The Beatles: Rock Band Guitars

 

 

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This peripheral is amazing. The licensing is great with gretsh written on it and the authentic chrome-like whammy bar and bridge. No tacky coloured buttons on show like with guitar hero, just the strips of colour, hidden as well as possible.

Every thing about it shows rock bands effort and level of quality. It does have a high price tag and doesn't offer much more than looks and style compared to the normal rock band guitar. But if you're a Beatles fan definitely get it. You wont regret it. I personally prefer this one to the Lennon one but that's because there's more detail on it.

It seems as though there are a fair few critical reviews of this product, rather than helpful ones, so to help answer some questions, I've decided to write this review.

Having had my standard Rock Band wired guitar lose reliability after a year or two of semi-frequent use, and having had a wireless Rock Band controller reach the same stage in a much shorter time, I was naturally somewhat apprehensive about forking out my hard-earned on another controller, especially as the supposed much improved Rock Band 2 controllers never made it to these shores. When I saw this controller appear for a very reasonable price, I thought now would be as good a time as any to take the plunge. And I am glad I did.

Upon opening the package (which clearly states that no game is included, should you ever see this at retail and be tempted to buy it), I was greeted with a well packaged, beautiful looking controller, mounted in moulded plastic for safety, and it's headstock removed to keep the package size down. Elsewhere in the box are some very easy to follow assembly and operating instructions and a cheap strap that is frankly uncomfortable. This for me at least was a minor slight against it, as I just procured a strap from one of my existing guitars and used that.

Upon mounting the headstock (which is easily removable), I started overlooking the details closer. The chrome whammy bar and bridge are a nice touch, and the detailed fret inlays are a marked improvement over the dull 'nicotine stained' beige of the original guitars. I have always preferred the looks and feel of Rock Band guitars over their Guitar Hero counterparts, and here is no exception. As with the other guitars, the fret buttons are set into the fret board, which for me makes the guitar much easier to play, and the buttons are identified by mere strips of colour on the edges of the buttons, which gives off a much better first impression, and makes it looks like less of a toy.

Notable changes in design also come with this updated controller. The strum bar is certainly less "springy" than it's predecessors, which does lend itself better to quick strumming in my opinion. Gone is the effects switch, replaced on this model by a chrome knob, so no more mistaken effects activations during a particularly energetic session. The Xbox guide button has been moved to the bottom edge of the guitar, along with the wireless sync button. The guide button has had a 'safety catch' added too, by which I mean that there is a delay so that the Xbox guide wont pop up unless the button is depressed for a short time, which would benefit the older front mounted guitars better, but is nonetheless a welcome addition. The Start and Back buttons are also guarded by raised rings, so as to prevent accidental presses when playing. Anything that takes you out of the experience should be improved, and Harmonix have done just that. A great improvement all round.

Most notable of improvements and upgrades are the auto-calibration feature and the pedal feature. The auto-calibration feature was present in Rock Band 2 controllers but as I have said before, they never made it to the UK, so anyone wondering if they'll ever be able to get a decently calibrated A/V system can now breathe easy knowing that Harmonix saw fit to include it on these controllers too, even if the product description makes no mention of it, nor does any other review on Amazon. It's both a doddle to set up (in Rock Band 2 at least, I'm not sure if the feature is supported by RB1), and gives a good accurate reading, and will automatically update all settings in game upon successful calibration.

The aforementioned pedal feature is a welcome addition. Typically you'd tilt the guitar upwards to activate your Overdrive or Star Power features in-game, and you still can. However, with these Beatles guitars, you can plug an existing Rock Band Drum Pedal into the underside of the guitar (next to the Xbox guide button, which probably helps explain the 'safety catch'), and use the pedal instead, if tilting would typically lead to poorer performance on your part. Again, no mention is made of this in the description, or any other reviews here, but I thought it important to point out for those curious.

All in all, there is little I can fault this controller on so far. The whammy bar does lift slightly away from it's rocker, which isn't much cause for concern, but something to consider when transporting the controller. This minor niggle aside, I'd not hesitate to recommend this controller to anyone looking to upgrade or replace their existing controller. It's beautiful to look at (for a faux musical instrument) and a joy to use. The only thing that remains to be seen is how robust it will be, but if all I've mentioned is anything to go by, Harmonix would hopefully have sorted that issue out too.

I love this guitar! I previously used the standard black/orange guitar, which was okay, but the buttons had an annoying tendency to stick when pressed. Not with this baby though! The buttons press flawlessly and feel beautiful; they are not raised like regular guitar hero controllers, but are simply part of the guitar neck. Also the colour strips are not located on the front of the guitar neck, but are simply small strips hidden on the side. This model actually has two sets of buttons, one on the top of the neck which are wide, and one on the bottom of the neck which are thinner, allowing you to use which ever you find most comfortable.

Another feature I like about this guitar is that the strum does not click each time it is pressed as with other controllers. It also has the whammy bar, and the star power function which can be activated by tilting the guitar upwards. However, this model does not contain the slider bar, which doesn't really matter for me as I never used it anyway.

Looks wise, the guitar is very attractive with chrome finish; at first look you would be forgiven for mistaking this as a real guitar. Although this product is a little pricey, I feel if you are a big guitar hero fan, then this would be an excellent product for you.

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5.0 out of 5 stars great guitar
bought this guitar so that we could have 4 people playing the game,drums,bass,guitar,and mic.the guitar itself is great it feels and looks great,worth every penny. Read more

Published on 7 Feb 2010 by J. Salmon

5.0 out of 5 stars More players, more fun
Yes, it is pricey for a toy guitar but it looks great and means the Beatles rock band becomes a 4 player game. How can you really be the Beatles with only 3 players?

Published on 3 Nov 2009 by Ian Walmsley

1.0 out of 5 stars Just so everyone knows.....
You do not receive the actual game with this....

you are infact paying £85 for a plastic guitar.

Enjoy.

Published on 11 Sep 2009 by David Jones

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