Need an amplifier?

[◢ k r i s ◤]

So I finally got around to trying out Rocksmith this morning and was kind of dissapointed that the Real-Tune cable wasn't able to amplify my electric guitar to the line on Callibration. I was strumming with more strength than anyone should probably ever pull at their guitar strings and just barely was able to pass the callibration line a couple times. The volume on the guitar and the Recording Device is maxed out and I had to resort to just plugging in my portable amp to boost the guitar a little more to pass the callibration test.

Is this normal though? Is the cable maybe defective? I had expected the Real Tune cable to handle amplification and was kind of dissapointed that it did not. I might as well have used my normal microphone input with a 1/4" jack adapter if I had to use the portable amp anyways.

edit: was using a cheap guitar with passive pickups

[JackvdE]

This is for sure not normal. I have used different guitars on the Real-tone cable and never had this problem. Is your guitar's output usually load enough when using an amp?

[◢ k r i s ◤]

I would say it's loud enough, but maybe I'm not familiar enough with the details to say what I consider to be loud is "loud enough." Maybe the amp I've been using is just really loud to compensate for my apparently quiet guitar?

[grimlog]

Take your guitar to a shop and let them do a setup. Consider buying a better guitar while you're there :)

[gomania161]

If your guitar has a lot of years maybe the pots are worn out. If it's new try increasing the cable gain.

[sumhavok]

Go into Windows control panel/sound/recording/ highlight rocksmith tone cable, select properties/levels and turn up the gain. Monitor this, as sometimes Rocksmith turns it back down after you launch. Another way is to turn up the mic gain within Rocksmith.

[cRAshbe]

You can also try to raise the pickups on the guitar so they are closer to the strings. Just try a little at a time but I would check the stuff in the above post first.

[UbiVertigo]

Another thing you can try is making sure you don't have anything else plugged in to your USB ports (besides kb/m and external drives you might have). If you have a mic plugged in, for instance, unplug that, plug in your RTC, and relaunch the game. Let us know if you have any progress.

[◢ k r i s ◤]

I did eventually get it to pass the callibration, but I noticed it was only loud enough to pass that if I kept plucking away at only the E string opposed to strumming all 6 strings, like before when appearing as though I was literally trying to destroy my guitar. I get that's not how callibration is supposed to work, but that was the only way I could get into the game because it wouldn't let me skip callibration the first time.

When using the amplifier, I noticed plugging my guitar in immediately introduces a weird ground hum that stops when I unplug the guitar while leaving the Real-Tone cable plugged into the amp output.

That same ground hum I think comes in when I play without the amp, just it's obviously not-amplified. The reason I'm so focused on this ground hum now is I'm worried that somewhere the volume is being reduced to compress out the ground hum and in turn possibly muting some strings (notably the higher note strings) while playing.

For instance, I can't play with the volume pot on the guitar maxed out. I have to play with it between 3-7 on a scale of 0-10. At it's loudest, the ground hum becomes so loud that it generates an uninteruptable noise that continues appearing visually on the in-game speakers even if I set the guitar down on a couch to reduce possible vibration.

So now, I'm rather convinced that it's not my Real Tone cable, but probably my guitar. It is an old guitar and I'll have to look at it closer to find out whats wrong with it.

Thanks for the input, all.

[grimlog]

Maybe this helps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSxXra9UN-0

[bean]

This is definitely not as uncommon as it is made to seem in this thread, there are plenty of people who have similar issues and have reported them here. (and elsewhere)

Granted, it is USUALLY a matter of low output pups or pups that are too far from the string... and you should definitely heed the advice you get here as it can greatly improve the experience.

Like others have mentioned, you should first make sure that everything is setup correctly on your instrument and that there are no conflicting devices/signals next to you or the PC (or plugged into the PC) while you are playing. It does not hurt to try with different instruments, if you have extras or can get a hold of one. You can try upping the gain or fiddling around with different microphone/input configurations and see if it helps...

I have seen others using an amp as a 'pre-amp' like you are doing and it has apparently been a solution for a substantial amount of people. I can not say from experience since if I have to go through that much trouble I might as well just jam normally, sans rocksmith, so I never really bothered.

HOWEVER, this is a pretty common issue when it comes to issues/complaints about rocksmith, their engine seems to work very well for the most part but there are hundreds of posts concerning people who have terrible experiences with the note detection, realtones requiring CONSTANT recalibration in order to register and the dreaded 999 issues with the tuners.

Try out their advice, rocksmith is fun when it works and hopefully some of these suggestions work for you, cuz I know I sure wish they worked for me :(

[Yendor]

Very common issue. I fixed it by routing my guitar through a mixer. Guitar to line in, realtone cable to main mix out (left or right doesn't matter), all knobs to centre and adjust volume up. Used guitar rig 5 to find a good input level.

[Business Goose]

If you go in to the Recording Devices menu on your PC (right click on the speaker in the notification area), then right click on the Rocksmith USB Guitar Adapter and click on properties, THEN go to levels... Your volume might be really low there, as was the case for me. I was having issues with calibration and some of the lessons not registering what I was playing, but after increasing the volume it seemed to help.

You can try that and see if it helps at all.