Solo Frets on Big Rock Endings

[MajorWang]

Can somebody tell me why it is that on all of the expert YouTube videos showing amazingly high scores...that on the Big Rock Endings, nobody seems to use the solo frets? Everybody seems to just strum like mad while going up and down the regular fret board with their left hand.

When I play, for a Big Rock Ending I bring my right hand up to the solo frets and jam on them. Since they're autostrum buttons, you can mash them a lot faster...I'm sure it's faster than strumming with one hand and pushing the buttons with the other...but do you not get as many points or something? I imagine all those experts are doing something right!

[shadebug]

depends if open strums count for anything

[AeroZeppelinSevenfold]

i do what you do, and go nuts on the solo buttons. but i guess different people have different styles

[Goldfoot]

Maybe they aren't using the Strat.

[HeadHunter67]

I pay the solo frets with my left hand and strum with the right. Double points. :)

[Quiksilver326]

Points are based on how many frets are lit up when you "strum" so the solo buttons make this a lot easier. I use my x-plorer and move my hand up and down and I can still get as many pts as strats.

[cuddie]

Not using strats, as stated before. I'm getting tired of mine as well, good thing it just broke. Or is it?

[BigZ7337]

Yeah, if you want to be one of the top players, you have to play with a Les Paul.

[bonethug0108]

Yeah, if you want to be one of the top players, you have to play with a Les Paul.
That's a lie. If you don't know how to strum fast with a strat, you have to use the les paul to be a top player.

[Zakuen]

The Strat simply bugs out too much for me on higher level songs and fast strumming still, so I'm forced to use the Les Paul/Xplorer. :( I really wish I could transfer the strummer from one of my guitars to the strat and I'd be happy as hell..but for now I'm stuck.

[shadebug]

I've removed the sponges from the strumbar on my strat so it actually plays half decently, it might destroy the switches at some point, but until then it's a joy to play

[Phane7]

From what I've seen, big rock ending scores are higher with as many unique notes as you can hit. In other words, you hold down one note and strum (or do a drum roll on one pad) you don't get as high a score as you get from strumming over multiple notes or hitting all the pads.

I keep my left on the neck so I know where my fingers are when the final notes come up and use my strumming hand to just run up and down the solo frets as fast as I can. That seems to be the best way I have come up with to get good scores on the big rock endings.

[bonethug0108]

Here's my experience with it:

Everytime my cousin and I play against each other, I destroy him if I use the solo buttons(he likes to use my xplorer controller). If I use the normal buttons I can usually still beat him, but the score is alot closer.

From what I gather, it is just harder to make sure that you strum for all five frets quick enough so they all stay lit up using the normal buttons. That combined with the fact that using the solo buttons and strumming will give you double points(once for hitting the solo button and once for strumming while holding the solo button) means that every smart person with a working strat would use that to get higher scores.

[Bearclaw]

I personally love to use the solo buttons, but when I have my friends over I usually let them play the strat, so I just try my hardest to go nuts with my x-plorer.

[dady5000]

Maybe they aren't using the Strat.
Bingo.

Most of the video's you see on youtube of rockband are of the 360 version. Since the LesPaul/X-plorer is easier to play than the Strat most guitarists who put there vids on youtube don't use the strat.