Fake Plastic Rock » Fake Plastic Musical Instrument Mod

New Features of the Guitar Hero 5 Guitar

Jeff Atwood — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:04:00 +0000

The Schecter-alike fake plastic axe introduced with Guitar Hero: World Tour was (and is!) one of my favorite fake plastic guitars, ever.

The Guitar Hero 5 guitar looks nearly identical to its older sibling — and it is identical in shape and size — but there are some key differences if you look closely.

(warning: I have received direct reports that the Guitar Hero 5 guitar package in Europe does not include the new, updated guitar model, but instead substitutes the same old World Tour guitar. If you’re in Europe, double check before buying!)

Obviously, the faceplates are different. The GH5 faceplate offers a faux metallic red with white pickguard. It looks OK in static photos, but it does not look very good in person, in my opinion — it’s trying a bit too hard to be something it clearly isn’t. Plus, I have made my own real metallic faceplates and they look a zillion times cooler than this cheesy photoshop printing effect.

But that’s purely cosmetic, an issue of taste and preference, and anyway the faceplates are designed to be easily swapped out. Let’s move on to the real differences.

For one thing, the pegs on the headstock are now chrome!

I used a silver sharpie to achieve a similar chroming effect on my other guitars, but it doesn’t look nearly as good as the factory chrome effect. A nice detail touch.

The strumbar, star power button, and navigation control are all rubberized now. This is hard to show in photos, but immediately obvious when you handle the guitar. Notice how the area around the strumbar is very shiny while the strum itself is flat and matte — it’s rubberized!

Allow me to explain using the Xbox 360 controller as a point of reference: the old strumbar was hard smooth plastic like the controller triggers; the new strumber is rubberized plastic like the analog sticks.

The touchpad has gone from analog to digital, and now features embossed marks at each end and in the middle, so you can more easily “feel” where you are on the touchpad. The colored dots on top of the neck (cleverly printed on both side for lefties or righties) are also new, and way more logical than printing the colors on the surface of the touchpad where you can’t even seen them while playing!

While the jury’s still out on the overall usefulness of the touchpad in the big scheme of things, these changes definitely make it easier and more effective to use than the older model.

Beyond that, the guitar fret buttons look and feel unchanged. They are identical.

There is, however, one major change that isn’t visible from the outside — the internals of the strum have changed in a big way for the Guitar Hero 5 guitar.

The World Tour guitar had sophisticated leaf-switch activation, with two springs physically attached to the strum to provide centering force and resistance.

The Guitar Hero 5 guitar, on the other hand, has reverted to the classic, and much simpler, Les Paul switch mechanism. No springs, no fancy leaf switches, back to simple plastic digital switches exactly as in the GH3 Les Paul.

(The above photo is from a Les Paul, because I forgot to take photos when I disassembled my GH5 guitar. Anyway, the GH5 switches are identical in shape, size and function except they are two physical parts instead of one.)

This is probably the most dramatic change to the GH5 guitar, and definitely changes the “feel” of the strum. How you react to this will depend how you feel about the Les Paul strum action versus the GH:WT guitar strum action. After spending some time with both models, I slightly prefer the smoother, frictionless action of the fancy spring-tensioned GH:WT strum — but I can see why people might want a basic digital switch strum, too.

Anyway, that’s probably way more detail than you ever needed. I can’t believe you even read this far!

At any rate, now you’re equipped to go forth and decide on the fake plastic guitar that best fits your play style.

Rock Band and Guitar Hero Guitar Straps

Jeff Atwood — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:03:40 +0000

In Adding a Custom Guitar Strap I mentioned one of the easiest and most effective guitar “mods” is to buy an aftermarket guitar strap.

Most fake plastic rockers don’t know this, but the Guitar Hero and Rock Band guitars will accept standard issue guitar straps. The strap pegs are almost the same size and position as a real guitar. You can walk into any guitar store, pick out a custom guitar strap, and use it on your fake plastic guitar.

So, you can get tons of real, aftermarket guitar straps; I’m partial to the Dunlop Lucky 13 series pictured here. There are sometimes issues with the pegs fitting odd straps, but for the most part any guitar strap “just works” on a fake plastic guitar — and they’re often much more comfortable than the cheap default straps, too!

But let’s take a look at the “official” guitar straps for Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

The Guitar Hero store has offered 2″ custom guitar straps for a while. I’ve owned two of these, and they’re not bad. A little flimsy, and somewhat short for my tastes, but a solid upgrade from the default strap for five bucks. My favorite is the “flying cassette”, which was the loading theme for the classic Guitar Hero II.

The Rock Band straps are a bit more understated, as befitting its art style:

They can be had on Amazon:

I haven’t personally used the official Rock Band straps, but they get positive Amazon reviews and cost about $9.

Too Many Fake Plastic Rock Accessories?

Jeff Atwood — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:15:14 +0000

I spend a lot of time on this blog documenting my fake plastic rock obsession, and that includes a lot of what can charitably be called “accessories”:

But I am unashamed! If loving fake plastic rock is wrong, I don’t wanna be right! Also, I can stop any time I want. I just don’t want to, man!

How do you know when you’ve taken this accessorizing too far? This brief but hilarious Weebl animation tells the sordid tale. (do click through to watch!)

But where do you draw the line? What’s next after adding vocalists and drummers to the mix?

Where does it all go from here? Does it get crazy realistic?

I don’t know either, but I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be awesome.

Fixing The Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Strum

Jeff Atwood — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:01:06 +0000

Although the Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar is my current fake plastic axe of choice, there have been some issues with it. Besides the analog touchpad, which can be effectively ignored (and even disabled completely within the Guitar Hero: World Tour game options), the main problem people had with the GHWTar is that the strumbar tends to malfunction. That is, you’ll see double-strumming (over-strumming) or failing to register up or down strums.

Well, it finally happened to me — my own GHWTar began double strumming intermittently! Fortunately, there is a fix, as long documented on the ScoreHero forums by superGOAT.

Some guitar batches have faulty strum switches, so let’s replace these stock switches …

… with Radio Shack SPDT submini level switch model #275-016. They are $2.99 each.

You’ll need these items to perform the fix:

Two (2) #275-016 Radio Shack replacement switches
T-10 Torx screwdriver
Small philips screwdriver
Soldering iron
Pliers

Unscrew the body of the guitar, crack open the body shell, and locate the strumboard. It’s held in by 4 screws, so unscrew those and pull it off. Then desolder the existing switches from the three contact points on the strumboard — six in all — and resolder the new switches in.

The new switches are exactly the same size and shape as the old ones, so it is a perfect drop-in replacement.

I just performed this surgery on my two GHWTars, and it’s pretty easy. The hardest part, honestly, is desoldering the existing switches. I recommend using a pair of pliers to grab the switch on the narrow ends from the bottom. The pliers will hold the strum plate in place while you solder from the top with your other hand. Wiggle the strumboard up and away as you heat up the solder. Yes, it does help to have a “third hand” here; I braced the pliers against my stomach instead.

I did not need to use any new solder. Simply loosening the solder and wiggle-pulling the switches out left more than enough solder in place to secure the new switches.

If you need more detail, Josh Straub has an awesome walkthrough of the strum replacement procedure from start to finish. In fact, Josh has some really excellent walkthroughs of a bunch of useful fake plastic instrument mods, and I highly recommend checking them all out. Please note these are all specific to the Guitar Hero: World Tour Guitar, though:

And for the Guitar Hero: World Tour drum kit –

Drum sensitivity repair guide (but you should request your free, official MIDI tuning kit from Red Octane, first!)
Fix collapsing drum kit stand legs

Although I don’t play Guitar Hero: World Tour much for reasons I’ve described before, I still dabble every now and then, and I like to use the real 6-input GH:WT drums for GH:WT drum charts because of the weird 5-input Rock Band drum mapping. That collapsing drum legs fix is exactly what I was looking for. My GH:WT drumkit lists to the left like a drunken sailor after every song.. looks like I’ll be headed to the hardware store tomorrow to pick up a cotter pin!

MadCatz Premium Guitars

Jeff Atwood — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 07:24:27 +0000

Remember the Mad Catz Precision Bass?

Well, its wireless (and significantly improved) cousin has arrived in three different colors for $89.99. The first one had some definite issues (most troubling were reports of poor strumbar accuracy), so perhaps this second iteration will be the one that’s worth getting.

Based upon the critically acclaimed Mad Catz Fender Precision Bass, the all-new model arrives on Xbox 360 as Mad Catz’s first licensed wireless accessory for the Xbox 360. Connecting directly to the console without a need for a USB dongle, the internal technology is the same as that used in Microsoft® controllers. The new model features a host of new innovations designed to further enhance game play. The premium Fret Buttons have been redesigned to allow for quieter operation and now feature a quick recoil action for faster game play. The Mad Catz Split Strum Bar has been further refined to replicate both the up and down fret bar movements, essentially allowing for faster strumming than ever before. As before, both the Fret Buttons and updated Split Strum Bar have been stress tested and playtested to ensure that it is possible to achieve 100% in ’Expert Mode’ should the player’s abilities be up to the challenge! With a choice of White, ’Hot Rod Red’ and ’Sea Foam Green’ colors, gamers can now choose a Bass to match their style. .

Mad Catz is also, like Logitech, getting into the ultra premium wooden guitar replica business. At $299, their stratocaster replica ain’t cheap, but I must admit the metallic candy apple red version (not pictured) is mighty tempting.

A precise wooden replica of the legendary Fender Stratocaster and a world first on Xbox 360, the Wireless Wooden Fender Stratocaster Guitar controller from Mad Catz brings gamers closer to the authentic guitar experience. Produced in conjunction with Fender, the replica Stratocaster is fashioned from the same premium wood and fittings used in the genuine guitar and is manufactured at the Fender factory to ensure identical sizing, authentic design and premium finish. Finished in a choice of ‘Three-Tone Sunburst’ or Metallic ‘Candy Apple Red’ designs, the Replica Stratocaster features stunning looks and will become a must-have for any true Rock Band connoisseur. Connecting directly to the console without a need for a USB dongle, the internal technology is the same as that used in Microsoft® controllers. The replica Stratocaster sports the same hardware as a real Stratocaster, including real tuning keys, bridge, tremolo, dials and ¼ inch amp jack. Playtested and compatible with Rock Band and Rock Band 2 as well as other rhythm and music titles, the Wireless Wooden Fender Stratocaster Replica Guitar will be highly sought after by fans and collectors alike.

Update: got $299 burning a hole in your pocket? This guitar is now available for sale.

Getting out of the ultra-premium price realm and back to something resembling reality, they will also introduce $99 premium ~~wooden~~plastic Telecasters. These look remarkably nice for the price — and are also wireless.

A startling replica of the iconic Fender Telecaster, the Player’s Edition guitar delivers the must-have look and cutting edge technology for every style conscious Rock Band enthusiast. Connecting directly to the console without a need for a USB dongle, the internal technology is the same as that used in Microsoft controllers. Sporting a stunning road-worn ,distressed finish and strap, and available in either ’Sunburst’ or ’Butterscotch’ designs, the Telecaster Player’s Edition features premium ultra fast action Fret Buttons allowing gamers to play at expert speeds with ease. Overdrive activation has been simplified and can now be accessed by using the unique ’Touch Sense Button’ which effortlessly responds to the players touch and removes the need to tilt the guitar. The Mad Catz new premium Strum Bar allows gamers to shred notes like never before while the all-new Bigsby® Whammy Plate allows gamers to bend notes in style!

It’s not commonly known, but all Rock Band Stratocaster guitars have a port for pedal-based overdrive activation. Just check the side of your strat; it’s there. It even works with spare Rock Band drum kick pedals, if you add an extension cord! I’ve heard rumors that you can use a regular guitar sustain pedal with adapter, as well. But if you want an off-the-shelf, authentic looking solution, Mad Catz has you covered with their Electro-Harmonix Overdrive Pedal for $29.99.

Designed exclusively for Rock Band 2, the Electro-Harmonix Overdrive Pedal quickly connects to the Rock Band 2 official guitar, the Mad Catz Wireless Wooden Fender Stratocaster Replica or the Mad Catz Wireless Fender Precision Bass Guitar via a 10’ cable. It allows gamers to simply push the pedal’s soft Activation Switch to enter Overdrive during game play, removing the need to tilt the guitar and potentially miss notes or lose focus. Realistically styled, the Overdrive Pedal is fashioned from tough durable metal and provides an authentic way to rock out like the pros!

All this stuff is supposed to become available sometime in September, around the release of The Beatles: Rock Band.

I have mixed feelings about premium and ultra-premium fake plastic guitars.

For one thing, they’re expensive, obviously. But here’s the real problem: if they’re different enough from the default controllers, there’s a risk that you might get used to “your” guitar and have problems playing on standard setups.

Personally, I think you might be better off buying the regular fake plastic guitars (the still-excellent GH3 Les Paul is dirt cheap these days) and learning to mod them a bit for superior performance; scroll to the bottom of this post for my key fake plastic guitar mod recommendations.

The Axe Claw: Display Your Fake Plastic Axe in Style

Jeff Atwood — Fri, 01 May 2009 06:59:01 +0000

About a year ago I came up with a cheap guitar hanging solution to wall mount our fake plastic axes.

I have another extra guitar I wanted to mount next to my desk, in case I wanted to play a quick tune or two on the Mac/PC versions of Guitar Hero III, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, and (upcoming) Guitar Hero: World Tour. But my old mounting solution lacked that critical Wife Acceptance Factor for indoor use.

I researched a bit and found The Axe Claw.

It comes with all the parts you need to mount it to the wall, at least, typical drywall, anyway — two long screws, two drywall reinforcing screw mounts, the wooden plate, and the hanger.

I used the wooden part as a template, screwing the screws into the drywall a tiny bit to get starter marks. Then I just drilled those into marks in the drywall, hammered the drywall screw mounts into the holes, then screwed the wooden plate in flush. The rest is obvious!

It is a very classy mount, with its wooden base and cool swooping black foam lined arms. It really makes the guitar look awesome. Well, as awesome as a fake plastic guitar can look, anyway:

It has a nice dramatic shadowbox effect because it hangs the guitar pretty far out from the wall. And it’s very, very sturdy — much sturdier than my old ghetto guitar mount!

I found the best price / availability on the Axe Claw on eBay, but there are also good specialty stores like 7 Ball Music that have them as well.

Oh, and yes, I still think the Guitar Hero World Tour axe is the best fake plastic axe going! All of my guitar mods are on display here:

I added some weights to give the guitars more realistic “heft”. I still say this is one of the best, if not the best “bang for the buck” mod you can do.
I used my white lithium grease crayon to lubricate the buttons. You’d be astonished how much this reduces button noise — easily 50% quiter, and smoother movement as well. I also lubricated the strum hinges while I was in there, but it comes fairly well lubricated out of the box, so that one’s for completionists only.
I used a silver metallic sharpie to add some faux metal flair to the fretboard and pegs. This one is totally easy, and it looks great!
A custom faceplate; I am planning to paint my own faceplates again one of these days, but since we had a baby, I haven’t had time. (and as you have probably noticed by now I haven’t had as much time to devote to my FPR blog too, and I apologize..)
A custom strap, which not only looks way sweeter but is also much more comfortable! Remember that all fake plastic guitars accept regular guitar straps, so your local music shop probably has some nice guitar straps to choose from.

As I always say, if you’re going to fake plastic rock out, you might as well fake plastic rock out in style!

Rock Band Art Themed Accessories

Jeff Atwood — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:03:03 +0000

I’ve always loved the art direction and visual style of Rock Band. Most of it was created by Harmonix artist John Dee:

HMX artist John Dee created some of the most memorable art in Rock Band. His designs are featured not only in game menus and backgrounds, but also on Rock Band t-shirts, messenger bags, drum silencers, and other merch.

If, like me, your Xbox is little more than a machine capable of booting Rock Band (and other awesome fake plastic rock games — I don’t discriminate), you might be interested in these official Mad Catz Rock Band Xbox 360 faceplates and skins. Apparently they’re high quality; I’ve heard very good things about them from informal Harmonix chatter on Twitter.

Three styles are available:

Similarly, there are official Rock Band Jam Kits that allow you to get that same Rock Band art on your fake plastic guitars and drums, too:

The kits provide officially licensed art on a custom guitar strap, guitar skin, and drumsticks. Available in two styles:

And if you liked this, definitely check out the officially licensed Rock Band faux drum kick heads, too!

OK, yes, so I’m a sucker for Rock Band. Which part of the “runs an entire blog dedicated to this crap” did you not figure out yet? :)

Dual Drum Kick Pedals for Rock Band and Guitar Hero

Jeff Atwood — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:33:24 +0000

Most of the time, pre-order bonuses for games are crap. But not in the case of Guitar Hero: Metallica — the pre-order bonus is a second drum pedal for the Guitar Hero: World Tour drum kit. I picked mine up today:

As you can see, it’s a simple splitter cable and second pedal, identical to the Guitar Hero: World Tour drum pedal. There doesn’t appear to be a retail option (yet), but there are a few sellers offering standalone Guitar Hero World Tour Bass Drum Pedals. I’m guessing if you add a Radio Shack mono male to 2 female splitter, you’re in business.

I haven’t yet experimented with the new Expert+ drum difficulty mode in GH:Metallica, yet, but I will. The game is great, by the way! Easily the best band-specific fake plastic rock game yet. I even like it better than Guitar Hero: World Tour, to be honest, and I’m not much of a Metallica fan! If the GH:Metallica track list appeals to you at all, I recommend picking up a copy.

On the Rock Band side of the fence, I was surprised to discover that Harmonix now has an officially blessed dual drum kick pedal solution too! It’s the Universal Rock Band Replacement Kick Pedal for $24.99.

As you can see it works on all platforms (PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii), and surprisingly for either the Rock Band or Rock Band 2 drums!

The GH:WT pedal works very differently than the Rock Band pedal. A simple splitter doesn’t cut it. You need a double bass pedal adapter box, powered by AAA batteries, for both pedals to work independently. Fortunately, this is included in the box with the pedal:

The only place I could find the pedal for sale today is at GameStop, as the Universal Rock Band Drum Pedal.

I scanned in the instruction sheet, and upon closer inspection, it looks like this pedal works with either the Rock Band 1 or Rock Band 2 drums, surprisingly, and on all platforms! It’s almost universal. (click the image to see the full instruction sheet.)

Using dual pedals in Rock Band does have a few side effects. For one thing, you can no longer hold down the pedal to select the category menu. And since it’s a battery operated device, it can possibly go to sleep, or run out of juice entirely. I’m not sure how many songs in Rock Band 2 really justify dual bass drum pedals. There are a few, perhaps in the Thrash Pack or the Disturbed tracks.

Dual bass drum pedals is more logical in GH:Metallica, where they designed a whole new Expert+ drum difficulty level around it. Good thing for us fake plastic rock enthusiasts, the game supports either Rock Band or GH:WT drums — and we now have officially blessed dual-pedal hardware options on both sides of the fence!

Metal Flake Les Paul Faceplates

Jeff Atwood — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 03:12:47 +0000

Back in February of this year I became a little.. obsessed.. with achieving an actual metal flake paintjob on a fake plastic guitar. You know, something like real world guitar metal flake finishes:

Well, I finally figured out how to replicate an awesome looking metallic flake paintjob, and I spent most of February doing a whole bunch in different styles and colors, using Guitar Hero III Les Paul faceplates as the base. They totally rock, but I went a little overboard. I have too many!

Here’s an example; this one is black metallic spraypaint, with green to gold iridescent fine flakes.

The larger (medium) flakes are awesome as well; here’s a closeup of the pink metallic flake I made for my wife.

Well, I am now selling most of the metallic flake Les Paul faceplates I made on Etsy:

Click here to visit the Fake Plastic Rock Etsy shop

These were all a labor of love, and they look amazing. Hopefully they can find a good home to a fellow fake plastic rocker who owns a Les Paul fake plastic guitar for the Xbox 360 or PS3, and appreciates an awesome fake plastic guitar paintjob as much as I do..

Drum Silencers for Rock Band 2 Drums

Jeff Atwood — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 06:59:03 +0000

In Quieting your Rock Band Drums, I described a few ways you could reduce the terrible clickety-clack noise of the old Rock Band 1 drumset. Fortunately, with the Rock Band 2 wireless drum kit, noise is much less of a problem, as the drums come with a thin rubber layer on top this time around.

I was skeptical of thin rubber on the RB2 drumkit, but I have to say I’ve been pleasantly surprised — it’s a vast improvement the original insanely loud RB1 drum kit, for sure! That said, the thin rubber is certainly no match for the much thicker aftermarket gum rubber or neoprene I had on there before.

But once I cracked one of my Rock Band 2 drum heads, I started thinking seriously again about upgrading the drum heads, for several reasons:

Protecting the semi-fragile plastic underneath (obviously)
Additional “bounce” for better, more realistic stick hits
Less noise

Although I generally prefer the RB2 drum layout, and the RB2 kit is much improved over the original RB1 kit, this is one area where the Guitar Hero: World Tour drumkit is clearly better; the cymbals and toms are heavily rubberized.

But like so many things in life, it’s nothing we can’t fix with a little extra cash and/or time. There are lots of sites selling drum silencers now, both for the RB1 and RB2 drumkits. There’s even an official set of Rock Band Drum Silencers endorsed by Harmonix, though they are intended for the RB1 drums. There’s a review on rockbandmods if you’re curious.

One of the best vendors for aftermarket drum pads / silencers I’ve found to date is Rock Band Drumsoft. I love their attention to detail. They offer gum rubber, neoprene, foam, and urethane — and they understand (and explain) the differences between all the materials in the drum pads they sell! In my own experiments, I’ve already discovered the drumming properties of mousepad neoprene and gum rubber in trial and error, and yes, the differences are significant. In order to figure out which material is best, You have to ask yourself — what type of drummer are you?

I decided to go with the MCU Dual layer pads, with gum rubber underneath:

3/32″ layer of microcellular urethane (MCU)
1/8″ layer of gum rubber

It was a little expensive, but I was sold on the optimum two-material approach. This is also what they specifically recommend for RB2 drumkits. The MCU dual layer pads finally arrived today; here’s a picture of them installed.

(Some other stuff you can see in this picture: nylon tip drumsticks, triple cymbal kit, faux drum kickhead, pedal metal reinforcement. Oh and that is the edge of the GH:WT drums in the upper left as well. Yes I am a little obsessed.)

You can’t quite see it in the picture, but the gum rubber layer underneath is smaller, and fits in the center. The MCU layer on top is larger and covers the edge of the drum rim as well. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this (I miss my sexy silver RB2 rims), but in practice it reduces the noise from the occasional rim hit, which is nice. So I’ve warmed up to the look.

But how’s the performance? I’m happy to report, outstanding!

In terms of gameplay, it’s perfect. No missed hits whatsoever. I did notice that in the drum trainer, when going for a max pressure hit, you do have to use a smidge more force than before, but it’s hardly a problem.
The feel is also much, much better than the thin default rubber of the RB2 kit. I’ve been a fan of gum rubber for a long time now as a drum surface, and having it back makes my inner drummer smile. The drums feel far more “alive” and bouncy in gameplay.
As for noise, it’s definitely quieter. But any additional noise reduction over the already-quieter RB2 kit is relatively small. Is it better than gum rubber alone? Absolutely. Gum rubber has a “slapping” sound when you hit it that is noticeably reduced with the MCU on top.

On the whole, big thumbs up. I like that they included a comprehensive set of instructions with tips, colored adhesive dots to “label” the pads, and even some alcohol swabs for cleaning the drum surfaces before applying the pads. The instructions are actually useful, too: I initially had some air bubbles under the MCU layer, and the instructions told me push a pin through the MCU and push the bubbles out — this worked like a champ, and my drums are perfectly smooth now with no unsightly bubbling!

Adding aftermarket drum pad silencers isn’t absolutely required for the RB2 drumkit, like it was for the RB1 kit. But it is certainly a nice upgrade — and if you tend to play the drums aggressively and crack the drumheads, I’d strongly suggest you look into aftermarket drum pads. Either way, Rock Band Drumsoft should be at the top of your list.