Wood covered pickups. How well do they hold up?

[jlpicard]

This is for anyone who may have wood pickup covers. While I think they're fantastic to look at, how well do they hold up in daily usage? At very least, I know I would wear the finish of them rather quickly. Even though I'm carefull with my basses, I 've dulled the finish on my 98 Europa between the pickups where I tend to rest my thumb and also worn some of the gold Alembicembossing off of the rear pickup (remember I'm a lefty). I try and keep my thumbnail short too. Any one have any experience with this? Mike

[jack]

Good question.  Especially if you're slapping hard right on top of the pickup.  Anyone?

[haddimudd]

Quite frankly, I have yet to find the excessive time to wear down the PUs on my double-neck. Ever since I got the bass I also got a family with two little kids which means less time on the bass side of life. But nevertheless the bass has been played a lot and still looks like new.
 
However, before I ordered my Alembic I had (and still have) a Jaydee Roadie Active w/wooden PUs. They wore down not more than any plastic PU would have, and that bass was my main slapper for many years. Down the line that means you can see the wear but it never caused me to thinking about replacement.
 
As a result, when slapping on my Alembic I never spend one thought on the fact that the PUs are made of wood and could get hurt.  
 
Personally I feel very comfortable with the wood and its durability. Especially it is one more natural component on an instrument made of mostly natural materials. Mike, the PUs are natural wooden finish, i.e. they are not covered in polyurethane finish (not sure, how to discribe it better than that). Still the wood appears very hard.
 
Don't know if this helps. You may find more answers on a Jaydee forum where more owners have experience with wooden PUs.
 
Hartmut
 
(Message edited by haddimudd on May 26, 2006)