The unofficial Rock Band thread.

[firehawk12]

They updated the guitars again? What did they add after the touch bar?

I wouldn't mind the Red Octane guitars... except the neck is just too wide. It flares up my carpal tunnel pretty badly after a while.

 

[Yoda]

^Well I think the touch strip was switched from analog to digital so it's more responsive. Other than that the neck is largely the same. The body is the same as well, but the strum bar is better. It's rubberized, doesn't slip, and doesn't flex like the GH:WT version. Also they use a different type of switch to detect strums. Personally I don't prefer their feel, but they're still pretty good, and apparently they are far less likely to fail over time.

It's probably not much of an upgrade if you don't play a lot on expert difficulty. Those charts abuse plastic instruments pretty badly.

Also, the GH controllers are definitely thicker necked than the RB strats, but I'm surprised that they're big enough to cause you problems.

 

[firehawk12]

I just picked up the Band Hero kit for cheap (4 guitars and 2 drums, yay!) so I'll check out the new guitar... but yeah, both the GH2 and GH3 guitars killed my hands when I play harder songs. That said, I do have a death grip when trying to move to different frets, so that probably exacerbates the problem... but after a few songs, my hands will start to kill me.

Of course the other thing is that wireless instruments are just a pain because it feels like a waste of batteries. But that's a minor problem in the grand scheme of things I suppose.

 

[Aragorn]

Wireless Guitar Hero guitars still drain the batteries even when they're turned off, FYI.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

I just picked up the Band Hero kit for cheap (4 guitars and 2 drums, yay!) so I'll check out the new guitar... but yeah, both the GH2 and GH3 guitars killed my hands when I play harder songs. That said, I do have a death grip when trying to move to different frets, so that probably exacerbates the problem... but after a few songs, my hands will start to kill me.

Of course the other thing is that wireless instruments are just a pain because it feels like a waste of batteries. But that's a minor problem in the grand scheme of things I suppose.

That's why rechargeable batteries are a great investment.

 

[firehawk12]

I have those too, for my Wiimote, but I play games mostly on a monitor, so it just feels like a waste.

 

[Aragorn]

Downloads for the week of Jan. 17:

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
“A Woman in Love (Live)”
“Breakdown (Live)”
“Century City (Live)”
“Jammin’ Me (Live)”
“Nightwatchman (Live)”
“The Waiting (Live)”

Phoenix – “1901”
Phoenix – “Lisztomania”
Silvertide – “Blue Jeans”

 

[Mistreaper]

I may GH5 for both it's songs and a new guitar, but most of them are on download now thank god.

 

[Aragorn]

So even though DJ Hero flopped, the Activision CEO is boasting about the sequel they're making, which might be coming out just one year after the first game depending on when his comments were made!!!

 

[Brikar99]

It was a fun game, though it's not really my type of music, so I'm glad it was my roommate that spent the $200 and not me.

 

[firehawk12]

Yeah, the price of entry is just way too high. I'm still waiting for price drops before picking it up.

 

[Mistreaper]

For DJ, I just don't know about that one. But I will play any new RB and some of the GH's.

 

[Cmndr J Crichton]

Does Rock Band II have the same censorship issues that world tour/band hero has? I just found out that RB II is compatible with my BH equipment. As much as I love Guitar Hero, I'm gonna jump ship for Rock Band II if this is the case.

 

[Rincewiend]

There are some songs that are censored, but that might be more of a case of which version they got to use from the record companies...

 

[Cmndr J Crichton]

Do they to stupid things like censor the word whiskey in American Pie? Honestly, it was very distracting hearing a major word of the song cut out. It went, 'and good ol' boys drinking _____and rhye singing this'lll be the day that I die.' The even edited any part of a song that had the word high, or higher. Even if it didn't mean what the censors thought it meant! What is this, 1963? If they're gonna do that at least give us the option of hearing both versions. Imagine if they did Guitar Hero: The Doors edition. When they get to the Whiskey-a-Go Go the word whiskey would be pix-elated on the marquee.

 

[Smiley]

Only curse words like the f bomb are silenced on the Rock Band vocal tracks. Thematic material is still very much present.

 

[Aragorn]

Downloads for thw eek of Jan. 24:

Blue Oyster Cult – “Godzilla”
Blue Oyster Cult – “Transmaniacon MC”
Hawkwind – “Master of the Universe”
I Mother Earth – “Levitate”
Motorhead – “Killed by Death '08”
Nazareth – “Hair of the Dog” (2008 re-recording)
Rage Against the Machine – “Bulls on Parade”

 

[Rincewiend]

Only curse words like the f bomb are silenced on the Rock Band vocal tracks. Thematic material is still very much present.

Not really...
The censorship in RB is a bit spotty...
References to a hookah pipe in a No Doubt song; censored, in a Bangles song; allowed...

 

[Mistreaper]

The censorship in RB is not as bad as it is in GH, but I do like RB more now then ever.

 

[Aragorn]

Downloads for the week of Jan. 31:

Country Track Pack 3
Trace Adkins - Swing
Kenny Chesney - She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy
Sara Evans - Suds in the Bucket
Rascal Flatts - Me and My Gang
Montgomery Gentry - Gone
Willie Nelson - On the Road Again

800 Microsoft points or 160 each.