Have you ever noticed that being the vocalist is annoying?

Not because of the vocals, mind you, but because unlike the guitarist, bassist, and drummer, you have to keep track of two “instruments” — your microphone and the wireless controller.

One accessory I’ve had my eye on for quite a while is the Mad Catz Rock Band M.I.C. (Microphone with Integrated Controller), which addresses this shortcoming by melding the microphone and the controller into one device at long last:

This finally came up for pre-order on Amazon, so I placed mine. It’ll be so nice to have just one thing to worry about as the vocalist instead of two! If you’re worried about accidentally pushing the buttons while belting out the lyrics, there is a “lock” switch so you can rock the M.I.C. with impunity.

There are also two other related Mad Catz Rock Band accessories that are interesting. The Rock Band Fender Precision Bass Replica is the first.

Not sure about the quality on this one, as I’ve heard nothing but horror stories about third party guitar controllers, so I’d wait for reviews. For what it’s worth, here’s the feature list:

• Patent-pending Dual/Split Strum Bar for two-fingered Bass action
• Doubles as an in-game Guitar with Whammy Knob & solo Fret Buttons
• Premium-quality Strum Bar lasts over 2.5 million cycles
• Includes official Fender Bass Strap
• Exclusive officially licensed Bass for Rock Band

It’d be awfully cool to have a “real” bass guitar in your band, though!

The other notable accessory is the Universal Microphone Stand. The unique feature here, compared to a generic mic stand you might buy at your local Guitar Center, is the convenient built-in hooks for PS3, Xbox, or Wii controllers.

I still recommend a boom mic stand for flexibility in my equipping your first fake plastic rock band post — so you can better play guitar or drums while singing, if you ever want to. But for a solo vocalist, this is an excellent and inexpensive choice! If you don’t have a mic stand, you definitely should get one. I’m not sure why, but it makes singing more fun!