Pickup cover on a P bass question.

[iiipopes]

Apparently Elvis loved bass, and would play it any chance he could. There's the famous story of when the Beatles visited Graceland and they were sitting around jamming, Elvis insisted on playing the pbass! I expect he was able to play in a serviceable fashion by that point.

Where reasonable persons may differ.

 

[MegaSwing]

Jamerson left the pickup covers on his P bass a d he's the greatest bass player of them all.

JJ also thought letting it get cruddy and not doing any adjustments on it somehow made it better. To each his zone.

 

[lyonaudio]

Here's a photo Elvis Presley playing a P bass:

Elvis Presley HOLDING a P bass

 

[jazzman64]

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.

When I put them on my bass and then played it definitely felt weird. After about 30 minutes playing some songs, I got adjusted to it pretty quickly! I played with a pick near the neck and rested my hand on the pickup cover and it worked fine! If you don't put the bridge cover on it, you can rest your thumb on the pickup cover itself and do some finger style and get that nice treble tone near the bridge. You really can't (obviously) rest your thumb on the pickup anymore so playing with the cover (s) on might be restricting for many. Sometimes I will use my thumb and the tug bar to play the way Leo Fender thought it would be played! In totality, Leo Fender put them stock on the basses in the 50's-60's for protection and comfort when using the tug bar (that black thing beneath your stings for those who don't know). Plus they really make your P or J bass look cool!!!

 

[Ric Vice]

I've only played my 1959 Precision sans it's pickup cover. It would feel very weird to put it back on.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

JJ also thought letting it get cruddy and not doing any adjustments on it somehow made it better. To each his zone.

I know I love that about him

 

[MegaSwing]

I know I love that about him

That's why it is important to let your heroes be themselves and seek your own path. I would never in a gazillion years deliberately neglect my stuff in that way. But, hey, everybody's got a thing.

 

[Maxdusty]

I love Elvis, but wearing your strap like this is strictly for goat-ropers. Or maybe Phranc.View attachment 4236973

ha ha....also in the picture - who would have guessed Elvis was into bass tapping ?

 

[Bassamatic]

You guys are TOTALLY missing the reason for the covers!

According to my genius engineer - the covers are to assist in balancing the magnetic pull to make the string vibration more symmetrical.
The magnets pull the string down. The strings vibrate more towards the magnets, affecting the sound. The covers reflect some of the magnetic energy to pull the strings back up a bit, making the vibration more even. It affects the sound.

 

[Maxdusty]

Didn't the early P basses have more exposed pickups as in they didn't have the plastic covers over them? Perhaps the covers were an attempt to protect the pickups from moisture ie. sweat from getting on them on the wires or the poles of the pickups as sweat can be corrosive. Just a hypothesis.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

That's why it is important to let your heroes be themselves and seek your own path. I would never in a gazillion years deliberately neglect my stuff in that way. But, hey, everybody's got a thing.

I hear that. Been doing that way for years.

 

[bon viesta]

there's something kinda cool about a legendary funk machine with a fat warped neck and giant high action strings that only it's "master", james jamerson, can wield. sort of like thor's hammer.

 

[OogieWaWa]

Jamerson: "I wonder if I should clean this thing up a little, maybe take those covers off?" Gordy and all the Funk Brothers: "DON'T YOU EVEN THINK OF TOUCHING THAT THING, LEAVE IT ALONE!"

 

[4 string thing]

Damn, that's a good lookin' instrument, covers an' all!

 

[Maxdusty]

This thread got me thinking about putting a pickup cover on my P bass, but while it looks aesthetically cool, from a functionality standpoint, decided it wouldn't work for me as I'm all over the place in terms of where I hit the strings.

I did see this bass for sale near me though that made me think twice about drilling screw holes into my bass to put them on. Ideally, you should measure and make sure you don't install the covers crooked. This just about made me feel sorry for the poor bass.

 

[5StringBlues]

I can deal with pickup covers but have zero use for bridge covers. I palm mute way too much for that.

 

[Thom Fioriglio]

Just tried again installing pickup and bridge covers on my Classic 50s P bass. I so want to like them as they do look cool, but I took them right off. Just too limiting in tone and playing style. Like most, I play over the pickup. and have the option to move closer to the neck or back towards the bridge for different tones. I also palm mute when picking. I tried with just the pickup cover, and just the bridge cover, but still they just get in the way.

Lol, related to Elvis, I did put them on for my bass cover of The Waterboys "I Can See Elvis."

 

[P. Aaron]

Jazz and PBass chrome PU covers: Buy it for looks, remove them for life.

 

[TomB]

There's a reason we called them "ash trays" back in the day.

 

[StudioGC]

I'm in the P bass cover on club. So far so good. I know there's really no real reason to have them on....other than putting some foam to mute the strings a bit. But my golly gosh they look good. I always find the sweet spot for me is between the pick up and neck and sometimes I get lazy and rest my thumb on the pick up and play above the pick up. The PU cover keeps me in the sweet spot. Since I play in a 60's band the covers add that bit of cool factor, although Joe/Jane public probably don't care.