Xbox 360 Rock Band Wireless Fender Stratocaster Replica – Sunburst

5 Responses to “Xbox 360 Rock Band Wireless Fender Stratocaster Replica – Sunburst”

1. Matt Yutzy
   01/28/2010 at 3:13 pm

   I bought this for my brother for Christmas and according to him it was one of the greatest gifts he has ever had it looks and plays great the only thing that was a little odd for him is the fact that it is the same size as a real guitar and he had to get used to the weight and thefact the buttons were farther down the neck but after a few songs he was in the back to playing great this is one great product of fine craftsmanship
   Rating: 5 / 5
2. Dieds
   01/28/2010 at 4:39 pm

   I had two other Rockband guitars as well as a Guitar Hero-branded guitar before getting the Sunburst Fender Stratocaster Replica. While two of those old guitars looked like the real-deal — they were smaller and made of cheap plastic. As a result it was painfully obvious at all times that they were mere shadows of their wood and metal cousins.

   But since the Fender Stratocaster Replica guitar is actually made by Fender — with all of the same materials (you can easily imagine just adding strings and handing it to a real rock star); even the strap is authentic — you take pride holding your axe and jamming to Beatles tunes and other rock classics. My skill level increased mainly because it FEELS like a real guitar in my hands and therefore I can really get into the songs I’m playing along with.

   Mad Catz’ axe also looks amazing in my man cave. I purchased a real guitar stand and the Xbox Sunburst Fender Stratocaster is now a treasured addition to my favorite room in the house. I wouldn’t recommend this guitar controller for children, though, as it is quite heavy and they could get hurt.
   
   Rating: 5 / 5
3. Fishabe
   01/28/2010 at 7:26 pm

   Got this for Christmas and have been playing with it for 3 weeks now. I love this controller. I admit it is the video game equivalent of conspicuous consumption, but I really enjoy using it. The realistic weight and size are a plus in my book – after playing with it for a few hours I let a buddy try it while I played on the regular Rock Band controller and I am now spoiled. The regular controller felt like a toy. (I know technically they are both toys.) In short this is a completely unnecessary item that is a heck of a lot of fun to own. Highly recommended.
   Rating: 5 / 5
4. Conrad J. Obregon
   01/28/2010 at 10:00 pm

   Let me start out by saying that although I used this item, and loved it, I am not a serious guitar player. I really enjoyed using it for Rockband and felt like I was really a musician. But to make a really valid evaluation, I enlisted the help of my son, who was for a while, a serious musician, and played at clubs like CBGBs in New York. Here’s his review:

   I’m an amateur musician and a newcomer to RockBand and other music
   
   video games games that use controllers shaped like musical
   
   instruments. Being a newbie, this guitar controller was the first
   
   that I ever used, so although I was pleased when I started using it, I
   
   didn’t really have any experience with other controllers with which I
   
   could compare it. However, I was recently able to try out some other
   
   available controllers at a local electronics store, and I see now that
   
   I’ve been spoiled.

   I’m not a great guitar player by any means, but I’ve played a bit over
   
   the years, and I have my own Japanese Stratocaster copy. Using this
   
   controller feels like you are using the real thing – at least as close
   
   as we are going to get for now, until the controllers have actual
   
   strings on them. The weight, materials and form are the same as an
   
   actual Stratocaster. In fact, it may be too heavy for small
   
   children. My own 9-year old son said that his shoulders were tired
   
   after using it for a few songs, although he seems to be getting used
   
   to it.

   Of course, all the basic controls can be found here – A, B, X, Y
   
   buttons, etc. – but some care was taken in working them into the
   
   design of the guitar. I thought the use of the Stratocaster’s volume
   
   and tone knobs as a Back and Start button was a clever design choice.

   It’s true that this is a luxury item, and maybe the other controllers
   
   would play just as well, but for me, the thrill of the virtual rock
   
   star experience is one of the reasons that I play RockBand, and this
   
   guitar controller makes the illusion that much more real. It even
   
   looks great on my guitar stand when I’m done playing it.
   
   Rating: 5 / 5
5. Lisa Shea
   01/28/2010 at 10:35 pm

   Let me say first that obviously this is not a casual purchase. However, as a gamer who went out and bought not only the Ion rock drum kit but also the conversion module so I could play it with both my PS3 and 360 systems I will generally spend the money for an upgrade if it is warranted. I definitely believe high quality is worth it for a game you play for hours and hours a day. So the question is, is this solid wood game guitar worth the price?

   A real Fender Standard Stratocaster (made in Mexico) goes for about $500, the US version is $1000. This one, made in China, is cheaper than both of those, and substitutes Rock Band innards for standard guitar innards. The rest of the guitar is impressively the same. It’s solid wood, except the plastic fretboard. The finish is gorgeous. The whammy bar “hangs down” like on a real guitar. Your knobs turn, rather than push in, for start and back.

   I admit that in the “real” music world I don’t play heavy electric guitars – the only guitar I play is a light acoustic guitar. So my shoulders aren’t used to this kind of weight pulling down on them. It only takes me an hour or so of Rock Banding before I have to put this Fender down and switch to one of my other guitars. The pain gets to me. My boyfriend calls me a wuss – his main regular guitar (stringed) weighs 13 pounds. This is a mere 7 pounds. Still, I think many Rock Band players will run into this same issue with the weight.

   On the up side, if you have a desire to play real guitars, this can be great training for you. Build up that shoulder strength while you game!

   The buttons are spaced a little differently than on our other Rock Band guitars. Let’s see if I can explain this. The distance between the five buttons by the headstock is the same on the various guitars we own. So moving from green to red and so on is the same. However, the neck itself is much longer on this Fender version. It’s sized like a real guitar. So if you use the lower set of buttons, then moving your hand from that upper button set to the lower button set is a much longer reach.

   Also, the strum bar is rather stiff and clicky. So your Fender guitar playing has a lot of clicking noises in it.

   Again, because I don’t play “real” electric guitar, I found the dangling whammy bar to be a pain. I am used to it sticking right near my fingers. However, instruction from my boyfriend taught me the catch-in-the-crook-of-your-little-finger technique. I am slowly learning.

   This certainly plays better than the super cheap guitars out there! However, it seems to play just as well as some of our other more high priced guitars in terms of finger responsiveness – both on the buttons and on the strum bar (once you get used to the stiffness). The wood would seem to be a reliable setup – but I’m not sure that’s a distinctive benefit. I’ve had some of these other guitars for quite a while – and we hammer on them fairly frequently. I haven’t had any problems with them either.

   So I won’t give this a five star rating. Unlike the Ion Drums, you aren’t getting a “maximum benefit” from buying the Fender guitar. With the Ion drums, they are head and shoulders better than playing anything else. With this guitar, it’s as good as many other much cheaper guitars in terms of performance.

   Still, Fender definitely gets high kudos for the quality and beauty of the instrument. You are building up arm / shoulder strength using this – which is useful in using real instruments. Also, you’re holding your arms in a much more natural position for real guitar playing, since the size is proper.

   So in the end if having high quality, beautiful instruments is important to you, then I would say that splurging on this guitar will bring you a lot of satisfaction. It really is a work of art. However, in terms of ultimate gameplay, the instrument does not bring anything new – and some might feel it slightly impairs gameplay compared with other good quality Rock Band guitars.

   Feel free to write with any questions, we have numerous guitars in the house (game guitars and real guitars) so we can be pretty fluent in our answers.
   Rating: 4 / 5