My Rock Band experience at CSU Sacramento - Good AND Bad

[tf5_bassist]

Okay... So I've been home for less than an hour from playing Rock Band at Sacramento State, and, well, let's just say this: Of course John, my brother-in-law, and I, while we've been driving everyone nutso with our talk about RB, well, we're going through withdrawls. We weren't even off the campus before griping about it. My wife and her best friend, Brie, went with us as well. My wife, Eryn, is irritated with anything GH/RB most the time now lol, but Brie's taken an interest in the games, and was fairly excited to play RB. Now she's approaching the level of anticipation that John and I have been at for a while.

The day started out with us getting there at around 2:30ish, and there weren't many people around. Good thing, since it allowed us to get a spot to play rather quickly. John, Brie, and I went into the trailer into the second spot (Eryn didn't want to play), and we decided to tackle some Black Hole Sun. John took up guitar (expert), I took drums (expert) and Brie took bass (medium or hard or something).

Let's just say that we retried that song twice in two minutes. It definitely takes some mental retraining to map the bars falling down the screen to which drum pad to hit, and the new guitar, while it felt amazingly fast and slick, did require a bit of getting used to. HOPOs are a bit different, they feel definitely awkward the first time you play, and so all combined, despite the fact that John and I are pretty good at GH (not, like, beat Jordan good, but, he's beat Freebird, and Play With Me on hyper mode, which he did like five minutes ago), and I'm a capable drummer (nothing too complicated, but I can play), it was quite an awakening. At least, for us it was.

We then went to play Dani California (which I'm not too terribly familiar with), and I did much better on expert drums, however I started to isolate the fact that I really wasn't used to the kick pedal. We failed 20% into the song. John and I switched, although I believe he knocked the drums down to medium, I kept guitar at expert. He failed out, I failed out trying to get my brain to get used to the new timing system, and Brie playing bass on medium had no way to keep us all from dying. That was the end of our first turn.

Second turn we went up, back to me on drums, and Brie found this guy hanging out waiting to play, and wanted to do vocals, so we brought him in on the mic. Turns out this Ted kid was pretty decent for "not being a singer". I don't remember what song we did, but I believe we failed the first one again, since I decided to drum on expert again. Dumb.

We then played Epic, with the drums knocked down to medium, and brie was a dork and put bass up to expert, John kept on expert. By now, he'd figured out the HOPOs, and was getting into the swing of things. By now, I'd realized my drum throne was way too close to the kit. Then I realized that I didn't not like the kick pedal - I really was starting to get frustrated with it, but more on that in a bit.

We ended up 4*ing Epic (I think, maybe it was 3*, guess I was too caught up in the moment), I got a 96 or 93% on drums, which made me much happier, getting top performer for the song. John got around a low-90s, brie got around 80, and Ted was around high 60s. At this point, I'm starting to have a muscle-memory reaction to the drums, and trying to find a way to compensate for the aggravating kick pedal.

Ted then wanted to do Paranoid (the Black Sabbath one), so we kept the difficulty the same for everyone (oh, and Ted was on easy), and ended up with a pretty solid 3* performance. Ted failed out on vocals once or twice, and I managed to bring him back with the drum starpower section (Which, by the way, is an awesome gameplay ability!!!), and we managed to all get the ending jam session, which was frickin' awesome! However, both John and I managed to botch the last note of the ending unison three chords after the jam session, where if you miss a note, your ending bonus zeroes out. Weaksauce. But a very cool gameplay element also. I managed to get around a 96% on medium, john got a pretty high score as did Brie, and again, Ted was the weaker of the four (of course, he's not touting himself as a singer lol).

Those two songs left us SEVERELY satisfied for having played total under, probably 30 minutes. We're most likely going back to a rib and steak festival thingy in West Sacramento over the weekend, as the RB truck will be there Saturday and Sunday. Oh hell yes we're going back.



Now to the nuts and bolts, the stuff you guys care about, not just my overly storied prose about how awesome it was. :D

The kick pedal. My biggest gripe, by far. I didn't get any time at all to tweak around with it, but the pedal has WAY too much resistance, and unless your throne is adjusted just so, or you're a full-time soccer player with calves of steel, it's going to really wear out your leg. Way too much travel and resistance, although I desperately hope that both those factors will be adjustable, just like any half-way respectable kick pedal would allow. The kick pedal, however is on a sliding ring that's on the bottom crossbar of the kit, and slides over to each side quite easily. Very nice to see this.

The drum pads. I'd say a little more than half the bounce of a cheap electronic drumset (you know, the $250 walmart specials) and maybe around half that of a Remo practice pad. Upside? Pretty quiet, considering your hitting rubber/plastic/whatever with a piece of wood. Downside? Rolls? On the near side of impossible. Well, they're possible, but they're muddy, and ill-defined. The RB drumkit apparently comes with wood-tipped sticks. As a personal preference, I've always played with nylon-tipped, and chances are I'll buy a set of 7As, 5A, 5B, and maybe one other variant of sticks to experiment with, all nylon-tipped. Nylon tends to give more bounce than wood, in my experience, however that's on an actual drum set, acoustic and electric, and these pads don't resemble either too terribly closely. But they're quiet!

It looks like when you're playing, and there's a combined strike, such as hi-hat, snare, and kick, if you only hit one or two of the three, it kills your streak, but I believe that it will still give you credit for hitting the ones you DID hit (unlike chords on guitar, obviously). This works for me, although I didn't pay TOO much attention to this little bit.

The guitar - Light, very light. I'm contemplating finding a way to open mine up and add a weight into a balanced section of the guitar. The frets, however, felt like pure gold. The yellow fret has two or three raised bumpies that I thought would be difficult to find, but in actuality were pretty recognizable, better than the solid line on other guitars (it doesn't feel like "the edge of the button" when you're in a hurry). As I said before, I only played guitar for a very very short period of time, so I didn't play with the effects or the upper set of frets (although John said that they felt great, and also had a blast with effects). The strum bar on the guitar was concaved on both sides, and the very edge of the strum bar, instead of coming to a point like the existing ones do, stick out. Combine that with the concaved surface, it's REALLY easy to grip, and to feel without looking exactly where on the strum bar your thumb is hitting. Since, as I've mentioned, I play with a pick, this was still strange to me, since I didn't feel like beating up on the demo guitar with a pick and get some tech upset with me. Either way, it was a drastic improvement.

The mic. I never touched the thing. However, since the controller the mic was plugged into was sitting right in front of me and the singer was behind me, I was the one hitting the OK button. With the controller at about 3, 3 1/2 feet up off the ground, there was plenty of room for the mic cable to come off of that directly to the floor, winding around the drums and my throne, and about two feet back on the ground, and straight up the mic. There was seriously a tangle of wires that I didn't dare touch, for fear of calling the wrath of the sound techs upon me lol. I think there will be PLENTY of mic cable distance to suit you all, so that shouldn't be a worry. The same was with the guitar cord, plenty of room.

A big one that I haven't seen answered yet - mic volume controls:
As a loading tip, or a starting tip, or SOMETHING (I forgot), the game told you what controls do what for the mic. I don't remember exactly which button is mapped to what, however here's how it was broken down (to my best recollection). the Y button controls the mic sensitivity, X controls the mix volume down, and B is mix volume up. I was pretty preoccupied with readying myself to not suck, but I saw it and made a quick mental note of the general idea. So there's the answer to the so far elusive mic controls. If this has already been brought up in detail, well, then nevermind hehe.

[tf5_bassist]

(continued cause I ramble too much...)


The worst part about the day (other than having to go home), however... This is weaksauce. They were supposed to be set up until 6pm. They decided that at 5pm they'd pack in all the gear, and make way for a REAL band to play on the truck's stage. This=f*cking dumb. For a LOT of reasons. Like, we were expecting a whole extra hour to get some hands-on time with the game. If we'd known that, we wouldn't have taken 25 mins to eat inbetween turns. Plus, the demo event was advertised to run til 6pm. The original plan was for my singer and drummer (IRLB - in real life band) to show up at 5p after work and audition. I'm glad that didn't end up being the case. Plus, the band was pretty crappy, in my opinion. Some weird punk band from Chico called Fingers With Passion. And they weren't even local. Weak. So. HMX, I'd really appreciate some sort of control over this sort of happening. We're going to play Rock Band. Not to get our time cut short for a band we don't even care about. If they want to play, well, then they could've played at 6pm, after the scheduled demo time. Definitely wasn't a great idea in my opinion. As soon as they announced that no one could play anymore, most people left. And those that waited the damn-near an hour it took for the band to get set up and soundcheck, once they were a minute into their first song, most of the rest of the people got up and left, us included. Now, I don't want the tour crew to get in trouble over this, it was probably done with good intentions, but, it wasn't the best for Rock Band's promotion.

Overall though, it was an amazing chance to play this amazing game, and we're going back to the Rhythm & Ribs festival on Sat and Sun to play some more. And let's hope they have beer. Which they should.

Oh. and absolutely no HMX crew. or even MTV crew. what a bummer. Oh well, was still definitely worth everything. :D

[Tendoza]

Sounds like you had a blast!

I wish there was a way for me to play the game early!

[tf5_bassist]

Sounds like you had a blast!

I wish there was a way for me to play the game early!

Yeah, it was quite fun. Plus, I hadn't been on a college campus in years, and I'd never been to one as large as Sac State. Was quite interesting.

Agreed that it sucks that HMX/MTV/EA isn't going to Canada...

But y'know, it's almost better to not play it yet. Cause once you play it, it's really, really hard to go back to GH2/GH80s. :/

[Tendoza]

Yeah, it was quite fun. Plus, I hadn't been on a college campus in years, and I'd never been to one as large as Sac State. Was quite interesting.

Agreed that it sucks that HMX/MTV/EA isn't going to Canada...

But y'know, it's almost better to not play it yet. Cause once you play it, it's really, really hard to go back to GH2/GH80s. :/
I guess it may be for the better, I would rather buy the game and be completely overwhelmed than buy it already knowing what it was going to be like...

But I would still jump at the chance if there was one!

[_GABO_]

Well, tf5_bassist, thanks for the insight! Now I really wish I could go even more, the closest stop to me is Chicago, and my mom (ya know, being 15 and all, I can't exactly drive there myself) said she'd take me..then she looked in her schedule and she's totally full up on doing stuff that weekend, totally got my hopes up then I died a little inside.

But your rundown pretty much makes up for my missing it. Sounds like you had fun, and thanks for the info.

[IErrantVentureI]

Looks like there are a ton of differences in opinions regarding the peripherals. I hope to get a go on them myself before the game comes out.

[tf5_bassist]

I guess it may be for the better, I would rather buy the game and be completely overwhelmed than buy it already knowing what it was going to be like...

But I would still jump at the chance if there was one!

Exactly man, seriously, there's plus and minus to both playing early and waiting, so really, just take it as to look at just the positives. You'll be freakin' blown away when you unwrap that sexy Rock Band bundle at home. :D


Well, tf5_bassist, thanks for the insight! Now I really wish I could go even more, the closest stop to me is Chicago, and my mom (ya know, being 15 and all, I can't exactly drive there myself) said she'd take me..then she looked in her schedule and she's totally full up on doing stuff that weekend, totally got my hopes up then I died a little inside.

But your rundown pretty much makes up for my missing it. Sounds like you had fun, and thanks for the info.

Yeah, dude, I totally remember you posting about that, that really sucks. Hope you can find SOME way of getting there though!

[masterx1918]

wait so the microphone was plugged into the controller?

[ductyl]

A big one that I haven't seen answered yet - mic volume controls:
As a loading tip, or a starting tip, or SOMETHING (I forgot), the game told you what controls do what for the mic. I don't remember exactly which button is mapped to what, however here's how it was broken down (to my best recollection). the Y button controls the mic sensitivity, X controls the mix volume down, and B is mix volume up. I was pretty preoccupied with readying myself to not suck, but I saw it and made a quick mental note of the general idea. So there's the answer to the so far elusive mic controls. If this has already been brought up in detail, well, then nevermind hehe.

Big thanks for this info, makes me happy to know I can cover my voice for the songs I'll butcher without having to go back to the main menu ;)

- ductyl

[crunchyoverseas]

for the run-down...getting tired of waiting for it to come out:(

Has re-ignited my GH2 playing though:o

[tf5_bassist]

wait so the microphone was plugged into the controller?

You know, I thought it was on a quick thought, but when I went to hit the A button to accept the difficulty for the vocalist, the controller slid it's curvy ass right off the xbox, and come to think of it, I think it was only plugged into the console, no mic.

Saturday I'll look much more indepth at the rigging and the wiring, and see if I can't sneak a camera in there to take some shots. I don't know if the tour crew grunts were instructed to not allow it, but I do know that some college kid had his buddy taking pics with an iPhone, and he had it doing something up in the play booth.

I'll see if I can find that alleged usb hub, and I'll get some concrete details on the mic control scheme. Anything else you guys want me to try and dig around for?

[crunchyoverseas]

if you could get me a copy of the game and each one of the controllers that would be great...thanks.


my address is...

[PsycoCheerio]

Sweet little review there, I only have one more week of waiting until they show up in Seattle so i can play again...

But it is really hard to go without it once you've played it, but it gets better over time...

[Apples]

Very interesting and detailed review... good read.

I like the whole concept of the controller buttons allowing the singer to customize their experience.

[tf5_bassist]

Big thanks for this info, makes me happy to know I can cover my voice for the songs I'll butcher without having to go back to the main menu ;)

- ductyl

Absolutely. On-the-fly vocal controls, a la Singstar's L1 up and L2 down. Very cool indeed.

And I know this post took forever to write, I've been teaching John the basics of REAL guitar. :D

Oh. also. Vocal effects. I don't remember what song it was mentioned in, or what song it happened in at the demo today, but it was a vocal effect that was automatically inserted into a certain passage of the vocal track. :D

[JimNasium]

This has probably been answered before, but how do you activate star power on the drums? Also the mic?

[polishdog90]

This pumps me up even more for Rock Band. I played it at PAX, but I only got 1 song and only got to play guitar.

[Leo_10th]

I'll see if I can find that alleged usb hub, and I'll get some concrete details on the mic control scheme. Anything else you guys want me to try and dig around for?

umm... sneak an XBL headset in there, plug it into the controller, unplug the mic, and see if it'll register when you sing through the headset... even though i'll definitely be using a mic, I'm really curious to see if these headset rumors are true. thanks much :) unless you think you might get tossed out of course.. but i doubt that'd be the case.

[SmokaCola]

umm... sneak an XBL headset in there, plug it into the controller, unplug the mic, and see if it'll register when you sing through the headset... even though i'll definitely be using a mic, I'm really curious to see if these headset rumors are true. thanks much :) unless you think you might get tossed out of course.. but i doubt that'd be the case.

That wouldn't be a bad idea, maybe they'd allow it. As for the post above, I think the singer has to sing loud into the mic for "rock power" to happen. And the drums require you to hit certain "special" notes.

If you can man, let me know the details on character creation and band logo creation. That'd be really nice since that's the features i'm really looking forward to. Oh and battles... Knowing if we can battle with every instrument online/offline would make a big difference because I haven't seen anything about this yet.

EDIT: Please god could you clear up the whole "solo buttons" thing too? I know i'm asking for a lot here but really, everyone wants to know about the solo buttons. My idea of them is they're basically the top buttons (low notes) but they're bottom buttons (high notes). they just add to the fun factor, you don't really have to use them and they don't automatically hit a note if you hit one, am I right?

[Keebler]

That wouldn't be a bad idea, maybe they'd allow it. As for the post above, I think the singer has to sing loud into the mic for "rock power" to happen. And the drums require you to hit certain "special" notes.

If you can man, let me know the details on character creation and band logo creation. That'd be really nice since that's the features i'm really looking forward to. Oh and battles... Knowing if we can battle with every instrument online/offline would make a big difference because I haven't seen anything about this yet.

EDIT: Please god could you clear up the whole "solo buttons" thing too? I know i'm asking for a lot here but really, everyone wants to know about the solo buttons. My idea of them is they're basically the top buttons (low notes) but they're bottom buttons (high notes). they just add to the fun factor, you don't really have to use them and they don't automatically hit a note if you hit one, am I right?

Clarified by HMX's own: http://community.rockband.com/vbforum/showthread.php?t=4654&page=2

[drevel]

Thanks for taking to time to do a write up about your experience. Also I am glad to hear someones first hand opinion about the drums, since that I want I want to play. I have to wait a while until they come to Nj to try it out.

Was there may part in the drumming that required hitting 2 different pads & the pedal?

[BarryC]

It was confirmed a long time ago in an interview that there would be online/offline battles for every instrument, Guitar, Drums, and mic. Not too sure about the Bass, but I'm sure it will be too.

[masterx1918]

umm... sneak an XBL headset in there, plug it into the controller, unplug the mic, and see if it'll register when you sing through the headset... even though i'll definitely be using a mic, I'm really curious to see if these headset rumors are true. thanks much :) unless you think you might get tossed out of course.. but i doubt that'd be the case.
I guess Harminix saying in multiple interviews that the xbl headset WILL work isn't enough confirmation? Even Dan from hmx on scorehero has said multiple times that the headset will work.

[vtjustinb]

The drum pads. I'd say a little more than half the bounce of a cheap electronic drumset (you know, the $250 walmart specials) and maybe around half that of a Remo practice pad. Upside? Pretty quiet, considering your hitting rubber/plastic/whatever with a piece of wood. Downside? Rolls? On the near side of impossible. Well, they're possible, but they're muddy, and ill-defined.

I'd just point out that the "muddy and ill-defined" rolls have more to do with the player's technique than the pads themselves. I'm sure they have less rebound than conventional pads because they need to make sure they can absorb enough shock from the heavy-hitters, but depending on your diddle quality you should have no problems playing an open-stroke roll on them if you support the diddles.

Thanks for the review--I'm really looking forward to getting my mitts on that kit.

[TheTogfather]

I guess Harminix saying in multiple interviews that the xbl headset WILL work isn't enough confirmation? Even Dan from hmx on scorehero has said multiple times that the headset will work.

But have they actually said the words "the headset can be used for singing" or just that 'the headset will work with rockband', meaning it could just be used for chatting on xbl before loading up a song. Not saying you're wrong or anything, I just haven't actually seen a quote that related singing capability with the headset, and I remember them flatly denying that it would do so long ago.

[chaopolis]

As far as the subject of WHERE the mic plugs in, WHAT kind of plug, ETC, ETC...

Has any one of the people that have been to one of the Rock Band Tour thought about.... looking?

I mean, I haven't been there, BUT I doubt everything is hidden behind a wall and locked in a safe...

...and if it is hidden behind a wall and locked in a safe, I'll stay quiet.

[hmxsean]

Weak. So. HMX, I'd really appreciate some sort of control over this sort of happening.

I actually didn't really know about that. I'll see if I can get some clarification up on the website about that. I apologize.

[masterx1918]

But have they actually said the words "the headset can be used for singing" or just that 'the headset will work with rockband', meaning it could just be used for chatting on xbl before loading up a song. Not saying you're wrong or anything, I just haven't actually seen a quote that related singing capability with the headset, and I remember them flatly denying that it would do so long ago.
well since I have to



GS: Is the game compatible with all PS3 and Xbox 360 headsets? (What's the best way to tambourine with a headset mic?)

DS: Rock Band is compatible with the current collection of headsets, and the Xbox 360 hardware will ship with a plug adapter that will let you plug the three-prong Xbox 360 headsets into the drum or guitar if needed. When it comes to creating the tambourine or cowbell effect, the software will also recognize vocal sounds like a "pow" or a "pop" in addition to a physical tap. You sure do look a lot cooler, though, when you're tapping the microphone against your hand or leg like a real rock star would do with a tambourine.
i'm sure that's justification enough. do your research before you start making assumptions and calling people *****s for knowing blatant facts.

[TheTogfather]

well since I have to

[old quote I'd read long ago]

i'm sure that's justification enough. do your research before you start making assumptions and calling people *****s for knowing blatant facts.

Wait what?!?! Please, break out your fancy quote machine and show me where I ever called someone a *****? Or even implied that the person claiming said facts was anything at all? Please, I'd love to see it because if it turns out that I am an ******* I'd definatley like to apologize for it.

As to the old quote you threw in there, I still do not see the words "the 360 headsets can be used for singing." I've seen too many people jump to conclusions on stuff like this (myself included) within the past two months to where I am not going to take anything for granted. Maybe you need to do your own research because very early on it was flatly denied that the 360 headset could register the necessary data to judge the vocals. Maybe that changed, but all your quote says is that the headset plugs into the drums and guitar. Then it says that the software registers the 'pow' and 'pop'. It does not say, "so you can simply plug in your headset, boot up the game and play as a singer/drummer without any need of the mic". Tell me this...if the headset works for this purpose, why are they bothering with a mic stand, which they've also said will be available on release?

That quote is not justification enough for me, but your post is justification enough to write you off as an arrogant ***** (there, ya happy, that one I own up to). Trying my best to stay civil here, so I'm just gonna shut up now.

[tf5_bassist]

This has probably been answered before, but how do you activate star power on the drums? Also the mic?

On drums, star power/rock power/whatever it's called is collected by hitting star power passages (displayed as glowing white notes/bars, and then when you get to a "fill section", one of those blank free-form sections, you go crazy, and then just make sure you hit the green note at the end of it. It actually does take some good concentration to be aware of your timing to hit that last note after coming off of a crazy free-form fill.

Vocals, I thought that you built it up during the free-form passages as well, although the specifics on that and how it's released, I cannot say. I was too preoccupied with trying to not fail out. :D

[tf5_bassist]

Thanks for taking to time to do a write up about your experience. Also I am glad to hear someones first hand opinion about the drums, since that I want I want to play. I have to wait a while until they come to Nj to try it out.

Was there may part in the drumming that required hitting 2 different pads & the pedal?

Yes, there were parts that required hitting two pads and the kick simultaneously. Play "Epic" by Faith No More, that had it a bit on Medium.


I'd just point out that the "muddy and ill-defined" rolls have more to do with the player's technique than the pads themselves. I'm sure they have less rebound than conventional pads because they need to make sure they can absorb enough shock from the heavy-hitters, but depending on your diddle quality you should have no problems playing an open-stroke roll on them if you support the diddles.

Thanks for the review--I'm really looking forward to getting my mitts on that kit.

I'm totally in agreement with you. Technique DOES have pretty much everything to do with rolls, diddles, and other multi-hit sticking techniques. However, I'm pretty confident in my ability to play rolls on a real set, or even all electric sets I've played. I'm not saying that rolls weren't possible, it's just a drastically different feel than on anything else I've ever played. I was doing rolls while waiting for the loading screen, just fooling around, and I could do them, they just didn't have the clean definition that I was expecting when I first tried one lol. They don't just have less rebound than conventional pads, they have a LOT less rebound, in my opinion. Which is exactly as you said, to withstand the beating they'll take from brutal drummers, and untrained wannabes alike.

You'll enjoy it man, seriously.


As far as the subject of WHERE the mic plugs in, WHAT kind of plug, ETC, ETC...

Has any one of the people that have been to one of the Rock Band Tour thought about.... looking?

I mean, I haven't been there, BUT I doubt everything is hidden behind a wall and locked in a safe...

...and if it is hidden behind a wall and locked in a safe, I'll stay quiet.

I went there fully intending on scooping every detail I could about the hardware. However, once we got the chance to go up and play, all foresight went out the window and we shifted into "omgomgomg we're playing rock band!!!11!1one!" mode. Saturday I'll do a lot more research though, and I might even take my xbl headset and see if it works for a song. Although I don't know about it, it is a pre-production version of the game, so I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't enabled, or was behind some odd menu that I don't feel like messing with in a time-limited, supervised environment.

And no. The xbox was right in front of me, directly below the tv, with all the wires easily visible.


I actually didn't really know about that. I'll see if I can get some clarification up on the website about that. I apologize.

Thanks Sean, you're seriously the man. :)


Another note that I thought of after I went to bed last night. John had complained about not being able to hear himself the first time we played. Since I'm at work I can't ask him the specifics of whether it was because his headphones were too quiet, or his instrument was too quiet, but of course just remember that you can adjust the individual instrument volume in-game (probably located in a pause menu), and if the headphones are too quiet, there's a four-channel headphone amp directly below the xbox in front of the drums. It's a small-ish blue box with four headphones plugged in and four volume knobs. You can always adjust those individually to your liking. Just make sure you get the right knob, it'd suck to turn up the wrong one and your buddy screams out in shock when he goes deaf from it. :D

Edit: Regarding the xbl headset, I could've sworn that I read somewhere from Alex (or someone else in HMX) that the headset will not be supported for vocals because the quality is rather sub-par. If I can remember where I read that, then I'll cite it accordingly.

[masterx1918]

you two are crazy. The guy asked him "how does the headset register tamoborine and cowbell notes" and it was answered by "you can saw pow or pop" The guy answered the question. You two are just making way to hard to realize that.
Look:

Q: What's the best way to tambourine with a headset mic?

A:When it comes to creating the tambourine or cowbell effect, the software will also recognize vocal sounds like a "pow" or a "pop" in addition to a physical tap.

That answered both of you're questions. Now stop worrying about it, and most of all stop insulting me for helping aid your worries. And Leo is the one who insluted me. He even went through the trouble of sending me a PM telling me how much of a ***** I am.

[masterx1918]

I've known that i'm a ***** since the day I was born, so you weren't sending me any breaking news.

[TheTogfather]

And Leo is the one who insluted me. He even went through the trouble of sending me a PM telling me how much of a ***** I am.

Oh. Ok then...I'd take back the ***** comment, but you just claimed it for yourself anyway, so there ya go. I will take back arrogant, unless you're wanting that too. This makes much more since as I really had no clue how I'd come off like that.


Apparently I keep glossing over the actual question that was asked in that Q/A session and just reading the answer...looks like it might be true after all. Point conceded.

Wonder how they fixed that? I do honestly remember them saying it just wasn't possible for headsets to register the voice data well enough. Huh.

[Jimmik]

great report!

[Brock_Landers]

Wonder how they fixed that? I do honestly remember them saying it just wasn't possible for headsets to register the voice data well enough. Huh.


Yeah, they definitely did say that. Back when the first info about the game was coming out.

And don't worry much about masterx1918, that's just how he rolls :)

[TheTogfather]

Yeah, they definitely did say that. Back when the first info about the game was coming out.

And don't worry much about masterx1918, that's just how he rolls :)

duly noted...thx :D

[vtjustinb]

What is this? The Guitar Hero forums? :P

[tf5_bassist]

What is this? The Guitar Hero forums? :P

Ooooh, burn!

/stewie

[stinkdog2007]

I was going to go, but my friends at the last minute backed out, and I didn't want to go by myself.

[tf5_bassist]

I was going to go, but my friends at the last minute backed out, and I didn't want to go by myself.

bummer. :/
Well, it's also going on tomorrow and sunday at Raley's Field for the Rhythm & Ribs festival. I'll be there at least one day. tentative time according to the tour crew grunts was "um, 11am to.. uh... late."

I like that answer.

[stinkdog2007]

tf5_bassist, around how many people were their?

[tf5_bassist]

tf5_bassist, around how many people were their?

at it's largest gathering, I'd say between 40-50 people within a 150-foot range.

Of course, a lot of those could've been college kids who didn't give a **** and Serna Plaza (the area where they did the demo) was their "hangout spot". Which there were a few of.

Let me just say this: We got there at around around 3pm, maybe a bit after. We saw some tour-monkey ask some guys standing around if they wanted to play, who (brace yourself) said no (le gasp!!), and the people standing next to them said yes. I then approached him and asked if there was room for me, John and Brie, and he said to give him a minute. A minute later, he had a spot for us. He then asked us to do "one or two more songs" and then relinquish our spot, totalling about 15 mins play time.

The second time we asked (after we went to eat), the same guy handed us off to a girl handling it, she had us wait about a minute or two, and then we got another spot. This time we got to play for about 20 mins or so before another group wanted to play. At this time, the crowd was down in the 20-30 number, and that's probably being hella generous. probably closer to half that.

All this in a California State University. Right in the heart of the campus at the brand new University Union. It SHOULD'VE been packed.

[masterx1918]

hey tf5 were they still doing the VH1 auditions when you went?

[tf5_bassist]

hey tf5 were they still doing the VH1 auditions when you went?

Y'know, I didn't ask, because all I saw signage for was for MTV.

just to the right of the stairs where you walk up into the truck was a big sign that read "By entering these premises you agree to audio and video recordings that may be rebroadcast by MTV Networks" or something like that.

[masterx1918]

yeah I meant MTV auditions not VH1. I'm not sure why I said VH1.

[MetalChickenDragon]

omg you played "epic"


I'm full of envy right now lol

gonna have to wait til November to play it...rock band isn't coming anywhere close to me:(

[Nazriel]

Concerning the USB hub:

All four instruments on the tour bus are connected to the USB hub, which if you look through the copious amount of wires stuffed into a small space, is attached on the underside of the "tray" the 360 is laying on.

A couple of guitars had worn out from people jamming downward on the strum bar all day in Milwaukee last weekend and I helped out a guy switch a new guitar in. All four USB ports had instruments plugged into it, and I can 100% confirm that the Mic is connected to that, *not* the 360 controller.

The singer has to use a normal 360 game controller to select his options, as the Mic does not have any buttons whatsoever.

[tf5_bassist]

Concerning the USB hub:

All four instruments on the tour bus are connected to the USB hub, which if you look through the copious amount of wires stuffed into a small space, is attached on the underside of the "tray" the 360 is laying on.

A couple of guitars had worn out from people jamming downward on the strum bar all day in Milwaukee last weekend and I helped out a guy switch a new guitar in. All four USB ports had instruments plugged into it, and I can 100% confirm that the Mic is connected to that, *not* the 360 controller.

The singer has to use a normal 360 game controller to select his options, as the Mic does not have any buttons whatsoever.

Awesome, thanks for the confirmation on that. Did you happen to notice a make/model/branding of the hub? And did it require a power adapter?

[Nazriel]

No, sorry. It was a busy mess of wires in that space and I couldn't see the front or "top" as it the "top" was attached to the shelf. Glue or otherwise I'm not sure. I did not see a brand on the side I looked at while plugging in the USB connection. Would have had to crawl directly under it and looked straight up to see if there was anything printed on that side. :o

When I go to the Chicago tour dates next Sat/Sun I'll try to remember to sneak a peek at the particulars on that stuff, but no guarantees as I may be struck by the "Oh my gosh I'm playing Rock Band" affliction like you experienced. :cool:


As a side note, the Midwest/Eastern tour bus seems to have a somewhat smaller trailer than what looks like a semi-truck-like trailer the West coast pictures show. More space would be nice, but ah well, as long as the drummer doesn't get smacked in the face by the bassist/guitarist. :D

[tf5_bassist]

haha yeah, no worries, thought I'd ask anyways.

A smaller truck, hmm... odd... Yeah, the west coast truck is most definitely a full-on semi rig. It's huge. Plus, they had a passenger van slightly larger than a minivan for staff, of course.

As for me, I didn't make it out there today to play, as we were busy with family stuff, so if I make it out there tomorrow, I'll see what else I can dig up, although honestly I don't know if I'm going. My wife's being all moody and frustrated, saying "I am sick and f*cking tired of hearing about goddamned Rock Band!" after I was talking to Brie about it about half an hour ago. So. wtf ever. :/

[PsycoCheerio]

I only got one week left of waiting, then i get to go to the RB bus all day...that is the general plan anyway. Then there is the destruction derby afterward, should be a fun day...

I actually think i got about 20 more people to go since i was talking about it in class, and up here in Seattle every other person plays some sort of instrument, except for me, i only play plastic instruments...

[Nazriel]

haha yeah, no worries, thought I'd ask anyways.

A smaller truck, hmm... odd... Yeah, the west coast truck is most definitely a full-on semi rig. It's huge. Plus, they had a passenger van slightly larger than a minivan for staff, of course.

As for me, I didn't make it out there today to play, as we were busy with family stuff, so if I make it out there tomorrow, I'll see what else I can dig up, although honestly I don't know if I'm going. My wife's being all moody and frustrated, saying "I am sick and f*cking tired of hearing about goddamned Rock Band!" after I was talking to Brie about it about half an hour ago. So. wtf ever. :/

Yeah, this is the closest comparable trailer I could find on a quick Google image search (minus the overhanging lip and paint job, that is pretty much it...):

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2/Nazriel7/trailer.jpg

There is room for three full games inside and a broad-side wall opens up where they have the stage. I swear there was a good picture of it temporarily on the Tour Road Report on the site but the picture got switched out on the blog I saw it on a couple weeks ago.


Condolences to the wife (and to you for her not being as enthused), tf5.
Was rather tired of hearing Dani California so much last Sunday, myself. Of the fifteen songs there were really only four or five that seem to be played over and over again on the stage.

[R0ck3r]

Yeah, this is the closest comparable trailer I could find on a quick Google image search (minus the overhanging lip and paint job, that is pretty much it...):

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2/Nazriel7/trailer.jpg

There is room for three full games inside and a broad-side wall opens up where they have the stage. I swear there was a good picture of it temporarily on the Tour Road Report on the site but the picture got switched out on the blog I saw it on a couple weeks ago.


Condolences to the wife (and to you for her not being as enthused), tf5.
Was rather tired of hearing Dani California so much last Sunday, myself. Of the fifteen songs there were really only four or five that seem to be played over and over again on the stage.

I'll guess how many I can think of...
1) Dani California
2) Epic
3) Wanted Dead or Alive
4) Black Hole Sun
5) Detroit Rock City

[Nazriel]

I'll guess how many I can think of...
1) Dani California
2) Epic
3) Wanted Dead or Alive
4) Black Hole Sun
5) Detroit Rock City

We have a winner!

Detroit Rock City wasn't really played much itself, but the first four were definitely the line-up/status quo.

I intend to bring more STP, Nirvana, The Clash and maybe Pixies out there however much possible next weekend. No offense to the other songs themselves, but a balance must be achieved. :cool:

[tf5_bassist]

I'll guess how many I can think of...
1) Dani California
2) Epic
3) Wanted Dead or Alive
4) Black Hole Sun
5) Detroit Rock City

6) Suffragette City

And yeah... looks like the wife has apparently killed all plans of going to play RB today. cause it's 4:15p now, her mom and step-dad left an hour or so ago (he was helping us with one of our cars), and now she's napping. So.

No more RB for me until it comes out. The purchase of which will be met with strong opposition from the other half. Friggin' great.

Edit: I just checked the tour schedule, and apparently they DID end up listing today's date at Raley's Field. Time? 11:00am - 3:30pm.

So much for the "11am to.. uh.. late" answer I got.

[cargo54]

I'll guess how many I can think of...
1) Dani California
2) Epic
3) Wanted Dead or Alive
4) Black Hole Sun
5) Detroit Rock City

I played Rock band for about 3 or 4 hours combined on thursday and friday around my classes. So any other questions I can try to answer also. The reason those 5 songs are played on stage is cause the stage is for auditioning for the mtv competition and those are the songs to choose from to audition with. Kinda sucked cause i wanted to play Tom Sawyer on stage... However they do let you play whatever song when its the last stage show for the day but they just don't tape it. Also talking about the pedal the original poster was saying how it was stiff and tiring its not that bad unless you are used to a real drum kit's pedal (which is soft like butter ) like the poster is. My leg got tired too but I never do a leg motion like that in real life so of course my leg is gonna get tired.

[tf5_bassist]

I played Rock band for about 3 or 4 hours combined on thursday and friday around my classes. So any other questions I can try to answer also. The reason those 5 songs are played on stage is cause the stage is for auditioning for the mtv competition and those are the songs to choose from to audition with. Kinda sucked cause i wanted to play Tom Sawyer on stage... However they do let you play whatever song when its the last stage show for the day but they just don't tape it. Also talking about the pedal the original poster was saying how it was stiff and tiring its not that bad unless you are used to a real drum kit's pedal (which is soft like butter ) like the poster is. My leg got tired too but I never do a leg motion like that in real life so of course my leg is gonna get tired.

lol... well, as you suspected, yeah, I'm used to a real kit. and a real kit, while having close to the same travel (more or less, depending on what kind of drive the mechanism uses, and how it's set up specifically) is WAY more smooth. On a real kick pedal, the springs are mounted from the pedal upward towards the top of the pedal frame, not underneath the pedal.

I was REALLY hoping to get out to Raley's Field today to investigate the pedal further, and see if there's any sort of adjustment to it, but obviously I'm stuck at home.

So. If anyone else who knows drums--or is fairly mechanically inclined--can investigate the sh!t out of that pedal for me (and everyone else), I'd LOVE to know about the adjustment possibilities. I think that everyone would benefit from knowing this. And try to sniff around for an extension jack for a second pedal, too. ;)

[Leo_10th]

I'll guess how many I can think of...
1) Dani California
2) Epic
3) Wanted Dead or Alive
4) Black Hole Sun
5) Detroit Rock City

Funny... I wouldn't have picked <b><i>any</i></b> of these songs to audition with :rolleyes: maybe this list will change by the time the end of october rolls around? doubtful... but here's to wishful thinking.

[crunchyoverseas]

John had complained about not being able to hear himself the first time we played. Since I'm at work I can't ask him the specifics of whether it was because his headphones were too quiet, or his instrument was too quiet, but of course just remember that you can adjust the individual instrument volume in-game (probably located in a pause menu), and if the headphones are too quiet, there's a four-channel headphone amp directly below the xbox in front of the drums. It's a small-ish blue box with four headphones plugged in and four volume knobs. You can always adjust those individually to your liking. Just make sure you get the right knob, it'd suck to turn up the wrong one and your buddy screams out in shock when he goes deaf from it. :D



Wait?! what? Is this something that comes with the bundle or just something that the rockband bus had set-up? What's the brand/price on such a thing? Where does one buy this 4 headphone amp thingie 'cause I WANT IT!:D

[tf5_bassist]

Wait?! what? Is this something that comes with the bundle or just something that the rockband bus had set-up? What's the brand/price on such a thing? Where does one buy this 4 headphone amp thingie 'cause I WANT IT!:D

hah! I *WISH* the bundle came with a headphone distro amp! I could definitely use one too. No, they were using a Presonus headphone distribution amp. More specifically, this one, if I remember correctly:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/PreSonus-HP4-Discrete-4Channel-Headphone-Amp?sku=184128

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/0/6/9/241069.jpg

Presonus makes some pretty good audio equipment, and for $99 for a good quality four-channel headphone amp, it's a great deal. It's got enough power to drive some massive cans, so you can use pretty much any set of headphones you want with them, and you'll get great sound that's not underpowered.

They were using some decent full-cup headphones that blocked out noise fairly well when the volume was up, all you heard was the music you were playing, no outside sound (not even the big stage). Was good stuff indeed.

They may have just purchased a sh!t-ton of these bundles:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/PreSonus-HP4-Headphone-Amp-Bundle?sku=180125
But I want to think that they were using better headphones than those, but I could be wrong. That might've been exactly what they got.

[crunchyoverseas]

Sweet man, the link is helpful...I have been a musiciansfriend customer for a while now...now on the buy list...

sweet...:)

[tf5_bassist]

you're welcome. yeah dude, that distro amp is sweet indeed, it sounded great. I'm a huge presonus fan, and that's the one I'd buy when I need one myself.

[trilidar]

tf5,

You play drums, right? I was wondering if since you've actually played the game, would you mind recommending a drumstick type?

It's my understanding the drums come with with wooden sticks. However it's also my understanding there are other types, such as nylon coated, etc. Given what you witnessed, what would you recommend?

I intend to play drums when it ships, however since I've never played real drums (I'm a kb kind of person) I really have no useful frame of reference and could use your insight.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Much thanks.
tril

[cargo54]

honestly if you have never played drums then the wood sticks are fine. Maybe once you get up to expert cause believe you have to pretty sweet at coordination to hard. Then maybe buy some nylons but for starting there's no point getting different sticks.

[crunchyoverseas]

having played and owned incredibly old-school electronic drums I will tell you that nylon tips are easily the best choice for hard plastic. Now that being said I have not played the rockband drums and I've heard they have a foam covering, which is probably to reduce noise since they went with a lower cost material...I don't know. Regardless if that is the case the foam will make the pads far from drum-like and make rolls nigh impossible (at least precision rolls). This is twenty years of drum experience talking...

I'm sure they are having to "cut corners" to keep costs to a manageable level. Which is cool...

But check this out...
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Electronic-Drums-(Drum-Module-Req'd)/

Modern electronic drums use a mesh drums head which plays EXACTLY like a real drum head and make NO noise. They are pimp as F***. But clearly they couldn't go that route do to cost. I would assume they went with rubber, but they might have went with hard plastic for durabilities sake which means they won't play worth a s***.

SO...in short...hard plastic = nylon tipped. rubber = either/or. hard plastic w/foam = ??

SO SO...custom drums FTW. It all depends on what the triggers are like.

[guitarnoob]

Wow, the drum-bass pedal, something Ive been affraid off, please let them make it so I don't break a leg trying to push it down.

As for the guitar, I think light is bad indeedy, I don't klnoww how light it is (I haven't playeed it) but in general I'd prefer some more weight to it in comparison to the GH2Xplorer.
This thing better not be some cheap ass production thing as I'm really looking forward the all the extra functions :mad:

[Keebler]

Sounds like sneakers are a must when using the bass pedal. No slippers or bare feet for this guy.

[cargo54]

guys the bass pedal isnt that bad i was playing in sandals and i was perfectly fine.

[NotorietyH]

As for the guitar, I think light is bad indeedy, I don't klnoww how light it is (I haven't playeed it) but in general I'd prefer some more weight to it in comparison to the GH2Xplorer.


I don't get people complaining about the controller being light, the same way I didn't get people complaining about the Sixaxis being light. Light to me is good, as it means it's not as heavy (it's science) and therefore I can play the game longer before my hands get too tired.

[Terranova]

I don't get people complaining about the controller being light, the same way I didn't get people complaining about the Sixaxis being light. Light to me is good, as it means it's not as heavy (it's science) and therefore I can play the game longer before my hands get too tired.

I think the fear is if it's light it's easy to break which isn't always the case the sixaxis as you say is light but it's durable also, mines been dropped a couple of times and no damage has been done.. if you go mental with anything it may break regardless of it being light or heavy.

[NotorietyH]

I think the fear is if it's light it's easy to break which isn't always the case the sixaxis as you say is light but it's durable also, mines been dropped a couple of times and no damage has been done.. if you go mental with anything it may break regardless of it being light or heavy.

Well I did manage to break a Sixaxis, but really it was my fault, was playing Resistance online and got in a temper, threw it against the couch (which I had done many times before) and it bounced clean off and hit the floor hard making the R2 button stick, which then didn't work properly so I stamped on it in a temper, and in fairness to the sixaxis it took two good stamps to break it.

Yeah but anyway, I get the people being afraid it's not sturdy and stuff, but the GH controllers aren't exactly bricks either, they're pretty light and feel a bit flimsy, and I still have mine and they both work perfectly, and as the above proves, I have a temper when it comes to computer games! So I don't think the RB controller should be an issue, I think it looks great.

[tf5_bassist]

nylon tipped drumsticks all the way. I'll be buying myself a pair or two in different sizes, too. Should help stick definition a good deal.

As far as the guitar being light, it only feels so light because it's a larger guitar, but the same weight as the SG. I'm fine with that.