game-worn

Still the best all around package.
NONE of the guitar controllers available for Guitar Hero/Rock Band games get it all right. All of them have drawbacks and you have to pick your poison, but the old GH2 controller gets my vote for the least amount of trouble overall. It's wired, it doesn't have solo buttons or anything fancy, it's a bit smaller than other controllers, the clicking is pretty loud, but it's durable, reliable, and easy to play. The only serious flaw besides not being wireless is that when playing online there will be a constant hum emanating from any headset plugged into this controller (even when the headset is muted!)

guitar hero 2 guitar controller
Very pleased with purchase. The first controller I purchased broke within 4 days of receiving it. I contacted the seller through Amazon and I was immediately sent a replacement - no questions. Thank you for a very satisfying Amazon purchase!

My "X-Ploration" with the X-Plorer
Before I explain my thoughts on this guitar, I should explain what my past experiences with other guitars have been.

I used to play a little on my sister's Guitar Hero III, where I became fairly competent on Expert, using the guitar that was bundled with that. My only recollection with that blasted thing was how easily it fell apart.

Fast forward to a few months ago...
Not having a TV (much less a modern console), I mostly play guitar hero on my little laptop. I was searching for a good controller that would work well on my PC and found the PS3 RB Stratocaster. For the first few months, I was satisfied with its performance, but noticed how the "Rock Band" style strummer really didn't work for certain sections of different songs. It failed to give me reassurance that my strumming pattern was accurate whatsoever.

Then recently, I played with a friend using their World Tour guitar for the 360. It had been over a year since I played a Guitar Hero guitar and I had forgotten how it felt. The strummer with that guitar was amazing, and I had fallen in love with it. The frets, however, were a nightmare. They were further apart, and gave a lot of resistance that felt like they were being supported with heavy springs. It ached the back of my hand to try to play before long, and I noticed my performance going down the toilet because of it. So this little affair wasn't going to work.

Finally, I decided to search online for popular guitar hero guitars, ones that had a nice "clicky" stummer to it that would give me reassurance, and buttons that weren't as resistant as the World Tour one and not quite as clicky as the Stratocaster. That's where I ran into the X-Plorer, seeing how popular it was amongst players, particularly for its durability.

After some searching, I found a place where I could buy a new one more cheaply than I could online and rushed it home in excitement.

The first thing I noticed about this guitar was its size. The X-Plorer is about 5/6 the size of the Stratocaster, and about 2/3 the size of my electric guitar, and it felt funny to hold. But I knew it was something I'd get used to (and I have), and thought nothing of it.

I had downloaded all the drivers for using the 360 controller on my PC just prior, so as soon as I plugged the X-Plorer in I was ready to play. The length of the cord didn't bother me, as I was playing on the PC where I have to be a little closer to see the screen.

My scores didn't drastically change, but playing felt more fluid and natural with the softer frets. I loved the feel in comparison to the last two guitars I had tried. The strummer was a little louder than I anticipated, and I noticed that instead of helping me keep the beat, my ears paid more attention to the beat I was making with the strummer than on the game, and occasionally went into a bad pace because of it. This was easily fixed by playing with my headphones on, so I could enjoy the feel without worrying about the sound.

The star power works beautifully on this guitar. On the stratocaster, I'd have to angle the guitar almost vertically and shake it for star power to activate. With the X-Plorer, a good tilt is well enough, without being oversensitive about it.

The one major thing that bothers me about the X-Plorer is its placement of Start/Back and arrow buttons. Not only are they hard to reach with your fingers without moving your hand, but they are located right where I would naturally rest the lower corner of my hand when playing, resulting in accidentally hitting Start+Down+Start randomly in the middle of a song, and making me start from the beginning. For that, the X-Plorer gets 4 stars rather than 5.

guitar hero 2 controller
I'm very disappointed in this company that handled this product! They had sent the wrong guitar controller, and I had to sent it back. But it was at my cost of .30, in which they would only give me back .99 for the shipping! So I had to pay out of pocket .00 for the mistake they had made! Which I think they should have paid the whole thing being it was their mistake!!Now to top it off, I am now not even getting the controller. They had refunded me the money for it! I have a son that is very upset that he is not even getting his controller that he ordered!! So I paid 8 dollars for something that we didn't even get!! How great is that?? As you see I'm very disappointed and that concerns me from ever ordering anything from them again! They have not responed to my email about having this taking care of,besides letting me know that they would only pay the .99 for shipping!!

guitar hero controller for xbobx
This was great. I was expecting it to be the guitar in the photo though. It turned out to be better actually, because I bought this for my boyfriend and with xbox you can only have 2 controllers plugged in...? So he needed a wireless guitar, which I didn't know. When the guitar got here and we opened it, IT WAS WIRELESS!
That should have been in the description, but I'm very happy with it. =]