Day 2: First Impressions

So, if we are being technical here, this is day 4. I got the game/guitar bundle Tuesday and played it a little bit. BUT, this game is junk over HDMI and I did not have component cables for my 360. So, due to shipping from Amazon, these are my impressions of Rocksmith after 2 days. Yeah, I didn't keep to my 7 day schedule either. I will update again in 7 days. But there are some first impressions I wanted to share.

How's the pack-in guitar?

It's pretty good. For a baby guitar. When I first started on the acoustic guitar I played on a first-act guitar that I used to call my baby guitar because it was so small. To me, this guitar looks like a baby guitar to me too. But I haven't seen many electric guitars in person so maybe I don't know shit. It sounds ok though. But, again, I might not know shit.

How's it compare to an acoustic guitar?

These strings are mad light dudes. I play with medium gauge steel strings on my acoustic and can play for about a half hour before I have to stop because my fingers are killing me. These strings are wimpy. I can bend these bitches all day. I tried playing some of the songs I know on the acoustic on the electric and I'm noticing some differences. I like to have strings on the acoustic ring over each other. It makes a cool, loud sound. It's a cool way to play (maybe not technically correct but, again, I don't know shit). On the electric, at least on this electric, chords don't ring over each other like an acoustic. They just sort of culminate together to create this awful, awful noise that sounds nothing like a chord or a song.

So can song you've learned on acoustic work on an electric?

If they are chord-based, and not picking-based, then kinda. But some chords simply don't work. I don't know the names of the chords but I get the impressions some chords just work better on an acoustic and not an electric. But maybe I'm wrong. As it turns out, I don't know shit you guys.

So how's the game?

Fun! The lessons are what I'm focusing on at this time. They are pretty cool. They start nice and slow and do a good job explaining the techniques before you practice them. There is a bit of a problem when you practice a technique. Here's an example. At times I was failing a lesson, like the lesson on bends, but I didn't know why. On the note track they say when your timing is off or when you on the wrong fret or string. But there were times when I felt like a nailed a lesson but was told I had done something wrong. As helpful as these lessons are they can be just as frustrating.

Learn any songs yet?

Nope! I've messed with a few but, as cool as it is to play bits of Walk This Way it doesn't really tell me how to play guitar. It shows me how to memorize finger placement and timing to play a song. I prefer the lessons myself.

So what style of play are you learning?

Well there are three types of guitar play as; rhythm, lead, and bass. From what I can tell this only effects playing the songs and not the lessons. For now, I'm playing rhythm. But I'm going to switch to lead when I feel more comfortable. You know, ten years from now.

Are you any good?

Maybe? It's hard to say. I can do the 101 lessons fairly well. Kinda. But I'm still having problems where I had problems with acoustic. Switching chords quickly is difficult. With acoustic you can hide some of that because of reverb. With the electric I can't seem to hide when I fuck up. Especially when I'm being graded. So all of my mistakes are coming across. I'm also not good at playing quickly. Or picking. Or sight reading. Or having the amount of patience I need to have to memorize.

Will you keep going?

HELL YEAH! I'm having fun. I'm getting tougher fingers and all that. And I am improving. Slowly.