So you have Rocksmith, but maybe there’s some other stuff you might want to purchase to improve your rockin’ experience?
Here’s some products that we feel confident endorsing for your future Gear Acquisition moments…
Note: the following links are affiliate links, if you buy something after following a link from here, TRR gets a small commission. None of the actual products listed are sponsored, they are the suggestions of TRR staff.
DI Box
A foolproof way to split your guitar signal to an amp and to your console / computer – and here is the key part – without introducing a ground loop problem that a Y splitter can. A similar way to do this is with a dedicated AB/Y pedal – But the “default” choice one of those is $100 – this DI is only $10 and is passive, but you can spend 20x as much on a DI Box that – for these purposes at least – does the exact same thing.
You will need a Female XLR to Female 1/4 adapter to use the DI correctly, these are not a particularly common adapter, but even the extra $7 needed still brings the split to an amp solution in under $20
Connect your guitar to the input jack of the DI, connect your amp to the PAROUT using a regular guitar cable then connect the XLR-1/4 adapter into the Balanced Out (XLR) jack and your real tone cable into the adapter. Flick the ground lift switch if necessary and you can lower your ingame players guitar volume when you want to hear your playing from your amp, or raise it up when you don’t want to use your amp.
Radial Bigshot ABY
For those with a bit higher budget, and the desire for a longer term option, the Radial Big Shot AB/Y is the “industry standard” choice for splitting a guitar signal. It costs 10x what the DI box method does and is excessive for just Rocksmith needs, but when you progress from the bedroom to a real stage, you won’t need to replace this bit of gear.
VARIGRIP
Are you planning on being away from your Guitar or Bass for an extended period of time? Don’t lose that finger strength with this hand exercise device from D’Addario.
USB Breakaway Connectors
You’d be surprised how often somebody mentions that they lost this piece of their RealTone Cable, either in a move, or their dog ate it… Either way it’s an universal piece of hardware for all platforms!
String Cleaner
Clean those strings up a bit would ya?
Multi-tool
Here’s a great tool for those monthly (or weekly) tune ups of your axe
Peg Winder / String Cutter
Changing strings made easy, there’s a bass version available as well!
Pick Maker
Are you always running out of Guitar Picks? Make your own!
Headphones
For Rocksmith we recommend avoiding USB headsets, or expensive “beats” type ones…
Digitech Drop Pedal
Want to play the @AmonAmarthBand Pack on your E Standard guitar strung with 008 gauge strings? Get a new guitar, or get a Digitech Drop Pedal. Set the pitch shift, hit the stomp and your guitar is now in C Standard. – It won’t change for Drop D, since that is just 1 string that changes and this shifts the entire guitar signal – and you’ll want to be using headphones so the sound of the guitar in the room isn’t disconcerting. Just about every Rocksmith Streamer on Twitch has one of these!
Are you thinking about getting the iOS version of Rocksmith when it becomes available, but don’t have an interface for your Apple device? Check these options out.
Lightning to USB “Camera Adapter” – plug in your RealTone Cable or another USB interface that works on iOS and play Rocksmith. This one doesn’t have a power port however.
Slightly more expensive USB3 option – but also has a lightning power port so you can play while charging your iOS device too.
iRigHD2 – totally portable option, should be about the best audio expereince possible short of using the camera kit and a RealTone Cable – Lightning connector.
iRig Stomp – can be battery or ac powered, great option for a semi permanent setup (Rory uses this one), only major downside is that it connects to the iOS device via a TRRS (headphone port) connection. So if your device doesn’t have a headphone port, then this is of no use to you at all.
Both of those iRig devices above can also function as signal splitters for sending your guitar signal to 2 sources – like in the DI Box suggestions above, to Rocksmith and your amp. They also have a side benefit of working quite well with a cheap app (RiotFX – $0.99) on iOS to be able to do the same job as a pitch shift pedal (Digitech Drop).
Guitar Capo
Do you still not have one of these? You are missing out on a bunch of fun Rocksmith arrangements (and possibly songs).
Guitar Stands
“Too many Guitars!” is never a problem, but you may need a way to store and display them…
Microphone Mode (Console)
Are you trying to play acoustic on Rocksmith, just get this. Don’t go fancy for your console, this is all you need (note: feature is still wonky on PS4) with a mic stand…
PS4/Xbox One USB Audio Dongle
This will allow you to still use stereo output from a PS4 or Xbox One for users that don’t have an optical option.
Wireless Setup
You trying to be a rock star? Ok, well it’ll cost ya!
What other gear would you recommend for the Rocksmith community to pick up? Let us know in the comments below!
