Norris

Just back from our first gig for 4 weeks due to people being away on holiday, etc. It is always a bit of a job loading into this pub, and as usual when we arrived there were people still sitting at the tables that needed to be moved out our way. What wasn't quite so usual were a new couple managing the place, that were really nice and very enthusiastic about the music. During our time off I'd read a thread somewhere about Stingray active tone controls and how the bass is boost only, whereas the treble is boost/cut. That explains why there is only a centre detent on the treble knob of my Retrovibe Stinger preamp, not on the bass - doh! Anyway the combination of a good sounding room and a better understanding of what the knobs do, lead to a tight, punchy sound that was utterly fabulous. It was hot. Darned hot. And I didn't take my fan - double doh! Still, a bit of sweat makes it feel like you're doing something. Sorry, I forgot to take photos until we'd nearly finished packing away and then it was too late. As you may have gathered it was my Stingish bass (Sterling Sub5 + Stinger) into the GT-6B, thence into the trusty Rumble v3 500 combo. My Converse One Stars have broken in really nicely now, so got the gig tonight. We have a little cluster of gigs this and next weekend, but then it's looking pretty bleak in September. At least tonight's new landlord will be putting a few more in the book for next year.

All credit to you for keeping it going for him. It's tough to call it a day. Maybe you could move him to more of a cameo/feature? You're good people. It doesn't make you bad people to know when it's time to wind it down or even quit completely. Let him bow out with dignity and head held high. We have a guy that gets up and sings with us occasionally. He's not a great singer by any stretch of the imagination, but the adrenaline of the performance gives him some brief respite from his Parkinsons symptoms. It's difficult to say no when he wants to sing but the situation isn't really suitable.

I'd have thought he'd have already done it 5 years ago! 😂

Pickups with prominent branding Single-cut coffee tables New reliced basses Basses painted brown Signature basses, especially of people I've never heard of Singers who can't/won't learn the frigging words Bands that play songs that every other band plays Bands that spend 3 hours sound checking in the Dog & Duck and then end up being far too loud On stage noodling/widdling during a performance

Another pro steel user here

That's fantastic! Sounds like you had a great time Great to hear from some new bands and glad everything went well for you 👍

Glad to hear it! Everyone in a band needs to pull their weight. Sounds like you had a great time

I would imagine their public liability insurance would be void in that situation if they allowed any members of the public in the building, even to reset the alarm

I've been keeping half an eye out for a 5er. They don't get brilliant reviews though. My 4er hangs on the wall waiting patiently for the day...

First of all we have some photos from last night... Yep, a bit better than the photos I took 😂 So tonight was at The Crew in Nuneaton. Upstairs is Queens Hall, which may be more familiar to some as a venue for original bands. There was no-one up there tonight though, just us rocking out downstairs. It's been 15 months since we last played there due to various circumstances and cancellations, but it's becoming one of our favourite gigs. The Crew is a proper rock bar, so it made a nice change to be a bit louder than usual and a bit more raucous. My Rumble master volume still wasn't even at 12 o'clock though, but was lovely and punchy. The crowd there is a real mixture of ages, from youngsters still having to show ID to white-haired old hippies, and everything in between. It really is a great place. It's getting a bit regular playing the Stingish bass (nice & light, tighter string spacing) and the Rumble. Footwear were Vans for a change (Photo again barely remembered while starting to pack up) Ended the evening with a cheeky chicken shawarma from the takeaway across the road from the venue - very nice!

Here's one my guitarist sent me a couple of days ago

But isn't that the good bit too? 😂

This ^. Learn the bass part well enough that you don't have to think about it too much. Then learn your vocals. Then gradually put them together. Maybe even just try singing along to your bass line to get used to doing the two things at the same time. It takes a while to get the hang of it, but the more you do it the easier it gets.

It's been a while since we played at the Horse and Trumpet and at the end of the gig the landlord and lady were telling us how July is always their worst month, with a lot of people on holiday. We very pleased then to see a lot of familiar faces that we'd managed to pull in. The A4 laminated QR code to our Facebook page took a few more hits from some new faces too. It was... darned hot, and I forgot to take my fan! Cue a very sweaty bass by the end of the gig ... the Stingish bass (Sterling Sub5 with Retrovibe Stinger preamp). Usually a lovely matt finish. Of course we just had to do War Pigs in the second set, and saved Paranoid for an encore at the end of the night (how did we know?! 😂) - RIP Ozzy. I was very pleased that Sir Duke on its 3rd outing, and especially after a couple of weeks break, was tight and got the crowd dancing and singing along. It's a right earworm that riff! As seems to be the case recently I forgot to take any photos until we'd finished playing. There were a few people taking photos, so some decent shots might turn up. For now here's the kit-spotter's wide angle shot (Fender Rumble v3 500 combo and Roland Boss GT-6B on my side) The purple suede Gazelles got another outing

The guitars I've built myself, bone. The guitars & basses I've bought? Not a clue without looking, and certainly nothing I'd lose sleep over though

Not in my experience playing my 5-string through it. I have a v5 500 combo btw and they have since brought out the 800s. That is plenty enough for the pub gigs I play and more than enough for the occasions where we have full PA and it's just used for on stage monitoring. Places to try a range of amps are very few and far between. You just have to read reviews, listen to demos, ask for advice and ultimately take a bit of a punt. I'm very happy with my Rumble. There are a few BC members using them and they very rarely appear in the classifieds, I guess that says something. But then ask 10 people and you'll get 20 different recommendations 😂

I've had so many good comments about mine that I have no desire for any other amp. Compact, easy fit in the car boot, a one-hand lift, and it looks good too imo - such a great bit of kit!

My Indonesian Squier P-bass Special has a neck like a matchstick. It's still about my favourite bass even though I've moved on to 5-string for the last couple of years. It's a PJ with P body and J neck, circa 2004. I bought it from the BC classifieds many years ago for not a lot at all. I gigged it for many years, preferring it over much more expensive basses

Looks like Meat Loaf under the pickup switch and Jeff Wayne above the bridge. I have no idea what their signatures look like though

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