Rocksmith 2014

[Hinfrance]

I was lucky enough to get this for Christmas.

Or should that have been I was UNlucky enough to get this for Christmas.

The first thing is that the box only contains a key,a lead, and a download link. Only the link doesn't install Rocksmith; at least not to begin with. It installs something called 'Steam' which had never heard of (life is, IMHO far too short for computer games). Anyway, after hours and having to create accounts and passwords for what seemed like ever, Rocksmith 2014 was finally installed.

It has run on maybe 1 in 10 of the occasions I have tried it. There is no response at all from the help desk, that is assuming that you manage to get them on a good day when it is actually possible to even submit a support request. Today is not one of those days . .  Anyway last month it did deign to work for a while although I find it hard to get used to an on screen tab that is inverted and a what note to play next 3d view that changes the lane for strings at random. And the latency is horrific. Anyhoo, when I tried again this morning the unavoidable 'Steam' decided it needed an update, and now Rocksmith won't run again.

Basically, my advice is AVOID.

[Scarebear]

Did you get a PC version of RockSmith? I know very little about it, but my son uses Steam on his PC for gaming. I only knew of the PS3 and XBox versions of RockSmith. Now that I know of the PC version, I'll look no further into it.

[Hinfrance]

Yep, it's the PC version. 

And my PC's specification vastly exceeds their recommended setup, in particular the video card which is has a Radeon 7000 chip and 2gb of ram . . .

[Mick]

Howard, the PC version sounds like a nightmare.  We do have the old original version of RockSmith for our Xbox 360, and it's good fun to be honest, not sure it teaches anything though, apart from bad habits. lol..

My boy started off using his Bass through it, then nicked my cheapy strat copy and played it to death.  He mastered the game, and was incredibly fast and accurate.  But take the game away, he couldn't play a note.

If I remember correctly, the 2014 version is supposed to be a bit better on the teaching side of things, obviously, that's if you can get the bloody thing working, as in your case. 

At least you still have the Realtone cable, I plug ours into my laptop, and play my guitar through AmpliTube etc. 

[Scarebear]

My boy started off using his Bass through it, then nicked my cheapy strat copy and played it to death.  He mastered the game, and was incredibly fast and accurate.  But take the game away, he couldn't play a note.

That's really interesting! I'd have thought if you could play a song using the game, that you'd be able to play outside of the game. I'm glad I didn't buy it. I'd have been peeved with no change in my playing ability.

[Hinfrance]

Yes, that is very interesting Mick. I've not really had it working for long enough to see any effects on my playing at all.

I do find Riffstation a jolly useful tool though. A good feature is the ability to change the key of a song without slowing it down - great for those hundreds of rock songs that are detuned one (GnR!) or two semitones. I really must actually buy a licence. I've run the trial and it is great for more acoustic and pop songs - not so hot for rock, and doesn't do lead breaks or split chords at all.

Can't spend any more money for a few months after the Addictive Drums outlay.