Getting started
There are a few steps you’ll need to take before you’re ready to go hog-wild downloading custom songs for Rocksmith. The first thing you’ll need to do is create an account on CustomsForge, the largest community for custom Rocksmith songs out there today. This will allow you to download the Rocksmith custom DLC files once you have everything else set up.
The next thing you’ll need to do is download this file, D3DX9_42.dll and pop it into your Rocksmith steam folder. This can be found at the Steam\SteamApps\common\Rocksmith2014 directory. Just pop it in, and you’re almost ready to start playing custom songs in Rocksmith 2014. Keep this folder open in your file explorer, though. We’ll be coming back to it.
The last step here is to open up Steam, navigate to the Rocksmith 2014 DLC page, and buy Cherub Rock by the Smashing Pumpkins. Yes, I’m serious. No, I’m not a Smashing Pumpkins fanboy.
The reason you need to do this is that Rocksmith 2014 custom DLC works by essentially disguising itself as another song. For most of the custom DLC out there, this song is Cherub Rock. So if you don’t own it, the game won’t be able to recognize any of the songs you download.
After you purchase the song, refresh your file explorer window, and you should see a nice little folder marked “DLC”. Open it up and you’ll be able to see all the downloadable content you’ve purchased for the game thus far. This is where you’re going to be saving your custom Rocksmith 2014 songs!
Plug in and rock out!
At this point, your copy of Rocksmith 2014 is fully primed to recognize and play custom songs, so all you have to do now is find some!
After logging in to CustomsForge, you’ll be able to access Ignition, a handy search tool for Rocksmith CDLC that allows you to browse songs by artist, album, tuning, and more.
Feel free to download as much as you want, but be aware that this is user-generated content so the quality will vary. Usually, the songs with more downloads are of a higher caliber than those with less, so if you’re looking for a particularly obscure song, realize that the quality might not be as high as you’ve come to expect with official Rocksmith 2014 songs.
In addition, you’re going to want to pay attention to the “Parts” and “DD” headings in Ignition. Not all songs offer multiple tracks for lead, rhythm and bass guitar, so be sure your chosen instrument is supported before downloading.
“DD” stands for Dynamic Difficulty, the Rocksmith feature that tracks your progress and adds notes to songs as you improve until you’re finally playing the entire guitar part. Not all custom Rocksmith 2014 songs have this feature, but that shouldn’t dissuade you from downloading. If a song does not have dynamic difficulty, that simply means you’ll be playing the entire guitar part from the start.
Once you’ve chosen your song, follow the download link. If you’re on a PC, you’ll need a p_psarc file, and if you’re on a Mac, you’ll need an m_psarc file. Simply save that file to the Steam\SteamApps\common\Rocksmith2014\dlc directory and you’ll be good to go!
Final Notes
It’s important to note that although Rocksmith CDLC is legal, you cannot legally obtain official Rocksmith DLC in this way, as this would infringe on their licensing agreements. So if you want a song that Ubisoft has already released as DLC for Rocksmith 2014, the only legal way to play it is to buy it.
The last thing to note is that sometimes, since this is all user-created content, things don’t work quite right. AbstractGuitar.com has a handy troubleshooting guide that should cover any issues you might have getting your custom DLC to work right.
Finally, if you want this information in video form, follow along below.
By now you should be more than ready to start expanding your Rocksmith 2014 library while honing your guitar chops at the same time! Be sure to let us know your favorite custom Rocksmith song in the comments as you download them.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go. The solo to Live and Learn won’t learn itself.
