Rock Band - Impressions...

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 5:12 pm

JackB1 wrote:Is anyone playing RB with the GH2-wired Explorer Guitar? I am thinking of just picking up the RB software and the drums separately. I know it works, but does the inability to use the little buttons at the bottom of the neck and not being able to change effects affect gameplay much?

I don't think the effects do a thing gameplay wise. The little buttons at the neck are primarily there for solos. when a solo comes up you can press the buttons without having to strum.

I have no idea if you can use the regualr ubbtons on a GH guitar to achieve that effect during a solo. If you can then the neck buttons are not really needed except for show. I mean when you can wail on the neck buttons during a solo it looks cool

GameSeven · Post by **GameSeven** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 5:24 pm

Not sure, but don't the high fret buttons help during "big ending"?

I've never tried strumming for bonus on the normal frets, as I always thought part of the beneift of using the high frets during solos and endings is not having to strum. I just wail away on the high frets during the ending until the final note(s) which *must* be strummed.

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 6:27 pm

JackB1 wrote: I am hoping that the stand-alone drums that will be released in Jan will be better than the original shipment with the game. I am thinking of going a similar route as you Jon D.

That was my plan as well, but today while I was Target (just there to buy a pack of gum), I wandered over to electronics and saw the Rock Band box sitting there.

2 min. later I was putting it in the trunk. Total impulse purchase, just said "screw it".

Oh well, if this drum kit has QC issues, Target has a 90 day return policy so I can still stick with my original plan (or just re-buy the drum kit when it comes out and stick the ones I bought today in that box for a return).

I guess my only issues there is that I can't do any foam/rubber mods for the drum pads.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 7:37 pm

I smell a poker night coming up!

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 8:42 pm

Danimal wrote:
JackB1 wrote:Is anyone playing RB with the GH2-wired Explorer Guitar? I am thinking of just picking up the RB software and the drums separately. I know it works, but does the inability to use the little buttons at the bottom of the neck and not being able to change effects affect gameplay much?
I don't think the effects do a thing gameplay wise. The little buttons at the neck are primarily there for solos. when a solo comes up you can press the buttons without having to strum.

I have no idea if you can use the regualr ubbtons on a GH guitar to achieve that effect during a solo. If you can then the neck buttons are not really needed except for show. I mean when you can wail on the neck buttons during a solo it looks cool

The effect ONLY work during solos (when the scrolling fret bar is blue) or when you activate overdrive. You can move it any time and see what effect you want but only works in those two instances.

Try setting it with echo setting and leave it there. You will hear the difference during solos or overdrive I am positive. Then for the heck of it change it (who cares if you miss a note) and notice the change in sound. Mine works and has worked on both guitars.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 8:47 pm

jondiehl wrote:Oh well, if this drum kit has QC issues, Target has a 90 day return policy so I can still stick with my original plan (or just re-buy the drum kit when it comes out and stick the ones I bought today in that box for a return).

I guess my only issues there is that I can't do any foam/rubber mods for the drum pads.

I did the mod to my original drums and the foam rubber peels right off and leaves little to NO residue (nothing a damp cloth won't wipe clean) I didn't need to wipe them at all.

Do the mod, it comes off easy. If it turns out the gum rubber is better you can peel off and try that too (they are using rubber cement for that mod)

James_E · Post by **James_E** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:40 pm

Just got it. Setting it up now... I'll be drummin...

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:51 pm

SEMINOLE wrote: I did the mod to my original drums and the foam rubber peels right off and leaves little to NO residue (nothing a damp cloth won't wipe clean) I didn't need to wipe them at all.

Do the mod, it comes off easy. If it turns out the gum rubber is better you can peel off and try that too (they are using rubber cement for that mod)

Oh cool. So use that rubber cement stuff like the ads that get put in my magazine and make those long booger/sticky things?

Got a URL with some directions on where to buy the foam rubber at? Getting the kit setup now...

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 11:11 pm

James_E wrote:Just got it. Setting it up now... I'll be drummin...

Where bouts? Went to EB and they told me they were selling it only to pre-orders. Future shop and BB didn't have it.

James_E · Post by **James_E** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 11:38 pm

EB at Vaughn Mills Mall in Toronto had a bunch. 10 when I called, about 6 when I got there, and 3 purchased while I was there. (360 version.. they had no PS3 or PS2 versions)

One other EB had a few today as well, non pre-ordered versions but they had sold them all.

Note: EB games prices is $169.99. FS is charging $199.99.. I have no idea why FS is more expensive but FS usually price matches if you have an ad from another store.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 12:12 am

James_E wrote:Just got it. Setting it up now... I'll be drummin...

Let me know what you think James.....I'm curious to hear what a fellow musician thinks about the game...especially the drums. You have an electronic drum kit, right? Let me know how the drums compare to the real thing. Obviously it's not the same, but is it enough for a "frustrated" drummer, like myself?

Millennium · Post by **Millennium** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 12:20 am

SEMINOLE wrote:
Millennium wrote:I just ordered 8 7" gum rubber pads, 3/16" thick from www.dunhamrubber.com. I have a friend that wanted 4 after last night.

My buddy got 4 pads from these guys before Christmas. He had them on his drum set for New Years (with temporary double-sided Scotch tape), and it was a 200% difference playing drums. My hands used to cramp at times, and I had none of that last night. The 'rebound' factor of hitting the pads is unbelievable, and you hear more of a deep thud instead of the smacking you get with the normal surface of the drum set.

Each pad was about 6 dollars, plus shipping. Can't wait to get them.

Are they pre-cut? I would love to see a pic or even a video of this mod. Might be way better than my foam rubber and felt deal.

They are pre-cut by the company (Dunham Rubber). They have been getting a lot of orders recently, so they have them pre cut and ready to go.

I'll take some pics when I get them, maybe a vid.

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 12:40 am

I've played 3 songs and my guitar is no longer strumming down.

Wow. VERY poor quality, completely unacceptable.

It felt nice and tight for the first song or two, now it sort of floats for much of the range of the toggle and doesn't pick up in the game until almost the complete extreme pushing up or down on the strum bar (and then now, not at all when strumming down).

Very junky.

Drums are cool, but at times it's not picking up some of the hits at all.

Hmmmm

James_E · Post by **James_E** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 1:55 am

JackB1 wrote:
James_E wrote:Just got it. Setting it up now... I'll be drummin...
Let me know what you think James.....I'm curious to hear what a fellow musician thinks about the game...especially the drums. You have an electronic drum kit, right? Let me know how the drums compare to the real thing. Obviously it's not the same, but is it enough for a "frustrated" drummer, like myself?

Musician? Me? I'm just a hack.

Definitely enough for a "frustrated drummer".

Certainly not the same as my electronic kit, and nowwhere NEAR the same as my acoustic kit, but for pure coordination of the limbs as a drummer, it's very very good. Not much in the way of dynamics, and no Highhat pedal. But it's definitely a good representation of drumming, much better than the guitar is w.r.t. real guitar. I tried medium difficulty and it's too easy for me (at least those early songs..) so I bumped up to hard for the solo tour (career mode) and it's ok. I can imagine I'll get to expert once I memorize the actual songs better.

Get it Jack. You won't regret it.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 3:01 am

Thank goodness for Blockbuster video. I was trading some games when I see the big blue box for sale. I knew that they had the software, but they ended up having a couple of sets as well. So for those of you living up North try them up if FS, BB, Walmart and EB are sold out like what happened in my area.

Nozzleman_216 · Post by **Nozzleman_216** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 10:32 am

Jon,
Guitar sounds faulty. You are able to open it up and see what strum bar mechanism you have. There are about 16 or so screws on the back of the guitar. Remove these and you can open it up (there is no warranty sticker etc.....) There are fixes for the first gen guitars all over the net. My newest guitar has a magnetic strum bar and has been working like a champ for a few weeks now with A LOT of play.
Here is a video of a fix for older style strums
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fypJNFsK4E

Here is a link showing 2 of the style of strum bars. The first one is the style you can do the fix from the above video. The 2nd is the magnetic strum that my 1st guitar was replaced with.
http://dubiousquality.blogspot.com/2007 ... aster.html

As for your drums, make sure your lag and A/V sync are set correctly. I will post a GREAT thread that gives a very good way of doing this (worked nicely for me, although I was close before)
If you are wanting to do the rubber foam and felt mod, you do not need rubber cement, The foam and felt you buy are self adhesive. I bought my first materials at hobby lobby, and the second time from WalMart.

Here is that thread for calibrating your setup. Again this worked REALLY well for me. The guitar was a little off so I mainly set it for the drums and my guitar feels great. I think I had a problem strumming in time LOL.

http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19520

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 10:47 am

Jack, I know you liked GH and I'd be shocked if you didn't love Rock Band. The drums are very fun and the higher you go up in difficulty the more complicated the drum beats get. It mimics how you play drums pretty well but obviously it's not the exact same thing. And if there's even just a slight chance that you'll get to play the game with others it's a must get.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:06 am

Excuse a little self promotion, but I wrote a little Rock Band post on my blog I thought some of you might find amusing:

http://cjsd.blogspot.com/2008/01/behind-rock-band.html

I can't quite tell if my red pad on my drums is faulty. At times the rolls seem fine and other times it seems like it doesn't keep up. Not sure if it's technique or the controller. It seems like if I do a lighter snare roll, it keeps up, but if I do a fast roll at a harder pace, it doesn't. Has anyone tried taping?

I'm also going to order those pads Millenium posted. The thwacking is distracting me, especially since I'm only playing on medium and my hits don't always coincide with the sound coming from the game.

I wish they had a free play option in this game, where you could just play and work on technique. You can load up a big rock ending and do it but that's more cumbersome. [/url]

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:11 am

Seminole -

Thanks for the detailed post. I'm not sure which strum I have, I did a google search after posting and found all of the threads on fixing it... then found the Rock Band warranty site and it took 2min and I already have a 2nd day Air shipment of another Fender Strat coming to me for free, along with the prepaid "coffin" for this one.

I'm guessing the replacement I get next week will have the magnetic strum. Either way, I'll open mine up tonight and fiddle around with it. If I screw something up, at least it's the one getting RMA'd.

I was up until 2am last night playing (with my GH2 Gibson Explorer).

First thing I did was calibrate the guitar and drums, but I'll try that again. Best of all last night was the singing (fun on expert mode). AND, getting my wife involved (she tried out all 4 parts, as did I).

Drums are very challenging, even for an experienced musician that always felt that he could play drums

I do fine on the medium level, and for the heck of it I cranked it to expert before heading to bed for the night on "Blackened" from the Metallica pack I downloaded. Whoa. I'm no Lars. Back to medium. I came to bed and my wife said I'm doing the foam mod on the drums today or no more drumming for me past midnight. hehe

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:19 am

jondiehl wrote:I was up until 2am last night playing (with my GH2 Gibson Explorer).

LOL, I saw you still on when I went to bed after practicing "Foreplay/Long Ttime" for about 30 minutes! This game is killing my sleeping this week.

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:27 am

SEMINOLE wrote: If you are wanting to do the rubber foam and felt mod, you do not need rubber cement, The foam and felt you buy are self adhesive. I bought my first materials at hobby lobby, and the second time from WalMart.

Any specifics on exactly what to buy here? Is there something that can be bought without too much cutting (like, some circular pads)?

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:28 am

James_E wrote:
JackB1 wrote:
James_E wrote:Just got it. Setting it up now... I'll be drummin...
Let me know what you think James.....I'm curious to hear what a fellow musician thinks about the game...especially the drums. You have an electronic drum kit, right? Let me know how the drums compare to the real thing. Obviously it's not the same, but is it enough for a "frustrated" drummer, like myself?
Musician? Me? I'm just a hack.

Definitely enough for a "frustrated drummer".

Certainly not the same as my electronic kit, and nowwhere NEAR the same as my acoustic kit, but for pure coordination of the limbs as a drummer, it's very very good. Not much in the way of dynamics, and no Highhat pedal. But it's definitely a good representation of drumming, much better than the guitar is w.r.t. real guitar. I tried medium difficulty and it's too easy for me (at least those early songs..) so I bumped up to hard for the solo tour (career mode) and it's ok. I can imagine I'll get to expert once I memorize the actual songs better.

Get it Jack. You won't regret it.

On a related note, James, you ever put the game on practice mode and play along with your real guitar/amp with a song? Since the guitar parts are left out of practice, it's like a karaoke machine for guitar

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:35 am

ScoopBrady wrote:Jack, I know you liked GH and I'd be shocked if you didn't love Rock Band. The drums are very fun and the higher you go up in difficulty the more complicated the drum beats get. It mimics how you play drums pretty well but obviously it's not the exact same thing. And if there's even just a slight chance that you'll get to play the game with others it's a must get.

I'm sure I'll love it, it's just that I will be playing mostly solo or online randoms. I am also trying to decide whether or not to keep my GH2 Explorer and just get the game & drums or spring for the whole shebang. I am also worried that my wife will leave me when she see's her 40-something husband playing "Ballroom Blitz" on a bunch of plastic drums

James_E · Post by **James_E** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:52 am

JackB1 wrote:
On a related note, James, you ever put the game on practice mode and play along with your real guitar/amp with a song? Since the guitar parts are left out of practice, it's like a karaoke machine for guitar

Neat. Never thought of that. Have not tried it. My amp is over at my buddies place where we jam (singer uses it, I play drums there)

I rarely play my electric guitar anymore... probably going to sell it. I already sold my Les Paul a while back, probably dumping the telecaster now too. I do play my Larrivee acoustic still, probably never sell that thing. I spend most of my music time drumming now.

jondiehl · Post by **jondiehl** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 11:53 am

Take the plunge Jack.

I'm really impressed with the microphone actually. I mean, it's a real microphone. I tried using the headset instead, while playing guitar, and it didn't sound nearly as good coming through the speakers (I turn down the song's vocals all the way so I hear just me).

Your wife will did it. My wife isn't a gamer, and she lasted until midnight last night until her arms got sore from drumming and we couldn't use 2 guitars anymore due to the strum bar breaking (which, as I'm reading, is thankfully not unique and from what I'm seeing the new one is rock solid).

Going to Michael's or Hobby Lobby today to pick up some foam rubber, felt, and a circle cutter!