Rock Band - Impressions...

Leadfoot5 · Post by **Leadfoot5** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 5:36 pm

JackB1 wrote:Oh yeah and get some wireless headphones that you can plug into your console's sound system.

Any recommendations on wireless headphones???

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 5:43 pm

I use Turtle Beach X3 headphones for xbox 360. Great detail to the sound, and also has separate volume control for 360 voice chat.

They can be plugged into the Xbox 360 audio outputs, but I plug them into my TV's audio output so I can use them for gaming or TV watching.

Some users however (myself included), experience a constant background hiss to the sound. It is noticeable when there is little or no sound playing, but doesn't ruin the experience for me.

I also recently broke the hinge on the left ear piece losing tension to seal the headphone around my ear. Debating whether or not to pick up a new set.

$99

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 6007992061

Leadfoot5 · Post by **Leadfoot5** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 11:02 pm

Naples39 wrote:I use Turtle Beach X3 headphones for xbox 360. Great detail to the sound, and also has separate volume control for 360 voice chat.

Thanks Naples, I might check these out.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 10:59 am

Leadfoot5 wrote:
Naples39 wrote:I use Turtle Beach X3 headphones for xbox 360. Great detail to the sound, and also has separate volume control for 360 voice chat.
Thanks Naples, I might check these out.

I still have the Original Turtle Beach headphones and they still work great.
It makes playing RB or GH so much more immersive when you dont hear the clicking of the guitar or the banging of the drums.

Bakes · Post by **Bakes** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:45 am

Maybe a stupid question but I'm new to the drums - is it normal for the pads not to register off-center hits? It seems that I have to hit fairly close to the small black circle in the center for anything to register.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 10:48 am

Bakes wrote:Maybe a stupid question but I'm new to the drums - is it normal for the pads not to register off-center hits? It seems that I have to hit fairly close to the small black circle in the center for anything to register.

Have you tried calibrating from the in game audio settings?

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 5:02 pm

I've hit that spot in my play of this game where not being able to easily see/sort by stars by difficulty and instrument is very, very annoying now.

Bakes · Post by **Bakes** » Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:11 pm

sportdan30 wrote:
Bakes wrote:Maybe a stupid question but I'm new to the drums - is it normal for the pads not to register off-center hits? It seems that I have to hit fairly close to the small black circle in the center for anything to register.
Have you tried calibrating from the in game audio settings?

tried that but i think that just deals with the lag

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 1:10 am

Bakes wrote:Maybe a stupid question but I'm new to the drums - is it normal for the pads not to register off-center hits? It seems that I have to hit fairly close to the small black circle in the center for anything to register.

I have to put a rubber bands around my red drum for it to register on quick consecutive hits and rolls

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 1:13 pm

webdanzer wrote:
Teal wrote:Okay, I've got Rock Band 2. I don't see the method for putting the RB1 tracks into RB2...am I missing something?
You actually do it from RB1, I believe under 'options', but if not you should be able to find it easily enough. You have to pay the $5 for the license, and then the songs are exported to the hard drive.

I just got RB2 and am a bit surprised at how similiar it is to RB1 (game only). To look at the game playing, you would never know the difference between the 2 games.

Anyway, about importing RB1 games...is the only way to export them to your hard drive? My hard drive has never been upgraded and I have very little room. Also, if I do export them all, do I now have any reason to keep the RB1 disc? I guess I should look at a hard drive upgrade?

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 1:17 pm

webdanzer wrote:
Teal wrote:Okay, I've got Rock Band 2. I don't see the method for putting the RB1 tracks into RB2...am I missing something?
You actually do it from RB1, I believe under 'options', but if not you should be able to find it easily enough. You have to pay the $5 for the license, and then the songs are exported to the hard drive.

Note: Please excuse if this has already been answered. This thread is huge.

fanatic · Post by **fanatic** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 2:21 pm

A question about importing RB1 games to RB2....

If I go rent RB1, will I be able to transfer the complete unlocked setlist, or will it just transfer over the songs I've unlocked. Probably a silly question, but just want to double check before making the trip to Blockbuster.

Thanks..

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 2:24 pm

fanatic wrote:A question about importing RB1 games to RB2....

If I go rent RB1, will I be able to transfer the complete unlocked setlist, or will it just transfer over the songs I've unlocked. Probably a silly question, but just want to double check before making the trip to Blockbuster.

Thanks..

It transfers over all of them, except for three songs.

Now that said, what BlockBuster rents the original Rock Band game? None that I've found.

fanatic · Post by **fanatic** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 2:35 pm

sportdan30 wrote:
fanatic wrote:A question about importing RB1 games to RB2....

If I go rent RB1, will I be able to transfer the complete unlocked setlist, or will it just transfer over the songs I've unlocked. Probably a silly question, but just want to double check before making the trip to Blockbuster.

Thanks..
It transfers over all of them, except for three songs.

Now that said, what BlockBuster rents the original Rock Band game? None that I've found.

Hey thanks...and about Blockbuster...hadn't thought about it. I remember seeing the GHWT disc only when I was there, so assumed they would have other music games on the shelf. Guess I'll find out.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 2:42 pm

I bought RB1 for 24 dollars on ebay...transferred the songs, sold it on ebay for 29 dollars. LOL...even money after the 5 dollar transfer fee. Gotta love it.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Tue Nov 25, 2008 2:44 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:I bought RB1 for 24 dollars on ebay...transferred the songs, sold it on ebay for 29 dollars. LOL...even money after the 5 dollar transfer fee. Gotta love it.

Wish I had known that. I would have politely asked to borrow it first...crap!

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 12:12 pm

Are the drums from the first Rock Band game worth $30? I just got the Guitar Hero World Tour guitar only package for the PS3 on sale from Amazon, and I'm now looking for some drums to go with it. Circuit City has them on sale now for $30 shipped, and I'm wondering if they are worth buying. I know the Rock Band 2 drums are supposed to be much improved, but they also retail for $90. Same with the GH:WT drum kit. As someone who has only ever played the first Guitar Hero game for the PS2, would I really be missing out on much if I bought these as a beginner level drummer?

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 12:42 pm

HipE wrote:Are the drums from the first Rock Band game worth $30? I just got the Guitar Hero World Tour guitar only package for the PS3 on sale from Amazon, and I'm now looking for some drums to go with it. Circuit City has them on sale now for $30 shipped, and I'm wondering if they are worth buying. I know the Rock Band 2 drums are supposed to be much improved, but they also retail for $90. Same with the GH:WT drum kit. As someone who has only ever played the first Guitar Hero game for the PS2, would I really be missing out on much if I bought these as a beginner level drummer?

$30 is decent. The original drums from RB1 have two major issues: 1. They are loud. 2. The kick drum pedal is prone to break if you get aggressive with it.

btmmayor · Post by **btmmayor** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 4:17 pm

HipE wrote:Are the drums from the first Rock Band game worth $30?

Thats a great deal. I've been using mine since the release of RB1. I added some high density foam weatherstrip to the ends of the drumsticks (about $3) and my set now makes far less noise than either of the new drum kits or some of those other crazy foam/felt mods. I can't see a reason to spend the extra 50-60 bucks unless you really feel the need for the cymbals (extra on the new RB2 set anyway). I personally don't see the point unless the cymbal notes were charted different, which they are not.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 5:02 pm

btmmayor wrote:
HipE wrote:Are the drums from the first Rock Band game worth $30?
Thats a great deal. I've been using mine since the release of RB1. I added some high density foam weatherstrip to the ends of the drumsticks (about $3) and my set now makes far less noise than either of the new drum kits or some of those other crazy foam/felt mods. I can't see a reason to spend the extra 50-60 bucks unless you really feel the need for the cymbals (extra on the new RB2 set anyway). I personally don't see the point unless the cymbal notes were charted different, which they are not.

I am also still using my RB1 drums with both RB2 and GHWT and they are working fine. I stick some real drum practice pads on top of my drumheads and they are nice and quiet and more bouncy. I also reinforced my pedal at the weak points where they break and have had zero problems. I tried the RB2 drums out at the Best Buy kiosk and didn't see much difference.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 5:12 pm

I've seen increased durability, better handling of quick hits/rolls, better pick-up of hits across the entire drum face and velocity sensitive sensors listed as strengths of the RB2 kit.

I'm still on a RB1 kit myself, but I've broken the pedal (and beat up the home mod that was holding it together) so I bought a new third party one, and two of my drums need the 'tape trick' to get close to being able to registers some of the rolls I need to do for expert play. I haven't had much time on a rb2 set yet, but I'd hope some of these things are improved.

I'm you're brand spanking new on drums, though, Hip, you may not run into some of the RB1 issues for quite a while.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 5:16 pm

I-Carly and Naked Brothers tracks tomorrow, guys! I know many of us will be foregoing sleep to get the DL's going ASAP!

In all seriousness, when I told my 5-yr-old that songs from the NBB would be coming out, he asked me if one of them was going to be 'I Don't Want to Go to School.' (After first asking about 'Crazy Car.') Since he knew the song before I said its name, I suppose that gets him a dl.

But, this is another place where the 'remove songs from being selected in a random playlist' feature would come in handy...

'I Don't Want to Go to School' would be there right next to 'Visions.'

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 5:39 pm

HipE wrote:Are the drums from the first Rock Band game worth $30? I just got the Guitar Hero World Tour guitar only package for the PS3 on sale from Amazon, and I'm now looking for some drums to go with it. Circuit City has them on sale now for $30 shipped, and I'm wondering if they are worth buying. I know the Rock Band 2 drums are supposed to be much improved, but they also retail for $90. Same with the GH:WT drum kit. As someone who has only ever played the first Guitar Hero game for the PS2, would I really be missing out on much if I bought these as a beginner level drummer?

You won't notice the issues apart from the noise (which is not terribly loud) and the kick drum pedal durability. Even that probably won't be a huge issue for you if you're starting out, as the bass beats don't get real difficult until mid-way through Hard.

I am pretty much a mid-Hard level drummer, where I'm pretty challenged on that level. I have not had any issues with the red pad dropping hits or breaking the bass pedal because I haven't put the kit through the Expert level paces. I probably never will simply because I don't have the time to dedicate to reaching that level.

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 5:40 pm

Thanks for the advice everyone, I just went ahead and ordered the RB1 drum kit. Judging from my lack of skill with my son's xylophone, I'm guessing a quality drum kit would be wasted on me.

I guess I now need a USB microphone to complete my instrument collection. Does anybody have a suggestion for one that is compatible with both the Rock Band and Guitar Hero series?

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 9:19 pm

I picked up the "Universal Rock Band Drum Silencers" from Best Buy, and I recommend them if you're getting the original RB1 drum kit. While nowhere near silent, they do greatly reduce the 'THWAP' noise heard on naked kits, and improve stick bounce-back enough to make playing more pleasurable.

Worth the $20.