Can't get past Vaseline on Medium

[bigjdotcom01]

WTF! I keep crapping out on this song with the guitar! Anyone else having problems with this song?

I know, I suck!

[steelcurtain187]

Good luck man. I found medium to be a breeze, although I have played GH for a while. Just keep at it! You'll be amazed at the things you can do when you keep practicing that you didn't think you could do. ;)

[SpikeX]

Good luck man. I found medium to be a breeze, although I have played GH for a while. Just keep at it! You'll be amazed at the things you can do when you keep practicing that you didn't think you could do. ;)
Agreed. 100%.

[Micker]

Practice it in practice mode. Once you get thebeat down in your head, it will be much easier.

[terRize]

One thing I'll try and do is play some easy songs on hard. Since the notes seem to come at you faster it gets you adjusted to that. After 4 or 5 songs I'll go back to play the song on medium and the notes will just seem to be crawling and makes it a lot easier to hit the notes.

Might help ya =) If not, just keep practicing. Before long you'll be doing things you were having a lot of trouble with without even realizing it.

[dagware]

just keep practicing. Before long you'll be doing things you were having a lot of trouble with without even realizing it.

This is SO TRUE. I encountered "Enter Sandman" for the first time last night. Medium on guitar. I thought "No f*ing way!" But I calmed down and practiced it at 60% for a long time until I figured out what fingers to user where. Then I slowly increased speed, and eventually I got through the song, and now I actually enjoy going back and playing it again, which I thought would never happen. Now it's almost (remember I said almost) easy.

So keep trying, and don't give up!

Dan

[muskett32]

Enter Sandman is great on Medium. To the OP, I can't help but point out a faulty guitar, maybe? I was messing up on easy songs because my guitar was messed up. Replaced it and now am redoing Solo Tour on medium and getting 5-stars on everything so far.

[surgesnugs]

Alot of Vasoline is hammer-ons.

I've been working on Enter Sandman on Hard, and my biggest downfall is the solo. I've gotten three stars on it, but I want to get to the point where I never fail out of it, and I still fail out on the solo at least 50% of the time. I do better when I use the solo buttons, but still not good enough to consistently make it through.

[jimmyn28]

I don't think guitar is entirely to blame. I have a faulty guitar myself whose fret buttons seem to not like solos that much, hahah. I have beaten every song in the solo tour on expert (with the exception of Green Grass and High Tides) with five stars. For some reason, I can't play the solos in GG&HT when I'm pretty sure I'm hitting them. Anyway, good luck with Vasoline. Practice [mode] makes perfect.

[iloveplywood]

Vasoline is definitely a hard song for newbies to the GH franchise. Vasoline, Enter the Sandman, and gimme shelter are the three songs on medium that gave me trouble. I think I got by vasoline on my second try but it is one of two songs I've only three starred on medium. Enter the Sandman on the other hand, oh my that took a lot of practice. I think the problem with medium is that the difficulty order of the songs is tailored more to hard and expert levels.

Things that got me through -- play the bass on expert. You get used to the notes falling down a lot faster and then when you go back to medium it's like everything is in slow motion. I guess that's all i have besides practice each part of the song over and over again.

[Xzyliac]

You mean Vasoline?

Well I did great on Expert right up until Green Grass and High Tides.

[Jixzer]

That song was easy for me on even on Expert, however drums on hard for that exact song are kicking my arse. I'm still practicing. GL bud.

[Black Flame Zealot]

I'm new to the guitar controller (never played GH before); Vasoline and Enter Sandman gave me the most trouble. I had to play Vasoline about 12 times before I passed it; with Enter Sandman, I must've played it between 80-100 times before I got it right. Now, once I got my new guitar today, I just needed to practice for a little while and I was able to beat Enter Sandman on Medium. I just finished the Medium guitar tour this (early) morning.

It seems like a lot of folks that are new to guitar controllers find the repetitive long strings of notes a real problem (I know I do, but getting a replacement guitar controller really helped improve my issue). Songs that walk all over the frets are much, much easier for me.

Here's what got me through Vasoline and Enter Sandman (which are, IMO, much tougher than any of the Impossible tier songs on Medium):

1. Relax. Don't get too tense, or you'll probably mess up your strumming. I did the worst when I found myself tensing up.

2. If you can, learn hammer-ons and pull-offs. These make the songs a bit easier... I still have yet to master them, but my rudimentary skills helped make the difference (especially in Vasoline).

3. Find the rhythm and try to stick to it. Even if you're hitting a note here or there that's "not there", as long as you stay in rhythm, you should be OK. This helped me immensely in Enter Sandman.

4. Make sure you get some overdrive and use it when you reach those rough patches. Don't worry about maxing your score at this point or saving it for a full bar; when you hit a point that you know you'll have trouble, kick in your overdrive to help save you.

5. Hit all the notes in the first intro (pretty darn easy for Vasoline, as it's just blue notes; a little harder for Enter Sandman since you're walking up and down the frets) to get your performance meter as high as possible before you hit the hard intro. This will give you a little more time before you fail out, which could be enough to get you into one of the easier sections a little further into the song.

6. Keep practicing! If you feel like you've hit a wall after playing it a dozen times or so, take a break and come back to it in a day or two. I personally don't practice on anything but full speed (playing at less than full speed really messes me up), but give it a try if it helps you with finger positioning (it's not as good for timing though).

I guarantee you that if you're able to succeed in Vasoline and Enter Sandman on Medium, you'll be able to finish Impossible tier (Moscow) on Medium without any real difficulties. To illustrate, I passed all the Impossibles (4-starring two and 5-starring one) on my first try on Medium. Seriously, Run to the Hills and GGHT were cake on Medium guitar compared to Enter Sandman and Vasoline.

Good luck!

[bart2712]

ya im new to the franchise too...started playing on Gh3 till i got RB...only song that gave me problems passing it on medium was enter sandman, altho vasoline is tricky too with all the alternation red and greens. But ya like everyone said, just keep practicing, and also if u dont get so tense and just relax playing it youll be amazed what notes ull hit. I played band quick play online with a friend one night and i did guitar on one of the longer songs with a tough solo, dont remember which one, but at that point i was totally relaxed and just jamming, and i nailed the solo which ive never done b4...so ya just relaxing while playing can make a big difference too.

[Ryder35]

Stuck on vasoline on hard myself. Thos damn HoPos are killing me, especially since I played with my calibration settings :(

[jenovan]

Wow, I thought I was just having an off day when I was flubbing Vasoline on Medium last night :o (Funny, Enter Sandman didn't really give me much trouble...) I think mastering the HoPos (Hammer-on/Pull-offs) is probably the key on this one... I did manage to skate through with 4 stars on the first try, trying to play by just regular strumming, but I definitely want to go into Practice and get it down well... Somehow the red-green jumps are killing me, just something about trying to move those fingers in that order.. ^^;

I don't know that it was mentioned by the OP -- do you know the song well? STP is one of my favorite bands, and just knowing how the song goes probably helped considerably...

But at any rate, good luck, with a little practice I'm sure you'll get it! :)


I guarantee you that if you're able to succeed in Vasoline and Enter Sandman on Medium, you'll be able to finish Impossible tier (Moscow) on Medium without any real difficulties. To illustrate, I passed all the Impossibles (4-starring two and 5-starring one) on my first try on Medium. Seriously, Run to the Hills and GGHT were cake on Medium guitar compared to Enter Sandman and Vasoline.

(Haha, wow. o_o good to know, as I get ready to jump into Impossible XD;; )

[Vertebreaker]

Vasoline, Enter Sandman, and Gimme Shelter are all surprisingly hard for their difficulty levels. The Hard versions of the songs are actually kind of hard...for Hard mode, anyway.

Practice mode is your best friend. That, and hitting enough Overdrive phrases to get your meter up. Ignore any notes you need to in order to hit a full phrase. That's the most important part if you're just trying to pass.

Just wait until you're good enough to play guitar and vocals at the same time. That's a blast. :)

[bigjdotcom01]

I finally got through Vasoline after about 10 tries or so and I am now stuck on Enter Sandman :) Real surprise there, huh?! I have finished all of the unlockables on Medium and I have started some songs on hard but I cannot get by Enter Sandman. That intro is a killer. I cannot get by 25%! UGH!

[iron_city_ap]

1. Relax. Don't get too tense, or you'll probably mess up your strumming. I did the worst when I found myself tensing up.

2. If you can, learn hammer-ons and pull-offs. These make the songs a bit easier... I still have yet to master them, but my rudimentary skills helped make the difference (especially in Vasoline).

3. Find the rhythm and try to stick to it. Even if you're hitting a note here or there that's "not there", as long as you stay in rhythm, you should be OK. This helped me immensely in Enter Sandman.

4. Make sure you get some overdrive and use it when you reach those rough patches. Don't worry about maxing your score at this point or saving it for a full bar; when you hit a point that you know you'll have trouble, kick in your overdrive to help save you.

5. Hit all the notes in the first intro (pretty darn easy for Vasoline, as it's just blue notes; a little harder for Enter Sandman since you're walking up and down the frets) to get your performance meter as high as possible before you hit the hard intro. This will give you a little more time before you fail out, which could be enough to get you into one of the easier sections a little further into the song.

6. Keep practicing! If you feel like you've hit a wall after playing it a dozen times or so, take a break and come back to it in a day or two. I personally don't practice on anything but full speed (playing at less than full speed really messes me up), but give it a try if it helps you with finger positioning (it's not as good for timing though).



I'm getting ready to start the last set on Guitar in Expert and that's all great advise. I have yet to even look at practice mode. Call it foolish pride. I just keep banging away at a song till I eventually get it. If I skirt by with 3 stars, I'll keep going back to it to get 4, then 5. There are still a few I can't 5 star on to save my life, but I'll just keep plugging away at it.

I don't want to sound like I'm bragging by saying "i've 5 starred almost every song in expert, blah, blah, blah". The point I'm trying to make is those tips are exactly how I got to the point I'm at now. #4 on the list is a real life saver. I've also found that like alot of things, once you get through it once, it gets ALOT easier the next time.

Like someone else mentioned, try it a few times on Hard then go back to Medium. You could start working on a Hard tour, then after a little while come back to Medium. The songs get progressively harder, so the latter songs on Medium are not far below the earlier songs on Hard. Its really a good way to build up your skills.

Good Luck.

[bigjdotcom01]

I got through Enter Sandman this afternoon and finished off the rest of the medium songs :) Now onto HARD! :)

[kyrkle]

I've been practicing vaseline for two days, and specifically that stupid riff. green red green red for eternity. Can't seem to get the hang of the hammer on and it has the weirdest syncopation. Practicing at the slower pace only works to 80% and then I can't get past it. I know... practice practice practice...but I'm glad I'm not the only one stuck on that song.

[Focker420]

easiest way is just practicing the hammer ons on vasoline strum the first but not the second. it takes timing on the small notes. especially for gh players u were able to just slide across the lit up notes at any time. but on RB u have to tap the smaller note at the exact right time. try the beginning of green grass and high tides on expert to work on the timing of ur hammer ons. on any song always get used to not strumming on the smaller notes cause once u reach hard and expert ur gonna need it. i can play every song on expert no problem. except greens grass and high tides. the second solo kills me. it just takes time. everyday i just got better and better and ur fingers are able to move faster and into diffucult positions more. ive only used thepractice mode once and it was on the drums for vasoline lol. definitly worked. run to the hills is the only song ive yet to beat on drums on hard. grr. takes alot of stamina.

[Kazer-X]

I'm not sure how the note chart is on medium. With hammer ons and pull offs on expert I find that they are much easier to do by ear and memory of the song than trying to time them on the charts. Knowing exactly how the song is supposed to sound makes everything much easier for me but that might only work on expert as you have to play all the notes that you hear.

I agree with Focker420. If there are smaller notes (hammer ons) then you should practice not strumming those. I remember the first time I moved onto Expert. I was so used to strumming the smaller notes from previous difficulties that I screwed up a lot because there are so many hammer ons in certain songs. Green Grass and High Tides is the worst, I had to learn how to use the solo buttons to beat that song.

*update*
I took a look at the chart with the green and red notes in Vasoline. What I would do is hold down green and just strum the greens and tap the red hammer ons. Don't let go of the green button, it'll make it less tiring.

For long amounts of consecutive notes I recommend learning how to strum up and down. I went through the expert tour with all down strums, some songs can really mess up your wrist, lol. Highway Star being one of them. I didn't learn how to up and down strum till after I finished the tour but I really wish I did learn beforehand >_< Much easier and not painful at all.

[hrustar]

I hated vasoline. Finally go through it. Took about 10 or so tries. I did it without learning how to use hammer ons and pull offs. I'm just starting to try and learn those. Probably would have made that song much easier, but you don;t need it to pass it. I think I got three stars and never looked back. SOmeday I'll five star it, but I'm not anxious to play it again.

[Gryffindor]

When I first started my Medium tour (to unlock all of the songs), I only had problems with Enter Sandman and Vasoline. I had to hand the guitar over to my oldest daughter who has much more GH experience than I do. Even so, she was having trouble with both.

The HO's on Vasoline are a bear. Until you get the hang of HO's I suggest strumming both and keying both - only so you keep your timing. This technique seems to work best for me. Then again, I doubt I'll ever be more than a good Medium player. I'm just now starting to get the hang of HO's and PO's.

[mercuryshadow09]

When I first started my Medium tour (to unlock all of the songs), I only had problems with Enter Sandman and Vasoline. I had to hand the guitar over to my oldest daughter who has much more GH experience than I do. Even so, she was having trouble with both.

The HO's on Vasoline are a bear. Until you get the hang of HO's I suggest strumming both and keying both - only so you keep your timing. This technique seems to work best for me. Then again, I doubt I'll ever be more than a good Medium player. I'm just now starting to get the hang of HO's and PO's.

I thought i'd never be more than a medium player either , i started 5 starring every song on medium and my son encouraged me to play on hard so i did and havent looked back since! just keep at it you'll surprise yourself!

[LudaToke]

This is SO TRUE. I encountered "Enter Sandman" for the first time last night. Medium on guitar. I thought "No f*ing way!" But I calmed down and practiced it at 60% for a long time until I figured out what fingers to user where. Then I slowly increased speed, and eventually I got through the song, and now I actually enjoy going back and playing it again, which I thought would never happen. Now it's almost (remember I said almost) easy.

So keep trying, and don't give up!

Dan

I'm stuck on Medium Sandman now. I'll give this a shot and see if it works.

[MaxMeanie]

If you play drums wait till you get to this ***** of a song on hard. Im only getting to about %50 before getting booted, and that's after playing the song a couple dozen times.

[Keebler]

Here's a hint: the guitar and drums for "Vasoline" do not play to the same beat. Don't rely on the drums to help your rhythm while playing guitar.

[MegaFingers]

For me easy guitar was a piece of cake and a lesson learning experience. I found out the hard way that easy didn't unlock all the songs.

While playing medium guitar I got stuck on Vasoline and Enter Sandman. They just took time and practice mode to overcome. Vasoline really got me used to hammer-ons.

In hard guitar mode it took a few days to get over Flirtin' with Disaster and Green Grass and High Tides. I was able to get through GGHT before FWD.

As for expert I've done the first few songs in solo mode and that's about it. There's something about expert that I just can't get excited about. Hard is a big enough challenge for me. Maybe as my fingers get faster I'll be more interested in expert. Right now I'm content with hard and working on my up/down strumming. All through easy, medium and hard I was down sturmming only.

Mega