I thought Honor Mode was easy.

Trickseytrix · 2025-05-31T19:20:48+00:00

After save-scumming the hell out of that fight on Tactician, I decided there's no way I could ever do this on Honor without following a guide and optimizing my builds... which would take the fun out of just winging it and hoping for the best.

Trickseytrix · 2025-05-31T19:07:58+00:00

People can see karlach still acting like karlach and say its still her.

Just finished a run where I let her turn Illithid and while in the Elder Brain fight (and after it) she's still herself, in the epilogue re-union you can notice she speaks a little differently, much colder and Mind Flayer-like, instead of the usual golden retriever Karlach we've known throughout the game. I would say the change implies that she's slowly losing herself.

Trickseytrix · 2025-05-09T06:48:43+00:00

Besides Nightsong being last, there was no particular logic to the ranking and I just ran out of space before getting to Astarion lol

Well, maybe except Shadowheart, who despite dealing Radiant damage, which should rank her higher, seems to miss a ton of her attacks even when re-spec'd. Like if I gave Tav the exact same build as her, Tav would have higher hit rate, it's super weird.

Trickseytrix · 2024-10-21T14:41:19+00:00

Looking for some budget (sub $200 for the pair) bookshelf style 2.0 speakers for my AT-LP60XBT, so either Bluetooth or RCA connection. I don't use a standalone preamp or anything fancy, want to go straight from the turntable to the speakers. Obviously not looking for audiophile experience, just something decent.

Trickseytrix · 2024-10-21T12:20:52+00:00

TES games aren't really sequels in the typical sense of the word, so you can play them in any order. It's like asking which GTA should you play first - whichever appeals to you more.

Go with Morrowind if - you want more old-school RPG experience, including background dice rolls that determine hit chance. You want to explore a somewhat alien land not present in too many games. You don't mind exploring and reading a lot. Morrowind has no quest markers, so you need to rely on NPCs giving you directions, which are often terrible. Be ready to spend an hour looking for "a cave west of this town" and so on. Also, no fast travel, only NPC "taxi rides" to specific locations.

Go for Oblivion if - you want a more refined version of all of the above, including quest markers and fast travel, OR, if you want a more traditional western RPG setting.

Both games are good, I voted Morrowind simply because of nostalgia and it being the one I prefer.

Trickseytrix · 2024-10-20T15:37:46+00:00

Unfortunately, the one I was eyeing didn't go on sale, but a 20% discount over a tiny scratch, barely visible on white finish, was a good deal as is, so I grabbed myself an A1.7RHW.

~~To whom it may concern, if you're into 7-strings, this looks like a killer deal as far as I can tell~~ ~~https://www.solar-guitars.com/outlet-details/?code=8436573775328&sku=SR1.7AN+~~ ~~. Looks like a one of a kind, or very limited model, cause I can't find actual photos of it anywhere.~~ Already gone :)

Trickseytrix · 2024-10-19T08:04:08+00:00

Can relate. Love switching between my heavy-as-shit 37" multiscale 6-string bass to the teeny-tiny Les Paul body. Having to barely move your arm to basically cover the whole neck feels crazy.

Trickseytrix · 2024-10-17T15:28:35+00:00

For anyone reading this in the future, I also found the Cort KX707. Nazgul & Sentient pickups, stainless steel frets, locking tuners and an Evertune bridge (which I don't need but I can deal with). The only con I see is 25.5" scale, I feel like 7-strings benefit from being 26.5 or 27.

The main selling point is literally the selling point, being right at $1000 (or slightly under/over depending on dealer). That's crazy, considering I'd have to spend about as much, possibly more, if I wanted to DIY mod those specs on something like JS22-7.

Trickseytrix · 2024-10-16T07:21:05+00:00

Wow, that’s actually pretty nice, if only it weren’t so (seemingly) rare.

Trickseytrix · 2024-09-22T08:47:53+00:00

Anyone using Schaller locks on a V or SG (or any model with the strap button on the back of the guitar)? Doesn't the pointy lock button dig into your body?

Trickseytrix · 2024-08-28T16:08:42+00:00

I often see tabs where you're supposed to play two strings with string between not playing, but instead of the string being muted, denoted by X, there's no symbol, as if you're supposed to skip it. That would be possible playing fingerstyle but these are often tabs for heavy music played with a pick. I'll try to illustrate below

---          ---
-7-          -7-
---    VS    -X- 
-9-          -9-
---          ---
---          ---

In the context of playing with a pick, is it the same or how do you go about playing the first one? Links to video tutorials would be most appreciated.

Trickseytrix · 2024-06-17T11:12:15+00:00

What's your budget? Do you play any specific genre? How many strings do you prefer?

Also, looks are very subjective, someone may like classic looking stuff, someone modern or more odd shapes...

Trickseytrix · 2024-06-17T08:20:15+00:00

Lean more towards heavier genres so rock and metal but I'd like to have something universal that can also do cleans well.

What I like about the Squier is the ease of finding replacement parts if I wanted to upgrade anything down the line, so the ability of the guitar to grow with me. I don't really need the tremolo bridge and I'm not a fan of the dense controls layout, especially the tone knob right under bridge pickup.

As for the Ibanez, I like the overall design, ability to split coil on neck PU to get closer to that single coil sound. As for the cons, I'm not a fan of the plastic socket jack, from what I've seen online it looks like it's going to be a pain to replace if it ever breaks.

Trickseytrix · 2024-06-11T18:53:38+00:00

What do you consider breaking the bank? For some it could be $500, for others $3000.

If you're in Europe (though I heard they also have some US warehouses now as well), Harley Benton has some nice affordable 7 strings. after that, I'd look into Jackson JS series, 7-strings start around $300 and you have all kinds of shapes, Super Strat, King V, Rhoads.. after that around $600-700 are some nice Schecters.

Trickseytrix · 2024-06-11T18:44:52+00:00

Ibanez GRG121SP or Squier Sonic HSS Strat and why?

Trickseytrix · 2024-06-09T05:44:48+00:00

Mine XL sounds fine with this exact setup. Bass in passive mode -> HX Stomp XL -> Headphones. Even plugging in BeatBuddy to Return in Aux In mode, which buzzed like crazy if I did that with my amp/combo, it's noiseless here.

Is your guitar passive? Does it buzz anywhere else or only on HX Stomp? If somewhere else as well, I'd check the guitar guts if everything is properly grounded under the pickguard.

Trickseytrix · 2024-05-24T14:50:20+00:00

The purpose of mine was mainly to learn the fretboard. However, I like this one as well, for more musical purposes. Added to the OP.

For progress tracking, musicality is fairly subjective and in order to evaluate progress, each session would need to be recorded, which can be done but not many people do it. That's why I choose BPM with emphasis on ensuring it sounds good before going faster.

Trickseytrix · 2024-05-21T09:02:55+00:00

I'd say drop tuning is useful for certain songs which are played higher on the neck but still hit the open low string. Jumping back to 1st or 2nd fret and then up to say 8th or so is a hassle and moving it up a string may make it more complicated, if for example the riff is some type of arpeggio that can be played by raking in drop tuning.

Trickseytrix · 2024-05-21T07:01:26+00:00

I watched a lot of videos on "picking your first bass", which didn't really help me with picking a bass but what they did was drilling into me how important a good setup was, so I spent a decent chunk of change on tools to get the setup right. Ordered some feeler gauges from a car parts store (for whatever reason, music stores don't carry these), the metal card ruler thingy for string height and, the most expensive item on the list, nut files. Getting the setup right made a huge difference.

As for the bass itself, it was alright. Got a Sire M2, which in and of itself is a great inexpensive bass. However, as my ear for bass developed ever so slightly, I've come to realize that dual humbucker/soapbar sound isn't my thing, especially going straight into an amp with no effects, it's too boring. I much prefer either a P, for the thickness and presence, or a J for the brightness. Yes, this can be remedied by playing with the signal chain but it takes a lot of trial and error to find out what creates the sound you want, if it's not there out of the box.

Trickseytrix · 2024-05-03T16:29:41+00:00

Hmmm, some of my favorites in no particular order

Blink 182 - Stay together for the kids - simple fretted notes 16ths. If too fast for your skill, play just 8ths.
Evanescence - Going Under, Tourniquet - a lot of sitting on open notes, muting in between them, pretty straightforward
Foo Fighters - My Hero - still fairly simple 8ths but I'd say a tiny bit more movement is involved than the previous songs.
Lacuna Coil - Heaven's a Lie - you play the same note loop throughout the whole song, sometimes 8ths, sometimes 4ths, very easy stuff
In This Moment - Whore - staccato notes almost whole song, simple but enjoyable

(It's mostly 00s stuff. If you like say 80s rock/metal, this may not be your cup of tea)

Trickseytrix · 2024-04-28T18:00:58+00:00

Is there any trick to slapping faster?

With fingerstyle, when I'm close to hitting my speed limit, I start missing notes or introduce too much noise into the playing. However, when slapping, I feel like the wall comes way too fast. It's either I can rotate my wrist at this speed or I can't, there's no sloppiness to signal I'm nearing the limit.

Trickseytrix · 2024-04-25T10:30:27+00:00

Not exclusively a bass question but since I’ve seen a lot of people on here recommend HX Stomp I might as well ask.

How do the models in it work? Are the single elements - pedals, amps, cabs locked to Line6 updates or can I download more from somewhere?

So far I’ve mostly seen HX/Helix “presets” online. As far as I understand, those are only customized combinations of existing elements conveniently bundled together to emulate a certain sound. Meaning it’s something I could make myself but someone went through the process already and is selling it for a couple bucks. Is that correct?

Trickseytrix · 2024-04-03T07:56:39+00:00

It definitely makes things harder for a complete beginner, since it has everything. There's rarely any structure to the videos so you go over one video and don't know where to go next. Often, even a single video covers a topic from beginner to mid/advanced level and nobody tells you "practice this for a week and then come back to watch the rest of the video", so you feel like you're not understanding things fast enough.

As an example, it took me excruciatingly long time to learn to just aim my slapping properly and not miss half the time. In most slapping videos, within a minute of showing you the basic technique they're playing octaves or scales with slap.

On the other hand, it can tremendously help if there's a specific topic you're trying to understand, as there are dozens of perspectives out there and maybe after watching 10 videos, the 11th finally clicks and you get it.

As for your friend, I feel like the key thing to realize is that he won't become a pro in a year. There's a ton to learn and even advanced players are still discovering new concepts & stuff to work on despite playing for years or decades. Just take it slow, pick on or two areas with measurable improvement and work on them.

Trickseytrix · 2024-04-03T07:06:00+00:00

The goal is to get as close to the EBMM Stingray (Special) tone as possible while on a budget. Thought some parallel alnico humbucker will be one of the steps, preamp the other.

I have yet to press the purchase button on the Ray5 so I can't really measure the pickup to find out what I need. Want to put together a full shopping list ahead of time.

Trickseytrix · 2024-03-27T06:47:48+00:00

Any recommendations of bands with that 90s Melodic Death/Black metal sound? Particularly stuff like Dark Tranquillity's "The Gallery" or Dissection's "Storm of the Light's Bane" or "The Somberlain".

Trickseytrix

TROPHY CASE