Day 7 you ask? Yes, quite a large gap it would appear since my previous update. I actually received my (first) guitar last Thursday, January 19th. So it’s been a full week, though I don’t feel like I’ve made any progress. That isn’t true obviously, I learned what a hammer-on/off is while playing last night. Then there’s the whole experience of holding and handling an real guitar. Not an over-sized plastic controller. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Rock Band Guitar Hero, they actually inspired and propelled me to take this adventure I’m now on. But there’s something about hold a real guitar, actually strumming real strings, and hearing real music coming out of the instrument…

Hour 3

That said, last night, Day 7, it didn’t start out very well. Being a complete novice at this, I newbishly twisted a few dials on my guitar, which ended up being the volume dial. Sure enough I plug my guitar in, head back into the “sustaining notes” technique, and start tuning my guitar, only to discover the game isn’t recognizing the higher notes. I get down to the sixth string and nothing. The tuner doesn’t display -50 or +50m, just blank. I continue to slowly adjust the tension, trying to get the game to register the notes, but still nothing. After roughly 10-15 minutes of trying to tune my guitar, I put it back in its bag and post on the CheapAssGamer forum (I’ve been a member here for years, very helpful bunch…at times):

So the game won’t register E on my guitar (smallest string). I tried for about 15 minutes to tune my guitar and it would get hung up on that string. No registering at all, not even -50 or +50…what the fuck?

This game is pissing me off really fast.

An hour passes, I’m watching something, Family Guy perhaps? I’m browsing online for a few guides or lessons on transitions. Someone posts a reply:

Sounds like it’s registering the the other strings, so you probably have a problem with your guitar, not RS. So try the following things:

-make sure to use the tuner found in the menu. This is much more accurate than the tuner that pops up before a song
-turn volume all the way up on your guitar

The high E may have been so out of tune that the game no longer recognized it as high E

I put my guitar back out of its bag, plug in, and go straight to the main menu and select the tuner from there. I start strumming, again, the sixth string doesn’t register. Not panicking yet, I adjust the volume. Still nothing. Now, let me make it absolutely clear, I have never handled a guitar prior to this week. With that in mind, I turn the volume all the way in the opposite direction…

I strum the sixth string.

-9. It’s as if the heavens opened up and there were a choir singing praise. It could have also just been the echo of my having strum the sixth string and it sound coming out of my soundbar. Who knows. A few more adjustments and my guitar is in tune. Crisis averted!

I went back into sustaining notes and tried this 3-4 times before deciding to call it a night. It’s obvious this I my current hiccup and I’ll need to practice transitions before moving on. My primary concern with this game/experience and I don’t want to get burnt out/overly frustrating to the point that I dread playing. I’ve also come to the realization that I won’t be able to play every day, what with work, a wife, and other games (like Mass Effect 2, which is amazing so far). So with that in mind, I’ll be updating once a week. I’ll still try to document my playing each day, a few notes (pen and paper) here-and-there. But overall, I think these blog posts would be far more informative and entertaining if I skipped the daily updates.