drum-pedal
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Ben Heck creates breath-controlled drum pedal for Guitar Hero World Tour
Last June, Kinetic Communications created a clever workaround for wheelchair-bound gamers who possess a penchant for Rock Band drumming, but were unable to use the kit's kick pedal due to their disability. Ben Heck, modder extraordinaire, recently did the same for the Guitar Hero: World Tour set -- however, rather than attaching an extra button to drumsticks, Heck found an altogether brilliant method of using the set's foot-activated percussion: He made it breath-controlled.It took a fair amount of fancy engineering, but Heck recently uploaded instructions to his blog that show how to remove the pedal's piezoelectric sensor, and make it respond to air pressure rather than, well, foot pressure. You can get further details on the modification, as well as a video of Heck giving it a test run, on his site. It's definitely an intriguing idea, though it more or less prohibits the drummer from simultaneously singing, making Phil Collins role-playing a near impossibility. Still, great work, Ben![Via Engadget]
Guitar Hero: Metallica includes extra pedal so you can try to be Lars Ulrich [update]
A listing for upcoming Guitar Hero: Metallica has popped up on GameStop, along with an interesting bonus for pre-ordering the game. According to the site, the game will include a bonus drum pedal, along with a splitter, which will allow would-be rockers to drum with dual pedals if you order early. You know, just like Lars Ulrich.The listing is for the Xbox 360 version of the game, but it's a safe bet to expect this for Wii. It's a multiplatform game after all and if one version is going to offer dual pedals, we doubt it would be excluded from the other versions and a bonus exclusive to the Xbox.Update: Added further clarification that this is a pre-order bonus.[Via Joystiq]
Guitar Hero: Metallica pre-orders come with bonus drum pedal
There's a thick cloud of fear hanging over fans of faux-drumming in games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero: World Tour -- fear inspired by the near-impossible rhythms which will need to be kept when Guitar Hero: Metallica hits store shelves. We're not sure how familiar you guys are with the speed with which Mr. Ulrich is capable of producing percussion, but we assure you, his work will be most unpleasant to attempt to mimic.Thankfully, an uncharacteristically useful pre-order bonus from GameStop will give the game's quick-to-act reservers an extra bass drum pedal and input splitter. This will allow the player to use both pedals to tackle the game's more heel-punishing tracks. It's certainly a better option than splitting your foot down the middle, and training yourself to control both halves independently, which, now that we think about it, would be pretty rock-and-roll.
Harmonix, EA sued for flimsy Rock Band kick pedal
Some of Joystiq's heavier-footed staffers have experienced the heartbreak that comes from snapping the original Rock Band kick pedal in the midst of a feverish playthough of Paramore's "That's What You Get" er, Judas Priest's "Painkiller". However, we never thought to take the bold course of action currently being followed by one Monte Morgan, who recently filed a class-action suit against Harmonix, MTV Networks (as well as parent company Viacom), and Electronic Arts for producing and distributing such an easily busted bass drum beater.Morgan claims that the pedal "fractures under ordinary and expected usage," keeping potential faux-drummers from playing Rock Band "in the manner marketed and advertised." He also cites Harmonix and MTV Games for selling the original kit with knowledge of the pedal's fragility -- evidenced, he claims, by the metal-reinforced pedal included in Rock Band 2. His case calls for reimbursement of the purchase price of the Rock Band drum kit, and for the title's publishers to stop selling the brittle peripheral. We suggest another settlement -- just include a free dab of Rock Jam in every bundle. Everybody wins!
Rock Band Drum Kit accessibility mod helps everybody rock harder
While we of course rock oh-so-very-hard on Rock Band's drums, the pedal just never felt right under our weakling calves. The problem is naturally exacerbated for folks in wheelchairs, since there's no way to avoid the kick drum or re-route it to another button -- at least out of the box. Some folks at Kinetic Communications modded up a doorbell to work as the kick drum button and screwed it to a drum stick. Not the prettiest mod in the world, but it got their wheelchair-bound buddy drumming for about $20, and it shouldn't be hard to replicate their instructions.
Rock Band mod uses real drum pedal
Real skin pounders will appreciate that the Rock Band drum pedal controller lacks a certain finesse you find in a real foot pedal. After a friend trashed his pedal in a frenzied late night jam, Justin Kistner let necessity mother the invention of a mod allowing use of a real kick pedal on your next Band World Tour. Details of how to replicate the setup are after the jump, helping you prevent those unsightly double kick flubs on Expert. [Via digg]
