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Rocksmith - like guitar hero, but learn real guitar (2 Viewers)

I'm a complete novice and I ordered this the other night to be delivered today. I'll be using my buddy's guitar (no idea if it's any good). I'll report back at some point this weekend with a review.

 
I'm a complete novice and I ordered this the other night to be delivered today. I'll be using my buddy's guitar (no idea if it's any good). I'll report back at some point this weekend with a review.
Looking forward to your review. This may make the Christmas gift list.
 
I may be asking for this for my birthday/holiday season. Anyone know of any good guitars that are on the cheaper side. Not sure the 5-600 bucks the amazon reviewer suggested is within my good to ask for zone from the wife
I just bought my son a 2007 Mexican Strat for $275 on Craigslist. I think used is the way to go.
:goodposting: absolutely no reason to buy new stuff when you can find pretty much anything you need at half price on CL. Musicians usually take care of their gear, so most of the time your used purchases will be in almost-new condition anyway.
 
Really quick update & initial impressions:

Love it. Immediately hooked.

I'm using an Epiphone "Special II," FWIW (is that any good?).

I'm using component audio cables with HDMI video, which is the recommended setup. They start you off by having you select your handedness and then whether you have a 3+3 or a 6-in-line headstock (which was over my head until about 10 minutes ago). Then they've got an interactive tutorial to help you get your guitar hooked up, get the volume adjusted, and get your ax tuned. :headbang:

That's as far as I've gotten :bag: but I can already tell that this is going to be really, really enjoyable. :thumbup:

I'll be back with more updates once I get more into the substance of the game.

 
I may be asking for this for my birthday/holiday season. Anyone know of any good guitars that are on the cheaper side. Not sure the 5-600 bucks the amazon reviewer suggested is within my good to ask for zone from the wife
I just bought my son a 2007 Mexican Strat for $275 on Craigslist. I think used is the way to go.
Cool. Thanks. i always forget about Craigslist
used on craigslist would be my advice. get something used that new would cost $300 or more, dont get the entry line guitars that are all over craigslist and being sold for up to $200. some are ok but most are just junk. dont buy the package deal that comes with a crappy practice amp either, this is a dead giveaway of an entry level pile of crap.bigbottoms purchase is exactly the kind of thing to look for.
I was going to PM you but figured others may be in the same boat so Ill ask hereHow do I know what I am looking for?
i would say look for something that is a known brand like fender, ibanez, gibson etc... these have entry line models that arent that good such as gio(ibanez), squire/starcaster(fender) and some of the low end epiphones can be lacking but overall they make good instruments. definitely stay away from stuff like first act, silvertone and esteban. if you like the ibanez or fender strat look i would go that route, their necks are a bit easier(thinner) and i think they are more comfortable for a beginner to play on than the epiphone les paul style. hope this helps.
 
I bit the bullet and got it today. The game is very well done.

My 12 year old is really learning and wants to keep going. Its fun watching him get better right in front of me.

Im enjoying it myself as a 30 year intermediate player.

Recommend

 
I bit the bullet and got it today. The game is very well done.My 12 year old is really learning and wants to keep going. Its fun watching him get better right in front of me.Im enjoying it myself as a 30 year intermediate player.Recommend
Do you have your own guitar or did you get the bundle
 
Looks like a cool game. I've only been playing guitar for a few years but my initial concern is that it just teaches what fret/string to push at what time. In other words, you learn that particular song as far as where to fret the guitar. When I was just beginning I didn't want to just learn a song and not understand the chords or riff shapes I just played. So I set out to learn theory as I was learning various chords and scales. Knowing how to play the same chord in multiple positions on the neck and understanding chord progressions really helped open up the guitar for me.

I could see how an experienced guitar player could appreciate this game as he/she would be able to pick up the chords/riffs/phrases quickly in the songs on the list. That is, what type of scale is used to solo over the chord progression of the song.

For the absolute beginner, I could see different outcomes. Kids have an extraordinary talent for picking up and mastering games like this. Some people will actually learn guitar as they progress. Others will simply learn to play those songs on the list without really understanding what notes they are playing... as long as the video scrolling bar is in front of them.

 
So I did end up receiving the Rocksmith bundle for my birthday on Saturday. After the crowd left I sat down to give it a go. First impression was that this was going to be way harder than I thought it was going to be.

I spent an hour that first night doing the setup, tuning the guitar, and playing through Rolling Stones - Satisfaction, 4 or 5 times. It was really rough to start, I think the game should really start you off with some exercises rather than jump right into a song.

After an hour my finger was destroyed. By the next morning I had lost most of the feeling on my fingertip. Clearly I had over done it for my first time. Need to learn that this is not really a video game, and I don't get to just keep playing cause I want to. I have to learn to respect the learning process and pace myself. 30 minutes a day max for the first few weeks.

I picked it up again yesterday afternoon and did 4 times through what they called a Shifting Technique challenge. Just teaching me to how to move my hand/fingers up and down the neck. This went much better than just playing the songs and after 4 times through it I could see the game adding a few extra notes here and there as it started upping the difficulty. By my 4th time through I had scored a gold medal and it had been about 20 minutes of playing so I figured for my last 10 I'd go back to the Stones song and see if I had improved.

The first night I was only getting 61% of the notes. But yesterday I hit 74% and then 80%. Seeing that success has calmed my fears about this whole thing. I really felt like I might have gotten in over my head on that first night but I feel better about doing this now.

More updates to come in another week or two.

 
SkyThanks for the review. What do you think about the bundled guitar?
Keep in mind I have absolutely zero experience with guitars so I don't know what qualities I should be looking for.The guitar does stay in tune unlike that Amazon review earlier in the thread.My only "complaint" is that the strings tend to rattle. But I have no idea if that is normal, or if that is because of something I'm doing wrong, or if it is indeed a flaw in the quality. It'll probably be years before I figure out the answer to that question and that assumes I stick with it long enough.Other than that....it's heavy, it's pretty, and it plays the music that I am asking it to. Which is all I can ask for.
 
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'SkyRattlers said:
The first night I was only getting 61% of the notes. But yesterday I hit 74% and then 80%. Seeing that success has calmed my fears about this whole thing. I really felt like I might have gotten in over my head on that first night but I feel better about doing this now.
After having played this a good bit more, I have to say that the amount of improvement I've seen in a short period of time has been pretty surprising and the game aspect of it keeps it from feeling like a chore.A criticism I have is that there isn't a way to set up separate profiles for players of differing ability (or, if there is, I haven't found it yet). If one of my kids goes to play one of the songs I've been working on, they get hammered with notes they aren't ready for until the game adjusts to their level. Then when I go back to the song, it's set for a beginner. It's kind of a pain but not a dealbreaker. If there is another edition of this game, I hope they fix that.
 
The fact that there is no leveling system has been discussed by many reviewers. Like you, it's not a deal breaker for them but more of an annoyance.

 
I just may go out and buy this

Does anyone know of any good acoustic pick ups that would be worthwhile for this gametutorial?

I don't want to break the bank either

 
'SkyRattlers said:
The first night I was only getting 61% of the notes. But yesterday I hit 74% and then 80%. Seeing that success has calmed my fears about this whole thing. I really felt like I might have gotten in over my head on that first night but I feel better about doing this now.
After having played this a good bit more, I have to say that the amount of improvement I've seen in a short period of time has been pretty surprising and the game aspect of it keeps it from feeling like a chore.A criticism I have is that there isn't a way to set up separate profiles for players of differing ability (or, if there is, I haven't found it yet). If one of my kids goes to play one of the songs I've been working on, they get hammered with notes they aren't ready for until the game adjusts to their level. Then when I go back to the song, it's set for a beginner. It's kind of a pain but not a dealbreaker. If there is another edition of this game, I hope they fix that.
It's downright stupid. My kid plays when I'm not home and then I'm stuck strumming one note every 30 secs when it's my turn. Is there a way to setup user profiles? How do I reset and start from the beginning?
 
'SkyRattlers said:
The first night I was only getting 61% of the notes. But yesterday I hit 74% and then 80%. Seeing that success has calmed my fears about this whole thing. I really felt like I might have gotten in over my head on that first night but I feel better about doing this now.
After having played this a good bit more, I have to say that the amount of improvement I've seen in a short period of time has been pretty surprising and the game aspect of it keeps it from feeling like a chore.A criticism I have is that there isn't a way to set up separate profiles for players of differing ability (or, if there is, I haven't found it yet). If one of my kids goes to play one of the songs I've been working on, they get hammered with notes they aren't ready for until the game adjusts to their level. Then when I go back to the song, it's set for a beginner. It's kind of a pain but not a dealbreaker. If there is another edition of this game, I hope they fix that.
It's downright stupid. My kid plays when I'm not home and then I'm stuck strumming one note every 30 secs when it's my turn. Is there a way to setup user profiles? How do I reset and start from the beginning?
According to these guys, it uses your Playstation/XBox login that you are prompted for when you load the game. Logging in as another user apparently creates another profile.
 
'SkyRattlers said:
The first night I was only getting 61% of the notes. But yesterday I hit 74% and then 80%. Seeing that success has calmed my fears about this whole thing. I really felt like I might have gotten in over my head on that first night but I feel better about doing this now.
After having played this a good bit more, I have to say that the amount of improvement I've seen in a short period of time has been pretty surprising and the game aspect of it keeps it from feeling like a chore.A criticism I have is that there isn't a way to set up separate profiles for players of differing ability (or, if there is, I haven't found it yet). If one of my kids goes to play one of the songs I've been working on, they get hammered with notes they aren't ready for until the game adjusts to their level. Then when I go back to the song, it's set for a beginner. It's kind of a pain but not a dealbreaker. If there is another edition of this game, I hope they fix that.
It's downright stupid. My kid plays when I'm not home and then I'm stuck strumming one note every 30 secs when it's my turn. Is there a way to setup user profiles? How do I reset and start from the beginning?
According to these guys, it uses your Playstation/XBox login that you are prompted for when you load the game. Logging in as another user apparently creates another profile.
I was mistaken on this. It isn't the Playstation login that I get prompted for when I launch the game but the user selection when you first turn on the Playstation, as shown here. I set one up for my daughter and it went through it as a first time user. Then I logged out and back in as myself and all my stuff was there. :thumbup:
 
One thing I don't like is how it changes difficulty in the middle of a song. It makes it very difficult to actually learn the song because it might be single note one time you play it, chords the next time, then switch in the middle of the song. Nothing is more annoying to have a single note change right into a chord a second before you play it and not have time to get your fingers setup.

 
I've been playing it a lot over the last week or so. Before that, I hadn't played much guitar for about 2 years. Just took a hiatus.

I am impressed with the program for the most part. Working through the songs. I've never heard of most of them, and I just get through those as fast as I can and then spend time on the ones I like.

 
I have zero knowledge of guitars (other than having played Guitar Hero :lol: ) but have really wanted to learn to play for many years. This game may be the "plunge" I take. Thanks for those who have posted reviews and insight. Keep it coming for us wannabes.

 
I haven't had time to play much, but was watching my 12 year old yesterday and it's amazing how much he has improved in one week.

He's actually playing some of the riffs without the game.

One of the biggest struggles for a new guitar player is getting the fingers to stretch out and I'm impressed how far he's come just by playing the game.

 
I haven't been this excited about something since...Oh wait, my Droid last year. Anyway, isn't this what every person wanting to learn guitar has ever wanted? I've done lessons, and it's nice to have someone there mentoring you, but it's expensive and it's hard as #### to go home and practice/learn yourself when you have no idea what you're doing.

I cannot wait to get this.

 
So after further review? I'd love to hear from Chet and others who Ive seen playing this.

Still like it? I just told my wife about it for my gift so I need to know if I should tell her never mind.

 
I just got it last night and have been having a little trouble dealing with the lag. I didn't put too much work into fixing it yet. Any tips from the guys that have it? I have a plasma HDTV with HDMI connecting the PS3 through a receiver (HDMI in and out). Thx

 
I just got it last night and have been having a little trouble dealing with the lag. I didn't put too much work into fixing it yet. Any tips from the guys that have it? I have a plasma HDTV with HDMI connecting the PS3 through a receiver (HDMI in and out). Thx
Use HDMI for video, but composite cables (the red & white ones) for audio. Your game should've come with an insert explaining this.
 
I just got it last night and have been having a little trouble dealing with the lag. I didn't put too much work into fixing it yet. Any tips from the guys that have it? I have a plasma HDTV with HDMI connecting the PS3 through a receiver (HDMI in and out). Thx
Use HDMI for video, but composite cables (the red & white ones) for audio. Your game should've come with an insert explaining this.
Yes, it did. But I was hoping to do it without rewiring the back of my entertainment center.
 
So after further review? I'd love to hear from Chet and others who Ive seen playing this.Still like it? I just told my wife about it for my gift so I need to know if I should tell her never mind.
I've had it for just over three weeks. I gave it an initial thumbs up and I think it just gets better with time (or, more accurately, it gets better as I get better). I'd probably play it a couple of hours a day if I had the time.
 
MIL asked me what I wanted for xmas

I think she was a little shocked when I said Rocksmith.

My MIL is awesome

 
Finally got all the parts I needed to connect to external speakers (didn't have the A/V PS3 adapter) and had the time to really play it last night. It was awesome. Great in-song adjustments to your skill level. My only real complaints are that it saves too much and I can't figure out if it has a free for all mode where I can just play using the game as an amp.

I did run into a problem today and I don't know if it's game or guitar related. When I play the lower 3 strings, and it gets progressively worse as I get down to the little e, it often times doesn't register the note and/or it has no sustain to it at all. It'll play the note for a second, give or take, and then stop even though the string is still vibrating. Anyone have any idea if that's a pickup problem? A string issue (they desperately need to be changed, they're OLD)? I'm really at a loss, and am taking it in tomorrow for a music store to look at it as I have no amp on which to try it out, just the game. Any ideas? TIA

 
Just an FYI, but for those of us without an XBox or PS3, it looks like this will be available for the PC in May.

 
Glad to hear the reviews of this are good. Bought the XBOX 360 for the kids this Christmas for the sole reason of getting my son this game.

 
Well, crap. My daughter got this game this morning, and we can't get it to work. She is using an acoustic electric, and we can't get the sound to register loud enough with the game to even get into the tuning stage.

 
Well, crap. My daughter got this game this morning, and we can't get it to work. She is using an acoustic electric, and we can't get the sound to register loud enough with the game to even get into the tuning stage.
You need to pluck one string at a time and you'll see the meter go up. Just toy with it. I'm not sure what they are looking for there.

Im stuck at the tuning stage atm. The numbers barely change when I adjust the string.

ETA - I was/am a moron.

 
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I played this for about 2 hours straight. I had fun and it was rewarding just to get in tune and ready to go. I have minimal guitar experience. I feel like my fingers got a good workout, however I didn't actually learn anything at all. I was able to pluck the individual note, but wasn't ware of what the note was called.

 
I played this for about 2 hours straight. I had fun and it was rewarding just to get in tune and ready to go. I have minimal guitar experience. I feel like my fingers got a good workout, however I didn't actually learn anything at all. I was able to pluck the individual note, but wasn't ware of what the note was called.
I know that chords start to come with the name attached. I don't remember if individual notes do. However, a lot of the individual notes you play are just parts of chords that when you get better, start to appear instead of a single note.
 
Well, crap. My daughter got this game this morning, and we can't get it to work. She is using an acoustic electric, and we can't get the sound to register loud enough with the game to even get into the tuning stage.
You need to pluck one string at a time and you'll see the meter go up. Just toy with it. I'm not sure what they are looking for there.

Im stuck at the tuning stage atm. The numbers barely change when I adjust the string.

ETA - I was/am a moron.
It started working of it's own accord this evening. My daughter is hammering away at a Black Keys song.
 
Relative got this. The interface is a bit to process, but it seems pretty fn cool.

I like the fact that they layer the songs. You can play one over and over and over again, unlocking difficulty levels on the same song.

 
I ended up putting my copy up on eBay. I just don't have the time (or more to the point, the discipline) to play this consistently enough to make any real progress. Admittedly, I am somewhat hesitant to invest much time into this game because I'm afraid I'll just end up being good at video game guitar and not real guitar.

 
Just getting started - the speed is a little quick on a new song - and it takes a bit to get your fingers in the right spot. I like to take a song and go at it slow and bring it up to speed. And I usually pre determine some of the finger patterns which follow the key/scales to prep for the song - going in cold turkey is sort of crazy - and they go from one note to all of a sudden several quick notes that I'd plan an up/down picking pattern to be ready for the next note they give you - but I don't have that luxury yet. Also it changes the view of the fretboard from up close - to this up high view and sometimes you get lost as to what fret they are expecting you to be on as you start to scan where the next set of notes are going to be coming from - I'm sure with practice and memory you could get ready for what it is showing. I just have issues with the speed - it tends to tighten my arms and body up - rather then letting me relax into a song

Also the visual at the top of the screen - with the graph looking view above the lyrics - does it mean anything?

 
Picked this up about 2 weeks ago and love it.

Going in, I had played for about 6 years and I could strum just about any tune I wanted too. But it was pretty much all open and barre chords. I was terrible with a pick, playing single notes. Even hitting the right string could be a challenge for me.

Over the last 2 weeks, I've definitely seen some progress on the things I normally have a hard time with.

The Guitarcade has been very helpful when it comes to learning scales, which is something I never really took the time to do. This format seems to appeal to my ADDesque nature.

I've also been surprised at how well I've been able to retain what I'm doing and be able to play what's on the game by myself when not playing the game.

Big thumbs up to this.

 
I specifically bought an Xbox for this game (I dont really play video games), and I like it in concept. It's generally a PITA though to actually get to the part where you are playing/learning anything.

I have a baby son and I don't get as much time to play guitar as I would like, with so little time I generally just pick up the guitar and mess around with some chords or scales and don't bother turning on, loading, selecting a song, tuning, etc.

The one thing it is nice for is to learn some songs. I really like the songs they selected. The part I don't like about it is it does not teach you much in terms of fundamentals, or details around the songs you are playing. It doesn't even really indicate how to pick from what I can tell. It really seems focused on repeating songs you see on the screen, rather than building skills.

All in all, decent for someone who is a hack like me, but there are some definite opportunities for improvement.

 

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