Guitar finally died =(

[Qweets]

Well I had put way over 20 hours on the guitar and it was working fantastic then it just started getting more and more unresponsive now its double strumming/cutting out.. HOW could they sell this knowing the defects? I don't think there is a guitar out there that isn't going to bite it soon. I made sure to be very gentle and safe with my guitar the whole time in fear of it breaking, yet it still did. How did this stuff get past QA? I'm wondering if HMX was rushed in to releasing and EA said "hey we'll take the hit of replacing hardware" although that doesn't make sense from a business standpoint either. I'm confused. Oh and my drums you can't do drumrolls on them it doesn't register hits that fast, I'm assuming thats bad as well?

[bmore007]

Yea i'm begining to wonder how much they actually tested the hardware myself. So many issues should have never made it through QA as you said.

[Qweets]

I'd really like them to give us a straight up answer on why EVERYTHING is breaking/failing.. Kick pedals snapping in 2, strumbars breaking, drum pads not detecting drumrolls, usb hubs dieing.. This is just outrageous for 180 dollars I expected a little more quality than this. I usually don't like to complain but this is just nuts.

[anbforchrist]

Hey try doing the tv cal. thing in the options menu and try plugging your cords to gether something like your situation happened to me, I was about to send it back but all along my chords were togetther, you know the cords can split right?and you adapter needs to rest

[Qweets]

lol I don't even understand what you said, its a strumbar issue nothing else. It was plugged directly into my xbox not the crappy usb hub.

[Theuke]

Agreed on all counts with the OP. Harmonix still seems to have loyal fans with a huge (though rapidly eroding) amount of goodwill, but after the widespread hardware issues, they're going to have to do something. Extending the warranty, acknowledging the issues and announcing how and when they will be fixed seem like the minimum.

I'm willing to cut them some slack due to the Thanksgiving holiday, but I'm expecting some communication from them for next week.

[k_luva]

Yup...I am kind of agitated at the non-response to this whole thing as well...but I don't expect one until Monday...NO WAY would they open their mouths on or around Black Friday regarding a broken game.

[ZenZen]

Well after really wanting the guitar to last and not cry foul for a BAD BATCH of gear, mine also ate it. I was one of them that had the total junk little "reed switches" in there. Ya know the strips of metal making a switch.

I will not be seeking a replacement via EA RockBand Support. Why?
Well I have two 360 explorers that are fine so I decided to blow any warranty I had on the Strat.

Popped it open (for the third time) and went into modding hell. First thing that went was that completely ignorant foam. My god was that craptastic... Those were each replaced with a real spring. The little tabs on the strum bar that used to hit foam were attacked by a dremel tool to make the undersides flat instead of wedge shaped like they were. They hit the springs and have nice fast return now.

Next the switches were cut out. Not too long ago I built a full size MAME arcade cabinet and still had a couple REAL microswitches left over from the arcade-grade joysticks.
There was too much mounting junk from the old switches in the way for the new switches to fit so that stuff was cut out with the dremel. The whole area was ground down to nearly flat. Then the microswitches went in. The strum bar makes contact with the switch plungers using the same tab as the old switches.

Since both surfaces (microswitch plunger and strum bar tab) are rounded, I used a very thin tab of plastic between the two that is adhered to the top of each microswitch.
All of the new parts- springs & microswitches and held in place with 5 minute epoxy. Ya know, the kind you dont want your kids to play with ;)

After all that was done, I realized the battery box hit one of the swiches. Dremel time again. Cut that sucker out! Served no purpose in the 360 Strat anyway.

Now my Strat holds notes and registers strums correctly once again. Bonus being the nice spring return on the bar now. Oh and there is a slight click now from the micros'. Meh, I dont care either way I guess...

After seeing some of the pics posted, its painfully obvious that there were two different builds of this guitar probably spread over several factories. The first build I assume is the "reed switch" models. Second being the microswitch variety. Guessing EA/HMX needed to use what they knew was a bad design to make numbers add up for launch.

Probably not too swift of an idea, and they are paying for it no doubt. But the one thing that blows me away is the foam. Geez you guys, that was some real mind-numbing engineering there. Bad form.

I love this game- first time all of us in the house can play together, so I chose to deal with it myself. If anyone would like to see pics of this FrankenStrat, I can post em somewhere.

Rock on guys!

[ReplicantSeven]

I'd love to see those pics ZenZen. Righteous job on the resurrection.

EA......Unbelievably poor form. Shameful shenanigans.

You guys literally would steal candy from babies, wouldn't you?

[ZenZen]

Here ya go. Yes the batt compartment cut away is a hack job and could have been a little cleaner :)

I didnt take the time to label the parts, but you should get the idea. One thing I didnt mention that is kind of important if anyone tries this: Use 5 minute Epoxy and not 20 minute or longer. Reason is you have to hold the switches in place while the epoxy sets and 5 minutes was almost too long, but I think I would have been pushing it using 1 minute epoxy.....

Once again: Warranty annihilated, do this at your own risk. Oh and obviously use the NORMALLY OPEN contacts on the switch (marked N.O.)

[SteppinRazor]

Nice work ZenZen, I love the DIY spirit.

You'll have to let us know if this warranty-voiding fix holds up over time. Looks good to me though, looks like the kind of work that should have gone into them first, the reed/strip contacts are rediculously cheap in quality.

[seraphwing]

hey, could you maybe post some sites where we can get this stuff? I was thinking of the possibility of changing the switches myself, unless EA and Harmonix change the design themselves and start making guitars with proper strum bar assemblies.

[Keebler]

How would the strum bar tabs have worked without leveling them off? Would they still contact the spring properly?

Also, what specification of springs did you get and where can I get some?

[ZenZen]

The swiches are from Happ Controls: http://www.happcontrols.com/joysticks/95073301.htm

I think leveling the tabs off makes for a smoother press on the bar and doesnt try and push the spring out of the way. I was afraid if anything it might bend the springs away from the bar had I left them in a wedge shape...

The springs are just out of a box of like 100 or so "Household" springs that Lowes sells. Just a grab bag type of deal with a bunch of different sizes and strength. Comes in a clear plastic box.

I think it'll last a long time. That epoxy it what I use in high-power rocketry to hold motor mounts in place. It's pretty nasty stuff. If I do happen to have a switch die (not likely) I will have to cut it out to replace it. There is no nice alternative there.

[Pianoman178]

I am having the same problem with strumming my guitar. The only difference is mine starting acting goofy after the 4th song....not 20 hours.

My drums also have a hard time recognizing the drum rolls. This is pretty annoying especially when playing metallica.

Oh, and to answer your question about the QA....EA does not belive in it. They never have. There are bugs in BF2 that are still unfixed. Their solution to everything is to release an expansion / new songs / new game instead of fixing the current stuff.

So, don't get your hopes up. EA ruins every game/franchise they involve themselves with. They don't care about anything. Well, except of course their bottom line.

[Diachron]

Nice job on the mod, ZenZen! I just finished attaching a little riser to minimize the distance the leaf switch needs to travel (using one of the screws on the switch assembly). It fixed my broken down-strum problem, but while looking it over I was wondering if it was possible to swap in microswitches. Your mod certainly answers that question, and I may be placing an order from Happ soon. Thanks for posting the details!

[ZenZen]

Thanks for the words guys :) I know because this mod destroys your warranty, this thread will probably die. Hope enough people can get those switch part numbers before it does because I know for a fact that those particular switches are very well made.

They suffer the wrath of thousands of hours of commercial use by people who can care less if the game functions after they walk away, and they are *fast*! And no, I do not work for Happ Controls. Like I said I built a MAME cabinet and these are what I had used then. And I know I have abused the hell out of the mame cab..... :p

[Qweets]

that is really cool how you made your own fix, I myself went for the damn warranty replacement.. I can't wait to hear of people getting their new one and seeing if its good or not.. Also wonder if we get a new warranty on the guitar they sent us.

[conscience k]

ZenZen, thanks for all your info on this. I've opted for a replacement guitar as well, but if this happens again I'm planning to follow your lead and repair / replace the parts you suggested. Please keep us updated!