Customer Reviews

PS3 Rock Band Wireless Fender Precision Bass - Hot Rod Red

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Keeping in mind: (1) I currently play RB2 for PS3 mostly on EASY level - starting to move towards MEDIUM, yet (2) I actually play guitar and bass and I can play several of the RB2 and DLC songs on guitar (chords at least, some leads depending on the song) and/or bass (yet I LOVE playing RB2 - go figure, eh? It's fun to me!), and (3) I have my PS3 on a standard def TV which I'm about 6 feet from when I play, here are my observations on this controller:

While I was looking for a BASS controller to play BASS on, and this controller looked similar to an actual Fender Precision Bass that I own (albeit with a simulated maple fingerboard as opposed to my actual bass's rosewood fingerboard - I do prefer maple btw) I was concerned about the early reviews about connectivity, etc., but finally went for it and bought this.

When the controller arrived I had NO problems with connectivity (NOTE: I connected the USB dongle directly to the PS3, not to a USB hub or piggybacked onto the guitar dongle, and no other instruments were connected). I then played a few of the shorter RB2 songs in Quickplay mode, using this controller as both a bass and a guitar - no problems with the fret buttons in the lower register or in the upper "solo" register, nor with the strum/pluck bars. Last night I spent more time (about an hour) playing songs in Tour mode mostly on bass, and had no problems with anything - except my dexterity!

Even as someone who does "pluck" an actual bass with the non-fretting hand (though I do generally play bass mostly with a pick - especially if the song is fast), the dual strum/pluck bars take some getting used to if you're "plucking" (playing with 2 fingers of the non-fretting hand)! If you do pluck though, with the thumb rest it does make it a LOT easier to play a "Bass Groove" with upstrokes only. Note that you can use the strum/pluck bar(s) to "strum", so don't let the dual design deter you.

With the other reviews about connectivity issues, controllers arriving D.O.A., etc., I'm playing it safe and keeping my shipping box and materials intact just in case I have to return this controller after a more thorough "play in". So thus far, I'm leaving my review at 4-stars, though this controller works well for me so far!

I might be one of few, but I've always liked playing bass guitar on Rock Band. Having the right giant plastic instrument makes it even more fun! The guitar comes mostly ready to go right outta the box...you just snap on the top. I had no problem getting it to work on my PS3 and was playing bass on my new Fender within minutes of tearing open the box. The way you play the bass guitar took a little getting used to, but now I like "plucking" while playing better than "struming". (You can still "strum" if you want to, but why would you want to?) It also has the nicest included guitar strap of any plastic guitar out there.

The only downside is the RB Wireless Fender Precision Bass feels lighter and more "plasticy" than I was expecting; it's not a bad thing, I was just expecting it to be heavier. It actually feels lighter than my RB2 Fender Strat guitar.

The RB Wireless Fender Precision Bass works great with Rock Band, Rock Band 2 and is perfect with Beatles Rock Band. It doesn't, however, work with any Guitar Hero game I've tried.

Get this guitar! It's fun to play, works flawlessly, and looks impressive when you have friends over to play Rock Band!

I received this as a Christmas gift and opened it up hook it in and it was DOA.
I got an exchange and it worked perfectly.

All I can say is that if you have played expert bass on the regular Rock Band guitar, this will knock you back down until you get used to it.

The fret is higher so you have to relearn where your fingers are. The double strum is tough to get used to if you have been downstrumming all the time and want to learn to use the thumb rest and upstrum with two fingers. The strummer on mine is alittle stiff so trying to use a finger on each strum made my hand tired very quickly.

The whammy knob is abit harder to use than the bar when it comes to trying to get the most out of a power-up. However, the start/select placed on a knob is a nice touch.

I have wanted this since I first saw the wired version for the XBox so I ordered one as soon as it was in stock. It started having issues almost immediately - about once per song the bass would lose it's connection to the PS3 and not respond to anything for a second or two. It was too frustrating to play. I skipped madcatz customer service and told Amazon I wanted to exchange it for another one. The second one plays great.
I have noticed that it clicks more than the standard rock band 2 guitars, but it isn't too obnoxious. I really like how much easier it is to play triples and fast parts. I wish the thumb rest could be moved for use in lefty mode; I'll probably modify the bass at some point to fix that. In general it's a great fake instrument to play, I would've given it 5 stars had the first one worked.

The bluetooth part of the product is quite sub-standard. If you keep your Playstation within 10' feet you should be OK. If you go beyond 10' you'll likely have at least some connection problems. Since I exchanged my first one with only marginally better results on the second, I can only assume those who rate the product highly are close to their playstation. What a shame since otherwise Mad Catz really did a good job on the rest of the product. When in range, the sync was very accurate and the frets had a good quality feel to them. The artistic design and overall feel is excellent. The fun factor is also much improved over using the regular guitar and the double strum bar #although hardly deserving of a patent...please!!!# makes for a much better bass playing experience. So it really is too bad that all this good work is pretty much thrown out by someone deciding to use such a poorly working bluetooth connection. I don't know if the part was cheap or not, could be an expensive poorly working part, but it should have been obvious to the people at Mad Catz that it doesn't matter how great the rest of the product is if it has connection problems.

Other than the bluetooth, the only other compliant I would have is there is something in the guitar that makes a rather loud springy noise when the guitar is moved about. I doubt one could hear it over the noise of the game however.

So the bottom line is if you keep your playstation within 10', this product would be a great addition. If not, I would purchase a second official Rock Band 2 guitar instead. Not as fun for bass but I've experienced no connection issues with the Rock Band 2 guitar and it has great range.

The good: The bass is sturdily constructed, really gorgeous and the fit-n-finish is excellent.
The bad: The wireless connection between the controller and the usb plug is flakey, and drops out often enough to be a problem. My rockband2 wireless guitar controller has no such issues. It's also from madcatz, so I'm not sure what the issue is.
The annoying: The led on the plug is incredibly bright. Too bright. Need to mask it with something to dim it a bit.

Unlike other reviewers here I have had no problems with connectivity, although it went dead once when a friend of mine was playing it. We unplugged the reciever and plugged it back in and it worked fine. At any rate, it took me a while to get used to the double fingering Bass style, but once I did it was really fun. I even find myself falling back into it when trying to use the guitar to play Lead. The buttons are quite far apart, and the neck's as long as a real guitar, which I found more comfortable. The buttons and strum bar are also very quiet, although the strum bar is a little too stiff for rapid notes without either double strumming or using the Bass technique. The biggest issue I have with it is the whammy knob, while I've gotten pretty fast at getting to it, it still takes a few extra seconds a whammy bar wouldn't. In short, while I don't think it'll replace my regular Rock Band guitar for Lead, I'll definately be using it to play Bass.

Bass looks great! When I first plugged it in I had no conectivity as I have read the other reviews and found that this seemed to be a problem so, I thought we were gonna have to send it back. I even had my son try and he had no luck. Then we called Mad Katz customer service and they got us up and running! Seems that there is a small button on the side of the bass, by were you would connect the add on overdrive pedal. Pushed that, it was a bit hard then she connected right up! Been working great ever since. Super fun add on for the game, I recomened it!

Update: I sent an email to a senior executive at the company that makes this guitar. He emailed me back immediately from London. The customer service VP emailed me within minutes and said he'd send a new guitar out immediately. It arrived in a few days. These guys were all about customer satisfaction, and I was impressed. I hope this new guitar lasts for awhile...

I love playing Rock Band, and I liked playing this new Fender Bass, until it stopped working! First the Yellow button started sticking, then the right strum switch stopped working, then the whole thing stopped working (I've had it for 2 months, and used it for about 12 hours). It won't start up, even with new batteries. I should have heeded the warnings from previous posters, but alas I didn't. I wouldn't recommend this product to anyone, based on my experience with it.

Like the previous review the USB receiver seems to lose connection with the base and the fret buttons stop functioning mid-game. Everything else with this product is perfect, BUT the fact that you can not use it for the purpose it was made for is awful quality control on Mad Catz part. I have called and emailed their customer service with no response so far. According to the forums I have read this is a widespread issue. I will update this review with the conclusion of my experience.