Norris

Gig 1 of 3 this weekend. We don't normally do 3 in a weekend but tonight's gig got moved from next week. Last time we played here we decided it was such a small, noisy area to set up in that we would do it "acoustically" because of the smaller footprint and lower volume. Of course none of us remembered that, so we shoehorned in the full kit again. The pub was rather quiet though with not many in. That lead us to a bit of musical silliness, which always helps a slower night go faster, plus engages the people that are there. So it ended up a good, if hot (I remembered the fan!) night. Best of all only 15 minutes away from my house and home by half past midnight. Cheap "stingish" bass into the usual Rumble. Converse feet.

Thanks. I've forwarded that to Mrs Norris, who likes both ballet and The Who

And wipe the screw thread on a candle to lubricate it with a bit of wax

You can buy the preamp with either one or two battery clips. I'm guessing they are connected in serial for an 18v supply (?)

I fitted a Retrovibe Stinger preamp to my Sterling Sub5 and it's transformed it from an indistinct mush to a gorgeous sound. However on my latest gig towards the end of the night it felt like it was running out of steam. The Duracell battery has been in for a few months, so it might slightly past its best. Alternatively it might be running out of "head room". Has anyone got any experience of running this preamp with 9v vs 18v? The bass has a single battery compartment. I'm fine fitting a dual compartment, but would it be worth it? When the battery gets a bit low does it suddenly die or gradually fade away?

We thought we'd done our last gig at the Donkey back in October last year. Tonight we played there again. There was quite a lot of doubt if it would continue as a music venue, and not very good communication from the new owner at the time, which put a lot of peoples' noses out of joint. A lot of the old regulars are boycotting the place (as we found out) and a few bands too. Well we're a mercenary bunch and I'm glad to say we filled the place. I don't know what the bar staff thought of it because they didn't strike me as the most experienced. I think they were more used to a sedentary rate of service. That's the only photo I took We had a great time and hopefully showed the new owner what a music venue should be like. Certainly they enjoyed it. I took the stingish bass again and it was nice to let the Rumble sing a bit (they don't have a house PA any more). I even brought the smoke machine along. Packing up took ages because it seemed that everyone wanted to shake hands and say goodbye, blocking the exit while they did! Converse one-stars kept me upright and striking a few stances

We are lucky enough to only have a couple of places that we have to invoice. The rest are good old cash in hand at the end of the night.

You know when you turn up to a venue. The place is busy and very noisy. The staff haven't started shifting people, tables and chairs out of your way. Then the crowd are constantly in your way as you bring the kit in. Then you have to set up on top of each other, deafened by people shouting to each other. ??? Well that's how Friday night started. Despite that once we had set up, had a few minutes outside to cool off and give some respite to our poor ears, we had a really good night. Some serious rocking out, some hilarious silliness too. I took the Sterling Sub5 with the Stinger preamp (I really must come up with a better name for it!). It's rapidly growing in my affections - relatively light weight, close string spacing, great sounds. This time with no backup bass either (growing confidence in it). The Rumble 500 continues to sound awesome, even with the low Bs and Cs. The purple suede Gazelles got another outing - not that you could tell in the non-white lighting, so I wore them again for a trip into town today too

Yep, the 1977 Stingray. It certainly transformed my bass https://retrovibe.co.uk/product/retrovibe-stinger-77-classic-mm-stingray-bass-eq-pre-amp-2-band-pre-eb-circuit/

I can't recommend the Retrovibe Stinger preamp highly enough. It transformed my cheapo Sterling Sub5 from an indistinct mush into an articulate thing of beauty. Like the OP I considered changing the pickup, but then did a lot of reading of threads. Most of them said that the pickup doesn't actually make that much difference. The Stinger made a huge difference. It's cheap and paid for itself in one gig. In fact it's the bass I'm going to take out tonight... in about 20 minutes, so I'd better get my shoes on... 😂 Edit: ...much later - it sounded great!

I would take absolutely nothing from my technique! It involves quite a lot of looking at the dots on the side of the neck and playing fretboard twister to get a finger in the right place 😂 Great bass stance!

Back from my gig already, even after a cheeky post-gig burger with the boys. We did 7:30 to 9:30 - the landlady prefers the Saturday revellers to go elsewhere to get rat-arsed and cause trouble. That was fine by us, especially as we do this gig "acoustically". I love playing the EUB. It just makes me want to put in comical fills and slides. We had a whale of a time. I forgot to take any photos though. Stagg EUB direct into my Rumble 500. Vans footwear. Funnily enough due to a slight mix up in the diaries we are back there in 2 weeks time. That will be a Sunday afternoon outside if possible, so I hope the weather is good.

I bought a similar item on 3 separate occasions on Ebay. The first 2 times it arrived in a couple of days. The 3rd time was for a birthday, and yes you're probably already ahead of me... the courier that shows it being "handled" in the same depot for 4 days running is...

Turmeric really helped my knees. I've been taking it for over a year and it's got rid of the hesitation before the first decent of the stairs in the morning I have a bit of pain in one finger joint though. I have been recommended green lipped mussel extract. After many months of discomfort, it seems to be abating after a couple of weeks of taking the tablets. They are very high in omega-3

^ There's one in the classifieds now at a bargain price

I so like 5 strings now that I tend not to look at the ads for 4 stringers. In fact I'm toying with the idea of trying to replace some of the herd with 5 string versions. First on the list for that would be the Ric 4003. My browsing history has a few 4003s/5 in it, especially in walnut... 🤪

The Piv in Stockingford, Nuneaton has got a great sounding room. The stage is only a step up and plenty big enough. They also sell a very nice cheese and onion cob - we get them as soon as we get there because they go quickly. I took the Sub-5 and it sounded great with the Stinger preamp. I really enjoyed playing it. I did have a tiny crisis of confidence on the doorstep and took my Sire as a backup, as the Sub hasn't been gigged much yet, but the Sire didn't come out of the case. The Sub is noticeably lighter and the neck is slimmer too. I'm really starting to like it. I do need to pop a few washers under the scratch plate though as the knobs are sitting a bit proud. (Note the tasty cob that I scoffed as soon as we finished) It was a little bit quieter than normal as we set up, but did fill out. I guess not everyone is a Eurovision fan, although it was on the TVs silently while we played. None more purple.

I didn't take any photos of last night, but someone passed on a video of us making a passable attempt at Fanfare. Unfortunately they missed off the initial fanfare, but hit record in time for the important bit 😜 Don't ask me what effect that is. It's a combination of a lot of things, I set it up years ago and can't remember the ingredients! I do end on a bottom B though 😄

That headstock looks insane! Like something drawn by AI 😄 Is the 5th string threaded through the neck at the top there? And it uses the middle tuner?

It's been a long time since I saw a drunkard thrown out for wanting to start a fight. Tonight's gig was a smallish social club too, so it was an unexpected bit of entertainment for us to watch while we were playing. I managed to pick up a cold from the great unwashed last weekend, and have battled with it for several days, so wasn't quite as bouncy as normal. I forgot to take any photos. I even made a few cock-ups in the first set, which was highly unusual. We got a young guitarist up to play All Along The Watchtower. Wow he was good for 17 (?). He's off to music college in September and I'm sure he'll do really well, such a nice talented lad. It was very gracious of our guitarist to let him up to play on his guitar (the one I made for him too!). However after the next break he pulled out all the stops to avoid being upstaged. It was a great set - I just wish I was feeling a bit better. The room was carpeted with upholstered benches, etc. That made the sound very dry, which took a bit of getting used to. I could hear every little nuance of what I was playing, even though I could feel the speakers shifting air on the backs of my ankles (warm enough for shorts!). Sire P7-5> GT-6B > Rumble Custom Converse One Stars Coop Cold & Flu Max Strength tablets with Decongestant, washed down with a large shot of Aldi's "Black Label" whisky - which is actually quite palatable

It's not just Gotoh. I've had the same with quite expensive Kluson tuners too. The screws are made of Chinesium and shear at the slightest resistance, despite pilot holes and wax lubrication. Quite annoying when you're trying to install a set of them in a couple of neat butt-joined lines

An offcut of high density foam

Sounds like you didn't give e-dam about it!

You are learning muscle memory. That takes time and repetition. Don't beat yourself up if you are struggling to play along to a metronome - that can come later. You are at the stage that requires more conscious thought. Get the notes right first, then think about speed and timing. Btw I got to grade 6 in my youth, but haven't really played piano since. I also got to grade 8 bass trombone. It wasn't done in 5 minutes - there was a lot of repetitive practice involved. Have patience - it won't take too long to get past the beginner grades