Rock Band peripheral malfunctions? Oh no!
by Dustin Burg 
{ Nov 23rd 2007 at 11:00AM }
Over in the Tech Support section of the official Rock Band forums, numerous posters are complaining that their game's peripherals are malfunctioning after limited use. The majority of complaints surround the bundle's four port USB hub which reportedly breaks apart and the Stratocaster guitar which can have a faulty strum bar. We've already heard from a few fanboys reporting Stratocaster issues, but we're not ready to call peripheral shenanigans just yet.The good news is that EA is being very proactive in the matter and is ready and willing to deal with Rock Band peripheral replacements. So, if you've been bitten by the broken peripheral bug, head over to Rock Band's warranty website to get more information and to request a replacement. Here's to hoping this whole entire ball of peripheral problem wax is isolated and only happens to the bad people of the world. You know who you are.
[Thanks, Dale]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Seraph @ Feb 10th 2008 12:16AM
I've not had it crash my system, but myself, my brother, and his two sons have played the hell out of this game (full band style) and I can honestly say that all the hardware malfunctions do happen, and have happened to us. So far:
-Malfunctioning Red drum, only registers one hit in five at any but the gentlest touch
-Crash (green) drum going the same way
(I'd like to note here that I've never hit this drum set any harder than I've ever hit my Konami-issue DrumMania drum kit - are you telling me technology that's at least seven years OLDER than the RB drumkit is sturdier?)
-Strat's strum bar does not register up-strokes at all (naturally, I discovered this trying to get the 'Flawless Bassist' achievement)
-Strat's yellow and blue buttons on Solo section do not function at all
-Strat's start button barely registers
-USB Hub cuts out, I no longer use it (good-bye multiplayer, until I get it replaced)
This is all rather frustrating for having paid $180 for the whole deal.
And to ice the cake, the set my brother was supposed to be getting free, as he won it from the Rock Band World Tour, still has not arrived yet, though word is it should arrive "within the week".
Looks like they'll be getting another pissed-off call from my family about this game. What the hell were these companies thinking, pushing non-functional equipment on us? First the GH3 Les Paul's break-away neck problems, now this?
JasonTD @ Nov 23rd 2007 11:24AM
My drumkit didn't work straight out of the box, but everything else was fine, and EA was very helpful and prompt about helping me get a replacement.
Josh @ Nov 23rd 2007 11:28AM
A friend of mine who has been shunning GHIII for Rock Band had his foot pedal on the drums break in half on the first day. Apparently the pressure point on the pedal is the thinnest/weakest part.
corbin @ Nov 23rd 2007 11:43AM
Yeah that usb hub is probably the cheapest part in that whole box. I can't believe I paid for a piece of crap like that. I just hope my drums don't break after the warranty is over.
ian @ Nov 23rd 2007 12:10PM
All I know is that I beat the ever loving crap out of these drums for a few days not and their holding out great. I put a little padding on each to cut down on the thwack they make but still perform fine.
My guess is that the people that broke the strum part more than likely play it wrong (constantly moving their whole hand up and down instead of pinching it). I havent really played the guitar much because I love playing those drums so much.
mdb @ Nov 23rd 2007 12:22PM
The guitar seems to give after 6-8 hours of playing from all the people I've spoken to. I've played mine for 4 hours now and the downstrum is starting to not work sometimes now. It's particularly brutal in sections that require constant strumming.
Also, my drum pedal broke in the back where it's achored down to the rest of the pedal. Some duct tape fixed that though.
I did break stick within a few hours of playing too, but that wasn't a big deal.
Big Bird @ Nov 23rd 2007 12:25PM
My fret buttons are already sticking, pretty much out of the box :(
Doug @ Nov 23rd 2007 12:37PM
Not surprising people are having problems... The guitar and hub are very cheaply built. My brother and I have completely given up on the guitar and use GH3 guitars exclusively now.
Brian @ Nov 23rd 2007 12:49PM
I gotta say I'm very surprised with the quality of the drum kit. My opinion is if you break anything on that kit including the pedal, you're simply playing too hard. It's a video game for crying out loud and playing harder doesn't make them louder. The guitar however is cheesy and I can hardly activate my power consistently unless I use the back button.
tothextreme @ Nov 28th 2007 2:03AM
Your opinion is wrong. TEN SECONDS into "Little Sister," I broke the drum pedal in half. That is _ridiculous_
I've been playing drums for 15 years, and knowing how cheap that drumset looked, I handling it like a baby. Three bars into the song, I look down because my bass drum notes don't seem to be working, and lo and behold, the drum pedal is now in two pieces. GARBAGE. Like another poster said, they made the point of impact the thinnest/weakest part of the pedal. That is some weaksauce design.
Tr3y MoNey @ Nov 23rd 2007 1:09PM
I beat the SHIZA out of my drums AND kick pedal and no problems so far. They have about 12 hours of play time right now. I have noticed when playing the Fender that the strumbar isn't extremely responsive when you have a super-fast rhythm going, but it's not like anyone gets perfect all the time anyways. Overall I have to say that this is probably the best purchase for my 360 Yet (besides COD4 of course).
Kriegs @ Nov 23rd 2007 1:30PM
Mine's been fine. Played for a good 12hrs (on and off, had to cook a turkey) but everything is fine. I may pick up a different usb hub as the one that comes with it, the cord is REALLY shirt and just seems very cheap.
Granteezy @ Nov 23rd 2007 1:31PM
My down-strumming is inconsistent after 20 hrs of play between all of us. Definitely on the phone with EA as we speak!
Frank @ Nov 23rd 2007 1:34PM
I've had two (real) drummers, wail relentlessly on the drum kit and have experienced no problems.
However, I concur with those that think the guitar strum bar is a joke. I'm also having downstroke problems and every 5th or 6th note won't register properly. The fact of the matter is when you get to sections where you have to constantly stroke up and down the strum bar is gonna take a beating and this just doesn't feel like it was put together properly.
GrossGreg @ Nov 23rd 2007 1:37PM
Man, I hate to be a cynic, but Rock Band doesn't need another nail in its coffin. The PS3 could withstand such a pummeling (no hate intended), but I'll be surprised if Rock Band can survive the storm.
Frank @ Nov 23rd 2007 2:42PM
Now I'll disagree with you Greg on this being a nail in the coffin.
I think the game itself if phenomenal, they obviously didn't have Red Octane making the peripherals this time and in the guitar it shows... I'm getting used to the fret buttons, and my only problem is with the strummer. Other than that I really like the guitar.
The game itself is just plain ole fun, and the presentation is far superior to Guitar Hero. The crowd interaction, the graphics, it's just nicer.
I love both games, but I refuse to be as pretentious as some GH purists can be. Yes, it's not as difficult as Guitar Hero. It's an accessible title for gamers and non-gamers alike and it's extremely fun. Most of my friends can't hang with me on Expert in GH2 and 3... with this game anyone can pick it up and have a great time.
I hope they learn from the mistake with the strum bar and make it sturdier down the line, that's the only knock I have. Other than that, I think this is a must-have game.
E.J. @ Nov 23rd 2007 3:23PM
The title update didn't fix the strum bar as promised. My guitar busted on day one. I paid $180 for this game and now I have to pay $20 because I have to get my defective guitar replaced?! Ridiculous.
Stan @ Nov 23rd 2007 6:46PM
Both mine and my friend's bass pedal have broken in half. At least EA is replacing it for free.
carnage rules @ Nov 23rd 2007 8:53PM
I've had it for a couple of days and the spring on the whammy bar broke and now its just limp and I had to start strumming up because down wasn't working correctly.
Granteezy @ Nov 23rd 2007 10:49PM
I can't believe the poor build quality of the guitar! Harmonix better re-design the strum mechanism and fast before this tanks the IP!
Dan @ Nov 24th 2007 12:42PM
My strummer broke after about 3 hours of use. I started to think that I had my hands placed wrong on the frets or something, but it turned out the strum was intermittently not registering my strums. EA claims 48 hour replacement free of charge, so I should be getting one in the few days. I have 2 Guitar Hero guitars for my Xbox as well, so I am able to use those in the meantime. I do think that the drums seem very sturdy.
Roger @ Nov 24th 2007 2:05PM
My strumbar was flakey from the start, and the downstrum became extremely unpredictable after the three hour mark.(At one point, it stopped responding entirely.) I've switched over to my Les Paul now, and the Strat is only used for playing bass.
Francisco @ Nov 24th 2007 9:47PM
I had a few friends over the apartment playing Rock Band. We got to it and play for a few hours. After about 20 songs, the strum bar stopped working. "What?!"
Come on Rock Band Developer People! This was a no-brainer. Give us a guitar that works. I already took a chance with my 360; is buying Rock Band going to be a gamble as well?
EA's warranty website seems like it's on the ball about this. Will write more when I get the box from them.
P.S. I opted for Normal Shipping as opposed to Express.
kellyryan61 @ Nov 25th 2007 2:39AM
yea my friend got rockband and his strum bar was messed up we got a pair of plyers and pulled it up and it works just fine
Feelz Good @ Nov 25th 2007 4:15AM
Faulty headset jack on my drums here. Not to mention that the customer service rep was stupid and insulting beyond mentioning. I've never had to be so rude to someone as I have with Rock Band. It's out of control.
Visionep @ Nov 26th 2007 10:47PM
My hub wouldn't power up and the guitar started getting flaky after a few hours of play. (strum bar not registering and wouldn't engage power mode.
EA was really nice on the phone, so I'll be using my GHII guitars and my Belkin usb hub until the replacement comes.
billnipp1 @ Dec 1st 2007 10:15PM
I broke my foot pedal less then 5 hrs old. called ea, they said they'll send a new one out in 2 days, in the mean time, i took two metal plates and bolted them on, so theres no way it can brake again. also, I wonder if they'll have a double bass option in the future..
Eric @ Jan 21st 2008 8:58PM
I dont know about hardware failure but my friend was playing rockband and his system got this weird green hue to everything that his system crashed we didn't think anything about it but i played his game on my system and it developed the same problem. I would like to know if other people are heving this problem as well. Please let me know