StrickenBiged's Epic Quest for another Platinum and Rock-Godhood

[Edunstar84]

Okay, I'm watching as I type. I had this feeling that I knew this guy from somewhere. I wanted to say Disney, but I thought that can't be true. I was really into Disney at one point. It's really inspiring. I'm at a point in my life where I would love to do something like that. I'm not that artistic though. Any who I'm loving it so far.

 

I hope to get this game on PS3 for Christmas, but that depends if I can get hold of an electric guitar. 

[StrickenBiged]

Okay, I'm watching as I type. I had this feeling that I knew this guy from somewhere. I wanted to say Disney, but I thought that can't be true. I was really into Disney at one point. It's really inspiring. I'm at a point in my life where I would love to do something like that. I'm not that artistic though. Any who I'm loving it so far.

 

I hope to get this game on PS3 for Christmas, but that depends if I can get hold of an electric guitar. 

 

It's a nice little documentary. Guy had some stones to give it all up to pursue something different. 

 

I definitely recommend the game. As I said to Hemiak, make sure that you don't also need to get new speakers, etc, to be able to play it properly. The latency issues when you pipe the audio via the TV really kills it. 

 

You can get electric guitars relatively cheaply - £80 will buy you a very basic beginner one, which is what I'm using. Although, like I said on my "diary", it is having issues. I'm still trying to figure out whether it's not properly intonated or whether it's the guitar, so maybe wait until I get the thing intonated properly and test it out so that you know whether you need an £80 guitar or a £250 guitar...?

[Hemiak]

I'll be on the ps3 as I don't have a 4 yet.

I'll most likely play it using headphones so I don't annoy my wife too much. No way I'm going to be able to convince her I need "special speakers" just to play a game. Lol

[StrickenBiged]

I'll be on the ps3 as I don't have a 4 yet.

I'll most likely play it using headphones so I don't annoy my wife too much. No way I'm going to be able to convince her I need "special speakers" just to play a game. Lol

 

Do those headphones come straight from the PS3?

 

The thing you want to avoid is sending any audio via the TV, as most TV's will take just a few fractions of a second too long to process the audio, resulting in gamebreaking sound lag. 

Edited November 4, 2015 by StrickenBiged

[Edunstar84]

Do those headphones come straight from the PS3?

 

The thing you want to avoid is sending any audio via the TV, as most TV's will take just a few fractions of a second too long to process the audio, resulting in gamebreaking sound lag. 

 

So headphones from PS3 would be better? I have the wireless PS Headset 2.0.

[StrickenBiged]

So headphones from PS3 would be better? I have the wireless PS Headset 2.0.

 

Speakers or headphones, it doesn't really matter. The main thing is that the TV must be avoided. 

 

See Ubisoft's advice here, and pick whichever PS3 set-up you prefer. 

 

I think the issue you'll have with the PS Headset is that, if the PS3 is hooked up to the TV only, it will be trying to sync the sound with what's on the TV screen, which might not improve anything. I'm not sure how the PS Headset works though, but it might work?

 

Maybe go over to the official Ubisoft Rocksmith 2014 forums and ask there? The community there is very helpful and supportive in my experience. Some of them might know about the official PS headset.

[Hemiak]

My headset hooks directly to the ps3 via usb and the AV cables. I've got the Turtle Beach p11 set.

[StrickenBiged]

My headset hooks directly to the ps3 via usb and the AV cables. I've got the Turtle Beach p11 set.

 

Via AV cables should work - that'd look like "Setup 3" on the Ubisoft page.

 

SETUP 3

COMPOMENT CABLE + HEADPHONES

• This configuration uses a component AV cable with headphones, connected using a Y-cable adapter.
• The audio portion of the component AV cable is routed directly to the headphones, and does NOT go through the HDTV.
• NOTE: Outputting the system’s audio through standard headphones will likely require an audio adapter (sold separately).

[Hemiak]

Yeah. I have to old school type a/v output from the back of the ps3. My headset had it's own female a/v plugs, so it doesn't touch the tv at all. I used then a lot when playing Kickbeat and Child of Eden and they really help with the lag.

[StrickenBiged]

^That should work then.

[StrickenBiged]

I've decided to buy myself a decent guitar for Christmas. Hopefully I'll get some money from family members to which I can add my own funds. 

 

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions? I like the look of the Epiphone Les Paul line (a genuine Gibson would be too expensive!), and in particular I have my eye on the Les Paul Ultra Pro, which looks like it's really versatile, what with the coil-tapping and all. My local guitar shop has one in stock and at a reduced price, despite the model being discontinued by Epiphone. I'm thinking I should snap it up before someone else does. 

 

Anyone got any other guitar suggestions?

 

I think my maximum budget will be around £350-£400. Important factors to me are versatility (because I'm no pro, so I don't need a range of guitars for specific songs or anything, but would still like to be able to get a range of sounds), and a compromise between affordability and quality. 

[skateak]

I've decided to buy myself a decent guitar for Christmas. Hopefully I'll get some money from family members to which I can add my own funds.

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions? I like the look of the Epiphone Les Paul line (a genuine Gibson would be too expensive!), and in particular I have my eye on the Les Paul Ultra Pro, which looks like it's really versatile, what with the coil-tapping and all. My local guitar shop has one in stock and at a reduced price, despite the model being discontinued by Epiphone. I'm thinking I should snap it up before someone else does.

Anyone got any other guitar suggestions?

I think my maximum budget will be around £350-£400. Important factors to me are versatility (because I'm no pro, so I don't need a range of guitars for specific songs or anything, but would still like to be able to get a range of sounds), and a compromise between affordability and quality.

Nice read. I currently have 37/48 trophies. I was in a similar situation where I had picked up a guitar as a teenager with the intention of learning, only to shelve it a couple weeks later. On top of that, the guitar I had bought for me was so bad. I wouldn't recommend anyone learning to try with a cheap guitar, it will only end in frustration. I am in a better position money wise than I was growing up, so after watching countless 60 Day challenge videos and checking out the fourms at the Ubi site, I decided to go all in, bought Rocksmith 2014, a 5.1 Vizio Sound Bar and a brand new guitar. It really has paid off and I learned more in one week than I did through the years of trying by myself. I have been slacking through the summer but the winters can get depressing here because the darkness and my work is seasonal but I plan on devoting any free time that I am not gaming to playing guitar. If I am watching TV or something just do some repeating scales or chord shapes. Although I do have the Bass trophies, I have been strictly learning the Lead path.

As far as guitars go, nothing is better than finding the one that fits you. The picture looks nice but you might not end up liking the neck's profile. I am not pointing out that guitar specifically but I know is something people look for in a guitar. Ibanez has unusually thin necks but I don't know very much about Epiphone past the guitar shapes and it being in a shop near you, you can get a much better feel of it than I could. I paid $500 (not sure what that would be in your currency) for a Schecter Omen Extreme and I couldn't be happier. The shop near me seems so only carry Fenders for whatever reason and I don't care for the Strat shape so I actually ordered mine from the Schecter shop in California. I was very surprised to get free shipping on something so big coming to Alaska. It came fully serviced and had a # and a signature on the electronics plate on the back so I know it was looked at. It also has a coil tap like you mentioned the Les Paul has. I have a good friend that is an amazing guitarist that thinks he has to have the best of the best. He has 3 guitars right now that range from $1000-$2000 a piece. He played my guitar for a couple hours and was astonished at the build quality for something 1/4 the price of what he had been playing. His only complaint that was that it could use better pickups, not that they were bad, he is just a big metal fan and is stuck on EMG's and the deeper sounds active pickups make. My experience with the Schecter company and quality of the guitar, any future guitar purchases will also be Schecter.

Here is a picture of my guitar for reference: 

Edited December 1, 2015 by skateak

[StrickenBiged]

Nice read. I currently have 37/48 trophies. I was in a similar situation where I had picked up a guitar as a teenager with the intention of learning, only to shelve it a couple weeks later. On top of that, the guitar I had bought for me was so bad. I wouldn't recommend anyone learning to try with a cheap guitar, it will only end in frustration. I am in a better position money wise than I was growing up, so after watching countless 60 Day challenge videos and checking out the fourms at the Ubi site, I decided to go all in, bought Rocksmith 2014, a 5.1 Vizio Sound Bar and a brand new guitar. It really has paid off and I learned more in one week than I did through the years of trying by myself. I have been slacking through the summer but the winters can get depressing here because the darkness and my work is seasonal but I plan on devoting any free time that I am not gaming to playing guitar. If I am watching TV or something just do some repeating scales or chord shapes. Although I do have the Bass trophies, I have been strictly learning the Lead path.

 

Thanks dude. I know how you feel re the "first" guitar. Cheaper ones just don't seem to last (well, maybe mine would have if I'd given it some TLC over the years rather than just sling it in an attic). The Rocksmith idea is wonderful, I agree. I've never been so motivated to learn, and the feedback loop of "hey, I just increased my "mastery"... I'm gonna have another go!" is excellent for learning. I hope that Ubi keeps it going or uses the template on other instruments. How cool would it be to plug in a keyboard and learn piano using Classicsmith or something?

 

Looks like you started to play about 10 months before I picked it up. Any tips for year 1? Sounds like you went off it a bot during the summer. Was it just that the perpetual sunlight of summer was too distracting?

 

You have a bass also, or are you running it in emulated bass? If the latter, can you remember which songs you needed to play to find all the bass techniques necessary for that trophy? It'd be useful for my latest guide to know that.

 

As far as guitars go, nothing is better than finding the one that fits you. The picture looks nice but you might not end up liking the neck's profile. I am not pointing out that guitar specifically but I know is something people look for in a guitar. Ibanez has unusually thin necks but I don't know very much about Epiphone past the guitar shapes and it being in a shop near you, you can get a much better feel of it than I could. I paid $500 (not sure what that would be in your currency) for a Schecter Omen Extreme and I couldn't be happier. The shop near me seems so only carry Fenders for whatever reason and I don't care for the Strat shape so I actually ordered mine from the Schecter shop in California. I was very surprised to get free shipping on something so big coming to Alaska. It came fully serviced and had a # and a signature on the electronics plate on the back so I know it was looked at. It also has a coil tap like you mentioned the Les Paul has. I have a good friend that is an amazing guitarist that thinks he has to have the best of the best. He has 3 guitars right now that range from $1000-$2000 a piece. He played my guitar for a couple hours and was astonished at the build quality for something 1/4 the price of what he had been playing. His only complaint that was that it could use better pickups, not that they were bad, he is just a big metal fan and is stuck on EMG's and the deeper sounds active pickups make. My experience with the Schecter company and quality of the guitar, any future guitar purchases will also be Schecter.

 

Schecter's look like they're hard to find here in the UK. Some places seem to have them, but I'd have to either go on a massive quest to visit a shop that has one on the shelves to try it out or buy it on trust. I might be able to convince my wife to go on that quest with me though... one of the stores here is in Guildford. Andertons (the store) is legendary in the UK for both it's wide range of instruments and because many students at the local Academy of Contemporary Music go there for their needs before going on to start bands or join recording studios. We used to live in Guildford while I was doing my post-grad courses, so I'm sure my wife would welcome the opportunity to go back and check out our old haunts.

 

Your guitar model looks like it's about £320 in Andertons, so a similar price to the Les Paul I'm eyeing up. If I can get my hands on a Schecter to try though, I'll definitely take your recommendation into account. 

 

I've not tried active pickups on a guitar, but IMO they're essential for Rocksmith on a bass. My first Thunderbird-IV bass just wasn't registering properly with the game. If the song was in drop-D or drop-D-flat, you could forget it. 

[skateak]

A 'Pianosmith' would be great and I would have no hesitation in buying it.

 

The reason I took such a long break over the summer was because of work. I do decorative concrete work with my neighbor and since I live in Alaska the work can only be seasonal. From about May-September we work 7 days a week 10-15 hours a day. The physical work takes a toll on my back and hands so the last thing I wanted to do was sit and play my guitar at the time. Winter is rolling in though and I plan on going full force with it. I really only have one piece of advice. Don't get caught up in how other people play if you start to find it difficult. I started to plateau with my playing and scoured Youtube watching people play and trying to inmate them assuming there was something wrong with my technique. I had played in front of some friends that play guitar very well and they said I was overthinking it too much. Don't be afraid to take a 2-3 day break if you start to get frustrated. I saw bigger leaps in my playing if I took breaks rather than playing every day.

 

For the trophies I used Emulated Bass. It can be difficult to get the game to register the notes but it is possible with some patience and determination. These are the list of lessons I did with one song included because the technique isn't covered in the lesson. Bass 101, Shifting 101B, Picking 101B, Bass 102, Sustains 101B, Slides 101B, Legato 101B, Bass 103, Bass 201, and the song is titled Black Magic. The technique in that song is called "Slap & Pop" and it is not in the lessons. It is difficult to get the game to register the note but it is possible.

 

Pull on those heart strings and reminisce about the post-grad days and I am sure you'll be able to pull it off. Even though I live in the US, I am very familiar with the Andertons brand through a Youtube channel owned by Rob Champman where he is a friend of the owners and they demo a lot of guitars and equipment. 

 

I am not sure if active pickups mean something else on Bass but I know on guitar they mean you have to hook them up to a 9V battery for the pickups to even work. I have passive ones and they don't give me any issue on the game at all. 

Edited December 2, 2015 by skateak

[StrickenBiged]

I am not sure if active pickups mean something else on Bass but I know on guitar they mean you have to hook them up to a 9V battery for the pickups to even work. I have passive ones and they don't give me any issue on the game at all. 

 

It's the same basic principle. Put power through the guitar and it picks up the vibrations in the strings better. They're more common on bass as far as I can tell. Because the bass strings vibrate at a lower frequency, they are very quiet on their own. Next time you see a bass, play a few notes without plugging it in. It's almost silent until you amplify it. Passive on a guitar is fine because the higher frequency of the strings makes the sound easier to pick up. 

 

For the trophies I used Emulated Bass. It can be difficult to get the game to register the notes but it is possible with some patience and determination. These are the list of lessons I did with one song included because the technique isn't covered in the lesson. Bass 101, Shifting 101B, Picking 101B, Bass 102, Sustains 101B, Slides 101B, Legato 101B, Bass 103, Bass 201, and the song is titled Black Magic. The technique in that song is called "Slap & Pop" and it is not in the lessons. It is difficult to get the game to register the note but it is possible.

 

Am I reading you correctly - you were able to play bass lessons using an emulated bass? I'll try it again later, but IIRC, every time I tried to start a bass lesson using a guitar in emulated bass mode, it would tell me that I had to be using an actual bass. 

 

Maybe it was just the particular lessons I was trying to access.

 

Also, are you sure it was Black Magic? That doesn't have any slap and pop in it - they're all normal notes. I really like playing it on bass so I'm pretty sure of that...

 

 

Pull on those heart strings and reminisce about the post-grad days and I am sure you'll be able to pull it off. Even though I live in the US, I am very familiar with the Andertons brand through a Youtube channel owned by Rob Champman where he is a friend of the owners and they demo a lot of guitars and equipment. 

 

Wow! An international reach! That's pretty cool. It's a really fun store. It's really, really big, and has everything necessary for contemporary music making. 

 

A 'Pianosmith' would be great and I would have no hesitation in buying it.

 

The reason I took such a long break over the summer was because of work. I do decorative concrete work with my neighbor and since I live in Alaska the work can only be seasonal. From about May-September we work 7 days a week 10-15 hours a day. The physical work takes a toll on my back and hands so the last thing I wanted to do was sit and play my guitar at the time. Winter is rolling in though and I plan on going full force with it. I really only have one piece of advice. Don't get caught up in how other people play if you start to find it difficult. I started to plateau with my playing and scoured Youtube watching people play and trying to inmate them assuming there was something wrong with my technique. I had played in front of some friends that play guitar very well and they said I was overthinking it too much. Don't be afraid to take a 2-3 day break if you start to get frustrated. I saw bigger leaps in my playing if I took breaks rather than playing every day.

 

Dayum. Summer sounds tough up there. 

 

Yeah, I'm not practicing every-day at the moment. I'd like to though! The main pain in the ass for me is getting in a decent length session when I do practice. The wife always seems to be right behind me when I get home, and wants to do stuff. 

 

I think there's something to be said for making sure you practice good techniques while you're learning so that you don't have to un-do any learning when you get to a higher level. But I'll bear your comments in mind. Plenty of amazing musicians taught themselves and play with "bad habits" - as long as it sounds good, who really cares I guess. 

 

Thanks for all your comments dude!

[skateak]

Am I reading you correctly - you were able to play bass lessons using an emulated bass? I'll try it again later, but IIRC, every time I tried to start a bass lesson using a guitar in emulated bass mode, it would tell me that I had to be using an actual bass. 

 

Maybe it was just the particular lessons I was trying to access.

 

Also, are you sure it was Black Magic? That doesn't have any slap and pop in it - they're all normal notes. I really like playing it on bass so I'm pretty sure of that...

 

Yeah you are right. I was mistaken about using Emulated Bass. It was a while ago I got the trophy but I remember what I did now. I tuned my guitar all the way down and simulated the bass rather than emulated. That's why I was saying it is hard to get the notes to register. Sometimes you have to play on a different fret than shown. The technique I used is in the PST.org guide under the trophy description http://www.playstationtrophies.org/forum/rocksmith-2014-a/218119-rocksmith-2014-trophy-guide-roadmap.html.

 

About Black Magic, I could also be wrong, again. I might even be wrong about that being the technique not covered in the lessons. It's almost 8AM here so I will check it out after I get some sleep.

[StrickenBiged]

Yeah you are right. I was mistaken about using Emulated Bass. It was a while ago I got the trophy but I remember what I did now. I tuned my guitar all the way down and simulated the bass rather than emulated. That's why I was saying it is hard to get the notes to register. Sometimes you have to play on a different fret than shown. The technique I used is in the PST.org guide under the trophy description http://www.playstationtrophies.org/forum/rocksmith-2014-a/218119-rocksmith-2014-trophy-guide-roadmap.html.

 

About Black Magic, I could also be wrong, again. I might even be wrong about that being the technique not covered in the lessons. It's almost 8AM here so I will check it out after I get some sleep.

 

Oh I see. Yeah, tuning down an octave on your guitar should work but, like you said, the intonation will be all fucked up because of the length of the neck. 

 

There is a lesson for slap and pop, although I haven't unlocked it as I need to do a few more pre-requisite lessons. Unfortunately, that other guide doesn't identify which songs have slap and pop in them. I'm keeping an eye out as I get through the songs though. It should be in at least one!

 

Thanks!

[NetEntity]

A 'Pianosmith' would be great and I would have no hesitation in buying it.

 

Yeah, this Epic Quest really makes me wish there was a simillar game for the synthesizers. Haven't touched mine in ages.

Yeah, there is Synthesia, but it's just... not grand enough.

Edited December 2, 2015 by NetEntity

[StrickenBiged]

Yeah, this Epic Quest really makes me wish there was a simillar game for the synthesizers. Haven't touched mine in ages.

Yeah, there is Synthesia, but it's just... not grand enough.

 

Well, you know what you need to do then...

 

Ditch the piano and get a guitar and this game.

[NetEntity]

Well, you know what you need to do then...

 

Ditch the piano and get a guitar and this game.

 

Nah, I'm firmly in the piano camp.

That and I won't be able to play standing up.

[StrickenBiged]

Nah, I'm firmly in the piano camp.

That and I won't be able to play standing up.

 

I was only teasing. Hope you weren't offended by anything I said - I don't know your circumstances. 

 

You can play a guitar sat down though.

 

Anyway, I highly recommend Rocksmith 2014 if you are tempted. 

[StrickenBiged]

Well that was a shit week for practice... Nothing since the 30th...   Must get out of the office on time tonight. The wife is going out with friends so I'll have plenty of time to practice if I can just leave on time.

 

I did, however, pop into the guitar shop and check out the Epi Les Paul Ultra Pro they've got. Sexy guitar, very versatile. I know I said I was going to wait for Christmas but I now have an itch to go buy it. Graaaah...

 

I also had a play around with the Les Paul Custom Pro, which has even more versatility but costs a bit more. 

 

The wife may come home to find a whole guitar shop in the living room at this rate...

[Edunstar84]

Well, I hope you still keep at it! I should have mentioned this earlier, but I got a guitar!! Actually, it's my brother-in-law's, and I'm borrowing it but I can't complain. Anyway, I don't have the game yet, and it seems like it is really difficult to get it here in Norway. So, it's a compromise, and I plan to get the cord while buying the game on PSN. 

 

For the moment though, I'm using the Yousician app on my iPad to get acquainted with the technical stuff. So by the time I get the game this Christmas, I should be all-set. 

 

Good luck, again!!

[StrickenBiged]

Snip

 

Nice one! Once you get the game you should start a diary on here too. It's a good way to keep track of your progress for those days when you're like "I'm just not improving!" and you feel frustrated. Being able to see your progress really makes you realise that, actually, you have improved. 

 

Have you checked Amazon for the game? They usually have everything, and that's where I got it, bundled with the cable. 

 

What guitar have you got by the way? 

[Edunstar84]

Nice one! Once you get the game you should start a diary on here too. It's a good way to keep track of your progress for those days when you're like "I'm just not improving!" and you feel frustrated. Being able to see your progress really makes you realise that, actually, you have improved. 

 

Have you checked Amazon for the game? They usually have everything, and that's where I got it, bundled with the cable. 

 

What guitar have you got by the way? 

 

Yeah, I've tried Amazon. The thing is here in Norway the custom duty charges you for anything over £35, including shipping AND sometimes Amazon/Amazon Marketplace doesn't ship to Norway. The best I can get is the cable, hopefully.

 

I have no idea which guitar this is. It was bought 10 years ago, and I can keep it as long as I want since my bro-in-law bought himself a new one a year ago. 

 

Okay, I'm stupid!! I could just go and see what it is:

Squier Stratocaster by Fender