Customer Reviews

Xbox 360 Rock Band M.I.C. (Microphone with Integrated Controller)

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

 

 

I've been waiting for something like this to come out since the day we got Rock Band. When I saw it at Frys, I bought it immediately.

Talk about disappointment. Right out of the box I knew I was in for a let down.

There are MANY things wrong with this MIC, but as its primary function is a MICROPHONE, failing in this catagory is most damning. And boy does it fail. We're not *amazing* singers but we can easily get flawless on expert in a few of the songs we know well. But when we sing with this mic, the arrow never stops bouncing around. No amount of adjustment to the mic sensitivity or volume, or (even removing the bezel/foam) seems to make a difference. It is simply less accurate.

As for the mic physically, I'll be brief. It looks and feels much less "real" than the official Rockband Mic. The grill bezel is plastic, the d-pad is unresponsive, the buttons layout is uninspired -- Mad Catz made a Rock Band mic, why not remove the unnecessary buttons, add a proper R1 and make the D-pad actually usable -- the cord is too short, and overall it feels cheap, despite the "velvet" texture.

But again, all that is moot since the actual microphone lacks any accuracy whatsoever. A true shame, because otherwise it would almost be worth it. Do not buy.

The good:
Having buttons on the Mic, obviously.

The Bad:
Microphone sensor is absolutely unplayable
D-pad is frustrating at best, useless at worst
Button layout is uninspired
Cord is too short
Looks and feels more plastic than the official RockBand Mic

The controller functions are definitely cool although there are no bumper buttons or triggers. This means you can't view set lists from the venue screen.

But the actually quality of the mic is terrible. On my original rock band mic I have the sensitivity way down and it's able to pick up all ranges of my voice, including garbling. But with this new M.I.C mic the sensitivity is too low. I raise and raise it, higher and higher but there are still times when the mic just won'yt pick up my voice. This is especially noticable during the yellow overdrive swirlies...you say, "whooooo" but it doesn't pick it up. I'll be singing along and the pitch indicator on the screen will flicker on and off. And this is after adjusting the sensitivity.

Also of note is that the M.I.C. cable is only 9 feet. The standard rock band mic is 15 feet.

Thumbs down because the actual mic is low quality.

The M.I.C. is more of a novelty than a breakthrough; it is pretty much the same as any other USB corded microphone. The biggest benefit is if you are using the wireless controller in coordination with your microphone you don't kill your batteries using this one. I've also noticed that while using this product you have to yell *really* loud in order to activate your overdrive, although that's not necessarily bad since you're playing a loud game. Also the M.I.C. does not have any trigger buttons so you can't be heard when playing multiplayer online and I do not believe there is a headset plug either. I would not purchase this product again after using it when a cheaper microphone will do the same. If you have the extra money and want the convenience of just one controller then this is your item.

I have played Rockband on the PS2 so when I moved over to Rockdband 2 on Xbox 360, I was excited about how much better it was. I thought this mic would be perfect, seeing as how I hate having to go back and forth between controller and mic. A for the idea. D for execution.
The d-pad wouldn't work well and the up direction not at all. This was frustrating enough but the microphone would cut out randomly, failing to pick up any singing done and also when it was hit for tamborine/cowbell. The mic would respond again, recognizing voice and tamborine/cowbell, only when the Xbox 360 was turned off completely and I entered back into the game.
I was sorry the concept wasn't brought to production with a little more care. This could have been a great microphone.

Unfortunately, I stepped on the cord of our original mic while trying to quickly lift it up to my mouth to sing and it broke. We've been playing RB since it first came out. I'm not a great singer, but I can get 100% in hard on many songs. This microphone does not perform. The arrow bounces around while you are holding true pitch. My wift could not get it to activate "overdrive." We adjusted the mic sensitivity all the way up and the mic still did not perform.

On top of all that, the cord is shorter (way too short) than the original cord and the mic is light and cheap feeling (because it is a cheap piece of junk).

This mic is so so so so much better than the rockband 1 mic.....first of all, the cord is shorter which isn't great but personally i think that the other mic at 15 ft is too long and would just always get tangled. the "RB" button to view the set list is at the bottom by the start button...so you can see the set list (looking at the instructions helps)...sure you have to scream louder to get the energy going, but aren't you playing a really loud game in the first place (GO AHEAD SCREAM YOUR BUTT OFF!)...also a great aspect is how you can just push the "A" button rather than hurting your hand hitting the top of the mic to play the beats. it is longer and better than the short stubby one that you get with rockband 1. This mic holds my voice just fine, and feels so much better than the old mic..."uninspired" as far as the button layout, common it is straight up and down where do you expect it to go!
People that created this mic should have done it a long time ago, and it is so much better than the rockband 1 mic. If you are thinking about getting this product, JUST GET IT!!!IT IS AMAZING!!!!

On top of the fact that the microphone cord is too short (it barely reached my couch, less than 15' away), I was unable to get the device to work with Rock Band 3. It turned on, but the game didn't recognize it.

I purchased this mic for my son, it did not work. It would not pick up his voice and carry to xbox. Hoping it was an isolated case we exchanged the mic. The second mic did not work either. My son in 20 years old so knows very well how to use this equipment. It simply did not work. Very disappointed.

I've read some of the reviews for this mic, and I don't have any of the issues those folks are talking about. I just bought this mic to replace the standard GH5 mic, which stopped working after just a few months of use. I sang several songs with it last night and I think it's just as good as the old one. Having the built-in controller *really* helps for GH since you need to push a button to deploy star power. (In case it's not obvious, this works with both GH and RB.)

The only things I don't like about this mic are:

1. The cord is a bit too short. 10ft seems like a lot, but I think the original mic was ~15ft. That 5ft makes a big difference. I might just get a USB extension cable to fix that.

2. This mic is a little light. The original GH/RB mic has an extra weight inside of it (I've taken one apart, trust me!) to give it a better heft.

The only other comment I'll make is that the current price listed on Amazon seems high to me. I paid thirty bucks for this at Target, which makes it roughly the same price as a mic without the controller integrated.

I was surprised to hear all the negative reviews about performance. Others have stated that the mic sometimes has difficulty picking up their voice, or the "arrow" is too bouncy, etc. I have never seen these issues other than when it is clearly my singing that is responsible! I have maximized sensitivity, and sometimes have to lower it. I also never have problems activating overdrive. I guess your mileage may vary...

The controller loses a star for not having bumper or trigger buttons, making it very difficulty to navigate long lists.

If you find the cord too short, buy a USB extension cord.

Also: the controller is a little too thick to fit easily into standard mic stand brackets, but you can jam it in there and it will stay.