j123vt_99

didn't see a thread on this product. basically works for rock band and guitar hero iii. any reviews on this?

http://www.amazon.com/Playstation-Fr...8&s=videogames

seems like a great way to play both games for people like me who cant decide which one to get.. it is possible to buy the games for gh3 and rock band without buying all the instruments?

darkside

It got a fairly good review from IGN. I nearly bought one, but decided on the PS2 to PS3 adapter from TAC that is supposed to be released soon. It was only $20 and will let me use my old PS2 guitar to play all the games on the PS3.

From the IGN review it sounded like the Frontman was a pretty solid guitar, but maybe a notch below the quality of the Red Octane guitars. There is no way it can be as bad as the garbage guitars for Rock Band.

I ended up passing because I really want something that also works with the PS2 games on PS3 and because $60 seems too high for a third party guitar even if it works with both games.

Here is the TAC option. It is $10 cheaper, but isn't shipping yet. Don't know about the quality of their guitars, but I think they have been making them since Guitar Freaks.

http://store.theantcommandos.com/pro...v-wl-blkv3.htm

DVD Josh

Darkside, the website doesn't indicate that you'll be able to play GH1, GH2 and 80s on the PS3, just that you'll be able to play the PS2 GUITAR on Guitar Hero 3 on PS3.

http://store.theantcommandos.com/pro...r-ps3-adpt.htm

PerryD

The link is a little confusing, so it's hard to say for sure. They seem to imply that every Guitar Hero game will run on the PS3 with the adapter.
"PS2 to PS3 Converter will enable your old PS2 controller (guitar or non-guitar) to be used on PS3 for both Guitar Hero and Rock Band games

TAC has tested the following games
Guitar Hero III for PS2
Guitar Hero III for PS3
Guitar Hero I for PS2
Rock Band for PS3"

darkside

Yeah, I'm not 100% sure, but that was the impression I got from the listing. I ordered one and will test it out and post when it finally ships.

rdemond

I purchased the Frontman for the Wii and have been very impressed with it. It's a little lighter than the red octane guitar though. Also the plus and minus buttons are in a different spot than the official guitar which took a little getting used to.

j123vt_99

Got this delivered yesterday. Nice guitar and all but it keeps freezing on me
I'll be playing a song and the guitar will just be unresponsive. Could be in the middle of a song, a solo, a long chord or just going through the menu. It seems to be random and is not a battery problem, as I have tried multiple batteries. It is extremely annoying and ruins the whole experience. I suppose that is one of the problems with buying 3rd party products.

Absolute Zero

Please let us know how the converter works out. I'm ready to buy it if you reccomend it.

Kelkee

I picked up one for the Wii also. It is lighter than the Les Paul but seems to be pretty solid construction. The neck is not removable ( well its not quick release. You may be able to unscrew it. ) and the face place requires a tool to remove it. I have both Les Paul and the Nyko.

The frets seem to require less force to press on the Nyko. The LP is 'clickier' like an old IBM keyboard whereas the Nyko is like a newer Dell keyboard. Whether this is good or bad depends on personal preference I guess.

The strum switch has exactly the same tactile feel, response and sound on both.

DVD Josh

I think it's purposely worded vague to get people to buy it. But the language just says you can use your old guitar on the PS3 version of GH3 and RB. And the tests don't say anything about GH/GH2 on PS3, just on PS2.

If anyone who ordered one got it, please test and let us know!

darkside

It seems they are honest in the list of games it works with though I don't have the PS2 GH3 to test. Notice they only list the original GH and GH3 on PS2.

I got mine today and played about 20 minutes on each game I tested. I also did the tutorial on all three to test hammer ons and pulls offs, whammy bar and star power for sure.

First of all I haven't played Rock Band since December and I was terrible at first, but all my problems were related to me and not the adapter. Once I got my fingers back in gear I had few issues.

First the PS3 games. I tested all with the PS2 GH2 guitar from Red Octane. The red/black one to be precise.

Rockband: Seems to work nearly perfectly. Had no issues holding down notes, general fast strumming, doing hammer ons and pull offs, whammy bar or star power. Star power seemed to activate just like normal and actually much better than the awful RB guitar where it activates at random.

GH3: Almost the same as RB with one minor issue. I had no issues holding notes, strumming, doing the hammer ons and pull offs or using the whammy bar, but there is a slight issue with star power. A quick tilt will not activate it. You have to hold the neck up for about a second and a half. The instructions mention it and I found it to be true. It isn't a deal killer and I had no major issues, but I would probably just use the select button though I tend to use that anyway.

I also tried these PS2 games:

Guitar Hero 1: Getting it to work is a bit weird. I started the game with the PS3 controller and then set it to controller two in the home button menu. I then plugged in the USB adapter with it set for GP which I think is the mode to let any standard PS2 controller work with PS3 games. GH recognized the guitar then and it worked perfectly. Just like it would work on the PS2.

GH2: This one is no dice. Tried the same thing and the game would recognize the controller, but it would not work correctly. Buttons are all wrong. Oddly enough my cheap adapter from Radio Shack does work, with the exception of whammy bar and hammer ons and pulls offs.

I don't have the 80s one, but I'm betting it won't work either.

However, for the $24 including shipping I am thrilled. I can play RB, GH3 and the original GH without needed anything else. I can also use a standard PS2 controller on the system for PS3 games that don't need the analog L2 and R2 buttons. No rumble works though on PS2 or PS3 games.

Absolute Zero

Thank you for the detailed review!

PerryD

Thanks from me also. I've been studying this also. I wonder what the issue for them to get an adapter that can play everything up to this point? This isn't exactly rocket science, I wouldn't think.

Just playing GH1 on the PS3 isn't worth the trouble as I have GH2, 80s and GH3 for the PS2 also. I was going to pick up GH3 for the PS3 if the guitars would have been compatible with RB, but since it wasn't I just got the PS3 version when it was on sale since I already have 2 guitars for the PS2. I really need a second guitar/bass for Rock Band, that is priority number one for me, but whether to get a official Rock Band guitar, to get a TAC Bass guitar, or to get a TAC adapter and use my PS2 guitar, just too many choices right now. The TAC options give me flexibility to get GH3 or GH:Aerosmith for the PS3, but, really, for me Rock Band is enough, and I think I probably should reward them with buying the official Rock Band guitar.

chess

I posted this on the RB forums, but thought I'd paste here as well...

Got my Frontman in the mail today from Amazon. First impression...looks like a toy. The plastic is matte, and the overall design isn't terribly attractive compared to the Strat, which is gorgeous but has a crap strum bar. The neck is quite a bit thicker than the Strat, sort of like the Les Paul and the buttons have more of a GH feel, which I prefer.

Functionally, it's pretty good so far. The fret buttons are firm, but not too firm. The whammy on mine is a bit too stiff, but I'm guessing it will loosen up like every other guitar controller I've ever had. Most importantly, the strum bar feels really good and the click is back! Overall, it feels like a quality unit, and it plays a lot like the Les Paul I had for my Wii, but with a stiffer whammy. I'm already doing much better on songs I usually struggle with on the Strat. The lights on the receiver are much cooler than I expected, and synching wasn't terribly difficult (at least for RB...have not tried GHIII)

Only complaint: The placement for the strap does not "balance" the guitar and shifts the weight to the neck. They should have attached the strap on the back of the neck like most other guitars. I attached a camera wriststrap I had laying around on the end of the strap and slid it down the neck, which allows me to balance the weight of the guitar much better...so it's easily overcome but is still an annoying oversight.

Bottom line: Ugly and more toylike than the Strat, but with better performance and dual compatability with GHIII. Build quality is certainly not first-party, but is still pretty good. Definitely a winner, but not perfect. Well worth the cash if you miss the "click" or if you only want to have one guitar...which both apply to me.

chess

I'm also a bit wary of some of the negative reviews for the Nyko as it appears that the folks at TAC are doing some dirty marketing on various forums (they got busted on the RB forums) and I'm seeing the same reviews in a lot of places.

Not saying they aren't true...just saying "grain of salt".