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Tutorial for proper GP tab sync, section/phrase authoring and more


shrubbery

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This is my basic workflow for making the song. This is also good approach for quick check if it's worth to do the song (checking out the tab).

Disclaimer: This is not the only one approach but it's the best practice for minimizing manual frustrating error-prone work and it allows you to actually go back and fix anything in the sync, tab, sections or phrases easily. (You can use this tutorial even if you later decide to maintain chart completely in EoF.)

Note for tabbing: I have found GP/GPA combo to be great for creating tabs from scratch - I figure out the BPM, sync the measures and progressively fill them up with notes (hearing GP tab immediately or slowing down the GPA playback and playing along the song is great help).

Repeat signs: I didn't have any issues in GPA so you can do this later, but you might need to replace repeats to avoid EoF import issues and I don't recommend to import GP3 format. Without repeats you also get more control over partitioning phrases/sections.

Replacing repeats is trivial in TuxGuitar once you get hold of it:

1. remove start and end sign (note the number at the end sign = N)
2. copy those measures (all tracks, you want to copy all instruments)
3. go to the next measure and let TuxGuitar paste it in new measure N times (otherwise it will be overwritten)
4. if it is alternate ending, you need to do one additional paste at the last (alternate ending) measure

Synchronization

1. You should have correct GP tab prepared and also MP3 file, it will be hard to sync if notes in tab are not in place. Make sure you have at least one empty measure at the start (otherwise you will need to do the sync again later).

2. Install Go PlayAlong and load GP and MP3 files into it. You might want to add few seconds of silence first if it starts too soon, you can use Audacity and its Generate -> Silence function. It is possible to add it later too and set EoF project Delay value but it always keeps bugging you to convert it to empty measures which you shouldn't do if you follow this approach.

3. Place some links on notes and peaks of the waveform, preferably only on measure boundaries, don't try to fix the tab by overriding the timing (especially if you are trying to sync both guitar and bass at once). Do this manually for the whole song to ensure high precision. Hardest point is the start, you should make sure you get it right, doing high frequency (guitar or loud drum beats) is easiest, but you need to check if both arrangements are in sync once you're done. Use zoom and slow down the playback to make this easier.

If you place first link after the actual first note of arrangements you care about, go back and place a link before them too to avoid possible EoF import issue (measures up to first link will be shifted forward/backward depending on where the first measure fits). discussion

4. Check if the result is correct for all relevant arrangements.

5. Export. Licensed GPA is needed to do this but it's absolutely essential, you can calculate BPMs manually but there will be a lot of imprecisions this way and I don't recommend it. (If export fails, check artist/songbook name and remove any space in front of it.)

6. Now you can create EoF project and import XML file with Guitar Pro import. If you don't need to change timing you will never have to do this again, you can clear sections/phrases and notes and import them directly from GP file if you fix anything.

7. Now you are ready to save and create a package with toolkit. Be sure to save package template for future rebuilds (each arrangement has unique IDs which identify score and progress in Rocksmith).

There is also fairly recent feature of slowing down playback in EoF which is a great help for checking note sync but everything should be the same as in GPA.

Phrases and sections

(Make sure you use EoF r1300 and later to prevent phrase import issues.)

Note that you can manage section and phrase names directly in GP tab (section names and text markers), I use alternate EoF setting for importing phrases from section names and sections from text markers on first beat of measure. If you intend to split phrases and sections differently or name them differently you need to keep separate GP tabs and EoF project for each arrangement (I recommend it, having correctly labeled phrases and noguitar sections for both bass and guitar adds a lot to the chart quality).

Sections (text markers) need to be on the first beat of measure and phrase name (measure marker) is required at the same position. Section is the part that is selectable in riff repeater.

You can name phrases whatever you want but you should use the same name for this particular phrase throughout the tab, this will instruct Rocksmith to advance them at once.

Section names are restricted to these Rocksmith names (use only the word in quotes, EoF accepts both forms but the first one is canonical):

    {"intro", "Intro"},    {"outro", "Outro"},    {"verse", "Verse"},    {"chorus", "Chorus"},    {"bridge", "Bridge"},    {"solo", "Solo"},    {"ambient", "Ambient"},    {"breakdown", "Breakdown"},    {"interlude", "Interlude"},    {"prechorus", "Pre Chorus"},    {"transition", "Transition"},    {"postchorus", "Post Chorus"},    {"hook", "Hook"},    {"riff", "Riff"},    {"fadein", "Fade In"},    {"fadeout", "Fade Out"},    {"buildup", "Buildup"},    {"preverse", "Pre Verse"},    {"modverse", "Modulated Verse"},    {"postvs", "Post Verse"},    {"variation", "Variation"},    {"modchorus", "Modulated Chorus"},    {"head", "Head"},    {"modbridge", "Modulated Bridge"},    {"melody", "Melody"},    {"postbrdg", "Post Bridge"},    {"prebrdg", "Pre Bridge"},    {"vamp", "Vamp"},    {"noguitar", "No Guitar"},    {"silence", "Silence"}

"noguitar" section is used for silent parts and is excluded from Riff Repeater. If only one arrangement is silent then you should make a copy of GP tab and EoF project and do different version of section naming.

If you want to see purple bars in the song chart you need to have more than one difficulty. I wouldn't do that manually in EoF, you can use either DDC or I use a script to do exact copy so I have 2 identical levels.

Technique import

(My notes about how EOF imports various techniques and known issues, if you know about some, let me know.)

Should work (let me know if you notice issues):

- Note/chord
- Palm mute
- Sustain
- Accent
- Slide to note/chord
- Dead note/chord
- Hammer on/pull off
- Slap/pop
- Vibrato (only single frequency, probably only visual effect)
- Tremolo (see import issues)
- Harmonic (& harmonic pinch?)
- Tap
- Bend
- Chord notes techniques should be mostly supported

Some issues:
- Tremolo - EOF project needs to be set to remove difficulty limitations
- Slide to no destination exports as 1 fret slide
- Trill - according to @@raynebc it needs to be converted to hammer-on/pull-offs (discussion)
- Arpeggio chord outline can be added if you add chord notes as ghost notes and then manually set Arpeggio mark with Ctrl+Shift+G in EoF at each arpeggio appearance

Unsupported import to EOF:
- Unpitched slides (no TuxGuitar support?)
- Chord slides limited to same offset?

Unsupported techniques in RS2 (ignored):
- Ghost note (effect)
- Grace note (effect)
- Dotted (lenghtened duration)
- Staccato (shortened duration)
- swing/shuffle or Triplet? (duration)

Additional tips

I recommend starting off with official song and DLC tones (in manifest files), choose one that fits and improve it. You need to use toolkit to unpack game and DLC psarc files to access them and then import them to your toolkit template (you can import your new or modified tones from RS profile too). Some tones of interest:

- punk distortion: Versus Them - 6AM Salvation
- clean ska guitar: Weezer - Say It Ain't So - Filter Clean
- tight punk bass: Clash - London Calling
- deep bluesy bass: Albert King - Born Under A Bad Sign
- dubby bass: Clash - Guns Of Brixton
- reverb clean guitar: Disonaur - Space Ostrich
- jazz clean: (couldn't find any official so I customized one for Le Chat)

TuxGuitar is a free replacement for Guitar Pro, also supports PTB tabs. Latest SVN version can read GPX (GP6) but you need to build it yourself (run "mvn clean package" in "build-scripts/$PLATFORM" depending on your target operating system). (Update: here's a ZIP with Windows version https://www.dropbox.com/s/zcwzmptqxgrp9om/tuxguitar-1.3-SNAPSHOT-windows-x86.r1104.zip - requires Java)

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Nice explanation. I just don't get how do I import the result of GoPlayAlong to EoF. How can I do that?

1. export song from GPA, make sure "Copy tab & audio" is checked (like I mentioned, you need licensed GPA to do this)2. in EoF choose Guitar Pro import but select exported XML file, it will also start GP import right after it imports sync info
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Some issues:

 

 

Unknown/untried:- Dotted (duration)- Arpeggio?- Chord note techniques?

 

The last time I exported dotted notes, it was ignored. I don't know if it's fixed now though. Arpeggios needs to be done in EoF, and chord notes techniques seems to export, slides, palm mutes, fret mutes and harmonics exports fine.

My CDLC Workshop

 

Feedback is always appreciated! :)

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When trying to import the GPA .xml I get error: file format not supported.

 

Any ideas why this would be happening?

 

 

Are you sure you are importing .xml file and not .gpax?  I think you need to check the checkbox to copy GP tab and audio when exporting.

 

 

Tremolo - EOF project needs to be set to remove difficulty limitations

 

This is something I missed when importing.

 

Can you explain a little more?

 

 

I didn't actually try it yet, but you have to go to Track menu (I think) and select the menu item to remove difficulty limit, levels in EOF will change ("Amazing" to "3").  Then import is supposed to include tremolo.

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I didn't actually try it yet, but you have to go to Track menu (I think) and select the menu item to remove difficulty limit, levels in EOF will change ("Amazing" to "3").  Then import is supposed to include tremolo.

 

 

Thanks, I will try this on my next custom.

 

Is this suppose to mark the notes with tremolo or does it for example add 16 notes if the GP tab have a tremolo note marked with 1/16. Sorry for my bad explanation or if I'm off topic here.

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When trying to import the GPA .xml I get error: file format not supported. Any ideas why this would be happening?

Usually that means it's not really a GP5 or older file, ie. it's a GPX file. If you provide the related files (XML and Guitar Pro file) I can check it out. 

I didn't actually try it yet, but you have to go to Track menu (I think) and select the menu item to remove difficulty limit, levels in EOF will change ("Amazing" to "3"). Then import is supposed to include tremolo.

It already imported the tremolo phrases, but it could import them different (track-wide or difficulty specific) depending on various conditions.
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  • 3 weeks later...

Are you sure dotted note are not working? The swing/shuffle feeling is also not importing from GP files. All imported eight notes are straight.

Actually you are right, I thought it's a dotted note but it was different dot - Staccato. Dotted note doesn't even show up in any toolbar in TuxGuitar. Nor can I find attributes you are talking about, so I have no idea.
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Yes it is exporting to GP5. I am a long time GP user (since version 3) and in every version you could use the triplet/shuffle notation.

This notation is common in blues or jazz with a swing feeling. This symbol notates that eights are swung even when they are notated as straight eight notes later in the chart.

When you have a GP file or a sheet book with this symbol you have to change every eight note which falls on a beat to a quarter note and tie it as a triplet to the next eight note.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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I had an issue with the GPA. The program stucks when i'm trying to export a song (because the song has GPX tablature and i can't put it in EoF). But when i go to the directory where i exported the song, i see the GPAX file and the audio/tablature but no .xml file, any idea why this happens?

9A7alLl.jpg

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Besides just the .gpax file, it should also be exporting a folder containing the audio, Guitar Pro file and the XML files. If not, it wouldn't seem the GPA project was exported the right way.

The gpax and the folder with the song and the tab is there, but no .xml, and stucks like this http://i59.tinypic.com/2ez4dh2.jpg

9A7alLl.jpg

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Besides just the .gpax file, it should also be exporting a folder containing the audio, Guitar Pro file and the XML files. If not, it wouldn't seem the GPA project was exported the right way.

The gpax and the folder with the song and the tab is there, but no .xml, and stucks like this http://i59.tinypic.com/2ez4dh2.jpg

 

Check if there are spaces in front of artist or songbook name.
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Besides just the .gpax file, it should also be exporting a folder containing the audio, Guitar Pro file and the XML files. If not, it wouldn't seem the GPA project was exported the right way.

The gpax and the folder with the song and the tab is there, but no .xml, and stucks like this http://i59.tinypic.com/2ez4dh2.jpg

 

Check if there are spaces in front of artist or songbook name.

 

That was the problem, but anyway i can't import the .xml to the EoF because it says "File Format Version Not Supported"

9A7alLl.jpg

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EOF can't import GPX (Guitar Pro 6 and newer) files, you'd need to save it in GP5 or older format. Shrubbery posted a build of Tux Guitar that supports importing GPX format here:

http://customsforge.com/topic/2235-guitar-pro-5/?do=findComment&comment=11971

With it, you should be able to open the GPX file and save it in GP5 format. Then edit the XML file to refer to the GP5 file instead of the GPX file and EOF should be able to import it.

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EOF can't import GPX (Guitar Pro 6 and newer) files, you'd need to save it in GP5 or older format. Shrubbery posted a build of Tux Guitar that supports importing GPX format here:http://customsforge.com/topic/2235-guitar-pro-5/?do=findComment&comment=11971With it, you should be able to open the GPX file and save it in GP5 format. Then edit the XML file to refer to the GP5 file instead of the GPX file and EOF should be able to import it.

It worked! thanks a lot :D 

9A7alLl.jpg

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I just bought GPA, but when I try to export, the only options I have are text and PDF. Am I missing something?

 

Edit: My mistake I was trying to export from inside the tab rather than the library.

 

Edit 2: OMFG...the best $20 I ever spent! The hours it will save me when I'm on my death bed wishing I hadn't charted so many songs! :)

Words of wisdom for CDLC charters:

 

"When in doubt, steal a tone from Kansas' Carry On Wayward Son"

 

- Billkwando

 

Download my L'Arc~en~Ciel Ken "Love Driver Cat" custom Inlays here

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