Experienced / Advanced guitar players?

[Resonator]

I've been playing guitar for over 10 years, I'm not amazing but I'm better than your average picker. I was wondering if anybody of a similar skill set has tried this game yet? Is it worth buying if you already know how to play fairly well? I'm less interested in learning the songs and more interested in learning whatever theory / techniques the game includes. I've watched a few streams, the session mode / lessons look fairly intuitive and useful but I still haven't gotten a chance to see how advanced the theory gets within the lessons / session modes. Any feedback on the matter would be extremely helpful, thanks.

[Urgash]

I've been playing Guitar for 8 years, casually.
I have been in a hard rock cover band, i know my way around the instrument, but i'm not a guitar hero.

And i'm having fun when i play Rocksmith, for some people it can be a way to learn guitar, i still got to practice a few techniques i don't use much often, or that i never used, but if you already know how to play guitar, Rocksmith is on the fun side for you, fun way to learn some songs granted you can find some songs that are in your kind of music.

To me, Rocksmith is more a musical game than an interactive guitar lesson, i have been frustrated when i played guitar hero with friends who didn't knew anything about guitar but were kicking my ass on GH, so Rocksmith is an enjoyable Guitar hero like for guitar player, and can help the beginner to get on an axe.

[wraith7201]

I've also been playing since the late 80s. I enjoyed the 'plastic games,' especially when I was able to hook up an electronic drum set to the RB series and learn to actually play drums.

But, now that my wife made me get rid of the drums, I'm enjoying being able to play a real guitar (instead of plastic) with RS; even more so with 2014.

I've also found some music through the game that I would never have voluntarily listened to without the game. I actually enjoy the minigames, not so much for the games, but I do find that they've helped me develop some better techniques. I can move up and down the fretboard much more effectively without looking, which is something I was never able to do very well before.

[paperboy2000]

I've only put in maybe 6 hours between RS2012 and 2014 (I bought them one after the other on sale) but I'll chip in. I've been playing on an d off (mostly off) since the late 80s. I like a wide range of musical styles. Like the others, for me this game is fun, so I expect it to help me to play more than I otherwise would. I don't currently have friends with the time to get together and play so RS helps. I too have discovered some fun songs to play that I would have missed. I have Guitar Pro (PC) and Anytune Pro+ (iPad), which use tab and mp3 respectively and can be played at alternate speeds for learning. They're both good and have strengths that RS doesn't have, but RS is defintely the most fun.

So my 2 cents is that the game for you would probably be about having fun, having fun practicing and possibly finding and playing some new music / styles. If you have trouble finding time/friends to play with then it will be even more fun. Do a little research into the Session Mode as well, which you might particularly enjoy.

[BENTCLOUD]

40 years of playin and i love it remember its also a game !!!

[BecuzScience]

The closest this game comes to teaching theory is the lesson on roots, fifths and octaves. Even then they don't explain where they come from. It just teaches them as a pattern. There is no mention of note names anywhere in the game. It will tell you chord names but, that's the closest to any theory you will get from this game. It's just for fun. If you're an advanced player you're not going to gain anything else from it. I use it when I want to take a break from practicing, usually with a few beers. It's like jamming along to your Ipod with crowd noise.

[SecretZebra007]

Originally posted by thejohnnewton:

I guess I should add what I like about it. Basically what Agrael said, it's fun. I've played off and on since the late 80s. I never played the "plastic guitar games" as I didn't see the point. I like that I can plug in and play with the full backing track and the amps and pedals allready set up and ready to go. I like the slow down and repeat features of riff repeater for learning songs. I like a wide variety of music and also enjoy playing bass so it's perfect for somebody like me. I've found bands I didn't know about before that I now like and I think it's good for your playing to play a wide variety music. I have no interest in the "game" aspects though. They could remove all the mini-games and score attack mode and that that would be fine by me but I'm sure others enjoy that aspect. So for me it's not a game or a guitar lesson it's a practice tool. I've put in way more hours on guitar and bass since picking this "game" up becuase it makes practicing fun and easy.

EFF the plastic toys

[Resonator]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. It sounds like it's still a decent supplement for practicing, even if I don't learn much, which may or may not justify the $90 price tag. I get that they are intentionally catering to the novice crowd but It still surprises me that they don't have more in-depth theory mechanics, it seems like this would be such a great platform for extensive lesson planning.

[Mohasz]

I also have a question. I've been playing for ~5 years now but only casually. Sometimes I get the hang of it and play regularly for weeks, sometimes weeks can pass and I don't even touch my guitar. I've been a 'tab-guy' mostly (I've also learned some parts by ear) and looking at videos of RS, the note highway looks confusing. Do you think I would be able to get used to it pretty easily?
Thanks for your help!

[Mohasz]

I don't have a console so I am planning to buy RS. Thanks for your input!

[RS_Maverick]

What Rocksmith does that's unique is make picking up the guitar and playing a wee something a joy. It makes daily practice far, far easier to do and has motivated me to pick up and play more than anything since I first started about 12 years ago. I love it.

[paperboy2000]

I highly recommend you invert the strings display so that the low E (red) is on the bottom. It makes it visually like tabs and even standard music notation which will help you now and down the road.

[dave-tx]

Originally posted by Mohasz:

I also have a question. I've been playing for ~5 years now but only casually. Sometimes I get the hang of it and play regularly for weeks, sometimes weeks can pass and I don't even touch my guitar. I've been a 'tab-guy' mostly (I've also learned some parts by ear) and looking at videos of RS, the note highway looks confusing. Do you think I would be able to get used to it pretty easily?
Thanks for your help!

I've had a hell of a time adjusting to the note highway. Maybe it just takes practice reading it, I don't know, but I do wish there was a way to dumb-down the graphics and just give me a simpler scrolling-tab mode.

That said, it's a fun game. Very fun.