what the topic sez
Based on discussion in this thread and the plastic guitar ranking thread.
I voted ‘Meh’. I suck equally with all guitars. The strat is nice because of the effects switch, but that’s negated by the fact that it feels so flimsy that I could snap it in half while playing.
We need a “Most of the world is still waiting for Rock Band to be released” option… :-(
Since I live in a country even more owned by record companies than the USA, I just ponied up the 8oz of blood to get it airmailed to me. It’ll never, ever be released in Japan.
I like the feel of the body of the Strat better, including the whammy bar (which is miles better than the LP), but the problem I have with it is that a) the solo buttons are useless IMO, no matter how often I try to use them, and 2) the buttons taking up all of the fretboard are a problem, as when I stretch to reach higher keys, I often will find that my index finger ends up pushing down the green one close to my palm. Doesn’t happen on the LP because there’s more space around the buttons.
You should have either added choices to indicate what difficulty level you play on or made the poll public.
My scores are better when I use the old SGs, but I feel more like a rock star when I use the Strat. Also, solo buttons are my only hope of ever passing Green Grass and High Tides.
no shit bonerz = poll fail
I play Rock Band on Expert. I find the Strat’s strum bar to be the best out of all the guitars (when its working properly). I’ve even grown to like the fret buttons more than the GH3 fret buttons, except for the fact that they make that annoying clicking sound when you press them.
I’ll make a more constructive post this time.
I am an expert player (not sluggo good, but one of the better players on this board), and I prefer the Les Paul for “serious” playing. I prefer the clicky strum bar and [near] silent buttons of the Les Paul to the clicky buttons and silent strum bar of the Strat. I haven’t put a whole lot of effort into using the solo buttons, but I find it very difficult to switch back and forth between those and the primary buttons. All that said, the Strat is mostly fine, but it caters to a different play style than what I use. If you play it more like a real guitar – sliding around and using power chord formations – then the Strat works well.
I generally use the Strat in Rock Band because I like the pickup switch, and I feel better about having the experience the designers intended. The game is pretty easy, and is rewarding in ways beyond simply beating your previous high score, so I’m fine with usually using what I consider to be an inferior instrument. I did break out the LP for Green Grass and High Tides, though.
I can’t really comment on this because I’ve only played Rockband. But the clicky noise of the fret buttons IS annoying. I can ignore it most of the time, but when doing quick parts, it’s really a bit annoying. Actually fretting doesn’t seem to be a big issue though, for me. I mean I’m not totally used to some of the chords (I’ve only had it for three days), but that will come in time. Haven’t used the solo buttons yet, but I’m sure I will when I move up in difficulty.
I’ll try to break down all the elements of the interface and compare the Strat to the Les Paul.
Strum bar: I like the silent action better than the clickiness.
Advantage: Strat
Button shape: I prefer the smooth surface of the Strat because it makes sliding easier. I do think the ridge on yellow rather than little dots on green, yellow and orange is superior, but I stopped having problems with finger positioning within a few days of picking up the Strat.
Advantage: Strat
Button action: As with the strum bar, silence is better than clickiness, so this one goes to the LP.
Advantage: LP
Whammy bar: I prefer the small whammy featured on the Red Octane guitars. My preferred method is to keep it cradled in the palm of my strumming hand, and the length and angle of the Strat whammy makes this unfeasible. With the Strat I tend to get a bit less star power out of sustained notes because I have to keep it positioned below my hand and move my hand to it.
Advantage: LP
Star Power: My Strat is kind of unreliable, and my Les Paul is very responsive. It’s actually a bit too responsive, and I have to hold the guitar stiller than I would naturally or it will activate. I have more control over that though.
Advantage: LP
General ergonomics: I like the heft and general size/shape of the Strat a lot. Although cordless is superior to corded, the LP gets a black mark for having a sharp edge that required me to wear a sock tied around my right forearm for a couple of weeks (it eventually blunted itself). I prefer the strap attaching to the neck rather than the left side of the body, but that’s such a minor preference as to be completely inconsequential.
Advantage: Strat
Extras: The Strat has the solo frets and effects switch, the Les Paul has interchangeable faceplates (but they cost money).
Advantage: Strat
As stated in the other thread, I like them about equally. I think they might actually trade off on which one’s better on a song by song basis, although I haven’t been OCD enough to rank them as such.
So far 64% of respondents think the Strat is an inferior guitar to the point that you should pick something else. Almost two-thirds!
I am truly surprised that three out of every ten players think it’s a “great” guitar, though. That is about 2x higher than I thought it would be. Stay off the crack, kids.
I have the GH2 ‘x’ thing, the GH3 les paul, and the Rock Band strat (wireless ps3 version). I like the strat much better than the other two.
Or, if you want to not be completely fucking specious about it, 30% think it’s good and 25% think it’s bad, with everyone else thinking it’s OK.
The thing about the Strat that gets me is whenever I play long, intensive parts (30 greens in a row with no spacing), I miss about every 5th-7th one. I can’t tell if it’s me or the guitar, and seeing how my first Strat died on me after 3 hours of use, I’m always completely frustrated with it. Only on those long stretches… my Strat seems to always play just fine on non-clustered notes.
Using the Les Paul, when I miss a note, I can tell it was me that messed up and not the guitar. If I was guaranteed that my Strat was not faulty, I’d give it more of a chance. But I just feel like the thing is breaking more every time I use it.
with everyone else thinking it’s OK.
I don’t define “Maybe. It’s so-so, there are better choices” as “OK”.
If you make a poll where the options boil down to yes, no, and maybe, you don’t get to count the maybes with the yeses.
Oh, that’s how I was defining it when I chose that option.
Rock Band Stratocaster: bad plastic guitar, or terrible plastic guitar?
…I’ll put you down for “bad.”