Customer Reviews

Wii Guitar Hero 5 Stand-Alone Guitar

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Great guitar for the Wii. Despite what the other reviewer said, this guitar IS COMPATIBLE WITH ROCK BAND 2, and also The Beatles Rock Band. I cannot persoanlly attest to compatiblity with the Beatles Rock Band, but I own both Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 2, and it works great with both. You simply need to go to the Guitar Hero and Rock Band websites and they will both tell you this guitar is compatible with virtually all Rock Band and Guitar Hero games.

The only downside to this guitar is that it requires a Wii remote to use.

I bought this guitar for my Beatles Rock Band wii game. It was really easy to set up, works perfectly, and it costs 1/3 - 1/2 the price I've seen for an actual Rock Band guitar.

My kids love to play Lego Rock Band with their new guitar! They want a second guitar now!!

I was concerned about the compatibility of this guitar with Rock Band for the wii, based on conflicting reviews, but it plugged right in and worked without any difficulty.

Rock me, Amadeus!

I don't know if this is a compliment of me, or not, but my wife says that the BandHero stuff is the best gift I've ever given her, and we've been married for 8 years.

In any event, this guitar lets you do 1 of 2 things with the base band hero kit:

1) You can play competition with 2 guitars
2) You can play 2 guitars in a band --- one on bass guitar, the other one on regular. This would give you 4 players --- 1) microphone, 2) drums, 3) bass guitar 4) regular guitar.

Standalone means no software. They sell this with software if you don't already have it.
And this is compatible with Band Hero.

Definitely an upgrade from the World Tour guitar but not perfect. Have noticed some odd noises coming from the strum bar and whammy. I've been told that the noises will eventually go away.Other than the odd noises, this is a great guitar especially for the price. I just cant see shelling out over $100 for a guitar for a video game.I also like the fact that this guitar works for Rockband 2. Overall, I am very happy with this product.

I bought this for Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock because I didn't like the one packaged with that title. It works just fine needed no additional calibration. It's durable, has a good solid whammy bar, the buttons work fine. The tap board works just fine too!

Very straightforward, plug in the wii controller, and it just works. Buttons have good response, and the strap is comfortable.

This guitar is great and compatible with most guitar hero games. Wii gaming guitars are hard to find and at this price, it's a steal.

I have a few major beefs with the Guitar Hero/Band Hero guitar controller and why it is the sole reason I spend most of my time playing Rock Band 3 and not the Guitar Hero titles.

1. Fret Board Design

I'm female, so maybe this isn't an issue for men with large hands, but the fret buttons on this guitar are spaced far apart and are difficult to push down. I actually went on YouTube to find exercises that "real guitarists" use to strengthen their hands because I had such an awful time with hand cramps in the beginning. Even after playing both Rock Band and Guitar Hero titles for a year now, I still struggle with muscle fatigue in my hands/fingers, which I don't have an issue with at all when I use the Wireless Fender Rock Band Guitar or Bass controllers.

This guitar also has a "slider" section near the base of the neck that I find to be completely useless. The purpose is to allow a person to "shred" through fast solos. The reason it's useless is that you can't use it for any solo that contains chords and you can only use it for solos that are entirely made up of "tapped" notes (translucent notes). Unless you have the cheat turned on, the game RARELY presents you with an opportunity to solo with the slider. One of my favorite Guitar Hero titles is Guitar Hero Van Halen (Awesome game!) and I can't think of a single solo, when played without the cheat turned on, that allows for use of the slider.

2. Limp Whammy Bar

The whammy bar is an important part of game play, whether you're playing guitar or bass. (I prefer bass... I've always been a fan of rhythm.) Many challenges require hitting "Sustain" notes... which means you need to be able to quickly grab your Whammy Bar.

Within about a month of getting my guitar (brand new as part of the Band Hero pack), my Whammy Bar started hanging straight down! I currently have this crazy thingamajig screwed/glued/taped to the front of my guitar to block the whammy from dropping below a certain comfortable level of reach. It looks ugly, and has to be reattached every few weeks, but it works.

I shouldn't have to have a whammy bar blocker on the front of the guitar. The whammy should work!

3. The "+" Button

Since this guitar takes a Wii Remote, when games say, "Press the '+' button to continue", the intuitive next step is to hit the "+" button on the Wii remote. I had issues with many of the Guitar Hero games getting stuck on QuickPlay screens because it wouldn't recognize the Wii remote "+" button. What none of the documentation mentioned (I know, I read it all! Including the websites!) is that it actually meant the "+" on the guitar itself... The black "+" next to the long back button that kicks your "overdrive" into gear if, for some reason, you can't get it to work by lifting your guitar. There are 2 round black "+" buttons. UGH. That was frustrating to no end!

4. Click, click, click, click...

This guitar is LOUD! The strum bar is loud. The Wii remote buzzes and makes noise. The buttons are clicky. It can be a little much.

That said, I do like its accuracy with regard to alternate strumming (strumming up and down during fast song sections). I think that's something this guitar has over the Fender Rock Band guitar and bass.

People also say that this controller is cheaper than the Rock Band controllers, but you can now find the Rock Band controller for around the same price as this controller has shot way up in price. If you mainly play Rock Band 2-3, LEGO Rock Band, Beatles Rock Band, go for the Fender Guitar or Bass (I like the bass better, mainly due to the bigger body, the split strum bar, thumb rest and cool effects for solos. The downside is that it has a whammy knob, instead of a whammy bar.)

I really, really wish I could use my Fender guitar and bass for Guitar Hero. They are infinitely superior controllers in design and play. Especially for people with smaller hands! (Plus, they look cooler and feel more like a real instrument!) I have a Gretsch Wireless Guitar, as well, but it has a limp whammy issue. Too bad as it is a GORGEOUS controller.

Obviously, I love my music games! Given my little hands, great design is important to me. I really wish the Guitar Hero folks would take some time to redesign their controllers.