows)?

Also, did you have to play it dramatically different from before? I usually rest my thumb on the side of the pickup, would I be able to play it similarly if I rest my thumb on the cover?

I've heard complaints about the bridge+pickup covers on a Jazz bass and I can kind of see why. The bridge cover for that is way bigger than on the P. Throw in the pickup cover as well and there's even less space to pluck.

How cumbersome are they to play with on a P bass?

Here's a photo Elvis Presley playing a P bass:
View attachment 4236417

Mine kind of looks like the white one minus the pickup cover.
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No pick up covers for me. The absolute worst is the one on Ricks.
 
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#46
I move around a lot depending, so no for me.

If you get one, at first put it on with cloth two-sided carpet tape. It'll stay there for quite a while, and if you want it gone it'll come off with a little persuasion and not hurt the finish. Just don't leave it on for months or it may not come off that well. (Hint: use duct tape to remove any residue. Stick it on over the residue and peel it off. Fold over a flap before you do so you have something to grab and not use a fingernail.)
 
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#47
JimmyM said:
First thing to go when I got my 76 Precision new at age 16 were the covers. My parents tried to talk me into keeping them because they liked the shiny, but I couldn't stand the restricted access.
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+1 ... In the years before guitars/basses started to be 'vintage' fetishized, they were bought to play. The trend in product-design (cars, boats, bikes, motorcycles) in the '50-'60s was chrome, and lots of it. Certain musicians/entertainers adapted to the covers in favor of (visual) stage/TV "deluxe-ness". But many (most?) removed them for the same reason you (and I) did. The most common thing missing on a vintage bass for sale today is the covers. I love the way the look - totally iconic and "complete". But as a player, the bridge pu cover gets in the way of palm-muting for me, unless it's below a 'floating" bridge. I have only one J with a cover over the neck pu, just because.., but otherwise all neck pu covers come off as I'll move my right hand from the bridge to the neck for the variety of tone/attack it offers.
 
#48
I tried the PU cover off and on on various P's for years. I love the look. And I like resting my hand on it as an anchor when playing with a pick for those Carol Kaye tones up there (as Leo intended I assume). But ultimately, it's too limiting for me. For fingerstyle I just wanna plop my thumb on the pickup edge and dig in. Using the PU cover as thumb rest is...interesting, but, for me, just too constricting. As for the bridge cover, I do way too much palm muting with a pick for that thing to ever feel right. With both I feel you just lose too much sonic real estate.
 
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#50
OogieWaWa said:
I move around a lot depending, so no for me.

If you get one, at first put it on with cloth two-sided carpet tape. It'll stay there for quite a while, and if you want it gone it'll come off with a little persuasion and not hurt the finish. Just don't leave it on for months or it may not come off that well. (Hint: use duct tape to remove any residue. Stick it on over the residue and peel it off. Fold over a flap before you do so you have something to grab and not use a fingernail.)
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Wait, are you suppose to have tape underneath the covers? I only have the cover for the bridge right now and there's nothing underneath. I guess it's pretty obvious now that I think about it. Hard metal on soft material leaves scratches.
 
#54
mongo2 said:
Will Lee and Marcus Miller have the pickup covers installed.
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Yea, Will is one of the only bassists I've ever seen who plays with his thumb on the pickup cover and still uses his fingers well. For my hand, and nearly everybody's, your fingers will hit the cover that way.

I think he's built like a spider, personally.

And Marcus, well, what does Marcus Miller know? huh? Obviously he's just wrong. LoL ;-)

But seriously.. those are outliers. There's a reason why most people can't play well with the pickup covers on. I tend to play right over the bridge pickup a lot of the time.... and with the bridge cover on I couldn't do that (on a jazz style bass). And I grew up playing precisions without the cover on.. then when I went to play one with the cover on it scraped my finger because I couldn't stop playing how I normally do.

Not saying you CAN'T do it with the covers on, but isn't it more fun to do it without the covers on? ;-)
 
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#56
dkelley said:
Yea, Will is one of the only bassists I've ever seen who plays with his thumb on the pickup cover and still uses his fingers well. For my hand, and nearly everybody's, your fingers will hit the cover that way.

I think he's built like a spider, personally.

And Marcus, well, what does Marcus Miller know? huh? Obviously he's just wrong. LoL ;-)

But seriously.. those are outliers. There's a reason why most people can't play well with the pickup covers on. I tend to play right over the bridge pickup a lot of the time.... and with the bridge cover on I couldn't do that (on a jazz style bass). And I grew up playing precisions without the cover on.. then when I went to play one with the cover on it scraped my finger because I couldn't stop playing how I normally do.

Not saying you CAN'T do it with the covers on, but isn't it more fun to do it without the covers on? ;-)
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As a beginner, I mostly pluck away right behind the pickups towards the bridge. I solely rely on anchoring my thumb on the pickup. I haven't tried to play any other way yet. I can see why it would be trouble for palm muting though.
 
#59
Jason151 said:
As a beginner, I mostly pluck away right behind the pickups towards the bridge. I solely rely on anchoring my thumb on the pickup.
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If that is where you play you shouldn't have a problem, the pick up cover is a perfect thumb rest. When I play my P bass my sweet spot is over the pick up I also palm mute when picking and covers on a P is for me also a no go for those reasons, pickup cover is in the way for slap bass.

My Jazz on the other hand for finger-style is totally fine using bridge and pick-up covers strangely enough very comfortable (thumb on pickup cover, last two fingers tucked away). YMMV tape em on try it.
 
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