[astonbilla]

Folks,

just started these games with Metallica GH - fupping class!

Anyway, just got the wired explorer with it. IU was wondering what is the best guitar out there - would also like it to be compatible with Rockband?

Many thanks

EET FUK tallicats

[ASE101]

Unfortunately there's no easy answer to that, and you're likely to get lots of different answers due to peoples' personal tastes. I like the Les Paul from GH3 (which I also use for RB1 and 2), but it has connection problems with the neck so it's not perfect.

[Bursar]

I like the GH3 guitars myself. I have a second one that came with GH:A, and aside from the tacky (and now faded/peeling) face plate, it's the same guitar.

I gather the neck connectors were redesigned for the GH:WT guitars, so it might be worth seeing if it's possible to pick one of those up.

[Pooon]

I like the one you have, the wired explorer, i sit with my right foot under my left thigh when playing and the shape of the explorer means it sits just right

[astonbilla]

what about the fact its missing the neck slider?? not sure if thats right or various other features?

Can't find a world tour guitar anywhere that is at a sensible price!

many thanks indeed for your advice though guys.

[Semerie]

in my oppinion i think the Les Paul (guitar hero 3) guitar is the best.. i cant stand any others lol

[PlexShaw]

Originally Posted by astonbilla

what about the fact its missing the neck slider?? not sure if thats right or various other features?

I wouldn't be too worried about the lack of the slider on the Les Paul or X-plorer guitars. IMO it's a pointless gameplay addition that distracts from the action rather than enhancing it.

FWIW, I think the Les Paul controller is the best one by some margin (I have two of them now!).

[oasismark]

I prefer the RockBand 2 strat.

The clicking of the GH strum bar drove me mad, the strum bar on the RB guitar is silent.

[chewyx]

Originally Posted by oasismark

I prefer the RockBand 2 strat.

The clicking of the GH strum bar drove me mad, the strum bar on the RB guitar is silent.

I agree with this 100%. Although sadly you cant buy the RB2 strat in the UK. You could import it or get a RB1 strat which you can probably pick up pretty cheap. It is wired though.

[PlexShaw]

I need the clicking of the strumbar is order to be able to keep the rhythm, which is the why the RB1 Strat was a total waste of time for me.

[cost22998]

I still use the Explorer as even though I love the Les Paul, I hate the continual replacement of batteries If it wasn't for the batteries, the Les Paul would be my fave, purely so I can strut round the room, throwing my God-like shapes for all who wish to bask in my presence.........

I just can't get on with the rock band strats as i like the rigid strum bar rather than the spongy one they have.

And don't even mention the neck slider.................

Mark

[PlexShaw]

Originally Posted by cost22998

I still use the Explorer as even though I love the Les Paul, I hate the continual replacement of batteries If it wasn't for the batteries, the Les Paul would be my fave, purely so I can strut round the room, throwing my God-like shapes for all who wish to bask in my presence.........

Hint: use rechargeable batteries like I do.

[oasismark]

I've actually found that my batteries are lasting ages. perhaps i just dont play as much as you guys, but get some decent ones and they will last, not a pack of 20 in Poundland.

[chewyx]

A bit of topic i know so sorry but oasismark, do you find your RB2 strat always has a full battery? My battery indicator doesnt seem to work and always says its full. I can tell when there going as the buttons cut out sometimes during sustain notes so its not a major issue (especially as i havent played much guitar recently) just curious to see if its just mine or not.

[stubbs99]

I own the Xplorer, Les Paul, RB1 strat and GH:WT and the one I use all the time is the GH:WT guitar. I like a clicking noise when I strum and the strumbar and whammy bars are bigger which I like. Disadvantages though include reliability - I had 3 before I got one which worked right, the utterly useless slider bar and I think the les paul may be better for moderately fast alt-strumming.

[astonbilla]

know what? doesn't matter which one i get, i'm way too crap for the guitar to make a difference!

I can play all the metallica songs on a real guitar, i thought i would be the man at this game.

Dear God i am cack - medium is tough!

[chewyx]

its a completely different skill required than playing real guitar. My step dad who is awesome on a real guitar could barely play easy without failing when they came to stay the other day (I wont even mention how terrible he was at drums!) Some of the songs are apparently harder on GH/RB than they are on real guitar (so im told, I cant play anything but nursery rhymes and a little bit of brianstorm on the real thing)

However, just like with real guitar, practice and it wont take long to play at a decent level. I remember the first time i played on GH3, I was aweful. I foolishly tried expert after a few songs on easy and quicly failed. I thought id never be able to do it and now I can play all songs on expert. I really must go back to GH3 and complete the career. Its just having to use the les paul again that puts me off.

[virtual22]

Originally Posted by chewyx

its a completely different skill required than playing real guitar. My step dad who is awesome on a real guitar could barely play easy without failing when they came to stay the other day (I wont even mention how terrible he was at drums!) Some of the songs are apparently harder on GH/RB than they are on real guitar (so im told, I cant play anything but nursery rhymes and a little bit of brianstorm on the real thing)

However, just like with real guitar, practice and it wont take long to play at a decent level. I remember the first time i played on GH3, I was aweful. I foolishly tried expert after a few songs on easy and quicly failed. I thought id never be able to do it and now I can play all songs on expert. I really must go back to GH3 and complete the career. Its just having to use the les paul again that puts me off.

I can't play some songs on RB because I play them on a real guitar, the worst being Wonderwall as I play it with a slightly different strum pattern on a normal guitar and have done for years, I just think it sounds better my way When I play it on RB though I get totally mixed up between my brain telling my hands to play my normal rhythm and my eyes and ears telling me it's different (it's a bit like rubbing your belly and patting your head, then reverse it - just doesn't work! )

Anyway, GH3 Les Paul FTW! Best one out there by far for me.

[Pooon]

Slightly OT but is the explorer available to buy (cheaply) separately? as i've had mine since GHII and i only ever strum down, so the strum bar is a bit knackered and often find myself over strumming unintentionally

[Zzebedee]

some branches of argos still have them in stock for a tenner, i had to do an online stock search of about 6 branches before i found one that had one though (and only one) a couple of weeks ago

[fatboy686]

I have 4 GH Guitars (and another 2 for the PS2 as it happens) and none of them are perfect:

The wireless Les Paul's neck is so loose that to hold sustained notes you have to stad as still as you can.

The latest wireless one (with the totally useless slider bar) has a sticky red button which is a complete PIA. The strum bar also squeaks annoyingly. But the whammy bar is probably the best of the lot (in that it stays where you leave it), and I like the Star Power button on the bridge.

Both of my wired Explorers have issues with the Star Power tilt sensor - one is so sensitive that it fires whenever the guitar is tilted even a tiny bit above the horizontal. For me, that means the Star Power is started as soon as I've collected enough, no matter what. The other is the opposite - the guitar has to be vertical and shaken around before Star Power is started, meaning most of the time I loose the multiplyer coz I miss a note.

I still love these games though!

If anyone knows how to fix any of the above, I'd like to hear!

Nige.

[chewyx]

in GH smash hits, you can turn off the tilt to activate star power function. Its in the options menu under functional options i think.

[Rorifett]

I prefer the GH2 Exploder guitar but would really like to put the GH World Tour strummer on it. I find the clicks from the GH2 guitar to be slightly off-putting when playing fast tracks late at night and the volume on the tv isn't high enough to drown the click out! Like the coloured buttons best on the GH2 guitar, just the right amount of 'springiness' however maybe I just like this one best cos it was the first one I used.

I like the RB 1 guitar but my fingers hurt like hell cos of those little bumps on the front anyone else suffer from this? Anyone got any solutions other than sanding them down?

[silvercue]

I am currently trying to buy a new guitar for 2 player on RB as my Les Paul has had so many issues because of the neck.

I do think the Les Paul is the best, by a huge margin, if you can keep it working. I don't have the time , or the tools, to hard wire the neck, so I am reluctant to get another as so many of them get the neck problem (where buttons stop responding all the time). I have cleaned the contacts with alcohol and they still drop notes.

So - I have used the X-Plorer for a long time. It is rock solid except the whammy bar is too loose and it is wired.

I liked the GH:WT guitar a lot except or the racket that the strium bar makes....so annoying as it was a great bit of kit apart from that.

If they made a one piece Les Paul it would be the best (IMHO) as all of the others have minor faults.

[clarinet5000]

Originally Posted by silvercue

I am currently trying to buy a new guitar for 2 player on RB as my Les Paul has had so many issues because of the neck.

I do think the Les Paul is the best, by a huge margin, if you can keep it working. I don't have the time , or the tools, to hard wire the neck, so I am reluctant to get another as so many of them get the neck problem (where buttons stop responding all the time). I have cleaned the contacts with alcohol and they still drop notes.

So - I have used the X-Plorer for a long time. It is rock solid except the whammy bar is too loose and it is wired.

I liked the GH:WT guitar a lot except or the racket that the strium bar makes....so annoying as it was a great bit of kit apart from that.

If they made a one piece Les Paul it would be the best (IMHO) as all of the others have minor faults.

I have two Les Paul GH3 guitars and I just switch the neck combinations when one stops working normally. I do think the Les Paul IS the best guitar controller you can buy right now. The xplorer won't break down easily but the cheap wiring (especially the bad whammy bar that hardly ever works) and bad SP button location make it the wrong choice for serious gaming. But If I didn't play on xbox I would take the SG red guitar from the PS2 over anything else. It works perfectly and never breaks.

[Phragzy]

Well ive had GH:WT for just under 3 weeks now and last night got a bit of a shock. Fired up a song and was struggling to hit any notes, i though having played COD4 non stop all week i had lost my skills but turns out the strum bar is no longer working. Not very impressed due to the short time ive owned it. Am picking up a replacement tonight from Currys, just hope this one lasts longer.

[clarinet5000]

Originally Posted by indierules69

Well ive had GH:WT for just under 3 weeks now and last night got a bit of a shock. Fired up a song and was struggling to hit any notes, i though having played COD4 non stop all week i had lost my skills but turns out the strum bar is no longer working. Not very impressed due to the short time ive owned it. Am picking up a replacement tonight from Currys, just hope this one lasts longer.

This is an extremely common problem on GHWT guitars, go for the GH3 guitar if you can't exchange it for a working one.

[Phragzy]

Originally Posted by clarinet5000

This is an extremely common problem on GHWT guitars, go for the GH3 guitar if you can't exchange it for a working one.

I got a replacement last night. If that goes wrong i will look at getting a different one. Whats the difference between the two?.

[clarinet5000]

Originally Posted by indierules69

I got a replacement last night. If that goes wrong i will look at getting a different one. Whats the difference between the two?.

The GHWT guitar has an arguably better whammy bar and quiter strum bar. The fret butons are pretty much the same but are less likely to need fixing than on the GH3 guitar.

The GH3 guitar rarely gets strum bar problems, but you generally have to maintain it well if you want it to work for a long time. The SP button on the GH3 guitar is decent enough but I usually just tilt. If you want an accurate tile sensor, then this is a good choice, but I don't own a WT model, so I don't really know much about how they compare.

In Best Buy, I found it easier to get perfect whammy but easier to overstrum on the WT model. I'm all serious about GH and everything, so sorry if this part is unnecessary.

Also I don't know where you're from, but in the US, the GH3 guitar is about $20 cheaper than the WT model. I do have instant notification on, so if you have any other questions, I'll hopefully see it and respond.

[conan]

I have the GHWT and GHM guitars, both identical except for the faceplate. I'm fine using this but they both squeak on the strum bar, enough for me to stop playing sometimes.

Has anybody found anything that stops the squeak without affecting the performance of the guitar?