How to Make & Play Custom Songs on Feedback
"Feedback" is a computer program that enables users to create their own custom songs for the "Guitar Hero" games by Activision. The program works by using song charts on which you specify where to place the notes. After you complete the note chart and import it to the game, it will function like a normal Guitar Hero track. As soon as the notes appear on the screen, you need to press the correct buttons on the keyboard or Guitar Hero peripheral.
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Instructions
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Start your copy of the Feedback program. You must also install "Guitar Hero 3" or "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith" on your computer in order to play the songs you will create.
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Read the help screen that appears, to familiarize yourself with the program keys. Press "Esc" to open the main menu. Use the arrow keys to navigate to "New Chart" and press "Enter."
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Choose the audio file for your new chart. This is the custom song for which you will create notes. The file must be in ".ogg" format. Press "Enter" on the file to load it.
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Change the options on the chart settings menu that appears. You can enter the name of the song, the name of the charter (you), the difficulty and the genre. This information will display inside the game to identify the track and creator.
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Press "Esc" to return to the main program window. Press the "Spacebar" to start playing the song. There will be no notes yet as you have to create these yourself but the music will play if you have followed the instructions so far. Press "Spacebar" again to stop playback. One of the limitations of Feedback is that you cannot place notes while the song is playing.
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Press the "S" key to save your chart. You will hear a musical note that indicates the save was successful. The chart file will only include the information you have entered so far, not the notes. It is a good idea to save periodically to avoid losing data in case of a computer problem.
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Hold down "Shift" and press "Spacebar" to return to the beginning of the song. Press the "V" key to open the volume settings and adjust everything to levels that are comfortable for you.
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Press the "M" key to enable a metronome which will help you keep track of the song's beat. Press the "]" key to set the song's offset. This is the amount of time the song will play before a note has to be pressed. Use this feature for tracks that have intros that do not involve guitar parts. The fretboard will shift forward every time the "]" key is pressed so try to match the offset as accurately as possible to the song. For greater accuracy, hold down the "Shift" key while pressing the "]" key to move the offset in smaller increments.
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Press the "<" and ">" to decrease and increase the song's time stamp. The value will be shown on the bottom left of the screen. Press the "+" and "-" keys to adjust the beats per minute of the song. Use the metronome to judge the correct values. If the metronome beats faster than the song, lower the beats per minute; if the metronome is slower, increase them. Both the time stamp and beats per minute values will help your notes synchronize with the music so you must set these values as accurately as possible. It helps if you have musical knowledge. Otherwise, it comes down to trial and error.
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Press the "1" to "5" keys to place notes on the fretboard. The notes are color-coded to correspond to the buttons on the "Guitar Hero" peripheral. Place the notes so that they match the guitar parts of the song. Press the "N" key to enable a clap sound every time you have to play a note. This will help you judge whether your note placement is accurate.
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Press the "Up" arrow key to scroll through the fretboard. The time will be displayed on the top right corner of the screen. This is useful to quickly access parts of the song you want to test or change. Hold down the "8" key while scrolling through the song with the "Up" arrow to add "Star power" to the notes. A blue line along the side of the fretboard will indicate this. "Star Power" is not essential to creating a custom song but it is a feature all "Guitar Hero" players are familiar with and will expect in tracks.
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Press "S" to save your custom song once you are satisfied with the note placement. Press the "Spacebar" key to play the song in Feedback and listen to make sure all your note placements are correct.
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Tips & Warnings
Do not distribute copyrighted music tracks online. If you create a custom song on Feedback using music from your own CD collection, only you are allowed to play it. Giving it away online or selling it is a violation of the copyright laws and can land you in serious trouble. If the songs are your own compositions, you are allowed to distribute them at your own discretion.
