Mustang first impressions

[angry_jonny]

Just got it end of last week (via gameshark). Some early thoughts from a neophyte guitarist (well, a hack "campfire" guitarist who knows a few chords and that's about it) about the controller and the interface:

+ trivial to assemble, and feels sturdy and well-made all around (considering)
+ very responsive and accurate controls (and I sure see all my sloppy accidental presses!)
+ training sessions are thorough and (mostly) clear
+ interface (chord "shapes," colors, bar) all make sense
+ feels a lot like playing guitar, esp. the strumming/right hand stuff

= menu navigation a bit weird (right/left hand swap)
= excess strums (hitting an extra string) seem inconsistently applied
= "string" navigation without strings is weird and hard compared to a real guitar
= that may be a benefit in terms of breaking "lazy" habits, but...wow, I get lost a LOT on the neck

- smaller than it should be; four more inches on the neck would make a lot of difference
- still have no idea how "palm muting" works; seems exactly equivalent to an open note
- sliding is weird and "bumpy" (and sometimes painful) with the buttons
- dangerously close to being more work than fun (both from difficulty and need for memorization)

Overall I'm pleased, as I viewed this mostly as a teaching tool. But strictly from an entertainment perspective, it's very, very hard. I can't imagine just handing this to someone at a party; unlike, say, Pro Keys or Pro Drums, where on easy you can sort it out and actually play along immediately, Pro Guitar is vastly more difficult, even on the easiest settings.

[The_Wurm]

- still have no idea how "palm muting" works; seems exactly equivalent to an open note

Palm muted notes aren't charted in the game, meaning, if a note is being palm muted by the actual guitarist, the note is no different from note that has no palm pressure at all (in the game)

[angry_jonny]

Hmm, thanks. Guess I'm dense, but I still don't get it.

So a "mute" note comes down the lane on X string: what is the distinction between that and just an open ("0")? I banged around with this in the tutorial a while and just could not get what the game was asking from me.

[Syphus]

It seems to be asking you to press down on the button lightly, but it is very liberal with what that actually means.

[angry_jonny]

Right, that's what it literally asks, but it doesn't distinguish between a light press and no press. In fact, I couldn't make a light press ever work, but open string (no press) works, so...there's no reason to risk a miss by even bothering to pretend.

Maybe this will all make more sense when the Squier comes out. Or maybe I'm just flat wrong about this. I hope so.

[The_Wurm]

So a "mute" note comes down the lane on X string: what is the distinction between that and just an open ("0")? I banged around with this in the tutorial a while and just could not get what the game was asking from me.

With the notes that have the Xs, it doesn't matter what you fret, just as long as you strum the correct string. You could strum open strings, you could strum any fret, it doesn't matter, it will work.

It seems to be asking you to press down on the button lightly, but it is very liberal with what that actually means.

A palm muted note actually doesn't mean that. A palm muted note is when you rest your palm on the bridge of the guitar on the strings to dampen the strings so they don't resonate as much.

Right, that's what it literally asks, but it doesn't distinguish between a light press and no press. In fact, I couldn't make a light press ever work, but open string (no press) works, so...there's no reason to risk a miss by even bothering to pretend.

Like I said, the "x" notes in the guitar can be played on any fret on the neck, it doesn't matter, just as long as you strum the correct string ( and even at that the game is pretty lenient :P)

NOTE: Just because there is an "X" note doesn't mean the real guitarist is palm muting, there are plenty of chords in the game that are charted as specific chords (57xxxx, whatever) where the actual guitarist is palm muting the chord but it isn't required to palm mute for the game. In fact, palm muting is completely left out of gameplay :P

[Syphus]

I am aware of what palm muting means (notice how I said "here is what THE GAME is asking you to do). However, the game I believe actually just says muting the string(s). Even if it does say palm muting, that is what it asks you to do. But thanks for the lesson.

[ZiggyXNAMVP]

X notes are left hand string mutes, not palm mutes

[angry_jonny]

X notes are left hand string mutes, not palm mutes

Aha! So I'm misremembering this. Anyway, how do they really work? Only way I could get those notes to work in the trainer was just to treat them like an open string.

[ZiggyXNAMVP]

On a real guitar you just touch the strings with your left hand but don't press hard enough for the strings to touch the frets. Since the mustang cannot register this as input you can get away with just hitting the string. It would be good practice to keep your left hand on the buttons (but not pressing them) during the mute notes since this is how you would do it on a real guitar