I decided to start this thread to chronicle my rise to Guitar awesomeness.
It should help others make some choices, and should hopefully motivate me to keep going.
So, to start: I have NO prior experience with any musical instrument. My air guitar broke when I was a kid, and I never got a new one.
My theory study involved watching both seasons of K-on.

So then, off we go!

Prologue
Got Rocksmith yesterday 26th November, after deciding playing games was boring and I need something new to stimulate me.
I have always wanted to play a musical instrument, and this has been the year of re-inventing myself (started going to gym, eating right, drawing).
I bought my Rocksmith bundle from AWX, because I find the lingering trevor aroma quite soothing.

Unfortunately I was struck down with a horrible round of hayfever, so I could not get as much play time as I wanted (nobody wants to drip on their guitar)

The hardware:
OMG… holding this guitar feels BOSS. It’s got weight and just feels great!
Here I hit my first snag. The guitar really should come with a small manual. Something in the “This side up” category. Or at least a small explanation on caring for it.

Software
I put the guitar down and started installing the software. MAYOR STUFF-UP. Steam refused to update, refused to install from the disc, and refused to start! I was extremely upset within 20 minutes of negotiating with the bloody software to allow me to play the game I BOUGHT!
Then it hit me… This must be “The Struggle” that musicians talk about! I should channel this aggression into my ART!

After another 15 minutes, I had not written any songs, but I was swearing more rhythmically, so I chalk that up as a win!

Eventually I just used a hacked copy. Can’t deal with Steam and Uplay’s cr@p. I also don’t want my pitiful results posted all over the web.

Baby steps
So finally I have the “game” running. Guitar is plugged in, starts fine.
The game then walks you through a quick tuning session.
Second mayor snag. How the &^)^& do you hold this thing? It’s like being handed a baby and told not to drop it. Also, my computer chair is completely wrong for playing! You could stand up, but at this stage I was sneezing so hard I was worried I was going to fall over.
I finally dragged over my exercise bench, which seems to work.

Tuning the guitar is a bit difficult. Mostly because the tone depends on your volume settings as well as how hard you strung/ pick a string. Some trial and error needed. I’m also thinking of taking it somewhere to be professionally tuned the first time, just the have a reference.

Right! Guitar all tuned, awesome all ready, and nose blocked with tissues!
Start with lessons.
OMG I suck monkey nuts
You quickly realize that musicians just make it LOOK easy. There are many little tricks you need to learn (think of the first time somebody hands you an Xbox controller, or the first time you get in a car). Trying to figure out a comfy way of holding the guitar, trying to figure out how you’re supposed to curl your fingers around the neck to reach anything, trying to gain the muscle memory of where the heck the frets are so you don’t need to look at your hands…

You will be spending a lot of time on youtube. Or, if you have a friend that knows something about guitars, call him over, just to sort out the little tricks that will make your life easier.

Now… put away your ego. The game will give you a small riff of 6 notes. You will fail. Again and again. Then the game slows it down for you. You fail. Slow down more. Fail. Cry a little. Fail. Die a little inside.
YES! Get it right! Speeds up a bit. Fail.. fail… fail… Slows down again.

Then you get it right. And again. And eventually at full speed. Your ego rises like Micheal Jackson from the grave. You. Are. Awesome.
Then you fail hard on the next riff, and your ego deflates, like Zombie Micheal taking a headshot.

So this was my first day. I can’t really call it a success, but I am going back there tonight.
I got this. I’m gonna OWN that guitar!

Any way you can record a sample to put on the thread for our enjoyment?

Slightly off topic but your, funnynel and Magius struggles with Steam only reinforce my thoughts on PC gaming.

Have fun.

Hahahaha... NO.
Not yet anyway

Buying direct from steam is not a problem, it's when you buy disc media that you get nailed. The DRM just screws over legit buyers, the pirate versions work many times better.

I usually buy through Steam, then just download the game elsewhere. They get the money and I get a working game

I have not "touch wood" had any issues with Steam, but I'm sure it'll come...PC still FTW though!!!

@ Teb - Nice write up btw!

Man I'd love to see the guitar.

"I bought my Rocksmith bundle from AWX, because I find the lingering trevor aroma quite soothing."

Probably my favourite quote off the forums EVER!

*CLANG* *TWANG* *CLANG*
Expecting to hear a lot of those types of sound effects.

Those Les Paul Jnr guitars aren't as bad as some make it out to be. I mean bands like Greenday use them all the time. It's a great instrument!

Now Tebulot. I want to welcome you to the wonderful world of playing guitar. I'm not gonna lie, there will be times you're gonna get frustrated. I can remember when i started how much i sucked too. Years later it's 2nd nature to me. Here's a few tips for you:

-make sure you drink lots of bottles of patience. Patience is key. Take a new riff or song slow. When you're not getting it right just keep trying. It's happened lots of times where i struggled with a songs too.

-your fingers will hurt a lot in the beginning due to it being new. It happens to everyone who starts. Don't be surprised if your fingers bleed a little(play till your fingers bleed indeed)

-theory wise when you learn a new chord, scale, technique, etc. try using the new thing you learned by improvising with it or write a song that uses this new thing you learned. It helps you to remember it much quicker.

-a word of warning: there may come a time in a few months where you might get the disease GAS(Gear Acquisition Syndrome). Try to get the disease under control if you don't want to be bankrupt

-finally have fun! You've made the right choice of getting Rocksmith. Heard very good things about the product. May get it for myself next month to learn some songs i never got to learning.

Rock On! \''/

At first i thought narcissism ho, but in actuality you're jus poking fun at yourself. for that you get a cookie.

with steam i've never had any problems except for:

Oh you want to play? UPDATE BITCH!

*Googles narcissism*
Ah ok... Well, I do love myself... frequently


@DG
Das photo. I decided not to pose with it, because beard.

Tebulot said ...

*Googles narcissism*
Ah ok... Well, I do love myself... frequently


@DG
Das photo. I decided not to pose with it, because beard.

why do i get the distinct feeling that that is dodgy.

also, its movember, no one cares about beard.

Teb bring it to the shop so I can play with it. . . and you can bring the guitar too

DEATHGIGAS said ...

Teb bring it to the shop so I can play with it. . . and you can bring the guitar too

Promises promises
But feel free to join the queue

What! There's a que. At least your beard won't be lonely. . .

Beard is never lonely. it communicates with all the souls it has absorbed.

*Back on topic*
It seems there IS a guitar user guide "included". You just have to go and download it of the epiphone website. Apparently the piece of paper with warnings in 5 languages was important

Right...
Had a chat to someone that has actually used a guitar before. (Thanks DG!)

Special tip for the day:
Have a chat to someone that has actually used a guitar before.

Small and silly little tricks can help tremendously in getting you accustomed to the guitar.
Things like: How long should the strap be?
Picking with your nail vs. pad of the fingers.
Where you are supposed to place your fingers (closer to the fret than the middle)

Also, I find that WALKING with the guitar while picking at cord helps me concentrate.


So anyway... either get hold of a mate that knows a bit of guitar-y goodness, or walk into a good shop and talk to the sales person. Get some input. If you REALLY don't like people, you an online community that will assist you

Glad to help Teb.

Now play until you're fingers bleed! And then use the blood to summon Ol Nick and make a deal to be the best guitarist ever!

OMG I LOVE THIS!
My Aching fingers do not

Bit of an update...
Started doing Bending last night. My fingers they huuuurtz
This and sliding can really mess you up if you have untrained fingers.
Had some trouble since yesterday, when the software simply refused to recognize a note. Drove me balistic. Finally figured out that the pc turned down the microphone levels automatically when you restart.

Anyhow... if you have never played guitar before, be aware that the Epiphone you get in the bundle IS NOT A TOY. Bending the strings take a lot of finger power and if you are not careful, you gonna hurt real bad!

@Tebulot
Picked up the bundle myself a couple days ago.
Loving the hell outta it, but my fingers are definitely paying the price:P
I wanted to ask if you have the link to the manual for the guitar?
A quick perusal of their site yielded no results for me, but maybe you fared a bit better?

Thanks in advance