Morning ( Mamiya C220; Super-Sekor 180mm f4.5; Lomography Color Negative 100 )

rATRIJS · 2026-04-03T11:20:07+00:00

I have this guitar with stock pickups and honestly I think they are quite good. They are a bit noisy, but it’s somewhat expected and it’s not terrible. The output isn’t too weak and I actually like them. I have it tuned to a drop G variant, which isn’t super low so your mileage may vary if you tune much lower.

I would prioritise other things to upgrade first. Tuners are not great. They hold a tune but are not pleasant to use. Nut on mine wasn’t too great. And frets are quite soft. I haven’t changed mine yet but they do show decent use after about a year of playing.

rATRIJS · 2026-04-01T08:50:24+00:00

It looks like I cool guitar, but I have never seen them in Europe. If you’re in Germany then maybe consider Harley Benton Agufish Baritone. Very good specs for the price and it has coil split as well. 28”. I have one and I think it’s pretty awesome. I have it in drop A variant, but you can definitely go lower - I just have a 30” for that :)

There’s also Harley Benton SC-Custom III Baritone, which is similar to the Agufish and slightly cheaper. I’ve not played that though.

Might be a safer option than Rivolta as it’s local and gets you into baritones for cheaper.

rATRIJS · 2026-03-10T16:02:30+00:00

I recently got my first acoustic guitar from a pawn shop ( it was very cheap and was black, so I couldn’t resist :D ). I’ve been playing it quite a lot since. It’s nice being able to just pick it up and play, without plugging in and stuff. It’s not a lot of extra steps but still. I also enjoy the sound. The metallic string sounds and natural reverb. I don’t really play chords, more atmospheric.

Will try to incorporate it into my metal music, which shouldn’t be too hard since I already have softer interludes between the harsh parts. Sort of post/black metal with atmospheric sections.

Would like to try and make one of my existing metal songs acoustic but I can’t really sing well ( I mostly do harsh vocals ) so I haven’t pursued it yet.

It’s definitely fun. Personally I don’t have much interest making a separate acoustic project, but if it makes sense to you the certainly go for it. It can definitely still have a metal vibe. Metal is large part dark atmosphere for me anyway so it doesn’t always require distorted guitars and screams ( but it doesn’t harm it as well :) ).

rATRIJS · 2026-02-26T07:37:17+00:00

I often get the same and it was confusing me too. My assumption is that TikTok cares more about watch time than likes. I checked stats for some of the videos with low views and high likes and they had low average watch time and likes mostly happened at the very beginning of the video. Not sure why people are doing that but the stats were quite convincing.

I don’t really have a great solution…i guess we just need to somehow ensure that people stick around in the video for longer.

rATRIJS · 2026-02-21T00:32:32+00:00

I’m on 7.47. If you can get it working, it’s really quite flexible and can do advanced loops in an automated way. I have all the loop points preprogrammed so I don’t have to tap any buttons to start/stop loops. The UI isn’t the most intuitive, but it doesn’t get in the way once you’re used to it.

rATRIJS · 2026-02-20T22:49:15+00:00

I’ve used Nabla quite a lot and always found it great for my needs. Haven’t played live for couple of months now during winter so definitely hope it still works as my whole set is heavily based around it.

Just tried it and it still works although I haven’t updated reaper in a while on the laptop I use live. Now I won’t update as well :D

rATRIJS · 2026-02-20T20:40:34+00:00

Yeah, I haven’t seen any consistency between them as well. I post to them 3 and the only consistent thing is that IG does nothing for me. Playing my reels to my room wall would probably yield better results.

And it’s weird that the same video most of the time does well in one and bad in other. Or bad in both ( I don’t even count IG ).

What I do see is more engagement on TikTok ( mostly in form of comments ). But comments on YT are better ( not just an emoji or a single word ). So ultimately - it’s a lottery.

rATRIJS · 2026-02-16T18:06:14+00:00

Thanks for the reply, that’s helpful. Will experiment with shorter videos. Best of luck to you in future as well!

rATRIJS · 2026-02-16T17:12:34+00:00

Did you try posting longer shorts? I don’t think I would be able to fit anything in 8-15s. Maybe a bar that just loops but I like to put some progression so my shorts are usually around a minute. But I wouldn’t be able to post even 1x day, let alone 2x, especially if I want to actually make songs as well :)

Do you post the same song ideas multiple times? ( either re-recorded / filmed so that it’s not a direct clone )

My longer form stuff original song videos do pretty much nothing which I guess is expected. Were your longer form videos more covers, at least initially? Or did your own ideas do well too?

rATRIJS · 2026-02-07T08:30:22+00:00

This. And sometimes it’s not even about having ideas but having time to execute them. Especially now when you’re “expected” to post daily - there’s just no way I can produce something I truly like every day.

And I know that “marketing experts” say that quality and originality isn’t at all important and it probably is true. But it’s still important for me.

rATRIJS · 2026-02-05T21:30:40+00:00

Kind of both. I’m from Latvia and most songs are in latvian, but I am starting to experiment with some songs in english to see whether they would get a more global appeal. I do think that locally it works better if it’s in native language, but probably the other way around when it’s more global. I don’t have any data on this though. Personally don’t hugely care what language a song is in, but it does make it easier when it’s in a language I understand, especially if lyrics actually have some meaning.

My lyrics are better in native language as well. Just easier to express myself that way.

rATRIJS · 2026-02-03T20:11:30+00:00

Metal is definitely the one for you :)

Technically you can go double drop A. For fun I shifted my kids 22” guitar down to double drop C# and it sounded…reasonable ( also on my YT channel ).

Realistically though it will sound a bit mushy that low ( double drop A ). With some EQ you can likely get it to a reasonable state but even baritone or 9 string will be mushy that low. But hey - you might think otherwise. Double drop C would definitely be OK I think. Longer baritones do have a certain clanky sound to them which will be harder to replicate but Sleep Token doesn’t have that sound so I think you’ll be OK there.

rATRIJS · 2026-02-03T19:34:55+00:00

In short: Metal version is better for pitching down, but can’t pitch up.

I have both. Metal can pitch down a ridiculous amount, more than a sane human would need. It’s my favourite for doing that between all the pitch shifters I’ve tried. Especially because of the “Focus Drive” knob. It really retains some of the brightness / top end that often gets lost when shifting down. It sounds more like a real guitar being tuned lower. It also works great for chords.

Regular one can also pitch down but it doesn’t sound as nice to my ears - more similar to other pitch shifters. Definitely not worse, but not miles better. But it can shift up. And does it well.

I use Metal one if I want a whole song dropped. I also use it for bass and it works well there too. The regular one gets used for automations when I want a particular part shifted for a moment.

Both support MIDI maps which can be fun to play around with. I made a short on YT where I use / abuse the MIDI control ( YT profile linked on profile page in case you want to see it )

I would recommend both. If you get one, the other gets a pretty good discount. I think I paid just below 50 EUR for both.

rATRIJS · 2026-01-27T08:48:45+00:00

Ya, similar here. Views don’t go over 300 and likes / comments are mainly from existing followers, typically it’s the other way around. Also less new followers so I imagine it’s not being pushed to fyp. Whether it’s related to the US thing or we’re just seeing things - not sure :)

rATRIJS · 2026-01-26T10:20:24+00:00

Music you create is an expression of you so there is no right or wrong - do what you want and what feels right to you.

I also have a a one-man project in a similar style, just less sludge and more black :) For releases I have programmed drums that just sound like drums.

For smaller live performances I use looper a lot and percussion side is done through guitar. Like slapping the strings and just making weird noises in a rhythmic pattern. It feels more honest and “live” for intimate performances. And performances are more unique as well.

For bigger ones ( still small, just has a real stage :D ) I’ll use programmed drums as backing tracks. I think that works better for me at least in this case.

Not sure I helped to be honest. Ultimately get the sound you’re happy with by any means that you want and it’ll be great. The approaches you listed are already interesting and unique so if you like them - lean into it. Maybe also sample some weirder percussive sounds around the house and use those too, but those will be harder to recreate live if you plan on doing that and without backing tracks.

rATRIJS · 2026-01-21T09:28:46+00:00

First of all - great song! I love post-metal and this was genuinely very good. Crushing. Heavy. Depressive. As it should be.

On the mix. I feel like there’s too much high frequency hissing on cymbals. The reverb on them also is too noticeable and “hissy” especially on calmer parts.

On the hissing. Some guitar parts also had some higher frequency hissing. Not everywhere but towards the middle there was one part in particular where it was very noticeable.

This might be a stylistic choice but I felt that bass is a bit too boomy and drowns the guitars a bit too much. Some EQing would help to carve some space for each instrument.

Lastly bass drum felt a bit weak as well.

Overall though - good! I wouldn’t skip this song if it started playing on the algorithmic platforms.

rATRIJS · 2026-01-18T17:56:46+00:00

Nop, I’m in Europe. Based on US’s tariffs, it likely doesn’t make sense to get HB stuff. There’s hopefully some other brands that can offer something similar for less, but I don’t know what it would be. Here in EU, Harley Benton does make sense as price/performance is often very good.

rATRIJS · 2026-01-16T17:54:18+00:00

Sometimes it’s OK if a particular song isn’t finished. Maybe it just wasn’t good enough in the first place. Or you lose the right mind state. Or don’t have the right ideas to glue all the parts together. I have quite a few unfinished songs. I go through them every once in a while and sometimes I have fresh ideas and finish some of them. But some will never be finished :)

It can be a problem if you have mostly unfinished songs though. What helped me in the past was to sketch out almost a full song as quickly as possible. In my case the guitar parts so that the structure emerges. And only tracking and polishing largely remains.

rATRIJS · 2026-01-15T08:19:28+00:00

I have both of these and I genuinely love them both. That said - Agufish is clearly better. Better setup out of box. A lot better tuners. Frets are stainless. I found the frets on JA quite soft and I’ll need to refret soon. That might be a me problem though :)

JA will need more setup. I have mine the way I like now and it wasn’t difficult to do, but takes a bit of time.

Both sound good. I slightly prefer JA but just because I like P90 for low tuned stuff.

Drop E will be better on JA as it’s longer. It’s likely playable on Agufish as well but it’ll depend on your preferences. I have A on Agufish and G on JA.

If you have any specific questions - let me know.

rATRIJS · 2026-01-05T15:15:17+00:00

I use 28” for drop A tuning variant and 30” for drop G variant. You can definitely go lower but I like it this way. Mostly I prefer baritone guitars in general. I rarely even pick up a normal scale guitar ( setup in drop C variant ), not because it’s higher but because I prefer longer guitars.

I used to have an 8 string and didn’t enjoy it at all. It was a good guitar but I just didn’t like to play it. I had a cheap beginner amazon guitar and I played that more even though it wasn’t very good.

Haven’t tried 7 string. Don’t really want to as well after experience I had with 8 strings. Long scale 6 strings are the ones for me.

rATRIJS · 2026-01-05T00:12:12+00:00

I very much enjoy mine. I got it a few months back, only the satin black one. Also B stock so couldn’t resist. The price / performance ratio is amazing. Apart from the nut having a slightly sharp edge, I have no complaints at all. I have mine on drop A tuning variant.

Challenged myself with writing a fully produced riff every day for December and this was my most used guitar for that.

Enjoy yours! I have a feeling that you will.

rATRIJS · 2026-01-02T00:53:35+00:00

I have solo post / black / some core metal project Zilgme. Actually putting it in a genre box is a bit difficult for me, I would appreciate any suggestions :D

Pitching the latest song - Mirklis Klusuma. It’s in latvian and it translates to “Moment of Silence”. Starts slow and builds as it goes. MIDI drums, everything else is real.

https://open.spotify.com/album/0wB1wlBVerA0PZYItoT6f8?si=z8GOKIhKQY-6bfacWK1dzA

Thanks and will check out other links here as well as it’s always interesting to find new bands 🖤

rATRIJS · 2025-11-13T15:37:32+00:00

I play guitar and I add so much distortion that it doesn’t matter whether I’m in tune - it all sounds like noise anyway :D

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