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Battle of the axes: Rock Band 3's Pro guitar vs. real guitar

With Rock Band 3, music games take a significant leap, adding a level of real-music simulation previously unseen in this genre. Part of it is the two-octave MIDI keyboard that comes with the game, but even more interesting is the optional Pro-level guitar controller. Made by MadCatz and using a licensed Fender Mustang design, the guitar has separate buttons for each string at every fret--102 buttons in all--meaning one can play actual guitar chords on it.

To compare the experience to actual music-making, I whipped out a real guitar (in this case a Fender Telecaster--sorry, I don't have a Mustang) and did a side-by-side run-through. By hooking up this Pro guitar and playing on the hard or expert difficulty levels, the guitar part consists of the actual chords from the song in question.

Unfortunately, the onscreen notation for this was unfathomable to me, with lines of varying heights indicating the fingering, starting with a root note. Fortunately, the actual chord names float by at the same time, and if you stick with those, the effect is very close to real guitar playing. … Read more

Guitar fever seizes the Wii

As guitar fever continues to grip the game industry, Nintendo got a major dose this week with two of its leading products. First the DS Lite got a grip with some fret buttons, and now the Wii has a new guitar controller all its own.

Accessory maker Nyko made its Wii Guitar Hero controller in the shape of a Telecaster, much to the delight of Engadget. The Wiimote must still be used, sliding into a slot on the $50 ersatz instrument, but it's cheaper than other guitar controllers on the market.

It's true that there are way more … Read more