Song Rig

Handmade Cities

Plini · Handmade Cities · 2016

Tone Overview

What Makes This Sound Unique

Plini's most celebrated piece and the track that built his YouTube following — a progressive instrumental that combines tight djent-adjacent rhythm sections with lyrical, melodic lead playing. His Fractal Axe-Fx tone is warm for a high-gain guitar, sitting closer to fusion than metal in character.

Signal Chain

1Strandberg Boden 7-string (custom build)
2Fractal Audio Axe-Fx II (clean and lead presets)
3Mesa Boogie simulation (lead tone)

Amp Settings

Gain / Volume7

Bass6

Mid6

Treble7

Presence7

Less scooped than djent — Plini retains midrange warmth that distinguishes his tone from the aggressive Periphery-style djent. His goal is a tone that works for both percussive rhythm sections and singing melodic leads.

Technique

How to Play It

Melodic lead playing over progressive rhythm structures — the lead sections of Handmade Cities use jazz-influenced scale choices (Lydian mode, altered dominant) over prog metal rhythmic structures, creating a melodic sophistication unusual in the genre.

Budget Alternative

Achievable With

7-string guitar → Fractal Axe-Fx or Neural DSP plugin → retain more midrange than standard djent → the lead tone benefits from a warmer frequency balance: practice Lydian and Lydian-dominant scale patterns for the melodic sections.

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