RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE

It's funny really about metallica . I have all of their stuff. I think with therm , when they were the underdogs they were at their best . They still have occasional tracks that still kick . I thought death magnetic was a return to form along with the 12" with hate train on it . Then they churned out another s&m ..and lulu 🤮. Hard wired is patchy imho and I'm bored of them now . I bought the ride the lightning deluxe box set , but sold it because their attitude is too much like kiss these days imho. I offloaded the live binge and purge ,as we all know that is going to be reissued . I'll just stick to downloads with them from now on . I saw them at the o2 a few times . The pre death magnetic gig for a fiver was brilliant . The lhardwired gig at the o2 was the last time I saw them , and tbh I'm bored of the cash 🐄 Ive seen them many times ,and wore the various t shirts . The first time I saw them was at the Lyceum , but I have that on download and don't need all the filler . I think Jason was awesome also , and he sung whole songs in place of Hatfield at times .

They actually played this as their jingle 😺

I had that 12" ep by the blood , but lost it when I moved home . It was pretty gothy from what I remember . Hard to find now . Alices restaurant was a pirate rock station on Saturdays and sundays . Sometimes you could hear them getting raided and start up again .. I was gonna say that I need to get out more , but due to COVID I can't 😺 This is still on one of my old record boxes ..

I was at the bandwagon a few times . I remember neal Kay was kind of softly spoken and was named catweazle He played an awful amount of tedious ( imho) AOR stuff , and we had to constantly badger him to play Budgie . I still have the 1st metal for muthas lp. I had a fair few 7" singles, but ended giving them to animal charity shops ..except the soundhouse tapes which I sold for £385 a few years ago when times were extremely hard . You tube is handy for listening to stuff that you can't find anywhere . Typing this is doing my head in at the moment due to the multiple adverts on planet woke radio, I'm getting fed up with that station .There weren't many ( if any ) metal radio stations here in the uk . Does anyone remember Alice's Restaurant ?

Unfortunately , I don't drive so everything seems far now 😺

That's a great story old man riva , about your experience with diamond head. 👍

Thanks for the kind offer prof You have some fine basses. I'll have to decline your kind offer though, as I think my probable next step is to get a proper status seeing as my Washburn status has always been my go to bass. I nearly sold my Warwick a few weeks ago, but that is very light and has a slimline body and judging from the reaction I am better off keeping for now . Out of interest, where are you based ? Oops ! Berkshire , which is a bit too far from me in poole 😺

I only play sitting down these days , due to only recording stuff on soundcloud these days . My friend had a Kramer duke . Great sound and incredibly low action , but I couldn't get on with it playing finger style . Pick playing was great .

My very first gig : Nov 1979 Quartz , girl , praying mantis at music machine . Mantis were really good . Girl didn't seem to be onstage for long but were very loud for me and in truth I didn't like them . Quartz were entertaining but the material wasn't there tbh .

True skank From what I remember , Angelwitch and diamond head also . so many bands from that era . some of the best gigs were from sledgehammer . They were odd at the marquee, where the fans ended up sitting on the stage . As for Angelwitch , Kevin Riddles was the man who kept it altogether imho , with Kevin heyboirne not really saying much ..

Wow! Different from the lineup I saw back in '79/'80 No disrespect , but when I saw them they were not my cup of tea at all. I saw them on one occasion ( probabky supporting Saxon ) when John Sykes was the new guy . He stood out . I think it was Jess cox that I couldn't get on with . One time back in the mid '80s I was going past hammy odeon and I saw the outside of the venue and T OPT headlining . Never thought that possible . Then on a Saturday morning , I saw a video for love potion no 5 on some kids tv programme . The video here is good , and far better than what I remember of this band ..

Fair point Rich. With cliff, it wasn't just about what he did on record . Having said that you've probably heard by now ( rightly ) , that Cliff plus the other bass players after him had more or less kept metallica going when they were up against it and in trouble.Metallica know how lucky they are/ were with having a great bass player with them always. We all know they treated Jason appallingly bad , and were lucky to get Robert. The difference with cliff, is that he was also a songwriter in metallica ,and wrote killer songs . Live, he was the person who was the focus with his anesthesia solo , which was him using old fashioned basic guitar effects . It was songs like Orion and call of ktula and whom the bell tolls which imho highlighted his talents . I think the big deal with cliff , was that he was the person who was the driving force of metallica and the rest of the band relied a lot on him . He just never got around to fulfill his full potential as he did an awful lot in a short time ..

It seems like I'm the only member with a very shouty username . I had issues with my old computer when joining Basschat, but never got round to changing it . Thanks

I met cliff and co in shades records back in '85. I asked him for some advice for playing bass . "Get a phaser! " Top bloke . It was touch and go if I could meet the band , as the ad in kerrang said 12.30 They didn't show up until after 4pm and I got a frosty reception from my bosses in the office . Long story ..

Looks great ! Glad you like it . I was wondering what the sound is like , compared to other headless basses. I have owned a full bodied steinberger xm2, and the sound was great imho ( bright and punchy ) . I used to own a hohner stick bass ( passive ) . The sound wasn't as good imho , but a very nice bass. My Washburn status was very close to the steinberger sound , but due to the active electrics playing up I had them removed . It still sounds great , but not as twangy . Ironically enough, the various bands I used to be in hated the bright tones and preferred the other ones I mentioned ..

I have a pair of sennheiser s HD 433 . Had them for years . Obviously the model numbers have changed since then along with probable updates. What I find is that they are strong as well as nice and spongey on the ears . Regarding spongey type headphones ,Ive had about 3 pairs of sennheisers over the years and a pair of Beyer dynamics.. The ones I have now are the best of the bunch . Regarding noise cancelling - great if you're on public transport full of anti social people and bawling babies . However, living alone , I don't want to cut myself off and prefer to hear what's around me to an extent . I too have tinnitus . Random though , as it's a side effect of a pain relaxant prescribed by my doctor over a year ago .

I also had that power slave pic disc with the speed problem . I had a hawkwind silver machine / Beatles tell me why pic disc single (;tell me why?can't remember exact name of song ) Anti nowhere league first album with the labels wrong way around Anthrax Indians 12" on both side A&B

I've had a few combos over the years ( plus a couple of giant head / cab configurations ). Now downsized to a small flat , I have a choice depending on my moods erc I have a Roland bass micro cube gx . Brilliant , and louder than you'd think . I've also got a kustom 15 watt small combo which is brilliant . No bells and whistles compated to the Roland but it's a good meaty sound and has headphone and cd socket .5 string no problem. The last few months I have just been trying to properly record stuff and have been playing through my Harmon jkardon computer monitors . Having said all that, just before Christmas I purchased a usb mixer and have been using headphones while I try to understand that .. I don't mind using the headphones tbh . While looking on you tube today , I saw a positive grid amplifier being demoed and that looks real good . . Not sure if it's a fad or a decent amp . I 'll wait and see what others think ..

I managed to track one of these down on eBay . Discontinued , but very pricey at the time the lid lifts up to store cables / straps / pedals etc . Ashdown did 2 versions which may /may not be discontinued also , I have a computer chair with no arms also . I used to have an Aguilar cab and protective bag . That was very comfy also

Point taken . Annoyed at the time , as the parcel was on the van in the morning. If I didn't check again later in the afternoon , then I wouldn't see that it couldn't be delivered. I should have had the parcel last Thursday . They charged me the cost for next day delivery ,which should have been thursday . What they could have done is offer to refund postage and I would have kept it . They haven't rectified anything really . As I say , I changed review and they were happy about that . I was too trigger happy with the posting here , as I was angry at the time . Thry still haven't refunded me , but I'm not in a panic about that . I see good and bad in all companies , and leave positive and negative feedback . I should have asked what you think of GAK , and listed my concerns . Hands held up. Then again, it's very sloppy but now forgotten ..

Final update : I altered my wording on the trustpilot and Facebook reviews I received an email from GAK thanking me for that this afternoon . They also told me that despite them asking FedEx to return parcel , they will try to deliver today . They asked me to mention to the courier to please take it back to them . I did that this evening . If they offered to scrap the postage cost I may well have kept it, buit it's all done now and no hard feelings . Just waiting for refund and case is closed .

Well I may have been a bit ott there . Having said that, I am laid back believe it or not . I did allow for the new year break , plus covid . The main things that annoyed me , were being charged for next day delivery . Then the actual day was changed when I got confirmation email . The thing that annoyed me today was in the morning , it was in the van with the driver but that changed late in the afternoon and I had a day wasted when I wanted to go out albeit for a short period . Anyway it's all behind me now . Everything varies with courier companies and shops in general . I maybe should have worded the topic differently . Avoid may have been too harsh . At the end of the day , it was only my experience

Actually , I'm normally very chilled . Having said that , the caps lock did get stuck when I entered my username .😸 I don't like the band RATM ( sorry , more caps )

Yeah, horses for courses 🐺

I received another apology from Dan . Alas , he seems to think that PayPal didn't list my full address . This of course wasted even more of my time , as I had to check in the PayPal app Full address is indeed listed . This tells me that it is the fault of whoever addressed the package at their end . FedEx? The GAK shop? He also told me that GAK use DHL and DPD also. He says he is going to respond to my review on trustpilot . No refund yet I wonder if he has seen my Facebook post ...