(Part 2) Top products from r/rocksmith

My first guitar was an Epi Les Paul II and it was okay. BUT when I bought a used $225 used Ibanez guitar that was a $350 retail guitar it was so much better and easier to play. If you play golf imagine playing with the cheapest set of blade irons from Wal-Mart versus a decent set of cavity backed irons. It is night and day easier to use the better clubs. So if you have the budget consider used because for $250 to $300 you can score a nice good guitar you can play for years. Cheap guitars can be harder to play which makes it harder for beginners. BUT do not let that stop you... I played for 6 months on a Les Paul II and learned a lot and had fun too. I eventually found a used Gibson SG for $429 with a bunch of cosmetic issues like scratches but it plays great. Agree on getting the guitar set up. Also agree on getting a stand and this strap with locks is a good deal. Someone on here recommended this strap and it is great. Planet Waves 50CTPL00 Lock Cotton Electric Guitar Strap. The cotton adds friction so the guitar does not slip and the locks make sure the strap stays on. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008JCUWTU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Among other things yes. Scales, arpeggios, chords and chord changes, mechanical exercises with focus on particular techniques.

The "shredders bible" has a lot of this stuff http://www.amazon.com/Speed-Mechanics-Lead-Guitar-Stetina/dp/0793509629/ref=la_B000APNO26_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412216463&sr=1-2
(you can read a few pages in the preview and get an idea of what it's like)

Again though, this stuff requires a lot of discipline. You need to play with a metronome always. You need to record your playing and listen with a critical ear from time to time. You have to consider every motion and how efficient it is. This only really matters if you want to "shred" though. You can still play music for people without any of this, and rocksmith is a way more fun way to learn and requires less motivation. I own the shredders bible but I really don't use it much lately as I'm more interested in enjoying playing than I am on becoming the next steve vai. But I can say that I made more progress with it faster than I ever will with rocksmith.

FWIW, most of the minigames in rocksmith are useless because they're too gamified. Scale racer doesn't have a steady tempo and changes direction randomly, you're far better off practicing on a constant tempo with a metronome. Dux redux however is decent and string skip saloon can be good for developing good skipping skill. Castle chordead is also a fun way to learn chords and common chord changes in a specific key.

Guitar Aerobics by Troy Nelson is a book I picked up to supplement my playing with Rocksmith. I do a daily technical exercise from it (it has 365 of them that cover a variety of techniques, starting at an easy level and working up to an advanced one.)

I'm noticing it help me with my overall playing ability and would recommend it to anyone interested in boosting their chops, regardless of level :)


Guitar Aerobics: A 52-Week, One-lick-per-day Workout Program for Developing, Improving and Maintaining Guitar Technique https://www.amazon.com/dp/1423414357/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_vhcgvb0BKS7SR

Watch videos on how to check intonation and action. It might be OK to get you going. I have had a lot fun farting around learning to setup my bass and guitar, I like to tinker. Changing strings, making truss rod / bridge adjustments, raising / lowering pickups, etc...


buy a cheap stand to put it on so it doesn't fall over and break.
buy a good strap

Pickup some assorted pick packs so you can try out different thicknesses. I accidentally bought some Jazz III picks and actually love them.

Get ready to have the most fun failing you've ever had. I got into this for entertainment, not to become a musician, and love it.

I used to use a gripmaster back in my climbing days, but now prefer this
http://www.amazon.com/Planet-Waves-Varigrip-Adjustable-Exerciser/dp/B001OCGGEM/

I find the adjust-ability of it to be very helpful.
Is it the same motion as playing guitar? No, but finger strength and endurance is still useful to you. I often use it with one hand while reading from my kindle with the other. Swap hands every 5 mins or so.

Right. Okay so this is one of the books that I used...Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar and it talks about learning 'phrases.' So like...break the song down into different pieces/parts...whether that be verse/chorus or whatever...and then practice those different phrases. Rocksmith 2014 does this with 'riff repeater.' I've used that quite a bit to perfect different pieces in a slow, controlled way. Good luck and please let me know if you have any other questions!!!

I've noticed the heavier the pick is, the more consistent the tremolo sound is. Also, regarding pick sizes, there's no one size fits all. You should get a variety pack and see which one you prefer.

I personally find .73 are best for chords and some single note playing. 0.88 are good for both but great at neither. 1.0 is great for solo playing but good for chords. Anything above that and the chords won't sound as nice.

http://www.amazon.com/D3-Digital-Converter-Optical-Toslink/dp/B005K2TXMO

Here you have. FiiO is a nice brand and you have the chance of connecting your current speakers.

Best of luck!

You would probably want something like this RCA to headphone adapter then you can use any headphones you like.

I have a crappy pair of Behringer headphones I got with a practice amp kit I had bought early on in my guitar learnings, but here's some Sennheisers that look pretty nice.

Works with anything that has RCA audio out.

I learned CAGED from an older, jankier book; but I recommend Barrett's book on the topic to folks interested in expanding their fretboard freedom: https://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Fretboard-Workbook-Barrett-Tagliarino/dp/0634049011/


He doesn't strictly call it CAGED, likely due to the confusion some have with separating the 'chord' from the 'shape'. Still, chock full of info and it's an actual workbook, with exercises.

Sound via hdmi from the xbox is laggy.
TV's also process their pictures before displaying them (also laggy, unless the TV has a game mode, sometimes even then)

That tends to make things trickier than they need to be for a music game.

PC has a bit more flexibility too - you can always install the game on a newer PC, and bring any DLC you've bought with you.
you can move from the 360 to an xbox one, the DLC will follow your xbox lve account, but you may have to rebuy the base game.

If the TV has a VGA input, can't you just use a pc to drive it?

The bundle guitar
seems OK,
I bought the older PC bundle, which came with a Les Paul jr instead of a Les Paul special.

I've been playing for a little over a year now. I still don't have an amp, I don't need one, I just use my PC.

I've been pretty happy with this Epiphone Les Paul Special II.

I'm not familiar with Bill Withers, sorry.

I think it's important to learn about 3 songs at a time. Switch it up. Use the other tools too. Guitarcade: castle chordead, string skip saloon, scale racer... Session mode....

Mainly it just takes diligence. Just be happy with where you are and push yourself just enough to challenge yourself but stop pushing if you start getting frustrated. Finding that key spot where you flow is what really made me enjoy learning the guitar, and I'm not super great or anything, but I think I finally started "getting it" after a good while.

Maybe try other resources too.. a few lessons from a local teacher, the free videos from Justinguitar.... I also subscribed to a site called Jamplay for 2 years, and read a few books on how to learn, my favorite was called the guitar fretboard workbook

Don't stop wanting it

Yeah...my daughters is showing up tomorrow! :) even snageged a cat sticker to give it some more pop...I'm sure she'llplay it once :)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005N2BZPE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F7UN50K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Not theory, but "Guitar Aerobics: A 52-Week, One-lick-per-day Workout Program for Developing, Improving and Maintaining Guitar Technique" is a good supplement to RS.
https://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Aerobics-One-lick-day-Maintaining/dp/1423414357

These work wonders http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0085MX3SG/ref=s9_top_hm_awbw_by8fl_g200_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=mobile-hybrid-11&pf_rd_r=1QMEXTH62X5MFX517H54&pf_rd_t=30901&pf_rd_p=0b1d4446-e0f7-5cd4-b75e-ad8848112f97&pf_rd_i=14333021

Also, playing more is the ultimate solution. You could also try lighter gage strings at first, that tends to help as well.

You could try this audio digital-to-analog converter.

Use the optical Toslink out from the console and plug headphones into converter.

That's basically how I play except I have my x41 transmitter as the converter. The only issue might be volume. The x41 transmitter is powered but features a volume knob for the headphones out. I don't see that for the d/a converter.

I don't experience any audio lag through my setup.

E/ You might also need an in-line volume control or headphones with one built in. All together, you should be able to get setup for around $30. Good luck.

What about something like this.

Convert your Optical to RCA or 3.5mm. RCA to speakers if you have any around that support it, or you could use the Headphone jack with an auxiliary cable as well.

Check out the book Guitar Aerobics on Amazon. It is a great beginner excersize book. If you are tight on cash, look at the free preview. The lesson for Saturday is what I used to build up strength for hammer ons and oull offs. You also learn one of the most basic pentatonic scale patterns at the same time. Once you get the hammer ons down, do the same excersize but start with the high note on each string and do pull offs.

http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Aerobics-One-lick---day-Maintaining/dp/1423414357/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407603235&sr=8-1&keywords=Guitar+aerobics

Nice job!

I noticed you lift your fingers quite a bit from the fretboard, especially your pinky. If you're looking to improve your mechanics a bit, check out Troy Stetina's Book. It helped me quite a bit.

Sennheiser HD518 are fantastic bang for buck, $80 on amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-518-Headphones-Black/dp/B0042A68R8/

http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Fretboard-Workbook-Barrett-Tagliarino/dp/0634049011 http://www.amazon.com/Music-Theory-Guitarists-Everything-Wanted/dp/063406651X/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0C972VD8ZWFB78C2JGQ6 i have these two books i have been reading them and will soon get rocksmith, i play drums so i already understood the notation for rhythm, and the theory for melody i find to be interesting and not that hard, i own an ibanez as73

FYI, my son uses this inexpensive pickup, and it works quite well: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005H2007E?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00

RB3 Pro mode could actually be played with an actual guitar that was made for it though : https://www.amazon.com/Squier%C2%AE-Fender%C2%AE-Stratocaster%C2%AE-Guitar-Controller/dp/B004MF102G

I'm not a fan of how the pro mode was handled in RB and sure the plastic controller for it was shitty but they did try to do something good and offered some actually not so bad option even though the result is far from what RS is.

I have gotten one and tested, it is good!

It is the one @raorn suggested! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DIRI6I/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B005DIRI6I&linkCode=as2&tag=theri07-20&linkId=4IZRVU6F5W5KFIEG

Not on a guitar but there are foot pedals that can do the same thing. I personally have this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/DigiTech-Whammy-DT-Effects-Pedal/dp/B0052QOU08/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459161464&sr=8-1&keywords=whammy+DT

It changes the sound coming out of speakers to reflect different tunings (though the guitar stays in whatever tuning it started in).

Recommend using headphones.

My wife bought me Rocksmith a few years back to work with the acoustic guitar. You just have to buy a pickup and a female/female adapter. Might be a cheaper transition than going full electric from the start. Hope this helps: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005H2007E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_2cdBybDADR5HR

Hi, I noticed you were asking about the splitter setup. I've been playing this way since I first got the game a year ago and love it. I'll try to give as much info as possible.

I have this splitter

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000068O56/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I plug the "male" end into my bass, then plug the RealTone cable and just a regular 1/4 guitar cable male ends into the female ends of the splitter. The USB end of the RealTone cable gets plugged into the PC/PS4/XBOX as normal and the guitar cable gets plugged into your amp/pedals/whatever. I much prefer this setup as I can barely hear myself when just relying on the ingame audio. Word of warning, this device seems to be a hit and miss on whether it will work, but I figured for such a small price it wasn't too much of a risk.

I'm not versed in the use of the more complex splitters, but hoped this helped somewhat

I recommend the purchase of a gripmaster

It has a 1/4" jack as well as the midi out for Rock Band. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85NomT87i7g http://www.amazon.com/Stratocaster%C2%AE-Wii-XBOX-360-Playstation-3/dp/B004MF102G

Here is the one I use, works fine for the toslink out.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KNNSKV0/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_k1oRDbFA92XG8

Rocksmith isn't very stressful as far as PC specs, and you can turn down the graphics levels. That said, the PS4 version at half off is as cheap as a cable, so there's no reason not to get that one.

The Steam sale has started, with Rocksmith Remastered for $16. So for $46, you could have both including the cable.

You may also need something like this for the PS4 if your sound system doesn't take optical in. You can get a lot of lag if you just use HDMI to your TV for sound. I bought the one linked, but I've seen others closer to $10. I've heard that the new PS4s don't have optical audio out anymore. In that case, you may need to use HDMI, I don't know what other options there are.

This helped me: http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B001OCGGEM

This one should work

http://www.amazon.com/DigiTech-Whammydtv-01-Guitar-Effects-Pedal/dp/B0052QOU08

https://amzn.com/B0055V7UR0
I think this is the same one I get. I don't think there are any two of the same. I usually just ask for a pick variety pack when I buy new strings.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/063406651X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485268950&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=guitar+theory&dpPl=1&dpID=51c94gsdGUL&ref=plSrch

They made a real Squier Strat for the game that had touch sensors on the frets.

https://www.amazon.com/Dunlop-PVP102-Variety-Assorted-Players/dp/B0055VBYWC/

Here is the one I have. Has a callous builder/maintainer too:
http://www.amazon.com/Planet-Waves-Varigrip-Adjustable-Exerciser/dp/B001OCGGEM/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1421865333&sr=8-6&keywords=finger+strength

Dunlop PVP102 Pick Variety Pack, Assorted, Medium/Heavy, 12/Player's Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0055VBYWC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_ZWpqxb7C2BYYM

Look up digital audio converters on Amazon. They're like 20 bucks. Mine plugs into the optical port in the PS4, and it has a standard 3.5mm jack. It virtually killed audio latency for me.

https://www.amazon.com/PROZOR-Digital-Converter-Optical-Toslink/dp/B00KNNSKV0/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=dac&qid=1568122459&s=gateway&sr=8-4

That one is similar to mine, but mine has a volume knob.

This works for almost all tunings. Drop d will still need to tune string.

https://www.amazon.com/DigiTech-Whammydtv-01-Guitar-Effects-Pedal/dp/B0052QOU08

First, as everybody has said, yes Rocksmith will be great. That said, be careful of the gear you get her. I'm not familiar with Sawtooth so I can't speak to it directly but many lower end guitars have intonation problems. I don't know how much you know about guitars but intonation is (typically) fixable but unless you know your way around a guitar you will need to bring it to a guitar tech.

If the intonation is off the game won't register the notes correctly (because they in fact are not correct) which may lead to frustration.

I got my daughter a Squier Mini Stratocaster and I was shocked at how well it was setup out of the factory. I didn't get her a full package because I already have gear but Guitar Center (or similar) will have a lot of stuff on sale this time of year and they may even have their own package with the Squier.