I finally have room in our new house to get a music game. I already have GHIII, but wanted to expand possibly. Today Amazon has the full bundle for GH:WT for $100 off.

I'm just curious as far as the instruments go which set are the better of the two? I know both games will work but wondering about the instruments.

i'm happy with guitar hero world tour. i also got it at that price (about $10 more).
if you're into getting fook-tons more songs to play though it'll be rock band.
HOWEVER
you can get the best of both worlds. get the full kit from amazon. when you play world tour through or are ready for more songs, buy rock band 1 or 2 (game only) and enjoy!
that's what i've done. got rock band 1 used from gamestop for $20. gettin rock band 2 pretty soon the same way.

i like the GH guitar, the RB drums, and the RB software is a million times better.

get RB. or wait for RB:Beatles

even if you dont like the beatles, you can pick up the other rock band discs and play them... hell you can even play GH:WT with the rock band instruments...


The Limited Edition Premium Bundle will include the game itself, a Höfner Bass (http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/14/beatles-rock-band-bundle-will-boast-hofner-bass-ludwig-branded/), a microphone, a microphone stand, undisclosed "additional special content" and the real kicker -- a Beatles-inspired and Ludwig-branded Rock Band 2 drums, complete with a classic pearl finish and vintage replica Beatles kick drum head.

i like the GH guitar, the RB drums, and the RB software is a million times better.

get RB. or wait for RB:Beatles

even if you dont like the beatles, you can pick up the other rock band discs and play them... hell you can even play GH:WT with the rock band instruments...


The Limited Edition Premium Bundle will include the game itself, a Höfner Bass (http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/14/beatles-rock-band-bundle-will-boast-hofner-bass-ludwig-branded/), a microphone, a microphone stand, undisclosed "additional special content" and the real kicker -- a Beatles-inspired and Ludwig-branded Rock Band 2 drums, complete with a classic pearl finish and vintage replica Beatles kick drum head.

Yes but compare all that to a $90 bundle.

i was originally going to go formula's route and wait for beatles RB, but the price kept me back.
then walmart sold the guitar hero world tour set for $100. i got it then. played a lot of world tour. bought guitar hero metallica (they included guitar hero aerosmith for free), played the heck out of both of those games. bought rock band 1 used and guitar hero 2 new, playing rock band 1 right now, toyed a little with guitar hero 2.
world tour instruments work with rock band 1 and 2 and im pretty sure with beatles.
now that i'm setup controller wise, when beatles rock band drops (as well as lego rock band, band hero, etc) i'll only have to buy the game.
in the end i also found that the controllers add a definite level of realism, but i could care less if its modeled after a famous kind of brand. the drum kit for beatles rock band looks like the rock band drums with a sign stuck on it saying "the beatles"
whoop-de-frickin-doo.
i'll just buy the game tnks!

for all you, heres a pic of said beatles instruments:
http://cdn1.gamepro.com/blogfaction/images/Beatles%20Rock%20Band%20instruments.jpg

worth it? choice is yours.

here's the instruments with world tour:
http://thegabfather.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/instruments.jpg

i prefer these drums mainly cause the cymbals are included. there are reports that some drum kits dont function well, but mines have been flawless. the little strum-less part of the world tour guitar is a part i seldom use. mainly cause i cant see which note i'm hitting.

also im not sure im reading formula's post correct but you can buy rock band 1 then buy rock band 2 and purchase i kinda of license and import all of rock band 1 songs into rock band 2, but you cant play any rock band 1 or 2 songs in beatles rock band and vice-versa.

they've already stated beatles rock band will be a serperate entity. i know they're also releasing pretty much every beatles album for beatles rock band so you know there goes like $200 bucks

also im not sure im reading formula's post correct but you can buy rock band 1 then buy rock band 2 and purchase i kinda of license and import all of rock band 1 songs into rock band 2, but you cant play any rock band 1 or 2 songs in beatles rock band and vice-versa.

they've already stated beatles rock band will be a serperate entity. i know they're also releasing pretty much every beatles album for beatles rock band so you know there goes like $200 bucks

Yep I already did the license from RB1 after I rented it. I'm more concerned with which instruments are the best since both games will work anyway.

Yes but compare all that to a $90 bundle.
beatles rb limited edition can be had for ~$125

still more money, but not too much more.

i prefer these drums mainly cause the cymbals are included. there are reports that some drum kits dont function well, but mines have been flawless. the little strum-less part of the world tour guitar is a part i seldom use. mainly cause i cant see which note i'm hitting.

the cymbals are included because GH:WT has 5 note pads in game.... for RB they aren't included, but they're also not required.

seems like the drum kits for any game are possible to ship with a bad pad sensor or two, pretty easy replacement though.

do the world tour drums work with RB2? i think they work with RB1, and i know any of the RB drums work with GH:WT











slightly unrelated, but does anyone know what happens to the beatles publishing rights now that MJ is dead? i'm pretty sure he bought it all up.

I ordered the GH: WT bundle from Amazon. It was too good of a deal to pass up. I might add RB2 (just the game) too, which is still cheaper than buying the RB2 bundle alone.

here's the thing with GHWT drums. They suck in RB because of how things are charted. the RB drums work better with both games than the GH drums do. and even then i GHWT the cymabls aren't movable which is a problem for heavy Hi-hat songs like run to the hills, Everlong, etc. I personally also hate GH's drum chart layoput it's unnatural hard to memorize and makes no sense when looking at a real drum set. Where as you can play a RB drum chart on an actual drums after only a few months wit the game(maybe sooner, not like a rpo obviously but simple songs shoud be no trouble while looking at a chart).
90 bucks for a full game kit isn't bad but ultimately I think you'll be spending more money later on trying to make the GH drums work better. the guitar is a preference thing so I won't get into it. but also hands down RB has better software and gameplay.

yea, i went ahead and picked up GH:WT and guitar for like 20 or 30 (refurb) because i wanted to try the guitar (love my les paul and my xplorer, but i hate the RB guitar)

theres just no way i'd spend that money on the GH:WT drums... especially when i already have the RB drums (and researching everything logical has said, which i agree on)

So the RB drums are better but the guitar is better on GH? If so I already have a GH guitar and can possibly wait until RB has a sale.

So the RB drums are better but the guitar is better on GH? If so I already have a GH guitar and can possibly wait until RB has a sale.


the guitar is personal preference from what i've seen... IMO, the GH3 les paul is my favorite guitar so far.

the drums are fairly universally favoring RB... i mean, look at the huge rock band thread vs the GH:WT thread (if you can find it)




if you have some games to trade in to amazon, they'll sell you RB2 the full kit for ~$90

Darn I tried to cancel my GH: WT order but it already processed. Looks like the decision is made.

i heard the ps3 version of rock band 2 was having a problem with the guitar hero world tour drums, but that was last year. surely its been fixed by now.

also... the drums, guitars, mics... they're game controllers. nothing more. they spice up your game experience. i dont think developers meant for them to be an introduction to real instruments.

i mean the both games guitars have like 5 buttons, a "strum pad", and a whammy bar. how can you learn the real thing like that? you cant.
the drums for rock band are 4 pads with a "foot-kick". the world tour drums have 3 pads plus 2 "cymbals" and a "foot-kick". if you can play a real set of drums from playing any of these instruments then i'm calling stevie wonder and getting you a record deal.

stryker, your gonna get an experience either way. you cant go wrong from a gamers perspective. if anything we mentioned in this thread changes your mind either way, just ebay the set for a higher price and buy the other.

i heard the ps3 version of rock band 2 was having a problem with the guitar hero world tour drums, but that was last year. surely its been fixed by now.

also... the drums, guitars, mics... they're game controllers. nothing more. they spice up your game experience. i dont think developers meant for them to be an introduction to real instruments.

i mean the both games guitars have like 5 buttons, a "strum pad", and a whammy bar. how can you learn the real thing like that? you cant.
the drums for rock band are 4 pads with a "foot-kick". the world tour drums have 3 pads plus 2 "cymbals" and a "foot-kick". if you can play a real set of drums from playing any of these instruments then i'm calling stevie wonder and getting you a record deal.

stryker, your gonna get an experience either way. you cant go wrong from a gamers perspective. if anything we mentioned in this thread changes your mind either way, just ebay the set for a higher price and buy the other.


dude, the drums "transfer over" extremely well... guitar, well not at all.

****, the RB drums have more pads than travis barker uses :)

beatles rb limited edition can be had for ~$125


Link or PM please?

Unless of course you meant the RB2 bundle...

Dave

i heard the ps3 version of rock band 2 was having a problem with the guitar hero world tour drums, but that was last year. surely its been fixed by now.

also... the drums, guitars, mics... they're game controllers. nothing more. they spice up your game experience. i dont think developers meant for them to be an introduction to real instruments.

i mean the both games guitars have like 5 buttons, a "strum pad", and a whammy bar. how can you learn the real thing like that? you cant.
the drums for rock band are 4 pads with a "foot-kick". the world tour drums have 3 pads plus 2 "cymbals" and a "foot-kick". if you can play a real set of drums from playing any of these instruments then i'm calling stevie wonder and getting you a record deal.

stryker, your gonna get an experience either way. you cant go wrong from a gamers perspective. if anything we mentioned in this thread changes your mind either way, just ebay the set for a higher price and buy the other.

sorry man but youtube has numerous vids of ametuers using RB charts on songs. one dude even does run to the hills and he rocks the f'n house.

the reason RB charts work so well on real drums is because they're designed to be instantly understood in a setup. Red is usually snare, yellow high hat and blue and green are cymbals/toms. Yes GHWT keeps an accurate setup but the layout is split and unnatural.
in most songs here's the layouts:
RB
Snare | Hi-Hat | small tom/ride | Floor tom/crash
GH
snare | hi hat |small tom | ride/crash | floor tom

and in most songs it's pretty easy to remember and instantly know if a blue/green note will be a tom or a cymbal. and then for heavy high hat songs RB usually switches the hi hat to the red pad/lane and then uses yellow for snare. Not only does this work better on the RB kit but as far as following the chart it makes blind note reading much easier.

also look at how tom fills are charted. In RB you move from pad to pad. In GH it becomes really tough to track that in songs over 120bpms thanks to teh cymbals being charted in between the toms.

Link or PM please?

Unless of course you meant the RB2 bundle...

Dave

check the deals thread... amazon is giving 50% off of any game or accessory if you trade in $50 or more of used games.

Rock Band does almost everything better. If you made a checklist of 100 items, it would win 97 of them.

And yes Tronn, you can learn to play real drums from Rock Band's setup. Guitar Hero, not so much.

after playing both. My opinions...

Drums RB2 > GHWT

I like playing the guitar better on GHWT. Seems there's better guitar response and just something I can't put my finger on with GHWT. I also like some of the riffs on GH better than RB2. GHWT guitar songs seems a smidge more interesting and challenging compared to RB2.

RB2 is fun, the drums rule esp with the triple cymbal kit.

One nice feature of GHWT is the easy setting on drums only requires timing as opposed to correct color drum and timing. My little one like that since it's a degree easier for them.

Rock Band does almost everything better. If you made a checklist of 100 items, it would win 97 of them.

And yes Tronn, you can learn to play real drums from Rock Band's setup. Guitar Hero, not so much.

first statement is open to interpretation. i am witholding judgement based on the fact i've stated that i dont yet have rock band 2. part 1 but not 2.
as a gamer, i see them as toys. expensive ones but toys nonetheless.

the last one i dont see how. again maybe i'll buy RB2 and play it on the RB drums and see the light and become john bonham incarnate. somehow i doubt that'll happen.

let me see someone completely credit rock band 1 or 2 with showing them how to play drums. thats something i'd like to see. im from missouri...show me

the last one i dont see how. again maybe i'll buy RB2 and play it on the RB drums and see the light and become john bonham incarnate. somehow i doubt that'll happen.

You won't overcome a distinct lack of god-given talent nor a lack of years and years and years of honing the craft, and it won't get you past not starting when you were a youngster.

But I think I could almost keep a beat and make some noise with a really lousy garage band that's not worthy of a band name, due completely to playing Expert drums on about 40% of the Rock Band songs. (The easier 40%, of course.)

I have the Ions and three cymbals, and I can now pretty much tell whether that yellow or blue or green is a cymbal or a tom based solely on the pattern coming down the lane.

I'm not saying it would be easy to keep going without the skittles on the highway, but I could do it poorly. :)

Being able to beat "Living on a Prayer" on easy drums is fun, but that isn't what will get you ready to make some ugly noise. Ya gotta beat Eye of the Tiger on Expert before you start getting those delusions...

found this from about a year ago
link http://www.fakeplasticrock.com/2008/03/29/are-rock-band-drums-like-real-world-drums/

"
It’s been widely reported that playing Rock Band drums is eerily similar to playing real world drums, far more so than any other fake plastic rock instrument. Take it from Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulous (http://www.oxmonline.com/article/features/presses/rock-bands-alex-rigopulos-oxm-interview):
You can take a person that’s playing on the expert levels in Rock Band on the drums and put them on a real drum set, and they can play the drums. And I watched this happen with a Q&A staff of 25-30 people. Maybe 2 or 3 of those had experience of being drummers, but they’ve been playing the game for months now, and what we’ve got is 30 drummers in the Q&A department who are pounding away in the Hard and Expert settings. These people have learned the fundamentals of drums, and this isn’t abstracting fundamentals — you can put these people on a drum set and they have some basic skills now. As a payoff for playing a video game, that’s incredible! Rock Band is going to be out there training this wave of new young drummers, and that’s a really exciting aspect of the project for us. "

to me thats like claiming riding a bike automatically means you can ride a motorcycle. to keep the question open though i'll stop by my local guitar center and sam ash on the way home tonight and see what the people there think.

first statement is open to interpretation. i am witholding judgement based on the fact i've stated that i dont yet have rock band 2. part 1 but not 2.
as a gamer, i see them as toys. expensive ones but toys nonetheless.

the last one i dont see how. again maybe i'll buy RB2 and play it on the RB drums and see the light and become john bonham incarnate. somehow i doubt that'll happen.

let me see someone completely credit rock band 1 or 2 with showing them how to play drums. thats something i'd like to see. im from missouri...show me


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j4v_1Gx04M

you cant tell me that if he memorized the rock band note charts, and played with the TV off that he's not playing the drums.



for me i'd say it goes either way.

does RB teach you how to play the drums? no
if you're dedicated to learning to play drums, can RB get you started? absolutely.

as well as world tour drums, conga drums, empty aluminum cans of crisco, plastic 2-liter bottles of diet pepsi... list can go on.
i dont see how a games 5 note charting can translate to real drums. heck he has 5 white pads (i dont even know wtf they're called) and 4 cymbals things. now which game (GH or RB) has that many of each?



were playing a game (either one). you hit colored buttons/pads at the right moment and the track continues to play.
you're having fun? keep playing
you're not having fun? stop playing
you claim to be able to play real drums from beating on these fake ones? get a music contract
you'd rather just have friends over or online and have fun? play on

and by you i mean anyone. im not pointing anyone. im still stopping by the music stores very soon. lets see what real drummers have to say about this

im still stopping by the music stores very soon. lets see what real drummers have to say about this

Here is what it will be:

"graaaawwwwwr! video games will be the death of music!! rawwwwr! kids think they are playing music instead of playing real instruments. gahhhhh! [tilts nose upwards and takes a snotty tone] tomorrows musicians are being ruined."

GuitarCenter or the NAMM show aren't going to be unbiased places for that kind of research, tronn.

One thing you might want to do is try to take the extremist angle off your take on this. You keep going back to "Rock Band won't make me John Bonham" and "GHWT won't get me a recording contract." Yeah, well....no sh¡t. Bonhams don't come along too often and there are about a hundred thousand double butt-loads of awesome musicians out there without recording contracts.

But RockBand can teach you some basic rock beats on drums. And that, my friend, is enough to be called a lousy real-world drummer. :)

let me see someone completely credit rock band 1 or 2 with showing them how to play drums. thats something i'd like to see. im from missouri...show me

My son pretty much pwns the RB/GH guitar and drums on the highest levels. Since I knew the drums carried over. I bought him a Roland set and a 360 converter brain. He can play the game or play real drums, it took him a week to really make the transition to a more real drum set (doesn't have acoustic set). Now to say "complete credit" imo is unfair. He does credit God and his parents to! He's also a student of drums as well now, via youtube and keeps up with terms and strategies on real and fake drums, pays close attention to music now etc. But I can say it carried over very well from game to real. Kid has some real motor skills on him. Now I get to learn how expensive it is to maintain and electronic set. Goal for him somewhere in the IT sector weekdays with the ability to play at bars on the weekend for fun. He's so far buying into that plan at 17.

proof of concept right there.


i remember this kid who posted RB vids on youtube forever... one day he posted a vid of his ION kit for sale, and a vid of him playing real drums.... kids pretty damn good.

im still stopping by the music stores very soon. lets see what real drummers have to say about this

http://kotaku.com/374231/video-proof-that-rock-band-learns-you-some-drummin

Then there's this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj_GuoR7mOo

And by the way RB > GHWT.

http://kotaku.com/374231/video-proof-that-rock-band-learns-you-some-drummin

Then there's this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj_GuoR7mOo

And by the way RB > GHWT.

kevin already played drums before rock band. but tronnis going overboard. rock abnd is a gateway drug for musicians and that was teh full intent on HMX's part(next to making some money).

After thinking about it, I worked a deal out with my brother since he can get a discount for RB2. I'm going to swap GH: WT with him for RB2.

check the deals thread... amazon is giving 50% off of any game or accessory if you trade in $50 or more of used games.

amazon's trade in prices are worse than gamestop. Unless you are a flipper who has a ton of time on your hands (and i don't think avsforum users fit this bill), this is hardly a deal.

amazon's trade in prices are worse than gamestop. Unless you are a flipper who has a ton of time on your hands (and i don't think avsforum users fit this bill), this is hardly a deal.

huh? dude, even if you went out and bought a brand new $60 game, and they gave you $50 for it, you'd be out $10 and then you'd get $140 off of the kit.

it doesnt take a rocket scientist to understand the possibilities here.... you'd have to be insane to trade in 40 or 50 games at the measly 1 or 2 dollars they give you. but the system can easily be exploited.

show me where gamestop will give me $190 for one or two games..... it's not gonna happen :)

I think there's fun to be had with either the GH:WT bundle or the RB2 bundle, provided you get perfectly working instruments. Most casual music-gamers who want to play along with some fun songs on occasion (maybe with the wife, relatives or on weekends with guests) will have a good time with the hardware and game from each.

Guitar Hero and Rock Band take different approaches at the same thing:

-single-player/multi-player: Guitar Hero takes a more cartooney, video-gamey "fun" approach and has a good single-player career. Rock Band (esp. 2) emphasizes the multiplayer band element, and is on the serious side. In RB2 I'm mostly just doing "quick-play" of songs I like to play for fun and don't feel there's enough end-of-song info, nor trying to get the best score/"stars" for each song... but Guitar Hero does this much better.

-Guitar: I think the guitar charts in both games are very good and prefer the fun nature in GH over the more "realistic" of RB. Many disagree, so YMMV. Hardware: While the RB2 strat has more comfortable frets, I like the GH:WT tap/slider (fun!) and clicky strummer.

-Drums: Rock Band (1 or 2) is the hands-down choice, and I doubt anyone would argue this. In Rock Band, overdrive is a crash at the end of selected fills when the meter is full, and this feels natural. In Guitar Hero star power is hitting yellow+blue anytime the meter is full, which feels wrong. Hardware: Rock Band 2, but I have a lot invested in a RB drumkit so I've never really seriously tried the GH:WT drums. Plus, playing 5 lanes is the proper way to play drums, and RB drums in Guitar Hero are gimped to 4 lanes... ugg!

-Vocals: dunno, I don't sing. :p I'm assuming both games are pretty much the same experience..? :confused:

-Setlist: Based on just the songs on the disc, I like more songs in GH:WT over Rock Band 2. With that said, the best songs in RB2 are better, but the worst songs are a lot worse. Guitar Hero seems to focus more on radio-friendly familier music, and Rock Band 2 has a little wider range, with some odd alternative and hard-core metal. DLC: Rock Band absolutely. For Guitar Hero, having World Tour+Metallica+Smash Hits discs yield an incredibly awesome setlist, but the dreaded disc swap is needed. Rock Band has many of those songs, plus hundreds more -- with greater variety... and are available separately and playable via the RB2 disc. "RB DLC FTW" :D

-Upcoming: Rock Band: The Beatles looks awesome (albeit stand-alone from the platform), Guitar Hero 5 is an unknown.

that's a great story...... thanks for sharing it with us.

Would it be possible for you to post the item numbers for the drum kit and 360 brain that you bought? I may do the same for my son.

My son pretty much pwns the RB/GH guitar and drums on the highest levels. Since I knew the drums carried over. I bought him a Roland set and a 360 converter brain. He can play the game or play real drums, it took him a week to really make the transition to a more real drum set (doesn't have acoustic set). Now to say "complete credit" imo is unfair. He does credit God and his parents to! He's also a student of drums as well now, via youtube and keeps up with terms and strategies on real and fake drums, pays close attention to music now etc. But I can say it carried over very well from game to real. Kid has some real motor skills on him. Now I get to learn how expensive it is to maintain and electronic set. Goal for him somewhere in the IT sector weekdays with the ability to play at bars on the weekend for fun. He's so far buying into that plan at 17.

let me add my .02 since I've owned and played RB1, RB2, GH2, GH3, GH:WT and GH:M -

As far as guitars go, I think the best of the 6 I've played is the GH3's Les Paul. Other than needing the neck mod after 6 months of use, it's the axe I go back to whenever I open up the closet to grab the equipment. It seems to be a consensus with my family also.... they grab it first, next is the GH:WT

I own the RB1 drums, and have also played RB2's kit and GH:WT's set. I'm not a hardcore drummer, but I prefer the wired RB1 kit over the other two. Didnt like the setup of the GH set and I felt like there was some lag in the RB2 set. Also, for cross-game compatability, the RB1 set works flawlessly with both RB's and GH:WT plus GH:M (havent played the latest GH with them, but I'm guessing it's the same deal). Ion's are the crim-de-la-crim, but I think there are some issues with them and GH:WT (unless they've been fixed).

Game play goes to RB. I just like it's interface better, along with it's charting. But there are features of GH that I also like and wish RB would incorporate into their product-
* open notes on base and guitar are cool
* guitar playing in general seems "easier" in GH - I think they're a little too forgiving on their note timing (it seems you can be a little late and still get credit for hitting notes in GH when compared to RB)
* guitar battles against various stars are fun also (playing against Zakk Wylde and then jamming to Stillborn with him after winning the battle was the ultimate guitar gaming moment for me).

So there you have it..... I guess the bottom line would be whatever you prefer. Both series have their pluses and minuses.

The on-disc Rock Band songs are more focused on having fun as a band. There are a lot of songs on Guitar Hero that are awesome songs, but are HORRIBLE to play on drums (Hotel California, Beat It, etc.)

And there are plenty of vids on Youtube of people playing drums for the very first time by using a Rock Band chart. Hate all you want Tronn, it's the truth. I'll post some later.

Yo Tom,

So what about the ION drum set? Is it worth the money? Does it really enhance the GH/RB experience?

As someone else who has played all (and I mean all) of the music games (rock revolution - yuck!) with all of the different instruments, I also find RB2 to be the better game. My mind tells me that Guitar Hero is more fun when playing guitar, but I know it's just because I'm "better" at it because of the game's ****** timing window compared to Rock Band's spot on window.

In the last few weeks I got an Ion set, and it's kind of a love/hate thing right now. I love the potential I see in it. I hate that I couldn't set it up more like a real drum set and pick up where I left off on my scores with the RB2 set. It definitely has a steep learning curve. I almost decided to return it, but instead set it up like the RB1/2 sets and plan on moving one pad at a time to a more optimal spot. At the same time, I cleared all of my song scores so I can do the whole list again from easiest to hardest and learn these drums like they are the only set I've ever played. The kick pedal is horrible for me though. That will be the first modification I do to the set if I ultimately decide to keep them.

-Vocals: dunno, I don't sing. :p I'm assuming both games are pretty much the same experience..? :confused:
I found the vocals on GH to be unbearable and I wasn't really getting a clear enough visual indication why I was not hitting phrases all the way. To be fair expert vocals on RB1 were also not fun but they fixed things up quite a bit in RB2 so that you can do very well singing naturally.

I am not a hardcore drummer, but I found the ION set is about the only way I have any confidence that all my hits are registering and that alone makes it worth the cost of admission. Plus since I bought it nobody complains about being stuck on the drums anymore.

On a purely instrument based opinion which is better?

Probably something like this:

Guitar - varies widely by strum bar/button preference for me RB2 Strat > Rb1 Strat > Les Paul/GHWT Strat > Explorer. I think the calibration feature on the RB2 strat is the best feature on any instrument. My hands greatly prefer the button arrangement of the Strats which outweighs my preference for the GH strum bars feel. I could do without the GH click.

Drums - ION > RB2 > GHWT > RB1

Mic - even

On a purely instrument based opinion which is better?

Rock Band 2 for the total kit. Some prefer the GH guitars over the RB variety. All in personal taste, I guess. I think its safe to say that the Rock Band drums are better than the GH:WT umm thing. ION drums are the best!

Rock Band 2 for the total kit. Some prefer the GH guitars over the RB variety. All in personal taste, I guess. I think its safe to say that the Rock Band drums are better than the GH:WT umm thing. ION drums are the best!

Agreed. You can always pick up a GH Les Paul guitar for like $20 - $30 if you really like it. I can't stand the thing, but that's a personal preference.

So what about the ION drum set? Is it worth the money? Does it really enhance the GH/RB experience?

I find the Ions to be worth every penny, and I pre-ordered them and paid the highest possible price to get them. ($299 plus tax and shipping! :eek: )

I flipped the L-bars over so that the short side connects to the drum head and the long side clamps to the frame. I feel it gives me more options for adjusting the height of the pads. I also swung the arm with the red pad in to put the snare between my legs.

I started slow just playing the pads and only hitting the green cymbal to kick in overdrive. Slowly I've added using the cymbals, which was a nice plan because I've also been slowly learning to recognize patterns that are cymbal versus tom. And I screw it up and switch as necessary.

I couldn't go back to the stock drums.

Yo Tom,

So what about the ION drum set? Is it worth the money? Does it really enhance the GH/RB experience?
Good lord, I've spent over $600 on my drums (drums, third cymbal, drumstick holder, Rock Pedal, practice pad, Roc-n-soc drum throne) so I can't really answer this. I certainly found it to be worth it, but I'm not exactly subjective. :D

amazon's trade in prices are worse than gamestop. Unless you are a flipper who has a ton of time on your hands (and i don't think avsforum users fit this bill), this is hardly a deal.


here... for the doubter... this dude got a FREE ION Kit, and $20

Pure PS3 bought at Best Buy for $10
Amazon gave me $18 each. I was planning on ebaying them 1 by one but I just submitted 20 of them that I had hoarded.

20x10 = $200 out of pocket
18x20 = $360 amazon credit
ION = $140($280 - %50) from my amazon credit
---------------------
$220 amazon credit remains, $20 more than my initial investment (which more than covers taxes).



but yea... that's hardly a deal.

that's a great story...... thanks for sharing it with us.

Would it be possible for you to post the item numbers for the drum kit and 360 brain that you bought? I may do the same for my son.


you should watch the whole video on this ebay auction.... sounds great.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ION-Drum-Rocker-Premium-Drum-Set-Plus-Pro-Upgrade-XBOX_W0QQitemZ200312601730QQcmdZViewItemQQptZKeyboards_MIDI? hash=item2ea38fbc82&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1205|240%3A1308|301%3A1 |293%3A1|294%3A50

you should watch the whole video on this ebay auction.... sounds great.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ION-Drum-Rocker-Premium-Drum-Set-Plus-Pro-Upgrade-XBOX_W0QQitemZ200312601730QQcmdZViewItemQQptZKeyboards_MIDI? hash=item2ea38fbc82&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1205|240%3A1308|301%3A1 |293%3A1|294%3A50

Now that's pretty sweet! The ultimate Ion setup for sure.

I'd also like to see a Rolland drum set configured to play RB.

sooo, i got my $30 copy of GH:WT with wireless guitar.

man i hate guitar hero.... this game is pretty bad (and i'm not talking about the horrible set list).

i mainly bought for the guitar, as i prefer GH guitars over the RB guitars.... but i dont think i'll ever play GH:WT again.

sooo, i got my $30 copy of GH:WT with wireless guitar.

man i hate guitar hero.... this game is pretty bad (and i'm not talking about the horrible set list).

i mainly bought for the guitar, as i prefer GH guitars over the RB guitars.... but i dont think i'll ever play GH:WT again.

I'm curious as to what is it about World Tour that turned you off?

I've heard more than a few people who don't like it, and I was initially very dissapointed when playing the drum tracks on the ION Drum Rocker. But when I returned GH:WT for guitar-only, I started to like it much more.

Maybe I'm easy to please? :o btw, consider eBaying the game... it will make the $30 guitar even cheaper.

I'm curious as to what is it about World Tour that turned you off?

I've heard more than a few people who don't like it, and I was initially very dissapointed when playing the drum tracks on the ION Drum Rocker. But when I returned GH:WT for guitar-only, I started to like it much more.

Maybe I'm easy to please? :o btw, consider eBaying the game... it will make the $30 guitar even cheaper.

it's mainly the charting on all of the notes, and some of the idiot stuff they do (with the note charts) to try and make some songs more difficult... musically most of it just doesnt make any sense.... it's just more of the same nonsense from GH3.... it all just feels off.

it's mainly the charting on all of the notes, and some of the idiot stuff they do (with the note charts) to try and make some songs more difficult... musically most of it just doesnt make any sense.... it's just more of the same nonsense from GH3.... it all just feels off.

Fair enough, and that's what I've heard other people say too. I think I play guitar at a lower lever ("Hard" for the easiest half of songs, "Medium" for the more difficult half) and I don't think the "idiot stuff" you mentioned enters at that level. :p

Things I like about GH:WT games (WT, Metallica, and Smash Hits) on guitar:
-the ropey tap sections adds optional variety to play
-wah-wah on sustained notes/chords using the slider
-chord "building" (single notes turning into chords)
-lots of hammer-ons and pull-offs
-open notes on bass

I used to play IRL guitar way back when, and I forget what song I was playing on Smash Hits last night but I noticed that the barre chords felt very accurate.

I'm not trying to convince anyone to like the GH games... just wondering if I'm missing something that others can see. I guess what I'm really missing is "skill". :o