I’ve got a Guitar Hero itch to scratch, what are my options in 2021?

[KartuneDX]

Through the Fire and the Flames, Everlong, What I've Done, etc all these songs have been resurfacing in my head lately and it's a memory of my time with Guitar Hero World Tour, the only Guitar Hero game I had growing up.

I'm not even sure where to begin on getting back into Guitar Hero, or if the alternative Rock Band is a better investment. Which of these games are even available/most content rich on current-gen that I can play on PS5?

A quick search I see there's this Guitar Hero Live, but that changed the traditional 5 button layout I'm familiar with. Not knowing anything about the Rock Band franchise, is Rock Band 4 the latest in the series, and how did fans like that? What's the crossover in songs between both these series and which is worth still getting into if any? All input is appreciated!

 

[Moppy]

Rock Band 4 as it still gets ongoing DLC releases and supports (a majority of) the existing DLC going back to RB1.

That said, plastic instruments now cost $100,000, so go with god.

 

[STGHMAAV]

I you have a PC, Clone Hero.

 

[JigglesBunny]

Turn on some tunes, close your eyes and imagine a fret board coming towards you while you move your fingers in time with the music.

Or pay $1,000 to get some shit covered in yellowing stickers. Up to you.

 

[Remark]

Clone Hero on PC, Rock Band 4 (PS4/XBO)

For instruments, you just gotta get lucky on the used route. Guitars easier to find, Drums you gotta get lucky to be honest. Either way its gonna be expensive, these instruments been rising in price.

I would avoid Guitar Hero Live, servers are down and there's only a couple songs on the disc.

 

[cakely]

Rock Band 4 is the latest in the Rock Band series and you can export the music libraries from Rock Band 1, 2, 3 and Rock Band Lego. Harmonix is still releasing new songs as DLC in 2021.

I personally thought that Rock Band 3 was the height of the plastic instrument / karaoke genre, but your mileage may vary.

 

[Sketchsanchez]

How did plastic instruments become so rare. I remember game stop having so many used ones they stopped taking them.
Like any place that bought used things from you had a shit ton

 

[Beary Jams]

Rock Band 4 is the best option provided you can find the controllers, should be able to find legacy PS3 controllers that should in theory still work on the PS5 (I know they did on the PS4). Rock Band 4 is fantastic. Started out as a GH fan with 1&2 and went over to Rock Band because I've always enjoyed Harmonix as a dev.

 

[ghostcrew]

How did plastic instruments become so rare. I remember game stop having so many used ones they stopped taking them.
Like any place that bought used things from you had a shit ton

Click to shrink...

Everyone just threw them in the bin because they were plastic toy instruments taking up too much closet space for a console that nobody was using anymore.

They didn't make anymore. Now everyone has nostalgia for it and the remaining instruments are largely in the hands of enthusiasts so they're getting harder and harder to find people selling them.

 

[stumblebee]

Thrift shops. Grab a wii guitar and an adapter that lets you connect it via USB. Clone Hero's community has hella resources with thousands of songs from every GH/RB game as well as a bunch of fan-charted stuff and goofy meme shit.

 

[Wishbone Ash]

How did plastic instruments become so rare. I remember game stop having so many used ones they stopped taking them.
Like any place that bought used things from you had a shit ton

Click to shrink...

I used to frequent a few stores with retro games to peruse. They had half a wall full of different plastic instruments as recently as 3 years ago, but they stopped buying them off of people-- and soon after that, they were throwing them out. I guess oversaturation turned to excess stock, which made the prices drop and wasted store space. I'm just surprised it happened this quickly, really.

 

[jdstorm]

I'd go rock smith. Same vibe but you can actually find an instrument.

 

[DJGolfClap]

I'd go rock smith. Same vibe but you can actually find an instrument.

Click to shrink...

Rocksmith is really good and has a TON of DLC but the major downside, as fun as it is, is that it's the opposite of a pick up and play experience and requires a bit of an investment even with a cheap guitar. That said, it's really, really fun if you dedicate some time.

 

[Borgus]

Its not the same but Fuser is pretty great, is made by Harmonix and you won't need a bunch of extra plastic in your home.

 

[buttzilla]

Rocksmith is really good and has a TON of DLC but the major downside, as fun as it is, is that it's the opposite of a pick up and play experience and requires a bit of an investment even with a cheap guitar. That said, it's really, really fun if you dedicate some time.

Click to shrink...

Plus you learn how to play an actual instrument

 

[Glabados]

I would advise taking a route away from the classic peripheral rhythm games toward something like Spin Rhythm XD. Or if you must have an "instrument," maybe the recent Taiko games? There's a drum peripheral that's still obtainable.

 

[StupidSexyFlanders]

This is maddening to me as an Xbox owner. I have several GH and RB games on my 360 and a wireless RB2 guitar, but my 360 is noisy as hell and I bought a Series X anyways.

Of course none of these games are BC and the guitar won't connect anyways. I could buy RB4 but it'll cost $300-$400 to either get the adapter to use my old RB2 guitar or the RB4 guitar

 

[cakely]

I'd go rock smith. Same vibe but you can actually find an instrument.

Click to shrink...

It's a very different experience but if you want to actually play songs on a real guitar, yep, I'm a fan.

For me, Rock Band was a party experience. Karaoke, plastic drum kit and plastic "guitar" was always ridiculous fun.

 

[Moppy]

Rocksmith is really good and has a TON of DLC but the major downside, as fun as it is, is that it's the opposite of a pick up and play experience and requires a bit of an investment even with a cheap guitar. That said, it's really, really fun if you dedicate some time.

Click to shrink...

The custom DLC/charting scene was really strong on PC too, at least the last time I really looked at it (couple of years ago.)

 

[Reluctantly Gumblesmug]

Rocksmith is really good and has a TON of DLC but the major downside, as fun as it is, is that it's the opposite of a pick up and play experience and requires a bit of an investment even with a cheap guitar. That said, it's really, really fun if you dedicate some time.

Click to shrink...

I've been messing around with it, and yeah it's great. It's an investment with the guitar though. Each dlc song is like 3 bucks, as well. I'm still pretty bad but definitely seeing progress, so it's worth it imo.

 

[Lashley]

I you have a PC, Clone Hero.

Click to shrink...

 

[jdstorm]

It's a very different experience but if you want to actually play songs on a real guitar, yep, I'm a fan.

For me, Rock Band was a party experience. Karaoke, plastic drum kit and plastic "guitar" was always ridiculous fun.

Click to shrink...

Funnily enough because I could play guitar before I ever played guitar hero I actually found rock smith more of a pick up and play experience.

If it's for group play I'd bite the bullet and get plastic instruments but if it's solo rock smith or something like smule or any of the learn to play guitar apps might be a better option

 

[bounchfx]

definitely regretting getting rid of my older guitars Lol, still upset there isn't a modern RB. 4 is.. fine. but it would be nice to have a newer one w/ BC support, faster load times, etc. Thankfully I still have two RB guitars and drumsets. The RB4 drumset was worse than my RB2 one though so that became my backup one. They had a surprisingly large failure rate from my time trying several. Always some issue either wtih the red pad or kick. So frustrating. Wish I had sprung for the cymbal kit.

 

[Mad Gamer 64]

Man, I really haven't been paying enough attention to how rare Rock Band stuff had been getting. Sitting here with my most of my RB3/RB4 instruments in decent shape, as well as some older ones that work with the Xbox adapter I have and apparently I'm sitting on a goldmine lol. I knew it was scarce but it seems like interest is higher than it has been.

In any case, Rock Band 4 is great if you can get your hands on the gear I guess. Thousands of DLC songs, a pretty fun seasonal multiplayer setup, definitely the most accessible from a modern point of view on consoles. If you're just looking for a game that plays like old Guitar Hero (timing windows and other more granular differences notwithstanding, more like just a 5 lane note chart on guitar), it seems right up your alley.

 

[kauec]

Absolutely go Clone Hero, the amount of customization is absurd and you can play literally every song of every band game PLUS customs.

 

[cakely]

I still have the wooden fender strat replica controller for the 360, in a gig bag. It's in perfect condition.

That thing's amazing, btw. It's the same size and weight as a real strat. I have no idea how much those things sell for.

 

[Jhey Cyphre]

Do the old rock band instruments work with the ps4 version? I have the drums, two guitars and keyboard stashed in my garage.

 

[Santini]

If you wanted something close to Guitar Hero World Tour on PS5, your options are limited to Rock Band 4 and Guitar Hero Live via backwards compatibility as those were the only titles to make it to PS4.

Guitar Hero Live changes up the gameplay and button layout from what you were used to. Also, the "Live" portion of the game shut down some time ago, so you'd be limited to what songs were on the disc.

Rock Band 4 would be the closest to GHWT and is still actively supported. Though there are many songs available, a lot of older songs and Rock Band disc export licenses expired, so if your favorites were among those, you're out of luck. Also, instruments for RB4 are hard to find and usually pricey, at least on ebay. Some older PS3 instruments will also work provided you have the dongles for them.

As others have mentioned, if you also game on PC, a lot more options open up to you. Aside from Clone Hero, disc copies of Guitar Hero III and World Tour periodically show up on sale on ebay, sometimes bundled with the Xplorer guitar. There's a PC mod/customs scene for those games as well.

 

[OGM_Madness]

There's some misinformation in the thread here:

RB4 is the latest release and it still is being supported with weekly DLC. However, you cannot export the older games anymore, because of licensing. It is however the better game IMO. The window to hit the notes is stricter than GH, so there's a curve, but it's great. Some of the songs you mentioned are available as DLC ($2 each). It can get pricey if you get really into it.

Clone Hero is a legitimate answer, since it's the "dream" game in that you can create your library, but Clone Hero falls into piracy territory in my eyes, so YMMV. If you just want to dip your feet, it's probably your best choice. Also, clone hero lacks in presentation, there's something magical about seeing avatars play. Clone hero is literally a background.jpg

GH Live was fun and interesting, but it wasn't a success and Activision killed it.

Instruments are very scarce. Facebook marketplace sometimes has people sell instruments for $50 to $150, which are your best bet, but second hand is always a risk. The usual problem IMO is with the strum bar, but there's a guy making Strum Fix Plus which is a decent replacement, kind of like an hybrid between the vanilla fender strummer and a GH Strum (not as clicky tho). So you might need to mod the guitar for optimal experience.

Also, no matter what route you take, make sure you calibrate. I've seen newbies not get into it, simply because they didn't know how to or what calibration even is. CRTs had virtually no lag, so during GH3 & GHWT days, you could probably get by without calibration, but today's HDTVs have major lag issues. They are usually fixed with proper calibration tho!

 

[Mandos]

Get Rocksmith 2014 remastered, buy a real guitar, thank me in 6 months when you're rocking for real

(I'm not entirely joking, I started back and October and have a decent handle on bass now. And the main gameplay is similar)

 

[SunshinePuppies]

Is Flash Flash Revolution an accepted answer in 2021

 

[rucury]

Been having a lot of fun with Clone Hero. I play with a Wii Rock Band 2 guitar (needs a tongle). Even started getting into creating custom charts for songs that no one has made yet.

 

[OGM_Madness]

Do the old rock band instruments work with the ps4 version? I have the drums, two guitars and keyboard stashed in my garage.

Click to shrink...

RB4 didn't include Keys. HMX wanted to focus on the core experience... I think it was a mistake, I miss keys.

Old instruments work. I think PS4 just work, if you have the dongles. XBOX needs an adapter.

 

[Jhey Cyphre]

RB4 didn't include Keys. HMX wanted to focus on the core experience... I think it was a mistake, I miss keys.

Old instruments work. I think PS4 just work, if you have the dongles. XBOX needs an adapter.

Click to shrink...

Sucks about the Keys. They were awesome since people rarely wanted to play bass lol.

 

[Lippi]

I recently had the same itch. Bought a 2nd hand guitar hero 3 guitar and couple of games and dragged the old xbox 360 out of the loft. Unfortunately the buttons on the guitar were sticky and i couldnt get it to calibrate well, so it was basically unplayable so I have given up already :(

 

[Antipode]

Is the Wii version via the Dolphin emulator the best way to play on PC? Are there any issues/is there a better way on PC?

 

[Randroid]

For those wanting their old instruments to work on newer consoles, check out the adapters from Roll Limitless. One person is making them themselves with a 3D printer. Saved me a lot of money hooking up midi-drums to PS4, as an alternative for the 1000+ costing adapter needed for Xbox. They also sell guitar adapters although I haven't tried them myself. Also they're very helpful on Discord.

 

[Comet]

I'd highly recommend the real thing. Once I did that I never went back

 

[Abaddon]

Is DLC compatible with older versions? I have a set of wired instruments in the loft and I'd love to give them another go, but realise they're not forward compatible (wish MS/Harmonix would enable the use of USB instruments on XBO), so it's probably cheaper to grab a X360 and play 3 which I have on my Xbox account, but am I limited to the DLC that was released up to the end of that generation or is the current DLC compatible as well?

 

[CloudWolf]

So weird that there are still these people here that say "Hey, why not try Rocksmith?" or "Try playing a real guitar!"

Rock Band and Guitar Hero are not replacements for real guitar play, it's more like a 'I want to quickly pick up a fun, arcade-style game and jam out to some music'-game. Sure, playing real guitar is satisfying and all, but it's hardly an answer to the question "Hey, I want to play Guitar Hero again, what should I do?".

Anyway, your best options are either Clone Hero on PC or Rock Band 4. Finding instruments is going to be your real issue, but if you still have your old ones, there is a chance they would work in Rock Band 4 on your preferred console. Rock Band 4 is pretty damn good and every single song released for the series in the past through DLC is compatible with it. Clone Hero is a fanmade PC project that grew from Frets on Fire (if I'm correct), it's basically fan-made Guitar Hero and every song ever released in Guitar Hero and Rock Band (and many others) are downloadable as custom tracks.

Do not get Guitar Hero Live, I cannot stress this enough. Besides the weird new control scheme, they also tried their hand at having the main body of the game being some weird live service streaming thing and those servers have been turned off for years. So even if you manage to find Guitar Hero Live, you're basically paying for less than half of the game as it was on release.

 

[Hardvlade]

Through the Fire and the Flames, Everlong, What I've Done, etc all these songs have been resurfacing in my head lately and it's a memory of my time with Guitar Hero World Tour, the only Guitar Hero game I had growing up.

I'm not even sure where to begin on getting back into Guitar Hero, or if the alternative Rock Band is a better investment. Which of these games are even available/most content rich on current-gen that I can play on PS5?

A quick search I see there's this Guitar Hero Live, but that changed the traditional 5 button layout I'm familiar with. Not knowing anything about the Rock Band franchise, is Rock Band 4 the latest in the series, and how did fans like that? What's the crossover in songs between both these series and which is worth still getting into if any? All input is appreciated!

Click to shrink...

On PlayStation 5, Rock Band 4 will be your only real option. Guitar Hero Live shut down the servers and there's barely any songs on the disc. Luckily on PlayStation, you can connect most of the older instruments to the PS5. You can refer to this chart for the compatible equipment. If you prefer to play the drums, it may be a good idea to pick up an ekit (electric drum set) and then use something like the Roll Limitless Adapter - http://rolllimitless.com to plug it in to your PS5. The official way would be to use the PS3 MIDI Pro Adapter, but that thing is like $300-$400. Some of the official drum sets can get super expensive since they're no longer manufactured and ekits are amazing to play on. I love mine.

If you want to expand your music library and save some money. (as long as you're in the US), you can pick up a copy of Rock Band AC/DC and Rock Band Track Pack 2. They include codes on the back of the manual that allow you to export all of the songs to Rock Band 4. UK copies and the rest of the Track Packs are expired on PlayStation. Here's more info on it - Rock Band Exports, Track Packs & Special Packs List and here's a link on the songs you can get from the previous games as part of the Rock Band Rewinds.

Do the old rock band instruments work with the ps4 version? I have the drums, two guitars and keyboard stashed in my garage.

Click to shrink...

Most do, look at the chart above.

Rock Band 4 is the latest in the Rock Band series and you can export the music libraries from Rock Band 1, 2, 3 and Rock Band Lego.

Click to shrink...

Unless you previously owned the exports that's no longer true. The last export available which was Rock Band 3 which expired December, 2020.

I still have the wooden fender strat replica controller for the 360, in a gig bag. It's in perfect condition.

That thing's amazing, btw. It's the same size and weight as a real strat. I have no idea how much those things sell for.

Click to shrink...

They go for around $300 IIRC.

This is maddening to me as an Xbox owner. I have several GH and RB games on my 360 and a wireless RB2 guitar, but my 360 is noisy as hell and I bought a Series X anyways.

Of course none of these games are BC and the guitar won't connect anyways. I could buy RB4 but it'll cost $300-$400 to either get the adapter to use my old RB2 guitar or the RB4 guitar

Click to shrink...

This listing has it for a "decent" price - $250 USD New. They're gonna keep going up in price unfortunately. I bought mine last October around $120 from Amazon, but for Xbox players it's the "cheapest" way to get instruments. Just make sure to get a magnetic USB breakaway cable for it. The Micro USB port on the back of this thing sucks.

Always some issue either wtih the red pad or kick. So frustrating. Wish I had sprung for the cymbal kit.

Click to shrink...

Those break quite a bit from what I hear, after personally trying out a set like the Alesis Nitro (picked up at around $200 from the Facebook Marketplace). It's hard to go back to the plastic ones. Just sucks if you're on Xbox unfortunately since the options to connect it are a bit slim and pricey.

 

[Pakesaker]

I went through this same problem when wanting to have a good Rock Band option. I ended up buying a used Rock Band 4 guitar on eBay so I could play all my Rock Band games and DLC on the Series X. It was worth it for me, but finding a guitar in good condition may be tough.

 

[CloudWolf]

Is DLC compatible with older versions? I have a set of wired instruments in the loft and I'd love to give them another go, but realise they're not forward compatible (wish MS/Harmonix would enable the use of USB instruments on XBO), so it's probably cheaper to grab a X360 and play 3 which I have on my Xbox account, but am I limited to the DLC that was released up to the end of that generation or is the current DLC compatible as well?

Click to shrink...

Nope. Rock Band 4 DLC isn't compatible with previous versions. The only RB DLC that was compatible with earlier games in the series was Rock Band 2 DLC in Rock Band 1.

 

[Deleted member 24079]

I bought a 360 e that was super clean for $90. Came with 10 Kinect games and a Kinect. Looked like a community center bought it and never touched it. Most games still wrapped.
I planned on getting rock band 3 and using all of my dlc I owned over the years. Yup all 4 retro game stores near me had a few PS3 drums and guitars for about $90 to $200 each. They weren't even that clean. Offerup, Facebook marketplace and Craigslist had a smattering of trashed and gunky 360 equipment from $250 on up.
Devastating. Also the Kinect games were all zoomba and kinectimals.
I sold everything to the retro store for $40 cash and bought some tofu pad tai on the way home. Fuck I should've kept rock band 4 and the whole kit for my Xbox.

 

[Hardvlade]

Also, I'd recommend checking out MrNelson 's OT at Rock Band OT for tons of good info.

They just announced these songs this morning

 

[lobdale]

I've been looking into this myself and 360 / Rock Band 3 is the best way to go IMO. For both PS4 and Xbone you need to jump through a million hoops to export the old games and some of the codes to do so don't work anymore, AND you need expensive adapters for the instruments (one of them is literally like 600 dollars), for PS3 the stores and shit are about to get all shut down and the MIDI adapter for drums is prohibitive.

360 gets you access to Beatles Rock Band, RB2, RB3, and all you need is a 360 guitar (cheaper to find than others) and you can use real MIDI drums like the Alesis Nitro with the MIDI adapter (still relatively affordable at 50 bucks used), plus the 360 servers are still up and running unlike the situation PS3 is about to be in.

So I recommend 360.

 

[cdigs]

If Harmonix is still actively supporting Rock Band 4 with weekly DLC, why on earth are they not working to re-release instruments? Obviously they think there is enough interest for DLC. What good is the DLC if you can't bring in new players?

 

[MrNelson]

Do not get Guitar Hero Live, I cannot stress this enough. Besides the weird new control scheme, they also tried their hand at having the main body of the game being some weird live service streaming thing and those servers have been turned off for years. So even if you manage to find Guitar Hero Live, you're basically paying for less than half of the game as it was on release.

Click to shrink...

Eh, if it's cheap at a thrift store (like $30-$40 for the game and guitar) I think it's worth it. It's definitely a shell of what it once was but it can still scratch an itch, but you're definitely not finding it cheap on eBay. That said, it's definitely not a replacement for RB4.

I've been looking into this myself and 360 / Rock Band 3 is the best way to go IMO. For both PS4 and Xbone you need to jump through a million hoops to export the old games and some of the codes to do so don't work anymore, AND you need expensive adapters for the instruments (one of them is literally like 600 dollars), for PS3 the stores and shit are about to get all shut down and the MIDI adapter for drums is prohibitive.

Click to shrink...

There is A LOT of misinformation here.

Getting your exports is easy. The only caveat is that you need to have already redeemed them because they're all unavailable for purchase now.

All of your previous DLC is immediately available to you, there's no real "hoops" outside of downloading them.

No adapters are needed on PS4/5 for PS3 instruments outside of any dongles that they came with originally.

Sony already said any cross-buy stuff (which all pre-RB4 dlc is) will still be available.

 

[NowhereFaded]

Looking to buy my daughters rockband 4 for the Xbox series but they are super rare.

 

[Thrill_house]

My girlfriend and I picked up rockband 4 for ps4. Still lots of fun and a ton of songs there