Guitar controller


A guitar controller is a video game controller designed to simulate the playing of the guitar, a string musical instrument. Guitar controllers are often used for music games such as Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Um Jammer Lammy: NOW! and GuitarFreaks. The controllers are played by holding down a colored fret button that matches a colored, on-screen note, while pressing the strum bar as the note passes through the target. The controllers also feature a whammy bar, which is used to bend notes and collect each game's equivalent of bonus energy. Different games and models of controllers have introduced additional features, such as effects switches, additional fret buttons, and fret touch pads. The fret buttons are colored usually in the order of green, red, yellow, blue, and orange.

Implementation as game controllers

A guitar controller is almost always an adaption of existing regular controller technologies for a given home video game console—all features of the guitar are implemented using features found on a standard game controller. Generally speaking, the following apply:
  • Fret buttons are implemented as the standard action buttons on the controller. For example, the buttons on a guitar controller for the Xbox 360 map to the face buttons and left shoulder buttons on the standard Xbox 360 controller.
  • The whammy bar is implemented as an axis, used for adding variation to pitch on "long notes".
  • The meta buttons map directly to their standard controller counterparts. A guitar controller for a Wii music game often conveniently has the meta buttons supplied by the Wii Remote itself, which is inserted into a conveniently shaped cavity in the controller.
Other vendor-specific features can be implemented using standard controls, or combinations of them. For example, the solo bar on a Rock Band guitar controller is implemented using the same controller buttons as the main fret buttons, plus an additional modifier key, whereas the slide bar from recent versions of Guitar Hero is simply another axis. Guitar controllers also have a "gesture" feature in which the player can tilt or gently shake the guitar neck, which is used in most guitar games to activate a power-up mode, such as Star Power in Guitar Hero games or Overdrive in Rock Band games. This function is also usually mapped to an axis, or the Wii Remote's motion sensors for Wii-remote based guitar controllers.

Variations

''Guitar Hero'' (PlayStation 2)

The Harmonix Guitar Hero Guitar Controller was a 3/4 scale replica of a Gibson SG. The controller has 5 buttons under the tuning pegs, on the neck of the guitar. These buttons are as follows: green, red, yellow, blue, and orange. Then, at the bottom of the guitar are as follows: a Start button, a Select button, a whammy bar, and a strum bar.

''Guitar Hero II'' (PlayStation 2 & Xbox 360)

The Harmonix Guitar Hero II guitar controller has two different variations. The first being for the PlayStation 2 which has the same layout as the previous model, but the guitar's design is different. This guitar was based on a red Gibson SG.
Guitar Hero II was also released for Xbox 360 and had a separate design and layout. The design of the guitar resembles a Gibson X-Plorer with a layout of the head having the default 5 fret buttons, a strum bar, and a whammy bar, but now a button with the Xbox 360 Guide with 4 lights surrounding it, a D-Pad, a Back button, and a Start button.

''Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock'' (PlayStation 2 and 3, Wii, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows & Mac OS X)

had 3 different types of guitars. 1 of them having 3 color designs. The first guitar was for the PlayStation 2. It resembled Gibson's Kramer model and had the same layout as its predecessor.
The guitar for Windows and Mac OS X was the same guitar that came with the Xbox 360's version of Guitar Hero II.
The PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii all had the same design, that resembled a Gibson Les Paul. The difference between the three was the color. The Wii came with a white body and a black head. The Wii's controller, unlike the other models, had a cut out for the Wii remote and would use the remote as its D-Pad, Start, Back, and Guide button. Although it still had a start and back button built into it. The Xbox 360's controller had the same layout as its predecessor, but the design was a black Gibson Les Paul. The PlayStation 3's controller had the same layout as the Xbox 360, but it was a slightly lighter black.

The ''Guitar Hero: On Tour'' trilogy (Nintendo DS) and the Nintendo DS version of ''Band Hero''

developed a special guitar controller accessory for the Nintendo DS handheld, called the Guitar Grip, and it is used for a spin-off Guitar Hero trilogy subtitled On Tour, released exclusively for that platform, as well as the Nintendo DS version of Band Hero. The Guitar Grip is a special attachment that connects to the DS' backwards compatible Game Boy Advance Game Pak slot, allowing the player to hold the system sideways like an open book and use its bottom half as a guitar neck. Four fret buttons on the attachment are positioned below the touchscreen, which is used to strum the guitar and play on-screen notes while any fret buttons are pressed. The Guitar Grip concept underwent many changes before Vicarious Visions was able to determine a comfortable design for it with great difficulty.

''Guitar Hero World Tour'' (PlayStation 2 and 3, Wii, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows & Mac OS X)

The guitar for Guitar Hero World Tour was a new design that was the same across all consoles, except Wii which had a cut out for the Wii Remote. The new guitar though had some new features and improvements. First off, the guitar was 25% larger, making it closer to the size of a real guitar. Secondly, the guitar now has a longer whammy bar and a new Star Power button. Third, under the standard fret buttons, a touchpad was implemented letting players execute notes via tapping or also known as tap strumming. Connectivity issues were resolved. The design of the guitar was an original design created by the developers of Guitar Hero, but they took ideas from the Fender Stratocaster.

''Guitar Hero 5'' (PlayStation 2 and 3, Wii & Xbox 360)

The guitar for Guitar Hero 5 was an adaptation of the Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar. The only changes to this one was a rubberized strum bar, the nuts on the head of the guitar were replaced with chrome instead of the plastic design, the switches on the strum bar were changed to be longer lasting and the "Solo section" of the neck had a different mold and was converted from its analog design to digital.

''Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock'' (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 & Wii)

The guitar for Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock was developed by Neversoft, the developers of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. It was a huge redesign for the series as it looked like an ax rather than the classic design of electric guitars. The "Solo section" on the guitar was removed. The d-pad and guide button were merged into one.

''Guitar Hero Live'' (iOS, Xbox 360 and One, PlayStation 3 and 4 & Wii U)

Guitar Hero Live's guitar controller is not licensed or based on any existing guitars, and departs from the typical five button fret style. Six fret buttons are arranged into a three by two grid at the top of the neck, with the left side represented by black, and the right side represented by white markings. The body and controls feature a standard strum bar, whammy bar, and have a new "Star Power" button under the strum bar. A menu button is included to navigate the Guitar Hero TV mode.

''Rock Band'' (Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 and 3 & Wii)

The Rock Band guitar controller is used for both lead guitar and bass instrument gameplay. The guitar is a 3/4 scale replica of a Fender Stratocaster. It takes design cues from the Guitar Hero controllers, with five fret buttons at the top of the neck, a strum bar on the body, and a whammy bar, as well as navigational buttons. Unlike Guitar Hero controllers, an additional five fret buttons were added at the base of the neck. The lower frets are referred to as "solo buttons", which can be used for tapping during solo sections. The controller also included a 5-way switch which can be used to select different guitar sounds.

''Rock Band 2'' (Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 and 3 & Wii)

The Fender Stratocaster guitar controllers created for Rock Band 2 are nearly identical to their Rock Band predecessor. Notable cosmetic changes include a sunburst printed variant, in addition to the original black design. Both variants also have a simulated darker fretboard printed over the neck, and a wood grain pattern printed on the front of the headstocks. The headstocks can be removed from the neck. The fret buttons themselves were improved, featuring raised markings on the third fret and quieter mechanics. The strum bars were also improved, designed to be more durable. Overdrive motion activation sensitivity was also improved. A 3.5mm port was added on the lower right side of the guitar body, for connecting to a Stompbox Effect pedal peripheral or bass drum pedal peripheral. Input through the port activates overdrive in game. The Rock Band 2 guitar controller is backward compatible with Rock Band.
A full size Fender Stratocaster guitar controller was offered for Rock Band 2, built out of Stratocaster parts, excluding functional guitar electronics, fretwire, strings, or a nut. The 1:1 Stratocaster was offered only in a handpainted sunburst, assembled at a Fender manufacturing facility. A functional whammy bar is built into the bridge plate, and the start and back buttons appear to be volume and tone dials. The D-pad and guide button are standard controller buttons.
Mad Catz began producing Fender Precision Bass controllers for Rock Band 2. Similar to the Stratocaster controllers, the Precision Bass controllers featured the same general layout, on a scaled-down replica Precision Bass. Wired and wireless variants were produced, with wireless Rock Band 2 variants having a unique dongle for connection, and a switch to select Rock Band or Rock Band 2 modes. When used in Rock Band 2 mode in Rock Band 2, the game selects the bass part by default. The headstocks have four decorative tuners, including tuner pegs, which are not seen on the Stratocaster controllers. The Precision Bass controllers featured a split strum bar, intended to imitate bass picking styles with two half-size strum bars making up the strum bar. The front strumbar has inverted output. The controller also included a bass thumb rest, and replaced the whammy bar with a whammy knob. The Start/Back buttons are handled through another knob, and the 5-way switch is handled through a third "FX-knob". The Precision Basses were offered in white, black, candy apple red, seafoam green, and metallic pink.