Playstation 3 WarBeast Guitar

by DreamGear

Product Features

• Compatible with Playstation 2 and Playstation 3
• 2.4GHz wireless technology
• Responsive whammy bar
• Extended strum bar for enhanced comfort
• Removable neck and headstock for portability

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B001GPEHEI
• Product Dimensions: 43.2 x 14.5 x 3 inches ; 6.2 pounds
• Media: Accessory
• Release Date: December 31, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,531 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #14 in Video Games > PlayStation 3 > Hardware > Controllers > Guitars

Product Description

The WarBeast from dreamGEAR is the first and only full size guitar on the market. The size of the guitar adds a realism to Rock Band and Guitar Hero that no other guitar has been able to deliver. The WarBeast features a removable neck allowing for a more compact packaging design as well as providing a travel friendly guitar. The WarBeast from dreamGEAR is as close to the real thing as you can get without the strings. Our WarBeast for PS3 and PS2 Rock Band and Guitar Hero games provide a true to life feel unlike anything you have ever experienced before.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for avid players., February 11, 2009

By 

Thomas J. Wall (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Playstation 3 WarBeast Guitar (Accessory)

I finally pulled the trigger on this, and I'm glad I did. It is a great looking, full size guitar controller that works with all the rhythm-based guitar game genres.

Pro's:
1. Look and feel is great. Just giving it a casual glance would make you think it is a real guitar, until you notice there are no strings. There was a definite attention to quality here.
2. The frets are good, too. Much like the Rock Band guitars, you can't see the colors on them unless you are looking down on them from the side, which gives it a very authentic look. Regular and solo frets. Some people complained about a sticky green fret, but mine has no problem at all.
3. Strum bar is perfect. Some said it was loud, and it is louder than the Rock Band strum bar, but not as loud as the Guitar Hero strum bar. It has a click feel like Guitar Hero, as opposed to the Rock Band "springy" feel and sound. Also feels much more solid than the others, as I've had to send my Rock Band guitar back because it broke during a fast section of a song.
4. Ability to disassemble for portability is a huge plus, especially for such a large controller.

Con's:
1. Based on the way it is assembled, my green fret button occasionally doesn't work. I initially thought it was a deal breaker, until I called Dreamgear's customer service. The told me to take the neck apart, and then reattach it. It did fix the problem, but was very worrisome right out of the box.
2. The star power button next to the strum bar doesn't work. I've only played it with Rock Band 2, which is what I have seen online. Not sure if this is going to be fixed somehow, but it is kind of a bummer.
3. Lifting the guitar activates overdrive, as opposed to my Rock Band guitar that never activated properly, but it may work too good. I thought overdrive was randomly activating, but it was because I was tilting the guitar ever so slightly up.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dispite the bad reviews., June 19, 2009

By 

Coolbreeze (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Playstation 3 WarBeast Guitar (Accessory)

I just purchased this about a week ago, and after reading so many bad things about this I was skeptical to get it. As I have learned from this and many other items, take peoples comments with a grain of salt. Many factors can influence someone's take on a product and everyone has their own opinions. What someone calls junk is another man's treasure. Anyway on to the review...

The guitar was shipped amazingly fast ... I ordered it with standard shipping and it arrived one day after it was shipped. It comes in three parts which are easy to snap together. Similar to the Rock Band guitars... once you snap on the headstock it is almost impossible to remove it without breaking it. But there is a quick release on the neck for storage. (I purchased the Rock Band 3 Guitar Stand here also and it works with this guitar and my others perfectly) Also I believe the face plate comes off but why you would want to remove it without another style plate to put on is beyond me. While it does take 4 AA batteries there is an off switch to save batteries unlike the other guitars which, to me, seem to eat the batteries unless you remove them. I don't care for the whammy bar as much, but I can deal with it (I like the one on the Guitar Hero WT best). The reach is exactly like a real guitar and after playing this and going back to my old GH/RB guitars it really gives you a sense of how small they really are. There is a heaver feel to this but it is still pretty light. The frets seem to be a bit bigger than what I am used to but it didn't take long to adjust. (By the way I have all Guitar Hero and Rock Band games + Expansions and I play on Expert on them all in case that influences my review.) The buttons and strum bar are clicky like most people say but I don't find them all that loud as I play the game loud with friends on drums so you really don't notice after a while. The clickyness on the frets actually helps me to feel if I actually hit a note or just thought I did. (Also my GH WT guitar was clicky too and it was my favorite until this.) The tilt sensor doesn't seem to be a problem on mine. I think most people hold their guitar at an angle so that's probably what is causing the unwanted star power activation. I have noticed however when I do tilt the guitar it doesn't activate your star power until you tilt it back down at times. Not really a problem for me since I don't hold my guitar at an angle. Also my star power button on the bridge works perfectly, unlike some others have reported. I did have a problem with the blue fret not working but after people's comments about unplugging the neck and plugging it back in that seemed to have fixed it and I have had no other problems. As far as the d-pad, mine works perfect, no problems as other have described. The toggle switch for Rock Band pedal effects works perfect too although I never use it. I have also not had any problems with the dongle not working when you play a game. I have left my dongle in and I can switch to any of my games and just change the switch on the guitar to RB or GH and it works perfect, no need to unplug the dongle and re-plug it back in.

Over all it's a really nice guitar and I get lots of comments from people at my college about how they thought it was the real thing at first sight hanging on my guitar stand until they noticed it had no strings. Even then they comment on how amazing it looks for a video game controller.

If you like the Rock Band frets with a Guitar Hero style strum bar, and assuming you get a non-defective model then you will not be sorry about this purchase. Considering how much walk-in game stores charge for replacement guitars for GH and RB this is pretty much equivalent to the price. Not only that you are saving about forty dollars off of the MSRP.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sadly, not what you would expect ..., January 30, 2009

By 

Eqbrat (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Playstation 3 WarBeast Guitar (Accessory)

I too have the same problem with the green fret. The fret is slow to pop back and has to be pushed dead center for it to register. I am returning my Warbeast, as I continually miss notes because of problem with the green fret. I am sad to bring it back because I really like how the frets span the width of the neck like the stock rockband guitar. I haven't been able to find any other high end 3rd party guitar that has this same fret configuration.

Also, the click noise from the strumbar is "incredibly" loud. It is in no way a slight click sound. The guitar is hollow plastic in most parts and due to this construction it seems to act like an amplifier of the click noise, which is quite annoying. I can hear the loud clicking noise while strumming even with the games music volume turned up loud. I considered putting some sound dampening padding inside around the strumbar, but to take off the screws holding the backing on the guitar requires a special star key tool which I don't have. All in all it's a great idea for a PS3 guitar, but it has some serious quality/construction shortcomings. I really wanted to love this guitar, but sadly, back to the store it goes. :(