Norris

Wow. They are pretty vintage. I've not seen those before. Fabulous!

I think every rig report needs to include the footwear! 😂👍

I like 5 and that's all that matters I'm happy for you to like as many strings as you do I won't sell or stop playing my 4-stringers occasionally though Edit: Actually, to answer the original question... I played 4 string basses for over 30 years because that was what was commonly available. I made the move to 5 strings a couple of years ago and played them exclusively to really become second nature. Now I can switch between 4s and 5s without too much effort. I still play a 5er most of the time though. I wouldn't get rid of my 4s because they have sentimental value and/or a lot of them are not available/affordable in 5-string versions. I still like to own them even if they don't come out to play often.

A bit of a strange one tonight. A new venue we've not played before and we're in the corner of the room. It was rammed and hot when we turned up and we had to set up on a sixpence - you know, where every piece of kit gets moved 6 times as you shoehorn it all in. First job was to turn the darned radiator down. Once we start playing the guitarist singer was not at all happy. We were not loud by any means, but he seemed to be in a spot where the bass and the snare was making his ears ring. I backed off the low frequencies quite a bit and in the first break he fitted his ear plugs, but it didn't make that much difference. We persevered and all perked up a little when we played War Pigs, but he still wasn't his bright bubbly self. It sounded great to me and the drummer btw. Of course we got loads of compliments saying how great we played and how fantastic it sounded. It just goes to show, eh? Even if the band were not buzzing it must have sounded half decent. To cap it all the barman came up with the money at the end of the night and told us we were not charging enough! Anyway next time the guitarist and I will swap sides to see if that helps. It would allow my amp to be a little further out of the corner The usual Sire P7-5, Boss GT-6B and Fender Rumble v3 500 btw

We decided we were not going to do huge venues any more. But... it's Jamiroquai! Tickets bought for the Birmingham gig

I bought a cover for my combo from Roqsolid. It's been excellent and kept the amp in excellent condition over the years. They don't specifically list a cover for the Rumble head as far as I can see, but do offer custom covers with a range of options like extra pockets for leads, pockets to insert stiffener boards, etc. They are a UK company. It might be worth giving them a call

The old one with the "lame" arm stays at home in the music room. Replacing it was a no-brainer

I was away with Mrs Norris last week visiting her brother before he retires from foreign parts. I don't know if I picked up something on the plane back, but have had a worsening cold ever since we set foot back in Blighty. So Saturday I felt like death warmed up. Not quite bad enough to call the gig off, but definitely lacking in energy. It was actually a pretty decent gig. We got them up dancing, which hasn't happened there before. The landlord was very pleased. I had put a new set of D'Addario Pro Steels on my Sire P7-5 for the first time in two years. It sounded great (Boss GT-6B into my Fender Rumble v3 500 combo) - nice to have a bit of twang again. No photos because I felt like cr*p and couldn't wait to get home to bed. So then I woke up this morning feeling a little bit better, but couldn't speak! The cold, phlegm, etc. has moved onto my vocal chords, so all I could do was whisper and squeak. This afternoon was planned to be an "acoustic" gig, as it's a small pub and could easily be far too loud otherwise. With my vocals not working it was an extra stripped-down gig - literally just my Stagg EUB straight into the Rumble and a clip-on tuner. It was actually great fun and we tackled a lot of random requests from the crowd (Hotel California, Ziggy Stardust to name a couple). The EUB is fun to play - lots of silly phrases and slides to put off the guitar/vocalist. Oh, and the landlady booked us because it was her one year anniversary of taking over the pub, even though we only played there a few weeks ago and have another in the book for next month. It's always nice to be the landlady's favourite band 😁

What will a Jaguar Bass do for me.........? Being shorter scale, it will have a slightly smaller turning circle than a standard jazz bass, enabling you to turn around in the road using forward and reverse gears in fewer manoeuvres.

I put a set of Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders in mine and it sounded awesome. Straight fit, no mods

In a previous band we once did a continuous medley for an entire 45 minute set. The dancers were knackered afterwards and we were in stiches with laughing. Obviously called on the fly. The continuous tempo is essential to keep them dancing

Sure? Because it's exactly what I did to mine. New genuine Schaller buttons with the hex drive (Ebay is cheapest I found) and my existing strap fitted just fine

Better you found out before you turned up there at least

Nice. I popped a Retrovibe Stinger preamp in mine, which transformed the sound. Mine's quite light for a 5er too You can buy just the Schaller strap buttons now. The old locks fit new buttons ok, but new locks are a bit tight on old buttons

I think you need to do a YouTube video to show off your technique on this!

I guess there's also... Hang on to the people you've recruited to the band so far by keeping them interested/committed with rehearsals

There's a reason you never see Rumble 500's in the for sale forum. Just saying 😃 Yes, I have one too

Great to hear from you and thanks for your insights. I know that you know a lot more about these basses than your average owner (i.e. me) does 😂 Hope everything is OK with you and that you're well

I don't know if he's still making them, but the most authentic replacement pickups are made by Rautia Guitars - based in Finland. The Armstrong pickups only look the same Ah - I just looked and the website says he's retired http://www.rautiaguitars.net/ I wonder if Aria might start selling spares for the re-issues

Latest handy little purchase. A small USB-powered LED clock, that cost less than a fiver but will be really helpful for knowing when to finish the set. I reckon it should fit neatly on the guitarist's pedal board.

The SB-1000 has some pretty crazy tone circuitry. I don't know of any other non-Aria basses that are similar. You can buy a replacement preamp (or at least you could a few years ago) on Ebay, made by a chap that used to be on here but I've not heard from in ages (Prostheta). As for the 6-position tone switch, there are/were diagrams to be found on the Internet with the cap values. It's quite complicated if you're going to make one up yourself. I have a 1980 "batwing" SB-1000 btw Edit: this might be useful reading, on a site that is my last known hang-out of Prostheta, who is the real expert in these basses https://www.projectguitar.com/forums/topic/49256-aria-pro-2-sb1000/?page=2

Pity your audience. I wouldn't want to linger at a gig in a small venue where the drummer is deafening me by thrashing 7 shades out of the kit - no matter how "good" a drummer they are I've also been there with loud drummers that can't/won't compromise - note the past tense 😀

He played with Showaddywaddy for quite a few years and currently plays with Martin Turner ex-Wishbone Ash. I'm going to guess the later is more likely for the recognition 😁

Some photos from Sunday at the Donkey And FrankenFocus... 1000018351.mp4