Guitar Hero Fender Stratocaster Replica Controller Vs. Activision Guitar Hero Wired Controller

I know I've mentioned before that I love playing Guitar Hero. I've got Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II for the Playstation 2, but we've been saying for a long time that it's lacking a few things we would love to have like the ability to add vocals or play the drums. When we heard about Rock Band for the Xbox 360, we were extremely happy. A friend of ours purchased special edition that includes the drum set, guitar, and microphone, but we all agreed the set isn't enough for the full band. You really need 2 guitars if you want to play a full band, so hubby and I went out and bought the Activision Guitar Hero wired controller for Xbox 360. I have a very similar guitar for Guitar Hero II, so this is one I wanted to try.

The Fender Stratocaster replica that comes with the Rock Band special edition is very awkard for me. First of all, they changed the design of the fret buttons. Instead of having rounded button in the middle of the guitar neck, you now have full keys. This is awkward because you find yourself accidentally hitting the keys all the time. Slightly bumping the neck of the guitar can exit you out of the game or start something you don't want. On top of that, the size of the guitar is much larger and heavier.


Personally I don't like it at all. The start, directional pad, and Xbox buttons are all in a weird position as well. They sit at the bottom of the guitar under your whammy bar, and you accidentally bump them during play causing you to pause your game in the middle of a song.


Also you have to pretty much slam the bar to strum your notes, and even then sometimes it's still not hard enough to play the note. Also, the fret buttons have been changed. Before they were buttons centered at the top of the neck. Now the buttons span across the neck, and you can easily bump them sending you back to the main screen. The buttons also have a very awkward feel to them that's very uncomfortable during play.


After about 6 hours of use the guitar died, but thankfully Walmart was willing to exchange the guitar by itself without having to pack up the entire kit for exchange. We were hoping the new guitar would fix a lot of these problems with strumming and hitting the notes, but it didn't. My rating for the Fender Stratocaster replica? I give it a non rocking 0 out of 5 stars. It doesn't even work with Guitar Hero 3, so if you want to own both games you need to buy a separate guitar for each player instead of using the Rock Band guitar.


I hooked up the Activision Guitar wondering if it would be just as awkward, and it's not. I will never play with another guitar again. Because this one is designed like the old school Guitar Hero guitars your buttons aren't easily triggered accidentally. The buttons are also much softer, so you don't have to strike them very hard to play unlike the Rock Band guitar.


Also the Xbox button, directional pad, and start button are located at the base of the guitar, so you have no chance of accidentally hitting them and pausing your game during play. We've all had to learn to take turns playing with the Activision Guitar because everyone loves it, and no one wants to play with the Fender replica!


What's my ruling? If you're going to buy Rock Band, save yourself some cash by purchasing the Activision Guitar Hero wired controller instead of the Guitar Hero Fender Stratocaster replica if you need a second guitar for your band. You'll get much more enjoyment out of it, and you'll also save a few bucks. The only thing this guitar lacks is the specially designed solo switch that allows you to change your sounds during solos. Honestly if you play on hard mode like I do you most likely won't have time to worry about switching sounds anyway. You'll be too busy playing away. I give this guitar a rocking 5 out of 5 stars!