We're not exactly sure if this problem is widespread, but for those currently dealing with malfunctioning frets on the new Guitar Hero III
Les Paul, you should certainly give this a once over. An incredibly industrious gamer went out of his way to show us all what a few rubber bands and a 3M Utility Hook can do to solve your
Guitar Hero blues, and if you haven't already slammed your axe into the floor, lit it on fire, or ceremoniously bludgeoned your Xbox 360 in frustration, there's hope for you still. This low-fi fix reportedly holds the connector plate in the neck and the pins in the body together more securely, enabling users to resume shredding sans trouble. Granted, this may not cure every single faulty axe out there, but it's certainly worth a try. Go on, roll up your sleeves and hit the read link for an (immensely easy) walkthrough.
posted Nov 1st 2007 6:37AM
Wow! Thanks for your post! You are a flaming idiot and a good source of bad genetic material. Nice!
I was able to get mine fixed by cutting up a piece of a business card and wedging it in right under the top part of the neck. That made it so the neck wasn't loose anymore and I haven't had any trouble since -- even battling Lou, the controller functioned perfectly as I gesticulated wildly.
Here is the real fix that did wonders to mine.
1. Find a pencil with a pink eraser
2. Erase the dirt that is on the Neck part.
3. Erase dirt on the Guitar Pins
4. While Erasing Guitar Pins, depress pins multiple times to break them in.
5. Working guitar with no glue credit cards or rubber bands
My orange fret button hasn't worked (PS2 version) at all since I opened it. I tried cleaning both sides of the connectors (pins on the base, and the flat panel thing on the neck) with alcohol. I also tried shoving the neck in farther, and then pressing the fret while I held it down, but that didn't seem to work either.
I might try the eraser thing, though I'm not sure that it would solve anything past what I've already tried.
It's just a shame that Activision shipped such a faulty product.
It never ceases to amaze me how people are willing to take poor quality products and decide to take the fix-it-yourself route. Why? Isn't this thing new? I can understand if you had it for a while and it's past its warranty. Bring it back to the store and tell them the piece of garbage they're selling. These things are expensive too. Same thing with the 360. I really don't understand. I don't care how cool the 360 is when it works. "When it works"? It should work all the time. It should not be breaking like some old 15 years old piece of crap car. I've considered getting the 360 plenty of times. But, I guess I'd stick with my 4 year-old and faithful original Xbox. Rock on.
Apologies, Rob. My post was supposed to be attached to a trolling post... which subsequently got purged.
I think the problem with taking it back and getting a new one is that this is a design flaw. You can take it back 100 times and still get the same design and inherent problem.
What I don't get is why the neck is detachable at all. Was that really an issue? I don't recall any GH gamer saying.. "Ya, it's a pretty good game. I just wish I could split the controller in two so I can pack it in my tiny manbag."
I'm with Chip on this one. I have the Wii version and I don't think I've noticed any major issues with the controller yet - though occasionally I really do wonder if there's something wrong. I seem to miss a few more things with this controller that I NEVER missed on the PS2 controllers.
And I definitely wonder why someone bothered to make it detachable. It's not like they're a big as a regular guitar or anything. And it doesn't even fold up conveniently for packing or storage. You just are left with two awkward pieces of a plastic guitar.
I'm not here to bash the functionality of a product. Not at all. Guitar Hero is fun to play. My only complain is how the quality of a lot of products has gone down and everyone seems to make an excuse for it and be ok with it. I think that as consumers, we're getting the middle finger from a lot of these companies. I'm a fix-it-yourself type of person too. But not on something I just bought a few days ago.
And, with Twisted Sisters in the background playing "We're not Gonna Take It", I step off the stage. Thank you and goodnight.
While i completely agree with Rob that something should no doubt work 100% when it comes out of the box, some people are just not willing to go through the return process multiple times to only get shafted with a more faulty product.
As to why people are still willing exchange instead of getting their money back, it is the simple fact that people want things when they want them.
This sort of greed fuels the resale market and is why people were willing to pay $500+ at launch time to get a 360.
I personally bought a 360 long before anyone knew of the RROD issues, at launch, but have been fortunately enough to only need to deal with a free exchage, about 10 months after launch. My refurb has worked flawlessly for more than a year now, and only having to exchange a product once for free doesn't seem like a bad deal, especially when it has the best current library of games. Shit, i've returned products i payed less for and liked less, more times.
At some point Activision is going to have to acknowledge the problem, and offer a solution. If you take it back for a new one, the one you get will probably be defective as well so why not try to fix it yourself, so you can keep playing until the manufacturer comes up with a solution?
Yah...I'm ok. I'll pass on the new stuff.
My PS2 GH guitar still works and the difference between the PS3/360 versions aren't huge enough to warrant buying a new guitar.
If you still have a PS2 and the old guitar...your just blowing money.
Some of us enjoy playing the game with other people.
I gotta agree with Frank on this one. The graphics might be better on the PS3/Xbox 360 version, but honestly, the PS2 version is good enough. I couldnt justify buying the more expensive bundle when I could just get the game. My two wired quitars work just fine. Actually, better than the new ones do from what I'm readin. Besides, GH is going the way of the dinosaur once Rock Band is released.
Yeah, the main problem is with the Wii. There is no previous GH2 version of the guitar to fall back on. If there was, I'd be all over it in a heartbeat. I borrowed my friends' Wii Guitar and game, and after playing it for a week or two, I'm seriously considering getting GH3 for the PS2!! How lame is that, that I can't even get the game for my newest system!
How about a solid iron Guitar. That would make sense.
yeah sure... it'd make sense all the way until you have to hold that chunk of metal up and play it
i dont mind fixing problems like this... had to fix my gh2 controller and had to fix this one... just wait till gh4, your gonna recieve a box and some crazy glue, that way any build issues are your own fault.
Well, i just did something crazy as all hell, i returned mine to the store and got a new one... granted i got mine at midnight one the 28th when they were only handing out reserves, and returned the defect when they opened some eight hours later, but it worked for me.
The reason no-one has gone to activision/red octane is due to the sinister support websites. Red Octane's refers you to activisions, and activision basicly tells you to sod off if you have a guitar problem. Red octane will replace the entire set, if you bought it from the online store. If not your SOL for the time being, i found no way to return just the guitar.
Anywho, great idea, but that probably wouldn't have worked on mine, no matter how hard i pressed on the fretboard it the middle three frets refused to work. Mine had a faulty pin, one of them was stuck down and never made contact with the fretboard.
Anywho, good luck all you zany modders, this is probably going to void the warrenty ;) (acctually, if you're using one of those 3M magic strip things that doesn't leave a residue you should be fine)
See, that's my point exactly. All these companies are glad to take our money. But, when it comes to guaranteeing their products, they give us the runaround and all kind of difficulties. It shouldn't be that way. If your customers are complaining, you should look into it and fix the problem. But, as usual, people will just take it and try to fix something they just bought. It's a very sad trend.
Aren't you afraid of bricking with the next firmware update?
I'm waiting for someone to document their mod where they actually replace the pins in the neck and the contacts in the body with solid wires, and then epoxy the neck to the body. Then they can install a short duration one-shot on the strum bar to fix the double-pick problem.. Either that or take the electronics from the GH3 guitar and stuff them into a GH2 guitar..
hmm maybe you should just return it, unless you have an electrical engineering degree.
Rock and Rollers, you're all the same without your instruments...
Here's how I solved my nonworking fret problem. Initially, all frets did not function. Eventually only Green didn't. Now all do.
1) detatch neck from body
2) with your right hand, hold the neck so that the frets are facing away from you, as you might play it
3) open your left palm, as if about to grab the fret end of the neck to play
4) slam the headpiece of the neck repeatedly into your open palm with a chopping motion. 10 or so times worked for me
5) reattach to your Les Paul controller body.
Your guitar should now function! You will still occasionally miss notes. The controler just isn't there yet. And the fricking strum button is loud as hell, holy nuts can't they make this thing quiet? I keep waking up my kid upstairs.
I have to agree with the people here who returned their product. The simple fact is that fixing it yourself puts no pressure on the companies to admit that their product is screwed up. Unless they have some big-box stores telling them that they have way too many returns, they're not going to think that it is an issue. We shouldn't have to rig our guitars to work, they should _just work_!
oh man.
This is the digital age! Companies pay people to respond to their products via blogs like this one.
trust me, they'll see it, and start their own forum. and eventual find a way to sell you a better product.
It happened with the Dual Shock controller on Ps3. they said rumble couldn't be done, but lo and behold we're getting a Dual Shock 3 in a coupla months.
you know why? because we make the difference. Companies may control consumers products, but they still need consumers to buy them.
Okay, you guys? the neck is detachable as an attempt by activision and Neversoft to make the game more customizable. unfortunately this feature was rushed to production, and it can easily fuck up your playing.
I happen to like this fix. thank you. And Rob? Xbox sucks. sorry to break it to you.
super glue fixed mine, never will i need my guitar in 2 pieces.
Whatever. When are they coming out with a Turntable Hero - Jam Master Jay Edition?
My guitar works fine. How widespread is this issue?
Guitar Hero 2's controller was broken too. No surprise that GHIII can't get it right. I wont be buying this until they fix the problem.
Rob from above was 100% right. People just accept faulty products.
Why did the engadget article only mention Xbox 360? Damn hater.
And please... the very first time I ever read that the new GH3 guitar would come in 2-pieces, I KNEW that it was not going to be a good thing.
I keep my GH2 guitar in the box. I go to a friends' house, I take the box. Simple. Who is so gimpy that you HAVE to put it in 2 pieces? It's a useless feature that only created bigger problems.
As cool as the Les Paul one looks... at least now I know I don't need to buy it. I'll just stick with my Explorer wired and just buy GH3 without the controller. Also gives me the extra dough to get and try out the Rock Band Fender Strat guitar with the extra frets at the bottom. Cool.
i have a confession, it was me guys, im the reason the guitar is 2 seperate peices, i apoligize but u have to understand, my friends and i all love GH, but we all are crotch rocket riders too, so one as i was riding to my friends house with guitar in my backpack i thought,"damn i wish the guitar was 2 connecting parts, then it wouldnt stick outta my back pack and make me look like an r-tard". so this is me apoligizing too all of you, i am truly sorry for the mis-deed i have done the GH world. i too regret my mistake.
Is this a problem more common with the 360? Or evenly spread across all consoles?
What's really hilarious is that I bought the 360 version the day it shipped, and notified them of a broken guitar the day it arrived... and guitar hero 3 is now out and they haven't even contacted me... screw you Red Octane!
I have the ps3 version and all of my fret buttons work. However, when I play songs on hard, I am missing all types of notes that I know are not due to my playing ability. Its really annoying to me, and several of my friends that have played agree with me that something isn't right with the controller. I am sort of tempted to take it back, but at this point I'm not sure if Best Buy will take it back.
Well I guess I can just stick with my Guitar Hero II wired guitar for the xbox 360. I'll just buy the game alone or buy the one from Wall world that comes with a wired guitar(not looking like such a rip off now).
I used 3 regular rubber bands running from the strap pin on the neck to the strap pin on the bottom of the guitar. I started with 2 but added the 3rd to make it just a little bit firmer. It did the same thing as the low-fi fix but didn't require the 3M doohicky. It solved all my controller issues.