Review: Rock Thunder Guitar for Guitar Hero and Rock Band

[bandit]

Rock Thunder Guitar for Guitar Hero and Rock Band
Manufacturer: Talismoon
Site: Buy from Divineo US / Buy from Divineo China
Price: $64.99

Overview : One guitar rocks them all!

The Talismoon Rock Thunder Guitar brings you the newest in convenience. Completely wireless, and with all the features you need! It works for all versions of Guitar Hero and Rock Band on the Nintendo Wii.

Features :

• Compatible with all versions of Guitar Hero for Nintendo Wii
• Compatible with all versions of Rock Band for Nintendo Wii
• 10 fret buttons
• Tactile feedback strum bar
• Wireless
• 5 positions switch or choosing guitar effects
• Good for left and right handed people
• Sleep mode saves batteries
• Motion sensor to launch bonus time or to "savior" a fellow player
• Whammy bar for heightening cool effects
• 2.4GHz transmitter technology
• Foldable neck for easy transportation
• RoHS certified
• CE compatible

Quality/Usability : I dont know about most people, but when it comes to video game and accessories, I dont have much room to store them. Especially when it comes to big accessories like guitars and drums. Its worse when you're a big gamer and a HUGE fan of games like Guitar Hero and Rockband and you have two guitars, one for each game and they dont work together. One guitar is specific to Guitar Hero and the other guitars is Rock Band only. Ok, so that isnt that bad. Two guitars. But what if you want multiplayer action!? Now you have to buy another Guitar Hero guitar.

Talismoon has helped the elimination of having multiple guitars. The Rock Thunder Guitar for Guitar Hero and Rock Band is one guitar, for both games. The guitar comes with instructions on how to sync the guitar with Rock Band as well as an instruction manual. Like other guitars, you'll need to insert a Wii controller into it. The Rock Thunder requires 2 AA batteries and there is a USB receiver (included) that needs to be connected to one of the USB ports on the back of the Wii. After 10 mins of no operation, it will go into sleep-mode. To wake up the guitar, press the button next to the joystick.

To use it with Guitar Hero, you simply insert the Wii Remote, slide the power toggle switch to GH and you're ready to go. If you are using the guitar for Rock Band, you will have to detach the Wii remote as it is not needed. Plug in the USB wireless receiver into the Wii. Turn on the Wii and the receiver will begin to flash. On the guitar, simply slide the switch to RB, press the connect button on the guitar and receiver at the same time. When the RX indicator stops flashing, the connection is complete.

There are blue LEDs around the strum bar. This lets you know when the guitar is ON. If you dont see the lit up, guitar is not ON. To change between Rock Band and Guitar Hero, there is a switch "RB" and "GH", respectively. The chrome switches and the thumbstick located near the wii remote only work when you are playing Guitar Hero, and when the wii remote is plugged in. You don't have the wii remote plugged in when you play rock band, so, they don't operate at that time. You must use a separate wii remote to operate the basic game functions. If the guitar is not sync with Rockband, hold down the green fret button on the guitar while a song is starting. If the green fret bar indicator on the screen stays solid, you have a good sync. If it blinks, then you have a bad sync. Unplug the dongle from the Wii and plug it back in again. re-sync the guitar. Try the fret button test described in the first two sentences again.

Syncing and getting the controller set up is not as bad as it seems. Might get annoying just removing the controller but thats no big deal at all. The wireless receiver offers a good range. What interests me is that there is a LAN adapter. Its like a phone plug. What does this do or what is it for? I have no idea. It was not mentioned as to what the purpose of this was for except that there was a LAN plug.

Conclusion : Overall, the Rock Thunder Guitar for Guitar Hero and Rock Band works pretty good. It cuts down on space of having multiple guitars for multiplayer experience. For the price of $64.99, you get 2 guitar controllers. But may cost more if you have to constantly replace the 2 AA batteries. The batteries lasted a good while but I always use rechargeables. I didnt have problems syncing but switching from GH to RB, you will have to resync each time.

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