Replacement guitar stopped working in less than an hour.

[xfMike]

Skip to the bottom for the point of the thread if you are not interested in reading the story. :)

Story: So, I got home today and was pleasantly surprised when I noticed my replacement Strat-o-Caster was delivered today... after about two weeks of waiting - my own fault really, as I did not choose the Express option.

Well, I put the headstock on the guitar, put the strap in place, and booted up Rock Band to try out the new guitar. Everything worked great, the strum felt really smooth and responsive - which why I had to return my original controller.

Well, I played through the second or third set list on my Expert tour (the one that starts with Beastie Boys, and ends with Kiss). Well, I plowed through the songs and managed to maintain a five start streak, with a gold star song for good measure.

However, roughly half way through "Detroit Rock City" a message popped up saying to "Please reconnect controller." So... dumb founded I looked at my controller and noticed the guide light was lit up... confused I figured I could just unplug the controller and plug it back in... no deal, now the controller doesn't get any juice as the guide button now was not glowing.

I just don't know what I should do. I haven't tried to connect another dongle to the guitar yet (maybe I got a bad dongle? lol). I am not feeling up to another two, two-and-a-half week wait for a replacement. I am planning on trying the dongle from my Gh2 X-Plorer and regular Xbox controller and seeing if it is just a faulty connection.

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I was wondering if anyone had anything similar like this happen to them? Have their guitars literally die mid-song. I understand there are plenty of strummer issues, but I have not come across in problems like this (electrical/connection issues).

[spyder99]

I have had my replacement guitar for about a week now and today it no longer powers on. I guess I will have to get another replacement. The QC on these device is disappointing.

[xfMike]

I have had my replacement guitar for about a week now and today it no longer powers on. I guess I will have to get another replacement. The QC on these device is disappointing.

I agree.

Do you happen to have a 360 or PS3 controller?

I tried plugging my Strat in with different dongles, but nothing happens...

[spyder99]

I have a X360. I tried plugging in the guitar directly to the 360 with no dongle, but it still does not power on.

[DrumDemon666]

Have you tried relaunching your system? Sometimes I would try turning on my controller, only to find that it doesn't respond. It'll usually start up if I turn off then on the dongle (I have the PS3 version), then my guitar goes live and works just fine. I think during a lull og inactivity the guitar powers down automatically and requires a start of the dongle. Try that maybe? Or maybe reboot your system?

[spyder99]

Have you tried relaunching your system?


Thanks for the tip ... but I just tried rebooting the 360 a few times and the guitar still does not power on. No light on the 360 button and the system does not recognize.

I already put in the express return request on the ea site.

[xfMike]

Have you tried relaunching your system? Sometimes I would try turning on my controller, only to find that it doesn't respond. It'll usually start up if I turn off then on the dongle (I have the PS3 version), then my guitar goes live and works just fine. I think during a lull og inactivity the guitar powers down automatically and requires a start of the dongle. Try that maybe? Or maybe reboot your system?

Thanks for the advice, however with the X360 controller, by "dongle" I mean the "break away" piece that is part of the cord connecting to the console itself, not the PS3 "wireless dongle" thing.

My problem is that my guitar is literally dead. I plug it in, and nothing happens - almost as if the electronics are fried or something.

[xfMike]

So I ended up requesting a replacement last night (the standard option, not the express). So it will be another 2 weeks before I most likely end up with another broken guitar...

It is unfortunate that Harmonix really has a great game on their hands, but it is being plagued by a lot of faulty hardware. I don't know about the rest of you but this is really a turn off (so to speak) when wanting to play some Rock Band.


When my first strat died, I was disappointed and ended up not playing the game as much as I would like to. I don't play it for as long or as much as I like to because I am worried that my drums are going to end up breaking, something might go wrong with the USB HUB if I am rocking out with three other people, etc...

I was looking forward to this game almost all year (before E3 anyway), and even signed the big ol' fan appreciation banner that was sent to Harmonix a month or so ago. Now all I can think is what could I use that $170 for if I returned it...