A Welcome Post for new Patrons! (Patreon)

Hey Patrons! So I've gotten a lot of new Patrons lately and I wanted to make an official 'welcome post' with a bunch of information for you. I tend to get a lot of similar questions when people first pledge, so this will be sort of an FAQ to help everyone learn their way around. If you've been around for a while, this is all stuff you probably already know, but you might learn something new.

First off, I just want to give an ENORMOUS THANK YOU for becoming a Patron. Even if you're just donating $1 one time per month, every little bit helps, and I'm eternally grateful for it. I know it can be hard to regularly donate to someone or something, even if it's a small amount (I can't tell you how many times I've passed on a $2 iPhone app/game thinking 'that's way too much', haha), so I've tried my best to make my rewards, well, rewarding!

In the beginning, I was saving pledges to upgrade or replace music-related equipment (replacing guitar strings, the new camera, the new video background, replacing a busted studio monitor, things like that).  Thanks to all of your generosity, I am now able to work on GaMetal material as a full time job! I can't express how grateful I am for every one of you. We've still only scratched the surface, as I'm now making the same amount as I did when I worked on GaMetal part-time with a second job. Now, however, I have a lot more time to dedicate to the growth of GaMetal, which means not only new songs, but other new things as well, like albums! In the future, hopefully I'll be able to replace more of the outdated equipment I've been using for ages. But all that aside, I wouldn't be able to do any of this, or be where I am now, without your generous support. Again, thank you so much!!

I'll now give you some info, sorted by Tier, to help you get familiar with Patreon and where you can find/do certain things.

Tier 1+
The Patron feed can be found on my Patreon home page (http://patreon.com/jonnyatma). All posts I make can be found in the "Creator Posts" section, and there's also a 'Patron Posts" section where you can post, as well as see other posts made by Patrons. You can scroll all the way back to my first post ever here, so if you ever get bored feel free to look around. Sometimes I'll post important news pertaining to future plans, or just make an unrelated blog-type post about something.

I also regularly make new posts to keep you updated on everything I'm working on at the moment. It's also where you can find freebie rewards that I make available for all tiers. Most importantly right now I'd direct you to:

All Patreon Acoustic Shorts (a post with links to every acoustic short I've made for Tier 5+ Patrons)

Discord Server 

Tier 2+

Early downloads are released on the Patreon stream a day before the video is released. Usually you'll receive an email when I upload these posts, but I've been told that occasionally the email will go out late. So you can always come and check if it's the day before video day and you haven't received an email yet, just in case.

Tier 3+

The current edition of the Patreon Request List (17th Edition) can be found here. All the info you need for posting your requests is in that thread.

I always make sure this list is fully updated before our request list drawings, so if I don't get a song from your list chosen and posted immediately, don't worry, I'll have it up before the next drawing. Promise :). Also I usually send out a final post before I do the drawing just to make sure I don't miss anyone.

I also post 'new editions' of the request list every once in a while, to clean up the comments section and make any rule revisions. If you don't see it, check the 'request list' featured tag on the sidebar of the main page.

Tier 4+
I scan my list of Patrons before I upload each video to make sure I don't miss any new people in the credits. In case I do miss you (or worse: mess up your name!), please send me a message and I'll get it fixed the next time around.

Tier 5+

You can send your acoustic short requests to me either by message or posting on the acoustic short thread. Feel free to list several songs if you don't have an order preference and plan on pledging for a while. Also, if there's a specific part of the song you don't want me to miss (especially for songs that are originally pretty long), let me know so I don't miss it for you.

Lately I've been making acoustic short loops from some acoustic short requests, I'll usually do this for songs that are on the shorter side (around 45 seconds or so).

Tier 6+

I've been making sure to double check before drawings to make sure I don't miss any second-song choices from people that move up to this tier. So like I mentioned earlier, if I don't have it updated immediately, don't worry, I will before the next drawing. :)

Tier 7+

I'll get with you via message to find out what song you'd like to put in our Patreon medleys.

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If you have any other questions, please ask! You can either comment here or send me a message.

Also, don't be afraid to send me a message for any reason. I'm happy to talk with all of you! You are the one's helping me reach my goals so you mean the world to me. I'll always respond as soon as I can.

One last time: Thank you so much for your support!!! You all are the greatest! :)

PS: Oh yeah, and when you comment, you can go down a line by pressing 'shift+enter', and not just 'enter', which will automatically post the comment. We've all done it.