-= Building a Guitar from Scratch with Absolutely No Woodworking Experience =-

Welcome to the CF Rocksmith 2014 Championship!

-= Week 673 =-

=> How and Why join the Championships?
=> Rocksmith 2014 Championships rules

Previous' week Winners are:

Lead:
-Beginner: @Decaquark (99.59)
-Intermediate: @FlatCap Jay (97)
-Intermediate Bonus: @jimmy655 94.56)
-Advanced: @Mikson 97.78)
-Masterclass: @shaggy_malagy (91)

Rhythm:
- Beginner: @Decaquark (98)
- Intermediate: @ALSRC (91)
- Intermediate Bonus: @ALSRC (88)
- Advanced: @jimmy655 (95.64)
- Masterclass: @cacahuate51 (95.44)

Bass:
- Beginner: @Decaquark 99.38)
- Intermediate: @EmbraceTheAbsurd (95)
- Intermediate Bonus: @EmbraceTheAbsurd (96)
- Advanced: @Mikson (98)
- Masterclass: @Nomgoose (97.24)
- Masterclass Bonus: @pedropmf (99.59)

Congrats to all winners. Well done!

More great news. There are players to be promoted to higher rank this week.

- @theMaelstro is promoted to Intermediate class in Lead path.

-@AstronaStrums is promoted to Masterclass class in Bass path.
- @PlanetFinesse will now be competing in masterclass class all paths

@Knippenburg Has joined the championship and will be participating in Advanced Bass class.

Congratulations and good luck with new challenges!
In case the above players do not accept promotion, please advise accordingly in the post so we can revert back to previous Class.

This week's songs are:

Lead Path:
Beginner:Less Than Jake - Hopeless Case(3*)(E Standard)selected byca51
Beginner Bonus:Bowling For Soup - Girl all the Bad Guys Want(4.5^)(Drop D)selected byca15
Intermediate:Taking Back Sunday - MakeDamnSure(4.5)(Eb Standard)selected byca51[just now noticed rodman had a version aswell, only have played pavs though]
Intermediate Bonus: Santana - Maria Maria(5^)(E Standard)selected byca51
Advanced:Atreyu - Right Side of the Bed(6.5)(D Drop C)selected byca51
Advanced Bonus:Mayday Parade - I'd Hate to Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About(6.5)(Drop D)selected byca51
Masterclass:Every Time I Die - Leatherneck(8)(Drop D)selected byDrand[R.I.P Andy Williams (Rhythm guitarist)]
Masterclass Bonus:Yellowcard - The Takedown(8)(Drop D)selected byca51
God of Guitar:The Black Dahlia Murder - Nocturnal (Full Album)(10)(C Standard)selected byNomgoose[Week 1 of 3]

Rhythm Path:
Beginner: Santana - Maria Maria (3*) (E Standard) selected by ca51
Beginner Bonus: Less Than Jake - Hopeless Case (3*) (E Standard) selected by ca51
Intermediate: Taking Back Sunday - MakeDamnSure (4.5) (Eb Standard) selected by ca51
Intermediate Bonus: Bowling For Soup - Girl all the Bad Guys Want (4) (Drop D) selected by ca51 [different cdlc from last week played 39]
Advanced: Atreyu - Right Side of the Bed (5) (D Drop C) selected by ca51
Advanced Bonus: Mayday Parade - I'd Hate to Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About (6) (Drop D) selected by ca51
Masterclass: Every Time I Die - Leatherneck (8) (Drop D) selected by Drand [R.I.P Andy Williams (Rhythm guitarist)]
God of Rhythm: The Black Dahlia Murder - Nocturnal (Full Album) (9) (C Standard) selected by Nomgoose [Week 1 of 3]

Bass Path:
Beginner: Bowling For Soup - Girl all the Bad Guys Want (3*) (Drop D) selected by ca51
Beginner Bonus: Santana - Maria Maria (3*) (E Standard) selected by ca51
Intermediate: Taking Back Sunday - MakeDamnSure (4) (Eb Standard) selected by ca51
Intermediate Bonus: Less Than Jake - Hopeless Case (4) (E Standard) selected by ca51
Advanced: Save Ferris - Come On Eileen (5) (E Standard) selected by ca51
Advanced Bonus: Atreyu - Right Side of the Bed (4) (D Drop C) selected by ca51
Masterclass: Masayoshi Takanaka - Oh! Tengo Suerte (8.5) (E Standard) selected by ca51
Masterclass Bonus: Christell - Dubidubidu (Chipi Chipi Chapa Chapa) (7.5) (E Standard) selected by ca51
God of Bass: The Black Dahlia Murder - Nocturnal (Full Album) (8) (C Standard) selected by Nomgoose [Week 1 of 3]

(N) - difficulty rating
(N*) - highest difficulty rating for the class (promotion to higher class possible)
(N^) - difficulty rating higher than the highest for the class (promotion possible)

Check current week Rocksmith Championship Leaderboard

You can submit your song suggestions for the championship here
NEW! - easly add songs even on your mobile!:
Add Song Suggestion

Song Suggestions List available to view here: Google Sheets Spreadsheet

Share with us your opinion on this weeks songs difficulty scores (1-10).

Do you want to host a week? Join the Championship organizing team!!!
The process is smooth and there is a tutorial as well. If you are interested, send a personal message to Rodman.

Here's our Masterclass songs for the week:

(8.5) is a perfect spot for this one, really fun song!

If you love octaves, this is for you! Great workout for sure, (7.5) or even (8) for this one honestly:

And a few more songs, just the beginner songs to do:
(4) feels really good here, nothing too crazy with this piece.
Loved this band in my youth, always takes me back. Another great (4).
What a great cover! Really enjoyed this ska rendition, (5) is a good rating here, a touch harder than the others for sure.
Another good song, and another great rating at (4).

Unexpectedly but wonderful - finally the CS is beginning to be implemented into ignition!

:)

We´ll keep you updated on .... updates

Hi guys - I'm a newbie here so apologies if I'm posting questions in the wrong place. I started playing bass again last year after about 15 years out and have been using Rocksmith a lot since I started back up again, so thought I might take part in the Championship when I can.

The vast majority of the score images posted appear to be first attempts/sight reads - is that what I should be doing? Do you guys listen to the songs first or just dive straight in? Can I have as many attempts as I like and post the best score overall? I couldn't see this covered in the Championship rules but apologies if I've missed this.

Thanks in advance 😁

1 hour ago, Knippenburg said:

Hi guys - I'm a newbie here so apologies if I'm posting questions in the wrong place. I started playing bass again last year after about 15 years out and have been using Rocksmith a lot since I started back up again, so thought I might take part in the Championship when I can.

The vast majority of the score images posted appear to be first attempts/sight reads - is that what I should be doing? Do you guys listen to the songs first or just dive straight in? Can I have as many attempts as I like and post the best score overall? I couldn't see this covered in the Championship rules but apologies if I've missed this.

Thanks in advance 😁

Firstly, welcome back to playing! Hope to see you join us soon. You do not need to post your first playthrough of a song. I typically give most songs at least one run through on Learn a Song before attempting it in the Score Attack, and you are welcome to post as many improvements that you have throughout the Championship.

Improvement

On 9/13/2026 at 10:53 AM, cacahuate51 said:

@Decaquark looks like you got a 99 in last weeks beginner class! would you like to be promoted to intermediate?

@theMaelstro you have also achieved 99+ in beginner lead do you wish to be promoted?

@AstronaStrums looks like you were temporarily placed in beginner bass but imo your scores indicate you can easily be advanced or accept the challenge and be in masterclass, which do you prefer?
---
This weeks Anniversaries:

@veggs95 its been 312 weeks / 5 years since you first joined!
@margaro95 its been 156 /3 years since you started!
2 95s pretty neat, good year to be born! or maybe its unrelated and im just showing my age.
@bodolza 102/ years since your first challenge

Yeah its fine.Shame I can't get bigger score.

5 hours ago, Knippenburg said:

Hi guys - I'm a newbie here so apologies if I'm posting questions in the wrong place. I started playing bass again last year after about 15 years out and have been using Rocksmith a lot since I started back up again, so thought I might take part in the Championship when I can.

The vast majority of the score images posted appear to be first attempts/sight reads - is that what I should be doing? Do you guys listen to the songs first or just dive straight in? Can I have as many attempts as I like and post the best score overall? I couldn't see this covered in the Championship rules but apologies if I've missed this.

Thanks in advance 😁

I for example try song in learn mode. Then when I feel comfortable I do score attack, but If you restart before finishing you pretty much play it in same run. Only when you finish it counts as one run. so you can keep restarting until you get score you feel good with.

5 hours ago, Knippenburg said:

Hi guys - I'm a newbie here so apologies if I'm posting questions in the wrong place. I started playing bass again last year after about 15 years out and have been using Rocksmith a lot since I started back up again, so thought I might take part in the Championship when I can.

The vast majority of the score images posted appear to be first attempts/sight reads - is that what I should be doing? Do you guys listen to the songs first or just dive straight in? Can I have as many attempts as I like and post the best score overall? I couldn't see this covered in the Championship rules but apologies if I've missed this.

Thanks in advance 😁

Welcome to the Championship @Knippenburg 🎉

I was in a similar spot 2 or 3 years ago (after not playing for 20 years).

My main struggle was posting the pictures in the forum 😅

If you have any doubts, the best reference is @cacahuate51 tutorial post

6 hours ago, Knippenburg said:

Hi guys - I'm a newbie here so apologies if I'm posting questions in the wrong place. I started playing bass again last year after about 15 years out and have been using Rocksmith a lot since I started back up again, so thought I might take part in the Championship when I can.

The vast majority of the score images posted appear to be first attempts/sight reads - is that what I should be doing? Do you guys listen to the songs first or just dive straight in? Can I have as many attempts as I like and post the best score overall? I couldn't see this covered in the Championship rules but apologies if I've missed this.

Thanks in advance 😁

Welcome! Simply share a screenshot of your score with us - it can be from Learn a Song or Score Attack. It could be your first attempt or your tenth; ultimately, the best score you manage to achieve by the end of the week is what counts. The only important thing is to take a screenshot at the moment the game shows your accuracy for that attempt.

14 hours ago, Rodman said:

Unexpectedly but wonderful - finally the CS is beginning to be implemented into ignition!

:)

We´ll keep you updated on .... updates

Wow, that’s really cool! I hadn't noticed it before, even though I see it's been around for a few weeks.

But now we have to pay even closer attention to grades, so expect me to be a pain in the neck, haha 😄

I don't know if the ratings you see there are added when creating the week topic and take into account later editions or not? If not, the song should be tested and rated by more than one tester before the week begins, to avoid a highly subjective diff rating.

For example, this week host @cacahuate51 rated Santana's song a 4, while @drand gave it a 6 and @Rodman a 7, an extremely wide discrepancy!

Thanks for the new week!

17 hours ago, Rodman said:

Yes happy the championship is getting some love 😊
Thank you everyone for showing up and making it all happen every week!

---

This I say (7)

---

Made this sheet based off of @Rodman's records of all songs played in the championship to search bands by path difficulty (to help when hosting but sharing here for anyone interested):
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KhTUUUn3Y7v6MB2HFQyQawqqMF9GMVbM86RbFTrkKZc/edit?usp=sharing

Most Consistent Bands (by Difficulty)

Beginner	Artist	Songs Played
Lead	Ramones	6
Rhythm	Ramones	5
Bass	Bloodhound Gang	4
Intermediate	Artist	Songs Played
Lead	Chevelle	4
Rhythm	Graveyard	5
Bass	Bruno Mars	3
Advanced	Artist	Songs Played
Lead	Psychedelic Porn Crumpets	6
Rhythm	Steel Panther	6
Bass	Camel	3
Masterclass	Artist	Songs Played
Lead	Galneryus	9
Rhythm	Intervals	5
Bass	Intervals	5
God of Rocksmith	Artist	Songs Played
Lead	Brothers of Metal	2
Rhythm	Jeff Loomis	1
Bass	Jason Becker, August Burns Red, John Coltrane, Bela Fleck And The Flecktones, Liquid Tension Experiment, Aram Bedrosian, Dirty Loops	1

Most Played (By Difficulty)

Beginner	Artist	Times Played
Lead	Muse	31
Rhythm	AC/DC	27
Bass	Muse	27
Intermediate	Artist	Times Played
Lead	Pink Floyd	16
Rhythm	Sabaton	28
Bass	Sabaton	32
Advanced	Artist	Times Played
Lead	AC/DC	27
Rhythm	Iron Maiden	65
Bass	Metallica	85
Masterclass	Artist	Times Played
Lead	Metallica	88
Rhythm	Metallica	81
Bass	Iron Maiden	61
God of Rocksmith	Artist	Times Played
Lead	Sabaton	33
Rhythm	Machine Head	12
Bass	Ne Obliviscaris	5

What do you think?

19 hours ago, Rodman said:

Unexpectedly but wonderful - finally the CS is beginning to be implemented into ignition!

:)

We´ll keep you updated on .... updates

This is great and a brilliant Idea for anyone wanting some songs rated at their level.

Lead (7) arpeggios and random chords above the A string my favorite

Rhythm (7) uhhhhh i think my bridge pickup failed again near the end but i couldn't tell because the result was the same

Bass (3.5)

my test lead scores:


so i did goof up and meant to give this a 5 not a 4, this was my first run
Gave it a second go after reading 7s. I personally dont see it that high and think its ok as intermediate. Nothing too complex here, just doesnt have powerchords or chords to boost up %. And since theres not that many notes in the song I can understand people getting alower %. Overall it repeats alot, pretty hummable and just goes up the scale or some pentatonics. Might be a bit fast in some areas but I dont think its anything not doable? but we'll see at the end of week ig.

Solo here is also just pentatonics or going up the scale but its fast so its harder. the chords are pretty basic also just a c shape and g shape ocassionaly on diferent frets but the picking pattern is a bit awkward and will require a bit of practice, especially for me who doesnt arp that much. Glad I'm not the only one who struggled with it but i do think we tend to overate arps just cause its something we dont usually play.

The only thing kinda challenging is the solo, and i think it just looks more intimidating than it is. if you slow it down its got some pretty basic tapping and thats it. I think its fine at 6.5

I still think it woulda been funny if i had left this as an advanced song as planned just to see your guys reaction but im not that cruel and left it for masterclass ppls.

Hi again everyone, thank you for the warm welcome!
First attempt at posting, let's hope the screenshots post OK 😄

And the next ones....

The tuning for the bass on the linked Santana song was a bit strange (drop B on the E string which my poor bass and Rocksmith couldn't pick up properly 😂) so I downloaded an alternative file with standard E tuning for this song - so feel free to put an asterisk on this one or for it to be excluded from the results if need be!

@cacahuate51 Thanks for the week! And kudos for taking the time to write such an extensive post with descriptions for this week songs - it looks like you could run a music blog 😉

Cool songs, all sharing a somewhat similar musical universe (perhaps with the exception of Santana song).

I'll give my ratings, but some of the charts have already slipped my mind a bit 😄

3

4.5

4.5

Ok, this is where there was the most disagreement. After the first playthrough, this is definitely not a 7, but certainly not a 4 either. I’d place this somewhere in the middle - around a 5.5 so a hard intermediate or easy advanced.

I don't know, I think I'd give this a 7.

Most of the chart isn't hard, but that short solo... hmm, I don't know how to play it. So, a 7 because of that.

8

This didn't seem all that very hard to me, but the score depends heavily on recognizing all those pull-offs. It's also hard to get a good sounding playing this, so I'd give a 7.5, though an 8 would be fair too.