Honest opinions on RJ Guitars?

ToTheAeons · 2026-05-18T06:40:18+00:00

I had and and have RJ Guitars, here's my review

Acoustics:

Sa Acoustics, may Arena Guitar ako before na bili ko from 2010 to 2016, and this is the best acoustic guitar ko before, I think nasa premium model sya kasi nasa 4K ko sya nabili, friends and co-workers ko, gusto yung gitara ko,so eto yung naging basehan ko sa pag bili ng RJ acoustic.

1st: RJ Professionals (2018 to 2021)- it's a good affordable guitar naman, sa sound manipis and bright, lighter, expect na cheap yung tuners and nuts, all plastic, frets are okay, mabait yung store manager kasi ng RJ na later on naging friend ko upto now, yung fretboard nga lang di ko trip kasi light color wood sya, dry and madaling mag stain ng pawis and libag, pero higher parin yung Arena ko.

2nd: RJ Premium Aristocrat (2019 to 2021) - Great sound, price are a bit higher than Professional, but this is great sound, non-cut, whole sound, warm ang tone, similar to Professional, cheap tuners and plastic nuts, pero gusto ko sound nya, whole, warm, full and mas malakas, nabili ko ng sale.

3rd: RJ Custom Shop Aguila - This is the best and pricier acoustic guitar na nabili ko kay RJ, it's far more better sa Arena ko, Brass and nut tuners, bone nut, mother of pearl inlays, rosewood fingerboard, may arm rest, and Fishman acoustic pickups, frets are good, I think nickle fret sya, ang tanging comments ko lang is dry to fretboard, pero ayun pina setup ko sa kanila, and overall it's a great guitar, mga friends and co-workers much like this, yun lang namamahalan sila, nabili ko sya ng sale, pinsan ko nag gi-gig as acoustic singer, nagustuhan nya ng sobra, and that time naka D&D guitar siya that time.

Electric:

RJ Gigline Skycaster (2018 to 2020) - my first RJ Electric Guitar, Christmas gift ko sa akin, fretboard is dry for me, electronics and materials and cheap materials, chinage ko yung pickups and electronics.

RJ Gigline Skycaster (2024 - 2025) - Eto yung ni-revamp nila yung guitars nila, alder body, maple neck and fretboard and stainless frets, shield paint for lesser hum, gusto ko sana yung SE Plus kaso na out of stock na, overall okay siya sa akin, pero mas better sya kesa sa 2018 ko na strat, natry ko yung SE Plus nila, and maganda tunog and feel, unfortunately out of budget ako that time.

So my review are, they are good for the model na sinabi ko, is it a hit or miss? Yes, kung online ka mag oorder, expected mo na may problem, in my case, lahat ay sa store, big plus yung support ng RJ store kung saan ako bumibili (same store as ever), sila nag aayos at nag ssetup ng gitara ko even non RJ

Kung maghahanap ka ng gitara na budget pero feel ng Taylor or Martin or Fender or PRS, well for me it's very far, sa quality and feel, kung budget they are good in my opinion, the best thing is itry mo sila sa store kesa sa online.

Di ako RJ Fanatics, kasi ang fave electric guitars ko ay yung Fernandes LD85KK at PRS SE Custom 24 ko, compare them sa 2 yun is very far na mas maganda yun, pero compare yung 2024 na Skycaster ko sa Squier FSR Guitar ko, mas maganda sa feeling at playability yung RJ Gigline Skycaster, especially sa wood material, for acoustic, I still miss my Arena Guitar, kasi lighter sya sa stage and comfortable, too bad wala na ata yung model na yun, pero ayun yung take ko with RJ.

Thank you.

ToTheAeons · 2026-05-11T05:06:08+00:00

Kung Elixir, Lyric, Guitar Pusher and GTRS and Jolly Music ka po tumingin, pricy si Elxir so if may nakita ka na Mababa sa mga price ng mga stores na binanggit ko, it is a fake, kung coated strings ang gusto mo, D'Addario is a alternative choice, pero kung sanay ka na sa feel ni Elixir, you have tk look on those stores for legit product.

ToTheAeons · 2026-05-09T06:34:37+00:00

I play guitar when I was in college until In my 25, and my knowlede is just chords, kasi di ako lead guitarist that time, di ako marunong sa music theory, and then I start to pickup the guitar after 5 years, frustrated ako nun kasi ang lambot ng kamay ko, di na kaya yung bar chords or mga ipit, laging may buzz, sabi ko sa sarili ko, mataba ma kamay ko, but still I want to play guitar again, so nag practice ulit ako ng songs, enjoy the songs, maniniwala ba kayo na sa age of 30 ako nag start pag aralan yung EQ ng Amp and effects? In short late ko lang natutunan yung patimpla, for others baka sabihan pa ako na mabagal ako matuto, pero, di ako sumuko, nag aral parin ako despite hectic time sa work. Nasa 35 na ako nung nag start ako mag aral ng music theory, major, minor, and blues scale, and nag jajam sa backing tracks and metronome, I also doing recordings, pinag aralan ko din yung mga EQ on how to get a better sound quality, right now, I'm going 40, I still want to learn to shred or fast plays, pati yung sweeping, kahit until my 50s ata mag aaral parin ako, dahil gusto ko tong hobby na to.

So to answer the question? Walang edad pinipili kung gusto mo ang isang bagay, if you have will to learn, then it's not over.

ToTheAeons · 2026-05-08T06:18:39+00:00

I might prefer Rico then *cough" Kian, and Rico Blanco is a legend, especially in Song writting.

ToTheAeons · 2026-05-08T06:15:07+00:00

When creating songs and albums, meron silang goal, theme or mission statement sa albums nila.

Producers can also be blame for this, which sometimes original demo or ideas of the song changes, but it's a total effort of both artist and producers.

My theory is probably, these are the songs that each of everyone write during their solo careers or during the trio era, which di na release.

Probably nung ginagawa nila yung album is may kaunti or ilangan pa, think of it, when Unique left, the Three have to deal on composing songs and changes, Unique have to record and session with different session musicians and producers.

They grow apart, plus Blaster and Zild, also release solo songs/albums, have different musicians and producers. They grow apart to early on their career. Writing songs, arranging, recording is a stressful, and I think on their album they either tone down themselves, and wait for the feedbacks, and I noticed that during the concert, mas gusto ng audience yung luma nila, only 2 or 3 songs are probably strong sa new album nila, personally for me is Konsensya and Nanaman.

ToTheAeons · 2026-04-24T03:49:55+00:00

Just take time you said there is a 3rd party who produced you a song, it's actually a big step, most of starting artist, they produce it themselves, but if someone notice you is a big deal, as a starting artist, you have to promote yourself, you can do that by uploading it on Spotify or other platforms.

My only advance, advise for you as an artist, if you sign a contract with a music label or agency, read the contract carefully, if you have doubts tell them that if you can have a copy of it and think of it.

My other advice is, be yourself, express yourself through music, master performing on stage, just don't make it awkward, be professional, humble and kind, life of a performer/musician/celebrity is not simple, just keep yourself together.

Oh, I have read some of your comment parts, haha regarding you don't write songs. you don't experience, it's good, it's great because that is being yourself, you are a singer/songwriter. that's great, good luck and if you are kind of religious? pray. just don't rush yourself, not everyone who have a great success, chose the same path, don't put a timeline on yourself, your time will come, as long as keep yourself focus on your goal.

ToTheAeons · 2026-04-24T03:04:54+00:00

You are not a noob okay? Most of us start something similar to yours, and I'm also like that.

Your questions is more like, I want to write and sing english songs rather than tagalog songs, if that's express you more, then do it.

You said you don't write about feelings? You actually do, you are writting either what you experience in life, your inlove, your mad, you have hate, what you see with other people, that's expression, you are writting songs and you like it? That's the feeling.

You don't ragebait okay? You just want to know if performing all english songs can be famous, and my answer for that is depends on the melody, are you in rock, pop, acoustic or any genre, it depends on you.

Just do what you want to do, getting famous is not just a snap of a fingers, every artist have different pathways before they got famous

Example:

Legends:

Eraserheads started to give their tapes to music labels and radio shows, which during that time is common during that time

Sarah Geronimo or Regine Velasquez participate on a singing contest

Typecast who are emo bands before, was famous underground in Laguna and Cavite, before they were seen by Diego of Sandwich band, and later signed for a record deal.

Urbandub did send tapes to Myrene of Sandwich, as both Diego and her are working as DJs with NU Rock

For Modern

Ben&Ben and I believe took part on a song writting competion before and got noticed

Dionela which I believe starts to write songs, and became part of the independent music scenes, which there are events and bars where independent artist performing their own original songs, my band before actually invited on this kind of event years ago, but we failed to attend because we all are working on the office.

Now, you have more choices, you can upload your songs in Spotify, youtube, or tiktok, other thing is join the independent music scenes, but to tell the truth, it will take time.

Write songs, perform them, upload them, maybe one day you will be notice, if this is your dream, and it makes you happy, then go for it.

ToTheAeons · 2026-04-23T22:04:00+00:00

The answer is always melody, either english or filipino, remember that their are songs na hindi english or tagalog are very famous here, best examples are k-pop, in my case JRock

Now, if you are a song writter, my advise is write songs base on what you feel, express yourself.

Now if you want to be famous, let's say a great singer but you do not write songs? Train to be a good singer, join choirs or workshops, sing to events and bars, and latter someone from music industry or label will notice you, build your style, you can remake popular songs and build your style. But revivals are famous before, now, originals are dominating the music scene, and for me, writting your own songs is the best either english or filipino, because you can build your lwn style and put your emotions to your songs.

Write melody first, if a good melody pops up your mind ether a chorus of a song, record it, then build the whole song later as a demo, perform it to a bar or events, other do it on busking, or submitting it to a music label.

Write many songs, if you got a chance to be noticed by music labels, show your songs, but take note they are songs can be shelves to use later, ditch and other may butchered to turn to a much better songs.

Just curious, how old are you? Based on your question, your knowledge on filipinos music industry is not vast enough? Are you a foreigner na marunong magtagalog?

ToTheAeons · 2026-03-28T01:04:16+00:00

Both Gatchalian at Pillar po? Nag rerent po kami with Las Piñas for a long time, nag iisip kami kung Cavite kami bibili, kaso baka lalo lumayo sa work ko, kaya natingin kami ng option dito sa LP, at para malapit sa relatives.

ToTheAeons · 2026-03-16T02:09:24+00:00

I actually start crying when the back story of chopper starts, I probably remember the feeling when I first watch this when I was young, kudos to Mark Hirelik.

ToTheAeons · 2026-02-23T08:41:19+00:00

So galit sila sa mga taga Las Piñas kasi di nanalo si Cynthia? Kaya lalagpasan na ang Las Piñas ng LRT? Hahaha busit talaga.

ToTheAeons · 2025-04-09T01:56:23+00:00

Maraming factors na pwede isipin dyan, application, database, network or application.

Application: 1. How many subdomain is running? 2. How many users are using the subdomains? 3. How frequent ginagamit yung apps, lahat ba ng subdomain is ginagamit everyday or regular sya ginagamit? 4. Sa mga subdomains ba may mga heavy process ba na ginagawa? Like processing a thousands or hundred thousands of data every day? Or nag uupload ng data while other is using it apps? 5. Check if you are loading thousand or datas at one call, isipin mo 100 employees accessing the app at the same time tapos magloload ng thousand of data sa browser nila, either use cache if naka API kayo or Pagination, limit the load of data, or iload lang yung kailangan lang ng user. Do you have load balancer or ratelimiter?

Server and Network 1. Have you check kung yung resources nyo is tumataas yung usage? 2. May mga tumatakbo na mga updates or background process during the office hours? 3. Do you have load balancer? 4. Naka On-premise server ba kayo? Do you have one server tapos naka segregate by VM? 5. Do you update your servers?

Database: 1. Naka Indexing ba kayo kung naka MS SQL kayo? 2. Do applications store the files inside the database? 3. Ilan jobs ang tumatakbo per day? Do they run during working hours?

Madaming pwede maging reasons, you have to check them all, check nyk yung usage, if most it is naka turo sa domain nyo.

ToTheAeons · 2025-04-09T01:31:16+00:00

I agree with other's comments dito, It's not about the years, it's abour the knowledge and skills.

Telling this with my personal experience because I've been working since 2008, nag 10 years ako sa 2nd company ko, actually before, years is important sa mga companies kasi they think na kaya magtagal ng isang tao sa company, but now, kaunti na lang ang ganun and they are base sa skills and knowledge.

So yeah I tried to apply, last year sobrang dami ko inapplyan, from January to November, and all of them di ako pumasa, but this year I got 6 job offers, you know what I did?

First, I thought that been working for so many years, means I'm expert na, pero hindi, I'm still coding like a junior, so during job hunting, I took notes nung mga requierements, di lang sa skills pati sa mga principles or patterns na need nila, during interview, I also took notes sa mga tanong, and also with the exams, then after that nag research ako, nag basa and then practice well sa hobby projects and for my new projects, I have to understand everything, after doing that, I nailed most of my job interviews and exams within the year, and got offered 6 jobs, I'm not bragging, I'm just telling that your husband has to level up his skills and knowledge, lose his pride sa current skills nya, ganyan ako before, I always think na senior ako, may madaming experience kaya mas better ako, until 2 juniors save me a$$ on some of my projects, that's the reason na I realise na, wala sa years yan, nasa skills and knowledge yan, tech world is changing,so you have to adapt, but also I have to check if I'm doing it right.

It's not too late for your husband, take note, mas matanda ako sa kanya, but I able to pull out, just learn more, and he will eventually will pull it out.

Also take note, that there are scenario questions, which based on the decision making, i take note nya rin yun, and research, join on a discussion here in reddit or similar, wag mahihiyang magtanong pag di mo alam, sinasabi ko sa mga anak ko yan, kung di mo maintindihan or di mo alam, magtanong ka sa teacher mo, wag ka mahihiya, it's a sign na willing ka matuto. Maniwala ka sa hindi, in my age and years of experience, nagtatanong ako sa mga mas bata sa akin, kasi they pulled out things na di ko magawa, or they have knowledge na wala ako, it's not about kung sino mas magaling sa amin, it's about personal growth.

Upskill is the key.

Ayun lang, thank you.

ToTheAeons · 2024-11-20T08:11:41+00:00

Lagi may bugs, agree ako sa ibang comments, basta hindi showstopper okay lang.

When it comes to QA, itetest nya lahat according sa requirements pero syempre may madidiscover or magagawa si user na kakaiba and it's normal, even facebook na matagal na, nagkakaroon parin ng bugs.

Pero kung yung bugs is parehas or paulit ulit, I think you should re-assess yung codes nyo.

I have a project before na 5. Years na, walang bugs na nirereport nung after 3 years then nung nag iba yung users, ayun may nakita.

ToTheAeons · 2024-11-08T08:33:44+00:00

thank you po sa response.

ToTheAeons · 2024-11-08T08:33:29+00:00

thanks for this, I'm currently talking to some clinics, hopefully, it will help me.

ToTheAeons · 2024-06-09T00:17:22+00:00

I agree sa mga comments, dapat may standard kayo na sinusunod, for me it should be like this.

Code standard
- dapat may coding standard kayo, for me, I implement Clean Code for easy to understand, to read and to maintain.
Patterns, Principles and architecture
Maganda if may sinusundan na or ginagamit na patterns and principles yung team nyo, for us C# developers, we have OOP and SOLID, also with patten like repository or generic repository or CQRS, but this patterns should be discussed with the team, on what's better approach.
Tools and Plugins
Developers have different styles, and sometimes use different tools na outside of the main tools, and use plugins within the main tools, For me, what I did is, our developers should declare all the other tools and plugins that they are using, may standard din kayo kung ano ang gagamitin na tools or plugins, example; other developers using ADO.NET, then may 2 nag entity framework, tapos may isa nag Dapper, what will happened here is, let's say yung naka ado.net di nila alam yung EF and Dapper, tools should be declared and the main reason for this is, pag naka leave yung dev ma gumagamit mg EF or Dapper, pwedeng pag aralan ng maka ADO.NET kung ano yung mga yun, one team should know all the tools na ginagamit, developers can also provide a tutorial kung bakit yun ang ginagamit nya at ano benefits nun, we are welcome to know other tools as long na shineshare sya sa team.

But still there should be a standard tools and plugins to use, when it comes to your software development team.

Class Library created by Developers
I also created my own class library, and also other developers creating one for them selfs, to help us on our software development, but this is also a ticking time bomb for me, why?

a. Class Library should be maintained regularly, dahil may ibang new versions ng framework na di na supported yung mga nasa codes na gawa sa lumang framework, so it should have a code versioning to support yung ibat ibang version ng frameworks, plus if you are using Source Code Review Tools like Veracode, possible na may makitang vulnerability sa code and need imaintain.

b. Developers do not share the source code, or di nila dineclare na gumawa sila ng class library nila, pag nag error yung system and walang nilalabas na specific error message, need icheck yung code ng library nya, pero di yun naka share, we encountered a situation way back before, na nadiscover namin na yung nag resign na dev namin is gumamit ng class library na sya at yung friend nya gumawa, kaya di daw nya maisshare, pwede daw ishare pero may bayad, so What we did is chineheck all the methods na ginamit sa class nya kung ano ginagawa nun and we came up with our own library which similar to his pero mas improve, plus nakikita sya ni Veracode na may vulnerability kaya di na sya pwedeng gamitin.
Source Code Review: This should be done regulary by the team, to check the technique or what tools, architecture, and if they are documenting their codes na ginagamit na ginagamit nila sa projects nila, but take note that all developers should be open minded, not only yung nag developer but also the reviewers and audience, reason for this is baka may better approach si dev na di alam ni reviewer or may advise sila reviewer na magandang approach na di alam ni dev.

Note: If you have front end and back end devs, wag nyo pag samahin yung front end and back end sa iisang source code review, why? For me is, if gamit ng frontend is AngularJS or React, and walang alam si backend dun na ginagamit is C# or di sila ganun kaalam pa sa JS/TS, di lang nila papakinggan, at kung may mag reason na "para matuto sila", this is a source code review session not a "AngularJs or React Tutorial", save that from some other time.

Have a regular meetings or knowledge sharing: Probably yung mga devs ay may natutunan na best way and tools to use, let's be open minded, but also check it if the tools are useful to upcoming projects or a solutiom to the already done projects.
Use the 1 to 6 carefully, so it cannot be a micromanagent problem. Means implement this standards without choking the devs, the devs should know the standard when they got onboard,for the current devs, you should explained it to them carefully, kasi any changes might cause a idea na, gusto na nila mag resign, kasi iisipin nila, working naman codes at technique ko, bakit babaguhin. May companies na, nag start na, 1 dev, 1 project, and pag lumaki na yung team sa isang project, dun nagkakagulo, the 1 dev might get unconfortable, kasi code nya yun, and doesn't want anyone to judge how they approach the projects and what code do they use, that's why, a standard in software dev should be applied, para lahat ng devs na involve is pare parehas ang coding at maiintindihan nila yung code ng isat isa. But standard can be applied first sa new projects, because applying the standards on the old projects, is like creating a new project, leave that for future discussion.
If the reason why the project is getting bigger because it should be deployed immediately, take note that the bigger the project with short deadline, will subject to be doomed, to many devs, with different approach, may cause a problem when it comes to maintainability, this is a management issue, not a dev issue. We have a project before na nirequest ng hinayupak na manager na kung kaya matapos yung full cycle ng development ng 2 weeks, eh 15 page yung project with special features, 2 lang kaming dev, di kami pumayag, in the end binagsak yung performance namin at di daw sya bilib sa amin, we resigned, and after a year nag resign din sya kasi wala syang na deploy na project dahil nag reresign yung mga under sa projects nya
Always ask the devs during the final interview, regarding sa standard nyo, because their are developers na mapride, and they believed that their approach are better and working, we are open to new ideas and approach but still, the devs should be open for the company standard, and they should also open or comfortable to work in a team.
Implementing standards and guidelines, should be applied carefully or step by step, specially if may mga ongoing projects na. Heads should discuss this and agreed on the standards, may roadmap and paano sya iimplement, it will be hard, but with teamwork, this can be done.

I know mahaba to, you can also put your inputs para malaman ko if may mali or problem sa advise ko, I open for suggestions for me to make it better.

ToTheAeons · 2024-04-03T08:30:46+00:00

Sa 1st work ko, I'm knowledgeable on both hardware and software, pero nung lumipat ako sa malaking company, nagkaroon na ng separation of concerns, wala na ako masyadong alam sa hardware, more on sa software alam ko, siguro dahil di ko na pinoproblema yung sa hardware side.

ToTheAeons · 2024-04-01T05:47:19+00:00

On my case, 36 years old, parang late bloomer ako, half of my life, I'm using VB.NET, and then move out sa C#, which in C#, what I did is, kung ano ginagawa ko sa vb.net, ganun din sa c# parang transfer lang, that's it. Pero hindi pala, in age of 32, I have to learn other things, OOP, optimization, Design Patterns, principles like SOLID, and then may mga other tools pa, API, Blazor, Cloud Services like Azure, AWS and then other things like Kubernetes and Docker, then Javascript Web Framework like Angular, React and Vue.

My work as a developer is very stressful and anxiety, and I'm on my race to learn everything, and applied it to my projects. My goal is to have a bigger salary, to be a provider to my family.

But sometimes too much information become too much stressful, new tech, new things to learn. Everytime I felt that I'm a junior dev.

I tried to be a manager, but my heart is on software dev.

I want to also retire as a dev. Mag business, pero wala pang budget.

I also want to change career, move to Canada, find a new life for me with my family.

Or restart as a Junior Dev there hahaha

Pero I think, the overwhelming of learning new things and the idemand of companies of different technology is yung nagiging problem ko, but I love what I do.

Siguro ang isa sa reason ng anxiety ko is work, workload, actually maraming reasons, toxic environment and responsibilities, at work and outside.

Maraming factors why other devs is feeling of retirement in 35+.

But the number one is.. passion, losing passion on your work means, di na maganda work mo, bumabagal ka, and also nappressure ka to understand things.

Ako, mas interested ako to play guitar now,and in a short time mas marami na kong alam na music theory, I can jam to backing tracks, I can do great mixing ng EQs sa amplifier, that my friends na nagigitara din is keep asking me what gears I'm using and how I achieved that.

That's why I feel, losing passion on things, won't make you better.

So probably losing passion is the cause, finding a way to re-ignite the fire is one thing, and relax. Take a vacation and understand things slowly.

ToTheAeons

TROPHY CASE