Living room arenas around the world will soon become even more cluttered with toy instruments thanks to Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour. Axes for the two respective franchises haven't gotten along on the Wii, and while we're still not sure whether the next generation will cooperate ezGear is hoping to bring some peace (and eliminate some clutter) for current Nintendo rockers with its ezJam Combo Guitar. Inside its baby-blue Strat-esque styling there's port to plug in your Wiimote when playing Guitar Hero III as well as an integrated wireless transmitter for Rock Band. At $70 it's a little more expensive than other third-parties like the Nyko Frontman, but playing lead in two bands instead of one is totally worth it.

While we love Rock Band 2 as much as the next guy, playing that miniaturized plastic controller will forever look a little dorky (or just make us look like giant men, which is kind of cool). Nothing wrong with looking dorky -- heck, we make a living of it -- but Mad Catz's new full-size Stratocaster and Precision Bass controllers for Rock Band 2 are bringing the cool back. They're exactly what you think they are: actual Fender Squire axes turned into Rock Band 2 controllers, with the size, heft, and weight you'd expect from dad's electric guitar. Of special note was the Precision Bass controller, which has a dual flipper and thumb rest to allow fast pickers to do their thing Entwistle-style. They are also wireless, will come with a foot pedal for overdrive, and the guitar controller will have a whammy bar, of course. Unfortunately, Mad Katz didn't add the optical sensor for display calibration, but we'll forgive them for now. Look for these for $199 in Q1 2009 for both Xbox 360 and PS3. We caught them live at E3, and they look as impressive as they sound. Peep the gallery below if you dare.

Playing Rock Band sometimes feels like the real thing, but what if it looked like the real thing? Ion, who make real drum kits, have announced that they will release a premium Rock Band 2 drum kit that will not only have realistic pads and cymbals (which you can custom-assign), but it will also be possible to plug the thing into a drum brain to turn the kit into a real electronic drum kit. If that craziness wasn't enough, Harmonix plans to gut some actual Fender Stratocasters and turn them into Rock Band guitars, which is either amazing or complete sacrilege depending on your musical religion.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Hot on the heels of Rock Band's Stratocaster (which we've now learned will act as the guitar and bass) being unveiled, a scan from Game Informer has blessed us with shots of the game's (apparently) wireless microphone and drum set. The mic, which appears to be standard fare, could potential come bundled with the game, and it is even noted that Harmonix may support "other USB microphones as well." The real standout here, however, is the prototype drum set, which reportedly "won't change much" from the picture you see above. Notably, the game will also include a "real pair of wooden sticks," and those who have fallen head over heels for their current Guitar Hero II controller will appreciate the ability to use it with Rock Band. Click on through to see the page scan in its entirety.

It's always comforting to put a face to a name, and for those who have been raucously awaiting more details on the elusive Rock Band controller, dig in. According to a purported GameStop newsletter, the ten-button axe does indeed favor a Fender Stratocaster, and while the frets appear fairly subtle head-on, those looking down on the device will notice the colorful labels (shown after the jump) that they've grown used to. Additionally, the tidbit also divulged that the instrument "would allow players to manipulate sound through reverb, flange, wah, delay and more," but there was no mention of the presumably lofty pricetag that this thing would eventually sport. Looks like the Fender fanboys will soon be able to really duel it out with the Gibson purists, eh?

Oh Hello Kitty, you adorable little tease -- usually the items graced with your lovely visage are priced with the budget-conscious Japanese schoolgirl in mind, but frankly we're a bit surprised to see you endorsing a product that's going for an eye-popping $21,625. That's right, for the same cost as almost a hundred of those regular Kittycaster guitars, Sanrio and renowned retailer Mitsukoshi are offering a super-limited-edition Stratocaster from Fender that features an over-sized homage to the frisky feline on the pick-guard along with a blown-up version of her famous signature on the neck. Surprisingly, your twenty grand doesn't even seem to buy the usual gold-plated, jewel-encrusted gaudiness found on most products in this price range, but what you're really paying for here is exclusivity -- Mitsukosh apparently has one of the only three models that were manufactured. Sure, we love us some Hello Kitty, but for this kind of loot we'd rather buy a ticket to Japan and camp out in one of the Sanrio stores for a few weeks, using hundreds of plush Kitties as a mattress.