Ben Heck maintains his reputation with Guitar Hero pedal controllers

Modder extraordinaire Ben Heckendorn could easily be resting on his laurels by now but, thankfully for us, he continues to churn out console mods and accessories like nobody's business, and his latest creation easily meets the high standard he's set for himself. Designed for the Games for Health conference, this one continues his line of one-handed controllers, with the pedals in this case replacing the strum and whammy bar from a standard Guitar Hero controller, letting you use a single hand for the chords. As you can see, everything is also obviously done with Ben Heck's usual fit and finish, and even a bit of clever salvaging, with an Atari Jaguar controller cable used with one of the pedals -- Ben just hopes that "doesn't jinx anything."

[brad @ May 9th 2008 2:11PM]

I honestly love this mans work, but seriously what does he do when hes not modding? Does he have a job?

[Jagannath A @ May 9th 2008 2:26PM]

this is his job ^_^

[Dave @ May 9th 2008 2:40PM]

I can tell you what he is NOT doing and that's actually playing Guitar Hero. I would love to see this guy try and play Misirlou on Expert with this thing.

[ssuk @ May 10th 2008 9:44AM]

Dave, life called. It misses you.

[efitz11 @ May 10th 2008 5:45PM]

i think he should've made a pedal that replaces the select button

[TheGeektoriousBIG @ May 9th 2008 2:16PM]

Honestly I like this mod for the guitar simulators. The one that uses the suction cups was a bit too much.

[Flashpoint @ May 9th 2008 2:17PM]

If I was him I'd be making Master Chief suits and selling them.

Maybe even Crysis suits.

[Jordan @ May 9th 2008 3:19PM]

Watching Iron Man, then playing Crysis made me depressed that I didn't have a super suit....

[a random John @ May 9th 2008 2:20PM]

One handed? I can see people using this in order to use both hands for chording. Such a technique might make some of the more insane songs easier for mortals.

[hiko36 @ May 10th 2008 1:52AM]

This is made for handicapped people. I assume Ben is assuming that the players using this gizmo are missing an appendage.

[Taylor @ Jun 24th 2008 5:22AM]

I think that for the non disabled, it'd be convenient to have the pedals linked to whammy and star power, respectively.
Your own pedal-board!
Now you can do whammy bar and whammy pedal at the same time

[Ryan Trevisol @ May 9th 2008 2:43PM]

The amount of money and time people are putting into mastering these games boggles my mind. I mean honestly, what did Ben's clients pay him to make this? Had to be at least a couple hundred bucks, right? Plus Guitar Hero itself, around a hundred bucks, and all those silly accessories like appliques, wireless controllers, etc, and you're up over $500.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Squier-Bullet-Electric-Guitar-with-Tremolo?sku=517304
Squier Bullet: $100
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Valve-Junior-Combo-Amp?sku=480260
Epiphone Valve Junior Combo: $150
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Hal-Leonard-Classic-Rock-Easy-Rhythm-Guitar-Series-Volume-2-Book-CD?sku=910049
Books: $22

Actually being able to play the guitar: Priceless.

[Derek @ May 9th 2008 3:03PM]

Ryan, I think you miss the point here. This product is made to allow people with disabilities or a lost extremity play guitar hero.

It's not about the money or being able to play an actual guitar in this case. Its most likely about being able play a game by yourself or with friends just like anyone else.

[Brandon @ May 9th 2008 3:07PM]

Actually being able to play guitar: awesome
Actually being able to have fun with GH: awesome
being able to do both without being a condescending toolbag: i'll give you five bucks if you can manage.

[Jordan @ May 9th 2008 3:21PM]

You can master guitar hero in less then a few hundred hours. However, you have to play like 7 hours a day for 15 years straight to be able to play Dragonforce. Not all of us have that much time and dedication. I play guitar. I play guitar hero. I love them both.

[Jarhead2012 @ May 9th 2008 3:50PM]

@ Jordan and Brandon

Well Said. I did, however, like Ryan's remark, even though I agree with Jordan and Brendan, as I, too, play the guitar, and love it.

[Ryan Trevisol @ May 9th 2008 4:39PM]

I can see where you're coming from, and I'm aware that ben heck does a lot of this stuff for disabled people, and that's an awesome work as far as I'm concerned. I didn't think of that when I commented before.

I just really think kids would be a ton better off if they played instruments instead of video games.

When did it become cooler to be skilled at playing a video game where you pretend to play rock guitar than to actually play rock guitar?

Guitar Hero is alright, and I understand it has turned a lot of kids onto playing actual guitar, but this particular piece of hardware aside, you have to admit that people get a little obsessive about it. Like the guy who rewired his controller to play automatically (what's the point!?!?) so he could beat his son at the game, and so forth.

If you look at the comment "A few hundred hours" to master Guitar Hero, you can't compare that to playing Dragonforce. Playing Dragonforce is like the pinnacle of hand coordination, and isn't the lowest threshold for having fun playing guitar.

I took a year of lessons and practiced maybe 3-4 hours a week before I started really having fun with guitar. That's around 200 hours. But from that 200 hours I have a skill and hobby that will serve me for a lifetime, and that doesn't need an expansion pack to be a limitless learning and fun experience.

And I know several kids of no particular talent that just started playing, and with the new methods (learning tab and whatnot), are playing unbelievable stuff and playing in bands after only a few months.

If I were to start playing guitar hero, and I spent "less than a few hundred hours" playing it, I would regret that I didn't spend that time practicing, learning new songs and techniques, and just generally having a blast playing my real guitars.

[WamBam @ May 9th 2008 7:04PM]

You could be playing real football instead of Madden. You could learn to fly a real plane instead of playing Ace Combat. You could live you're own life instead of playing the Sims...

These games, Guitar Hero included, are not just about replicating an action, they're about replicating a whole set of experiences that only a few people can actually accomplish be it because of time, energy, talent, whatever. People play Guitar Hero not just to feel like they're playing a Guitar, but to feel like they're in the world's greatest rock band, playing they're favorite tunes.

Look, I'm a musician. I love playing music and I don't think any game will replicate that experience. But even if I decided to dedicate my whole life to being a musician I'm never going to be a rock star. Maybe you'd call that giving up but I call that realistic. I'm all right with that but once in a while I like to get up in front of stadium full of people and play Free Bird with aliens hovering above my head.

As for Ben Heck, the man is a genius. Again, the chances are that a one handed person is never going to master guitar or be a quarterback or be able to join the Delta Force. But Ben Hack is allowing them to take part in an elaborate fantasy that, while not anywhere like the real thing, allows them to have fun and dream like the rest of us.

Who knows, maybe Ben Heck can make a real guitar for disabled people?

[monkfishbandana @ May 9th 2008 8:18PM]

@ Derek

"This product is made to allow people with disabilities or a lost extremity play guitar hero."

Don't ask, but I was only skim reading and I read that sentence as the product was made so that Guitar Hero could be played by the disabled or people who had lost extremities playing Guitar Hero.

I mean, maybe a little pinky stretch could do a bit of short-term damage, but jeez...

[Claudio @ May 9th 2008 2:48PM]

By adding foot-controls, the gap between GH and DDR really does get smaller, eh?

[Jordan @ May 9th 2008 3:22PM]

When I saw the picture I thought he made stomp petals for each fret so it would be exactly the same as ddr. But I was wrong. SHame on me.

[YoMomma @ May 9th 2008 3:34PM]

Well As i was saying Ben Heck needs to get laid so hard first....

[EDomain @ May 9th 2008 8:12PM]

Ben knows plenty of attractive ladies.... he had a few in his movie. And, I'm guessing, he gets laid more than you

[Ryan @ May 9th 2008 3:37PM]

as a guitar player i have to say the whammy controller is kind of pointless. The idea itself isn't pointless, but the hardware concept seems to be. It makes more sense to just rewire a wah pedal (or create your own). easier to use, more natural feeling, and more realistic.

[gadgix @ May 9th 2008 3:43PM]

I love all the brainless criticisms from people that have never done so much as add new ram to their PC´s. I wait for the day when people actually post constructive criticism for one of Ben´s mods and provides some sort of intelligent information to back it up.

[Brian @ May 9th 2008 4:36PM]

I, for one, am always blown away by his mods. I guess I am one of the few...

[Corey @ May 9th 2008 5:09PM]

I too, am amazed by his work. So clean, looks "factory".
I only wish I had the talent and patience Ben must possess.

[gadgix @ May 9th 2008 5:47PM]

I love his work too. That is why I bought one of his books. It was very interesting, as well as somewhat overwhelming. It seems to take a lot of time to complete most of his projects.

[Matthew @ May 9th 2008 4:23PM]

Ben will mod your face

[EDOmain @ May 9th 2008 8:10PM]

Ben is the personification of a creative genius....

he's even made a movie!!! "Port Washington" and I have to admit, its pretty fun to watch. No, it doesn't look like Hollywood. No the acting isn't perfect. But the movie is better than any movie I've ever made (none).

And, I actually like it. it's good. It's funny. I have it on my hard drive and watch it every once in awhile.

For all you haters, how many movies and/or utterly kick ass gaming devices have you made? until then, zip it. Maybe go watch a movie....like point Washington

[Schfelzerberg @ May 10th 2008 6:50AM]

Does anyone know what Ben Heck's job is besides being a modder extraordinaire? This guy has so much time, patience, and most likely money on his hands to even think of modding such things. I mean, he may have screwed up at least one or two projects.

[Alphaniner @ May 11th 2008 1:07PM]

These are pretty cool.

As I was flipping through my Popular Science, I saw a little thing about Ben and his 360 laptop, which was pretty cool. Good to see him getting a little recognition for his most excellent creations.

If I can find the magazine I'll scan in the column.