Rafael Trujillo

Harmonic Rhythm - how to get into jazz

For me it is essential to understand the connections between the chords and in my opinion jazz is probably the best way to learn that vocabulary because it contains everything from very simple and repetitive motives to very complex structures including polyrhythms and odd meters.

The so-called harmonic rhythm essentially dictates when to play each chord. Riffs and melodies often follow 4 or 8-bar phrases, forming entire sections like 4 sets of 4 bars (16 bars) or 4 sets of 8 bars (32 ba...

HOW to get into Jazz - Repertoire

Hey guys,

I'd like to share my approach to playing jazz music, regardless of your current skill level or previous musical background, but especially for people like me, playing metal too.

First of all, I want to share my repertoire, a list of jazz standards I've used for learning and consistent practice. Whether you're just starting to delve into jazz or are a seasoned player, these standards are great for working on your improvisation, songwriting or fretboard visualisation skill...

Tempo Changes in Songs - My Formula

Whenever there is a tempo change in one of my songs, it always maintains a relational aspect through metric modulation. For instance, the most straightforward metric modulation is the transition from half time to double tempo, or vice versa. However, looking into that topic a little more there are a lot of things to discover by altering the note rate. For example, if we play 16th notes at 120 bpm but accent every fifth beat, we essentially play quintuplets at 96 bpm. Transitioning seamlessly ...

My first guitar

I want to tell you something I never shared before publicly. Most of the instruments I own or owned were purchased using money I received for birthdays, Christmas, and other occasions. I invested all my pocket money into building my collection of instruments, including buying a Drum Set at the age of 11 (I even took drum lessons for two years and played in a samba percussion band). However, my very first electric guitar was an ESP LTD. I don't remember the exact model, it was probably an earl...

My Top (Lead) Guitarists

I get so many questions about what inspires me and who influences my music. So I want to share that with you. Honestly, my inspiration comes from a blend of players, bands, composers, and producers who amaze me and create a particular feeling when I listen to their work. I might create different posts to share my favorite musicians in general (which also goes way out of the metal or jazz genre), but this time, I just want to focus on my top lead guitarists. And I have to say, my own list of t...

Guitar Strings

I want to give you an overview about the strings I’m playing. At the moment I’m using DR strings exclusively.

They feel great to me and have a really nice warm tone, which I love to have, especially for soloing.

(E-)Standard Tuning: Veritas Medium; 10, 13, 17, 26, 36, 46

7-String (D-)Standard Tuning: DDT7-11; 11, 15, 19, 32, 42, 54, 65

(E-)Standard Acoustic Tuning: RPL-10; 10, 14, 22, 30, 38, 48

(E-)Standard Acoustic Tuning 2: NBA-11; 11, 15, 22, 30, 40, 50 2023-11-09 11:48:17 +0000 UTC View Post

How I warm up before playing my songs live

Hey guys, I want to share something about my warm up. This clip was recorded during a workshop I gave in Salzburg.

Playing at a workshop is totally different than performing a whole set on stage, because it’s just one or two songs out of nowhere. On a full live set, I usually start with 2-3 easier songs before playing harder stuff. But in a workshop situation I only play 1-2 in between talking about certain topics or answering questions. So in order to make my warm up as efficient as...

My "Archetype: Petrucci" Presets (Neural DSP)

Hey guys,

Last week I shared my presets for the Archetype: Plini plugin. This week I'm sharing the ones for "Archetype: Petrucci". You can hear them on the playthrough video I did.

Check them out!

I'm posting them because I was asked for them specifically. Please let me know in the comments if you would like to hear my thoughts on presets as an inspiration for other plugins too.

My "Archetype: Plini" Presets (Neural DSP)

Hey guys,

a lot of people are asking me about the presets and tones I'm using. So I want to share some tones I use from the Archetype: Plan plugin. In this video you can hear an example of my lead tone.

In the attachment you'll find a Rhythm, Crunch, Solo, Clean and a Clean Solo preset I made.

• Rhythm: For the rhythm tone, I like it to be both chuggy and heavy yet transparent, especially during fast 16th note tremolo picking. That's why I don't use too much gain on it. ...
  2023-10-18 14:53:48 +0000 UTC View Post

Video recording gear

I want to give you some insight into how I record myself on video. Trust me, I used to struggle with this a lot in the past, but I learned by simply doing it repeatedly. The most important thing is lighting; I use two softboxes placed in front of me on both the right and left sides. I've experimented with various cameras, such as GoPro, Canon, and other digital cameras, but I consistently achieve the best results with my iPhone recording in 4K. For ""talking"" audio, I use a clip microphone f...

Practicing Jazz Standards

I practiced a lot of Jazz Improvisation concepts and jazz standards (tunes) over the years. And I still do. That’s also what influences me in my metal solo playing a lot.

I think most of you play metal so I’m curious if you ever got in touch with Jazz Standards or jam sessions around your living area.

Kiesel Zeus Acoustic

This is my Kiesel Zeus Acoustic. It is one of the greatest instruments I've ever played on. I already started recording a new song with it. Hopefully I'm able to show it to go guys very soon!

Here are the Specs:

25.5'' Scale Length

Red Cedar Top Acoustic

Mahagony Body

Translucent Aqua Burst

Rear of Body Nautral Clear

Ultra-Thin Raw Tone Satin Finish

5-Piece Walnut Neck w/ 2 Maple Stripes

Tung Oil Neck

Ebony Fin...

Practice livestream

Today I'm playing at the local theater so we'll have to move our livestream to Sunday once again. Same time as always (7pm CET).

Platin and premium members will be able to see it through a link I post here.

Let me know, if you have any questions.

Looking forward to it!

Tabs - Guitar Pro

As you've probably already heard, I'm now officially the Lead Guitarist of the band Daath!

Krimh introduced me to them back in 2022. Over the past couple of months, we have been writing and recording new songs for the upcoming album.

Just like in Obsidious, we use Guitar Pro to communicate musically. If we want to make a change in the existing composition, we simply re-record that part in our DAW, adjust the MIDI drums, and overwrite the Guitar Pro file, ensuring everyone knows t...

Practice livestream

This Saturday I'm playing at the local theater so we'll have to move our livestream to Sunday. Same time as always (7pm CET).
Platin and premium members will be able to see it through a link I post here.
Let me know, if you have any questions.
Looking forward to it!

NEW SINGLE - Across the Lines

My new single 'Across the Lines' is out on the 8th of September.

This is the early access link!

Gear - App

This is the app called forScore. I use this app on a regular basis, especially for rehearsals and practice sessions.

By the way: You’ll have access to my new single by 4pm (CET) today.🎉🙌 Tabs and backing tracks are available tomorrow and will be posted in an extra post. I hope you‘ll enjoy it!

G-Major 2 - TC Electronic

I used this exact G-Major 2 modul from TC Electronic for a lot of tours with Obscura back then. The effects on it sound really great in my opinion.

This device is very unique in a way because in addition to change regular presets it is able to switch between channels (clean and high gain) on a real amp without using midi. I used it in combination with ENGL amps mainly.

I just included it to my recording/songwriting setup to have more options when it comes to effects.

Practice livestream today!

This Saturday I‘ll be live again. Platin and premium members will be able to see it through a link I post here. Let me know, if you have any questions. Looking forward to it!

This is the Timer I use for every practice session

That's the timer I use for practicing. It helps me set everything aside, such as emails and my phone, allowing me to focus on just one task. I typically do 25-30 minute sessions. When the timer runs out, I take a break to drink some water and stand up for a few seconds. Then, I reset the timer and switch to a different topic in my practice schedule.

You can download the timer for free from the App Store; it's called AS Timer. There's also a Pro version available if you want more feature...

Practice livestream

This Saturday I‘ll be live on Discord. Platin and premium members will be able to see it on my server. Let me know, if you have any questions. Looking forward to it!

Gear (Pedalboard)

Have you ever worked on your own live rig? Like what combination of pedals, amps and devices you use and how to put everything together in a convenient and compact way? Well, that’s Javi and me trying to find the best way possible to put all my gear into one rack or pedal board for future shows. In the picture you can see the Sennheiser guitar wireless system, the quad cortex by Neural DSP and the mini Dunlop volume pedal on my board. On the side, there is my other case with the DR string...

Our van 🚐

Hi guys, this is our rented van that we are traveling with at the moment.

With it we drove from Austria (Sebastian’s rehearsal studio) to the Czech Republic. Equipped with 6 seats, there was also room for our equipment, consisting of the drums, guitars, bass and backdrop, as well as our suitcases. We had a lot of fun!

The 2 guitars I‘m taking with me to the show🎸🎸

Specs:

Osiris O7X (red)

• Alder body
• Blood Red
• Birdseye Maple Fingerboard
• Staggered offset red acrylic inlays
• Stainless Steel medium jumbo frets
• Thinner neck profile
• 7 piece walnut/maple/purple heart neck
• Cream lithium pickups with black pole pieces
• Drop shadow silver logo

Osiris O7X (blue)

• Swamp Ash Body

2023-08-10 15:30:06 +0000 UTC View Post

What’s in my bag? (tour edition part 1)

Hey guys, on Saturday I play with Obsidious at the Brutal Assault festival in Czech Republic. On this picture you can see the main things I will be using for the show:

Boss FS-5L, Neural DSP Quad Cortex, Dunlop Volume X Mini, T-Rex Fuel Tank Chameleon, Kiesel Osiris 7 (blood red and Translucent Aqua Blue), Richter Strap Springbreak I

There will be a part 2 during the rehearsals

Ethereal Skies Playthrough with tabs

With this you can play along to the track and read the tabs in real time.

My Setup Part 2 - Neural DSP Plugins

Hey guys, here I wanted to show you some of the plugins I'm using for recordings, videos and playthroughs.

Let me know if you have any questions :)

My Setup Part 1 (Quad Cortex)

Hey guys, this is live setup and I'm going through the sounds I'm using for my band Obsidious.

Let me know if you have any questions :)

Obscura Setup 2018

I can’t believe it! This was my setup for Obscura in 2018 in the rehearsal studio. Kiesel DC700 straight into Axe Fx II and that’s it.

There was a MIDI cable coming from the cymatic audio sampler into the Axe changing the presets with the click track.

Wishes and Dreams

The new single is out tomorrow! Here you can already pre-watch the video!

Tabs are on the way!

Hope you enjoy