There’s a lot of commentary regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the various guitars, but it’s spread randomly among basically every thread ever made about Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Seems to me that I could live my life! A lot betterAhem. Rather, it seems to me that it would be nice to have a centralized discussion thread.
I picked up the series when it came to the 360, so I have no opinion regarding the SGs.
Gibson Les Paul: Good guitar. Precise action, particularly on quick strumming sections. I also really like the whammy bar, since it’s exactly the right length to cup it in my palm when I’m strumming. Only having to flatten my hand and wiggle it makes whammying short notes much easier. I only have a couple of minor issues with it. First, the fret buttons are a bit touchy about releasing when there’s the slightest change in pressure. A lot of times when I’m doing a sustain I’ll shift my hand downward and change which finger is holding the note, but with the Les Paul I lose it maybe half the time. Second, the edge of the faceplate is fucking sharp. It finally wore down to where it doesn’t actually hurt to play it without a sock tied around my arm, but it still leaves red pressure marks.
Ranking: A
Fender Strat: I also like this guitar, though it has different strengths than the Les Paul. I’m still working on beating GG&HT on Expert, and I believe the solo frets are my only hope of doing so. Also, I like the effects switch, and I like trying to figure out which settings sound best on which songs. I like the width of the frets and how they make it easier to slide into another note. Finally, I really like the feel of the strum bar. The stiffness of the other guitars’ strum bars and the clicking sound are distracting to me. Things I don’t like: the clickiness of the frets, the high failure rate (I had to return my original, but the replacement works fine), the size and shape of the whammy bar.
Gibson X-Plorer: This one doesn’t have a lot specifically wrong with it, but on the other hand it really has nothing to recommend it. I don’t hold it in as much contempt as most of the people who started out on the SGs, but at this point I haven’t got much of a reason to connect one unless we want to play 2-player GHIII, which is unlikely to say the least. Passable strumming, good whammy, shitty frets. Meh.