OT: RockSmith, where are my real aspiring Hendrixes?

[Jimmydeicide]

Sounds like you guys may need the full on Tony Iommi fake finger tips

[TCrouch]

LOL just need tougher fingers.

My blister is kind of at the point where it's just dead-ish skin and hardening up, so I'm set to annihilate that sucker again tonight. I couldn't take an entire night of no playing last night, though...so I grabbed the right-handed guitar and played a few songs that way. Talk about bizarre for a lefty

[backbreaker]

PS3 fixed watched the process of reflow and pasting. In and out just over an hour.

My training regime has gotten me pretty far with satisfaction.

Intro
Single note
leveler
Accelerator( I deliberately keep the speed at about 85 to 90% until I get good muscle memory).

Riff repeater, it has every thing you have learned in their for the intro. I stay here until I get good at muscle memory.

then start the process again adding another note.

EDIT: How can we get a patch with the devs. with an in game option to ask us too increase or decrease speed(dial up or down for speed). Also "add a note" option, I think this will make the game a little more enjoyable and aid the process much better.

[toonarmy]

I don't know anything about guitars and am thinking about getting this game. My main dilemma is whether or not to get the bundle. Is this guitar worth the extra money over getting the guitar in the bundle?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002C ... G9NJNJSG2W

[Danimal]

My recommendation if if you have a guitar center near you or something similar go in and try out some guitars. My (limited) personal experience is there is nothing better then holding the guitar in your hands and getting a feel for it. It's not possible to tell the thickness of the neck ro how it feels to you in pictures.

Having said that I think a strap is necessary if you plan on standing while playing. Picks are a must.

[toonarmy]

My recommendation if if you have a guitar center near you or something similar go in and try out some guitars. My (limited) personal experience is there is nothing better then holding the guitar in your hands and getting a feel for it. It's not possible to tell the thickness of the neck ro how it feels to you in pictures.

Having said that I think a strap is necessary if you plan on standing while playing. Picks are a must.

Thanks. I did that. Guitar Center people were ultra helpful and cool. I went with the Ibanez RG120. With a coupon I got the price to 169.99. The guy who helped me said it is a really good guitar for the money and is a comfortable guitar to play. I cannot wait to try this game out.

[Danimal]

That's a good guitar Toon enjoy it.

[JackB1]

So what's the verdict on this game? Is it a better alternative to Rock Band for those of us that want to play real guitar? Also would it be too easy to those of us that already know how to play real guitar?

[RobVarak]

What would be your evaluation of this for someone who has never played guitar? I've always wanted to learn but taking lessons at 40 is very unappealing. My younger brother plays guitar and drums and I'd like to learn a little bit so I could play along with him.

Also, has anyone gotten the guitar? Wondering how the quality is.

Second on this question. The GWJ CC guys said that their kids were able to pick up a guitar for the first time and learn the most basic basics through the game and that it ramps up nicely.

I'm in the same boat as Brando, and this has me intrigued for sure. All I've ever wanted was to do was be able to play Jimmy Reed shuffles all night. A modest goal, I would think, but one I've never had the time for.

[DChaps]

I have been playing guitar for over 20 years and I am having fun with this game. I think it does a pretty good job of teaching you some basics in a fun way, although purists would say it ramps up way too fast on some techniques. I think it all depends on what you want to get out of it. For me personally, it has been a fun way of getting me back into playing. While I have played for many years, I have not progressed since the 90's as I have been a casual player for the last several years, so this has been a fun way of getting me back into it.

The song catalog is certainly not as expansive as RB/GH but the song selection again does a good job of moving you through different techniques. I have not played the RB3 Pro version using the Fender Stratocaster Guitar/Controller so I don't know how it compares as a learning tool, but from straight value, Rocksmith certainly beats it. That guitar/controller for RB3 is $279, whereas with Rocksmith all you need to do is have any guitar.

Jack, for an advanced guitar player, it may not be a learning tool, but to me it is at least as fun as playing RB/GH because you are getting points the "better" you play the song and you can compare points for songs with leaderboards, etc.

I will say the more I have played, the more annoying things I have found. For example, unlike the RB/GH games, you must also used the standard controller and the guitar the whole time you are playing, so you are constantly picking it up and switching. I like to stand when I play so I just have the controller on a stool next to me. You also re-tune alot, and the game is sometimes hit or miss on making sure you are in tune correctly. Some of this could be related to the guitars I am using, but still gets a little tedious. You also will probably need to spend a good bit of time adjusting to not have lag between your guitar, sound, and interface. All depends on your setup, but I have had mine 100% HDMI and had to get a converter to send the sound to analog. Because that is not the way I want my setup to be at all times, it now means that anytime I want to play Rocksmith I have to mess around with my setup. That has now become a detterent to "pick up and play". Again, this is just for my setup though, so your results may vary.

I did buy the bundle with the Les Paul Jr. because I had always wanted one anyway. I think it is a decent starter/budget guitar, but of course you could get a used guitar for cheaper than $120. The knock on Epiphone Les Paul Jr.'s is in consistency of quality. Mine seems pretty good so far, although it could stand to have better tuning pegs.

I will say again though that the amp cabinet/effect box part of the game is worth the $79 alone. A very cool console version of the Line 6 GuitarPort. I've probably spent just as much time screwing around with that. If you want to gain access to all the amp cabinets and effects without playing through the game it is an additional 400 MS Points for the Tone Designer Time Saver Pack.

So far they have released the following as DLC:

Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Tighten Up by The Black Keys
Bodysnatchers by Radiohead
More Than a Feeling by Boston
Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple
Jessica by The Allman Brothers Band

According to The Gaming Vault they will be releasing new DLC every two weeks.

http://www.thegamingvault.com/2011/11/more-rocksmith-d/

Today, on the day that the 70′s Rock Hits DLC hits Rocksmith, Ubisoft announced what their next release will be. Is it radical, or do you hate everything about it?

Rocksmith DLC for November 29th:
•“Cousins” by Vampire Weekend
•“20th Century Boy” by T. Rex
•“I Hate Everything About You” by Three Days Grace

Each track will be available for 240 MSP ($3) on the XBLM and PSN.

We now have a proven pattern that many had speculated to two weeks ago. It seems that we will get three new tracks every two weeks. The norm also seems to be to release singles from three different artists, so don’t expect a pack discount anytime soon. Given how little DLC will come out in a month, it’s good to see variety in what’s picked.

If you don’t like whats coming out, I guess you’ll just have to deal with the epic tracks that were released today.

EDIT: It seems that “Smoke on the Water” has been delayed on the PS3. Ubisoft hopes that have it up by Mid-December.

[Brando70]

Don, thanks a lot, great evaluation. I'm seriously considering it for Christmas, especially because I'm off for the week between Christmas and New Years -- seems like a great opportunity to jump in and play.

I'll have to think about the guitar. It sounds like the bundle is good but not as great of a value as I thought.

[DChaps]

Don, thanks a lot, great evaluation. I'm seriously considering it for Christmas, especially because I'm off for the week between Christmas and New Years -- seems like a great opportunity to jump in and play.

I'll have to think about the guitar. It sounds like the bundle is good but not as great of a value as I thought.

I just realized that my notes basically just say everything that Terry and Dan already said about it a couple pages back.
From most of my pricing searches, at best the bundle saves you about $10 if you were going to buy that specific guitar at retail and not on sale.

[Leebo33]

I picked this up at Gamestop on Black Friday for $50. So far it's a lot of fun and I felt a lot more productive over the long weekend putting 8 hours into this over Skyrim

I have a dumb newbie question. Should I be forcing myself to play particular frets with certain fingers? For instance, should I always play 1 with my index finger, 2 with my middle, and 3 with my ring finger? Should I be playing 5 with my index finger? What about 7? Right now I'm using whatever fingers makes it easier to play a particular song but I'm worried that it may mess me up long term if I should be consistent.

[TCrouch]

Pay close attention to the anchoring highlight on the neck. It shows you where to keep your fingers at the bottom as well. You can try to just play it using whatever's comfortable, but when they start adding in more notes and chords, you're going to have to re-learn everything.

So if you look at the blue highlight on the fretboard at the bottom, it will show you the four frets you should have your fingers on. Leave them there and play with those fingers. It also highlights where you should be anchoring your hand before the section is played, so you can shift accordingly. You'll also see that it highlights the upcoming string(s) as well, so you can shift and get positioned if you have some time before the next bar.

[Teal]

Is this thing teaching note recognition, or just muscle memory? After getting good at this game, could you go out and pick up sheet music and play?

[DChaps]

Speaking of Rocksmith, I just noticed the new songs are up on the Xbox Live Market place:

Rocksmith DLC for November 29th:
•“Cousins” by Vampire Weekend
•“20th Century Boy” by T. Rex
•“I Hate Everything About You” by Three Days Grace

Each track is available for 240 MSP ($3) on the XBLM and PSN.

[TCrouch]

Is this thing teaching note recognition, or just muscle memory? After getting good at this game, could you go out and pick up sheet music and play?

Doesn't teach you to read sheet music at all. But it does list notes next to the chords, so you start to learn what an A, a C, a D, etc., are.

And the scale runner helps you learn some notes and scales, but it's nothing that will help you learn to read sheet music.

[Teal]

Okay then, next question: I have always played keyboards by ear. Figure I can pick up a guitar by ear, once I learn the fingering and note patterns. Will this help facilitate that? Reason I ask is that I don't need another 'guitar game'. I want to actually learn to play guitar, but don't want to be limited to 'follow the bouncing ball'.

[TCrouch]

You can certainly learn the notes by ear, but you wouldn't need the game to do that.

I think as a tool to get from "never picked up a guitar before" to "I know the basics and am semi-proficient", it's the best I've seen. It will not get you over the hump to being the next big thing on the axe, but it's an amazing starting point. Even the simple fact that it takes practice routines and assigns scores to them is a huge deal to me.

If you don't follow the bouncing ball in a song at all, and just work the practice games they have in the guitarcade, you'll become a proficient player and learn what sound comes from where on the fretboard. Because if you first work through the Ducks (learning to shift and find a fret on a single string quickly), then super ducks (the same thing on all strings), you figure out how to navigate the fretboard. After that, you can do the slide minigame to learn how to quickly slide from one fret to another.

Jumping to scales teaches you basic theory and what notes go together. Chord progression is another one that will teach you chord memorization.

The one thing it doesn't do as you play (that I've found) is really a "fundamental" mode. If you botch a section, it keeps on plugging and eases it up. I'd like to have an always-on mode that would back up the song and replay it when you hose a section, but that only seems to be found in the other modes and not actually practicing the song.

[bdunn13]

I did not even know this game existed until I saw this thread.....

I am hooked and I don't have it yet. I will pick it up when I get some time to play.

BD

[Gurantsu]

I also snagged it for $50 (plus my employee discount!) at Gamestop this past weekend. Its a gift for my daughter and I, so it's packed away until Christmas though.

[DChaps]

This news is a little old, but the next DLC on Dec. 13 will be a Megadeth Pack:

Rocksmith just announced via Facebook that December 13th will bring three tracks from Megadeth to Rocksmith DLC! Once again it’s feeling very Guitar Hero 1 / 2 with this DLC release featuring: Countdown to Extinction‘s “Symphony of Destruction” (previously on Guitar Hero and through Guitar Hero 5 DLC),”Rust in Peace‘s “Hangar 18″ (Previously in Guitar Hero 2 and through Guitar Hero 5 DLC), and off their latest album, Th1rt3en “Public Enemy No. 1.”

UPDATE: We just confirmed that this is indeed, a Megadeth “Pack.” That means all three songs will run you 640 MSP/$7.99 and each individual song will be 240 MSP/$2.99!

[RobVarak]

Got it for Christmas from my wife, along with a sweet Epiphone Les Paul Special II.

Excited, but this is gonna be a long, hard road. Right now "Satisfaction" seems like "Flight of the Bumblebee".

[webdanzer]

I'm on board with this now.

Just picked it up and have only played some starter segments, but boy have they nailed this better than Rock Band did.

I've been suffering silently as the Rock Band Pro mode didn't do much for me, even after going all in and buying the squier. It felt like I was just really playing a super-complicated form of Rock Band, and not really learning to play guitar.

After one night with Rocksmith, I feel like I was learning to play guitar. Just a wee tiny bit, mind you, but still.

Hearing yourself play makes a HUGE, huge difference.

Anyway, since I felt a little burned by the RB3 pro mode, I only bought the game and cable for this one, and am in fact using the RB3 squier for Rocksmith. So far, it works well enough for me, but if this inspiration keeps up I can see myself investing in a better guitar.

It's amazing on how excited I am to play this again already on day 2, when after day 1 of RB3, I really had a 'meh' feeling.

[Gurantsu]

Yeah I finally broke it open and gave it a shot. I like it a lot. I still like Rock Band for playing with the kids (especially with the fog machine!) But where in RockSmith you are playing music, in Rock Band you are playing WITH your music. Big difference even though they are both fun.

It's taking me a while to get used to what the symbols are telling me to do. Once I know it then I just play without really looking at the screen. Its a great way to learn. And I do have a lot to learn, as my years of playing chords and short riffs to write my songs have crippled me into not being a better guitar player.

I will need to get my daughter her own electric though. My Godin is too big for her, and watching her barely holding on to a $1200 guitar gives me the heebie jeebies.