Norris

You'll probably get a lot of strap suggestions as well as for bodies, donor bass models, etc. I'll just say that I have used a "Comfort Strapp" for decades with many basses of various weights and have never had any back issues. They are made of elastic and thick neoprene and I wouldn't use anything else. You'll probably want the XL size though, and I don't wear mine very low. Excellent call by @neepheid and a very cheap option to explore 👍

We had an afternoon gig that kind of turned into an early evening gig. The last spot went in a flash, but was actually over an hour and a half. It's a great pub and sounded fantastic. The landlord has spent a lot of time and effort setting up a proper stage, and it really makes a difference. It was a little disturbing to hear that they only had 19 people in on Friday though. That sort of thing makes it really hard to keep putting on bands 3 times a week. Luckily we managed to draw a decent crowd, so played for a bit longer than we normally would (to keep them spending over the bar - that's what it's all about) At the end of the gig it took me about 20 minutes to make my way to the back of the pub to where the loos are, because it seemed that everyone wanted to stop and talk about how great it sounded, how well we played, etc. It's not easy to tear yourself away even with a full bladder when you're being showered with compliments 😁. Anyway it continued while we packed up meaning that we took ages. We have next weekend off, but are going to have an "extraordinary general rehearsal" next week (we very rarely rehearse) to polish up a few songs for the Donkey the week after - probably our last there ☹️

The D'Addario Pro Steels on my main gigging bass have probably done over 150 gigs in the 21 months or so they have been fitted

Slightly pixellated, I read it as ...interact with the audience wet. 😮

We had a really good gig. The pub has been taken over by a young couple who are keeping the live music going, so that's always good news. Lovely people too. It's always a bit of a strange place for me, it seems to lack that buzz. Lots of people we knew turned out to see us though, which is always an honour. We never get many decent photos of our drummer, so here's a screen grab of a video that I took while he was soloing in Moby Dick (and the guitarist and I were having a sit down)...

Well I guess that @Chienmortbb would probably make them (as it's his thread!) 😁 The last leads I had made came from Custom Lynx - a mate of mine works there, although they were DMX leads that I had made https://custom-lynx.co.uk/

I get mine custom made because you just can't seem to buy cables "off the shelf" with an angled jack at both ends. So if I'm going custom they are going to be gold-plated Neutrik jacks and excellent quality, flexible cable. Oh, and 3m is plenty from my multi-fx pedal. The cable back to my amp is also angled jacks both ends, but with a thicker, stiffer cable. The angled jacks out of the back of my multi-fx pedal help a lot if dancers get a bit too close and personal - far less likely to be damaged if stepped on. Angled jacks are also less likely to be tugged out of a socket if the cable is pulled.

I think the spacing between the tuners is not large enough to operate the Hipshot on a lot of basses. It fitted some Rics but not all. I'd quite like one for my 4003, but have to put up with a quick twist of the tuner to drop to D.

Just bought and collected a TGI Extreme gig bag from Ian. Very nice chap. His house was fun to find though 😁 Thanks, Norris

Definitely! If you want 6 months off that's how long it might take you to immerse yourself in the world of 5-strings and get your head round it properly. Your technique will probably improve too - floating thumb is second nature to me now

I used my spare PSU that I repaired last time and it worked fine - hooray, it's not the pedal, phew! I decided to buy another as it's only about £30 from Anderton's, not worth faffing about. So I logged into my account on Anderton's and... double bonus... I had £20 of loyalty points sitting there from when I bought my Sire. DEFINITELY not worth faffing with the broken PSU when I can get a replacement for a tenner! Anyway the gig went really well, lots of larking about musically, chasing each other around the stage. Also a lot of people dancing and having fun for a Sunday afternoon gig I'm still loving the Sire + Fender Rumble v3 500

I can confirm that Mr McAloon was appalling imho, although a large contingent of the audience thought he was great. Thomas was amazing

The non-S/CS 4003 basses are very much slab bodied. Look great, iconic, etc. but there are no arm or belly cuts

I'm not sure that would fit the Rickenbacker aesthetic 😁 If I wasn't having some new windows fitted next week I might be looking closer at that converted 5-string 4004 Laredo in the for sale section and then possibly move on the 4003 😜 (Don't let Mrs Norris see that!)

I took my Rickenbacker for a bit of a night out, the first for several years since I went over to 5s. It's nice to be comfortable enough with a 5-string now to be able to switch between them and 4-string. It sounded great and I really enjoyed playing it, but had forgotten just how uncomfortable it was to play, despite the new pickup bezel. Well the bezel made it more comfortable around there, but the sharp bound edge still gets the inside of your forearm. Anyway it turned out to be a night of technical problems. The Rickenbacker cut out a couple of times. I never normally carry a spare bass but I only intended to do the one set with it, so swapped it for my Sire. A few songs later that cut out too - ok, so it's not the bass. I then noticed my GT-6B multi-fx pedal booting up. At the break I got the Servisol switch cleaner around the power cable and switch. Nope that didn't sort it, so I just played direct into the amp. I hope it's the power supply because I have a spare. I don't have a spare multi-fx pedal with all the patches set up. Anyway I'll see how it is with the spare PSU at tomorrow's gig

We're there on Sunday 27th (The Cheeze). It will be a sad, sad day if it's our last time ☹️ You don't wipe your bass down at the end of the night?! 😮

Steve Hackett Squeeze Chic/Niall Rodgers The Musical Box The tickets for Iron Maiden in Birmingham sold out very quickly, so I missed out on those. I might try a bit nearer the date if they are not ridiculously priced. I did see them around 1983 though - proper back in the day, and not in a huge arena either

Oh my goodness! We're the complete polar opposite. No set list, just a big list of songs we know. All are usually called out by the guitar/vocalist on the fly, and occasionally songs that are NOT on the list. If he is stuck for a second or two we'll throw in some suggestions. It's a system that works for us, although I can understand it wouldn't work for everyone. It allows us to read the room and be very reactive to what will work at any point in the performance. It also allows for requests, which we are keen to attempt even if it's in a ridiculous way. There are no big gaps usually, but it does give scope for the guitarist to engage in a bit of banter with the audience. He is rather good at it, and it's a major USP of our band - good music and a good laugh too

Wedge monitors with hi-viz hazard tape on the top edge works for us. As for the encroaching dancer/mic stand conjunction, a gentle headstock in the back tends to get their attention while still being able to play

Not on an EUB, he wasn't 😂

We played at a small pub tonight. So small that if it was called the Dog and Duck, there would only be room for the duck. We have played there a few times before. We are not a loud band by any means, but in the compact room and with the low ceiling we have struggled to keep the volume down. So last time we were there we agreed to do the next one "acoustically". Obviously there are still amplifiers, but we can keep it much quieter. A few years ago there was a bit of a craze for Stagg EUBs. I bought one myself, played it occasionally, but mostly it's spent the last couple of years standing in the corner of the music room. Well of course, tonight was its big chance... What a great night we had! Relaxed, low volume and such fun. I did take my normal bass along just in case, but it stayed in the case and I played the EUB all night. I'd quite got the hang of it after an hour or so. We did our usual repertoire of 70s rock and pop, a few highlights being... Band on the Run (Wings) Hurricane (Neil Young) Warpigs (Black Sabbath) I Feel Good (James Brown) Come Up And See Me (Steve Harley) Not quite so good... Maggie May (Rod Stewart) - it was a bit of a sod playing the riff up the dusty end of the EUB! We all thoroughly enjoyed it, the landlady enjoyed it, the punters enjoyed it and I can't wait to play there again

You have a PA already that does the job. The singer wants a new one. Seems pretty simple to me: you want it, you buy it. In our band every piece of equipment is solely owned by one person. The guitar/vocalist owns his PA. He also does solo gigs so it's not a problem when he uses it for those. It's also not that expensive a PA in the first place (2x Mackie SRM450s and a mixer). We all do backing vocals with occasional lead, so own our own mics, stands and leads. We don't contribute towards the upkeep of the PA either - it's pretty bombproof as we don't stress it and only use it for vocals & very rare kick drum boost I own all the lights. It's not a problem if anyone wants to borrow them - we're all mates, but it doesn't happen often We've had a pretty stress-free decade playing together 😁

I'm struggling to see the relevance tbh. People who rely on the words being there will always rely on the words being there. It always looks crap imho