Or go the route I do - use virtual pedals and software. I hardly ever use a real amp anymore. Just a Line 6 PC interface.
I picked this up a year ago on PC - been having a blast with it. Some issues regarding latency and a dedicated sound card :/ so what I often do is turn down the in game guitar audio and just listen to the acoustic sound from my guitar.
I’ve had a skilled guitarist come over and play around with the jam session mode - he thought it was a blast!! and was totally amused by it.
I wish my skills were up to that level.
imho - wait for a good deal with the cable include. and you’re good to go!
(might be able to snag a stand alone cable cheap on ebay perhaps)
Fwiw I bought the combo from amazon that comes with a guitar, I’ve been happy with it.
Arise, thread…?
It’s been almost two years since this thread was updated. I was wondering if Rocksmith is still fun to play? I see that on the Steam sale, the 2014 version is only ten bucks for PC. And it’s twenty bucks on a holiday PS4 sale. (Not counting USB-to-guitar cable (about $40 something on Amazon) and potentially hundreds of dollars in DLC).
Is the 2014/remastered version definitely better than the first one? It sounds that way from the last thirty posts or so in this thread.
The cable would work for both PC and PS4, right?
Would PS4 or PC be a better choice?
If I’m of beginner-to-shitty guitarist proficiency level, would I find Rocksmith, years after release, to still be a fun way to increase my skills and learn songs, as opposed to playing along to downloaded tabs and chords?
Wow the real tone USB cable is $40+?
I think Rocksmith is amazing. It’s like playing with the worlds best cover band and while you are the worst member nobody cares. Use YouTube to view dlc to see if it’s at the level you are. You will find songs that you never really cared for great fun and songs that you love boring to play. I am somewhere between beginner and intermediate and have miles and learning still to do.
They released a “Remastered” patch recently that added a bunch of nice QoL features into the game. The ‘2014’ moniker does it a disservice, because despite the age of the game it is still a wonderful tool. And yes, you certainly want this version. I love this program to death, as it is the only way I’d ever be bothered to “learn” guitar (for very low values of ‘learning’ - there is a reason music isn’t my day job).
One thing I’ve been using to practice lately is Yousician. It uses a traditional tab interface instead of Rocksmith’s weird notes approaching thing, and teaches a lot of theory. I like Rocksmith, but I found it difficult to actually learn how to play guitar on. It works with the real-tone cable or just about any other guitar interface you might have (or a mic).
Yes. For certain there’s still lots of fun to be had. The audio / video lag can be bad, though. Be careful to calibrate and use optical audio to receiver instead of HDMI if possible.
PS/4 vs PC is a tough choice. The PC doesn’t have the theoretical performance limits that the PS/4 has AND there are unofficial hacked-in DLCs you can add to PC. PC songs are likely also cheaper if you wait for Steam sales But in reality I haven’t found that the PC version performs any better and the interface was clearly made with console in mind.
Diego
Should also be noted that you don’t actually need the Real Tone cable for Rocksmith anymore. They added mic support, letting you play with any usb mic. Though I’ve not tried it to see how well that works.
Rocksmith is a wonderful tool. Personally I find it much easier than traditional tab.
Definitely get the 2014 edition, it improved upon the original in every way.
I missed the bit about PC vs PS4. I’m biased as PC is my only option, but custom DLC makes it a no-brainer regardless. The quality of custom DLC can vary wildly, but there is enough good to outweigh the bad, especially if there are certain songs you are after that you won’t get any other way.
Also, if you are looking for some more traditional training tools, check the custom DLC for the artist ‘You’ - this will have things like scale practice, strumming practice, blues chord progressions, etc. None of which can replace true lessons, of course, but I personally have no intent to play guitar “for real”. I’m quite pleased with playing-poorly-but-at-least-it-isn’t-a-plastic-guitar.
I still play it. I also took a few lessons as well to help supplement. Those lessons were in a group class, with other newbies; and my experience was quite a bit further along due to my experience and expose to Rocksmith.
I still fire up the game multiple times a week. I just wish the Ubisoft wasn’t such dicks about exclusive audio control. The game doesn’t play nice with other applications.
RS doesn’t seem like the type of game where you’d need to have some other audio app running in the background. Out of curiosity, what would be the need?
if I happened to have a twitch stream running the the other window (I tried it even muted, it would eventually crash the browser stream) Skype is another one. I’d like to be able to play for someone else, show someone what it’s like.
Sure it can be done - otherwise people wouldn’t be able to stream it on twitch - but I’ve tried setting it up a few times and failed each time. so I’ve just given up on it.
Does anyone have any guesses as to whether the mic on a HyperX Cloud 2 headset would be good enough to play Rocksmith in USB mic mode? I bought my wife a lower end Martin acoustic guitar years ago, so we have one in the house. I don’t know how to play the guitar, so Rocksmith may make it fun to learn.
I found when learning the guitar that Rocksmith isn’t ideal for getting you started. I’d recommend Yousician, which has pretty generous free usage. It’s very similar in approach, but feels much better for someone who is learning. Then after a while you can start in Rocksmith.
I have an electric acoustic, so I’m not the best for that…
But I have recorded myself with just a headset mic before… and results were not stellar.
The game may have issues registering notes played, and you’ll most likely need to put the headset directly in front of the guitar to make sure it picks up as much sound from the guitar as possible.
Most headset mics are directional - specifically to cut down on room noise.
OK, looks like I either need to pick up a used electric guitar or a pickup for our acoustic. Yousician looks like it has potential, thanks!
Hmm can you elaborate on this? Why exactly? Rocksmith is too advanced for a total beginner?
Rocksmith is pretty effin’ amazing… It has a bunch of lessons and drills and memorization games in an arcadey format… and progressively recognizes to ratchet up difficulty. I’d think it’d be perfect for a beginner, but I’d recommend it as a tool along with some study along with… plenty of great courses on youtube, udemy, etc… if you’ve got the drive, it’s never been easier to get gud.