Norris

It's actually a fairly complicated bit of physics. The thicker the string, the more metal mass vibrating in a magnetic field -> higher output -> louder. But the thicker the string, the more tension required to achieve a given pitch for the scale length. Some people prefer a lighter, hence lower tension string, which has a bit more "compliance". They may be slightly lower output but you can adjust your pickup height, and after all amplifiers have volume controls. It's actually more down to personal preference. I usually play with a medium/heavy set of strings. However it's good fun playing my son's Hofner violin bass with short scale and light gauge sometimes - very bendy strings. It's really down to what you like. Try the skinny strings. "Articulate" is more down to your technique.

I must be really boring using the same kit every gig 😂 Sunday afternoon/evening at the White Hart in Melton Mowbray. It was a little bit quiet, possibly due to the Grand Prix, possibly due to being very close to Leicestershire schools breaking up for the summer. Still, we had a decent crowd, plenty of dancing and pointing phone cameras - although not by me because I forgot. Sir Duke was much better for its 2nd (and 3rd!) outing. We also had some great feedback - "How on earth do you make that sound with just 3 of you?" made me smile. Then this morning from a chap that comes to see us a lot, talking about our Mackie SRM450s which only have the vocals going through them, the rest just backline... "Morning Danny, great gig yesterday. Just again realised how perfect your PA setup is. When you first started, I thought it could do with being a bit louder, Ian said what a perfect sound. Later on I went to the toilet, I listened right from the back of the room for one song. I could hear every note and vocals were absolutely crystal clear. And it was still loud enough. Have to say it now, but even in the barn at Barkby, with all Micks expensive gear it wasn't such a nice sound. The harmonies just somehow didn't seem as good. A fantastic job of entertaining us last night as always, let the boys know! Take care." Always nice to hear that kind of thing, especially as we only ever do a line check. The landlord was telling us about a recent band that took 4 hours to do a sound check - sod that!!! 😄

Just back from a sports and social club over in Nuneaton about 12 miles away. There were quite a few in, which made for a good evening, and a bit of dancing in the last set. We've played there before but I think there were a few more in this time. The guitarist had a bit of an off night, making some silly mistakes in songs we've played loads of times. However we were pleasantly surprised at how well Sir Duke came together after just learning our bits at home and then playing it together for the first time in the gig. I love playing with such talented guys. I love the painted back wall. The usual Stingish bass into GT-6B (operated by burgundy suede Converse one-stars) into Fender Rumble v3 500 combo. Passable cheese and onion batch (we ventured from our native cob-eating Leicester into batch-eating Nuneaton) from the bar - only £1.50 - bargain

Sir Duke. Somehow I've never got around to learning it before. It does shift along a bit! 😂 I'm playing it 3 semitones down so the singist can hit the notes, but on a semitone drop-tuned 5-string. So it's in A as far as I'm concerned (I hope!)

The Prodigy were freaking awesome. Did a quick text round of the lads and the guitarist was oggling Olivia Rodrigo prancing around in her basque rather than watching the rawking on the Other Stage. Their light show was nearly as good as the set I bought from Thomann! Franz Ferdinand were great. Scissor Sisters were absolutely fabulous - what a show! Snow Patrol were... um, Snow Patrol. I'm currently catching up on Gary Numan and really enjoying it. But not as much as watching the crowd that doesn't seem to get him and are wondering why he hasn't done Are Friends Electric? yet. He's got a great rock goth vibe going on with his band I have loads of stuff to catch up on. Ezra Collective are top of the list. My lad was watching them earlier and they sounded really good.

We used to drink and play in our youth. It took a while to realise that it was highly likely that it didn't sound as good as we thought it did. A couple of shandies now, or often a lime & soda - and I know my playing is as good as it gets

I had the same with a Fender US Jazz. It's the only bass I've ever sold on, but my mate who bought it off me loves it. I've not played J basses since, sticking to Ps or MMs

It's like some people just don't get it. If you don't do something to create a bit of a vibe then a venue will stagnate and die. Then they will be out of a job. Miserable, undeserving, a-holes! We had quite the opposite tonight when the lady that booked us brought us the money at the end of the night and told us we were on more money next time! We didn't ask for more - it was thrust upon us. The place had been redecorated since last time we played - they are investing and it seems to be thriving. Anyway... Conservative clubs. A few years ago it was jacket and tie. Ladies might even bring along their silver shoes for a bit of ballroom dancing. Woe be tied to anyone who sat in someone else's regular seat. Well that was back in the 80s. I'm glad to say the political party clubs that have survived have needed to adapt, modernise and be appealing, especially to a younger crowd. Hence we were playing at the "Conny" club tonight, lots of younger people there. I think we pulled in probably 40% of the crowd. 20 years of playing together and making sure you post gigs up on Facebook pays off, as well as plugging the QR code that I created. It certainly helps us get rebooked. I forgot to take any photos. You've seen it before though if you've read my previous posts. "Stingish" bass, GT-6B, Fender Rumble v3 500, purple suede Gazelles. I wasn't sure if I liked our sound at first. It grew on me though as we knitted together (and got slightly louder/hit a nice balance). The recent decor has changed the sound of the room, but probably for the better. I just hope the loos are next on their list for some attention as they could do with it

The show must go on! Whatever it takes. You got the job done. Oh to be 20 and fighting fit again 😂

Great video. I streamed it to the tv + surround and it sounded really good. You're so cool you're glacial 😁

Just caught up on English Teacher, Wet Leg, Supergrass, Blossoms - all fabulous and thoroughly enjoyed them. Are The 1975 just a bit overhyped and whiny though? Each to their own I guess 😂

A good strap can help a lot. Personally I have used a Comfort Strapp for years and really wouldn't use anything else. You'll probably want a long or extra-long one though. I don't know who they measured them against but even long is borderline too short for me (I'm 5'9")

Party in the Barn. This was a ticket do with hog roast included. I'll try to be cheery about, despite missing Iron Maiden (my wife and son said they were fantastic!) So we actually had a really good gig. Nice to be working with a sound guy we knew and it sounded great. It was darned hot and humid though so I'm glad I took my fan. There were about 300 people there, around 200 of them that dragged their tables out of the barn to where there was a very slight breeze. It wasn't exactly the freshest of air though being a working farm 😂 A long, hot night but plenty of dancing. The Rumble was only just ticking over as on stage monitor as everything was through the PA

It seems that I have finally succumbed to the cold that Mrs Norris has been sporting for a week or more. Soapy throat, sneezing, snot. It'll be a long night of paracetamol and adrenaline. To cap it all, I got two tickets for Iron Maiden baby - before I realised this is one gig that couldn't be moved or avoided. Mrs Norris is dutifully depping for me at Maiden with my son while I go off to spend a very long night playing in a barn (setting off just before 5pm - got 45 mins to drink my cuppa then go). It's a ticket do with hired PA, sound guy, etc. I told her to get me a tour T shirt though.

Gigs in the diary! This comes down to the usual question of how much everyone wants to/can commit to the band. Which band takes priority when a member is double booked? If you take a booking will they all honour it? Will they tell you when dates become unavailable? Adult conversation time 😀

So do I, which is why I have an app on my tablet and a Bluetooth connected bike. I'm always trying to beat my time or trying to overtake someone or trying not to be overtaken. It takes your mind off the tedium. It's like when I was younger I hated running (still do), but put a map and compass in my hands and I was actually quite good at orienteering as it turned out - 3rd in the county for my age class one year

That's one of the reasons I got an exercise bike. It's virtually no impact unlike running and a lot of other fitness activities. My exercise bike can connect to my tablet via Bluetooth and I run a free virtual cycling app which makes it much more interesting. No gym fees either 👍

I gave up smoking over 3 years ago and my metabolism changed, piling on a couple of stones. I started feeling like an old man. I decided to fight back and go on my exercise bike 4 times a week if I can and walk every lunchtime for at least half an hour. The weight is slowly coming off, I feel much better and am much fitter than I've ever been (i.e. heart rate recovery). I take turmeric tablets daily for my joints and green mussel extract for my tendons and those feel a lot better too - especially my knees. As for actually playing, nah - I'm usually gigging too often to get rusty in that regard. The general physical fitness is more of a factor and I feel that is under control. It doesn't seem right when I don't do a bit of daily exercise now.

My Sire P7-5 was very nice straight out of the box. Nice B string, sounds like a P, didn't break the bank. Even the tort scratch plate looks good. However I'm leaning slightly more towards my Sterling Sub5 now that I've fitted a Retrovibe Stinger preamp. It's a bit lighter with closer string spacing and again very affordable. I do gig both of them though.

Why? You're either through the PA and using your amp as a tone source and/or on stage monitor, or you don't really need more than about 500W - certainly not in your average small venue. Your choice depends on the type of sound you're after - clean or coloured. I like a coloured sound that can sound a bit valvey, but is a light weight combo. The Fender Rumble v3 500 ticks those boxes for me

It's the Les Paul junior double cut that's his. Very light too, African khaya wood, ebony fretboard, Irongear P90s

A few years ago I made a guitar for my guitarist. He was so nervous when he first got it, that it was a relief when he finally put the first dint in it and could relax. Since then he has played it so much it is "mojoing in" nicely. It looks great even with the wear and seems to sound better at every outing (though I do say so myself!)

The Plough

Final gig of the weekend was a nice "acoustic" session this afternoon in the garden of another pub in Ashby. Not a huge crowd but still very enjoyable, and they were wearing more clothing this time 😂 I forgot to take any photos earlier so here's our guitarist I love playing the EUB but in the second set it turned a bit grey and windy, so we kept on playing - for nearly 2 hours in the end! Needless to say I was pretty glad when we finished the last number Sunglasses throughout and burgundy suede Vans

Gig 2 of 3 this weekend. This one was at the White Hart in Ashby de la Zouch. It can be a bit hit and miss sometimes. It was pretty much empty when we arrived, but before too long more and more people came in and we had the whole place jumping. I'm not sure if bands really do drum solos any more (?) Moby Dick went down an absolute storm! Ideal time for me to grab a quick photo. Note the security staff and the local pastor team at the window. You can also see my "stingish" Sub5 and Fender Rumble there. The bass has been promoted to the better gig bag - the one with the band cards in it 😁 So anyway, the really strange bit. We play "dad rock" - pop, rock and prog rooted firmly in the 70s. We usually attract old blokes to our gigs. Ashby is a bit different - it's a really buzzing town on a Saturday night, lots of pubs, lots of transient crowd. So there's more of a wider mix of people than normal and we're getting them to linger - all good stuff. Half way through the night four stunningly gorgeous young ladies came in, dressed in their underwear by the look of it. They grabbed themselves a pint of Guinness each and then started dancing right in front of the band singing along loudly to pretty much everything we played. Not only that, but after we'd played Oh Well they asked for another early Fleetwood Mac song - Albatross! - Then danced along to it. There were a few people in the crowd that found it quite amusing watching us trying not to stare at the gyrating ladies, although we did make a few more mistakes than usual. What a great night. I love it when the room is in full swing. Most important though... ...the purple suede Gazelles