That pesky bridge cover

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Mon May 16, 2005 2:17 pm

Why is there a bridge cover?

To me, it simply gets in the way of my right palm as it tries to provide a little muffling effect by contacting the strings near their origin at the bridge. I always take it off and have seen other Ric players do the same.

Is the bridge cover meant to be only cosmetic?

I'm not a bass player but I see an even larger bridge cover on some basses as well.

johnv · Post by **johnv** » Mon May 16, 2005 2:59 pm

I agree 100%.

Scastles · Post by **Scastles** » Mon May 16, 2005 3:00 pm

I removed mine from my 360 V and am considering to do it on my others.

dean712 · Post by **dean712** » Mon May 16, 2005 8:29 pm

I like the bridge cover on my 660/12 as a palm rest. On my 4003 basses, I like the treble pickup cover as a point of reference when plucking and as a hand rest when picking.

You are correct, though - I know a lot of bassists that remove the treble pickup cover.

steverok · Post by **steverok** » Tue May 17, 2005 3:33 am

Doesn't it depend on how you play? When I use my Rickenbacker, I usually use it for songs that chime and ring out with open chords, no muting. In that case, the bridge cover serves well as a hand rest, as Dean says.

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Tue May 17, 2005 10:21 am

I agree with you, Steve. The only song I play that I use string muting on is "She's a Woman", otherwise I let them ring out!

steverok · Post by **steverok** » Tue May 17, 2005 10:38 am

Plus, you can mute over a little bit, not directly over the bridge. That's what I do. If you mute directly over the bridge cover, there's a chance you can miss your mark !

ted_williams · Post by **ted_williams** » Tue May 17, 2005 12:04 pm

I leave the bridge cover on, and have no problems muting.

tony_carey · Post by **tony_carey** » Tue May 17, 2005 1:14 pm

6 string, 12 string & bass.....mine all come off & stay off!

They look good but they just hinder my natural playing style....

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Tue May 17, 2005 5:46 pm

Yea, I guess it depends on style, but I find that the the best muting is done right at the bridge... there is just so much control over the situation at that point whereas muting farther away from the bridge tends to be a bit more "all or nothin". Anyways each to his own....

What about George and John and Roger? What did they do? Anyone have any groovy pix showing their bridge cover sitations?

fading_fast · Post by **fading_fast** » Tue May 17, 2005 6:02 pm

Yup...those bridge covers come off and go live in the junk drawer. I still have the black plastic treble pickup cover that came with my 4003s. I sold that bass in 1999. Hmmm....I wonder if the owner is scouring the earth for it.

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Tue May 17, 2005 6:11 pm

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Tue May 17, 2005 6:13 pm

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Tue May 17, 2005 6:15 pm

look like Pauly took his bridge cover off the Ric bass