Some more thoughts:

Finished up the Road Challenges / Career Mode on Guitar today. I probably would have been able to do it all in an afternoon had I marathoned it. Somewhat disappointing that the game's "career" mode is so short. I know I can go through it again with different instruments, but still...

Then I went into the Goals section and started doing those. I love how it keeps track of everything you've done and what you have left, and then will create a playlist of just the songs you have left to finish the goal. This seems like where the game's longevity can come into play, but will new goals be created/available in the future or is this it? It seems like it would be easy for new goals to be downloaded or created depending on new DLC.

Then I ventured into keyboards. Tried easy first, was too easy. Bumped up to Medium. Still kind of easy but I was missing notes here and there as it is a different instrument and my instincts are still for the spacing of the keys on the guitar. Then I started the Pro Keys trainer and after 5-6 lessons had my ass handed to me. Decided I'll stick with regular keys for a while, working my way up to Expert before attempting Pro Keys again.

And count me in on both the theories that it's easier to fail out of songs in RB3, and that the song's rankings don't seem to be accurate in the slightest. One song will give me the devil ratings and I have no problem getting through it. Another only appears to be Tier 4 and it kicks my ass.

I would also vote for Antibodies. That song is rated entirely too low on guitar at least. Expert is a dick.

I'd say Yoshimi <sp> is under rated on drums at least. It's a strange beat that throws me. Kind of like Jane Says the first few times through or if I've had even a drink.

Anyone think there's any possibility of the original songs from the "Scott Pilgrim" movie might end up as DLC?

I'd be up for that, obviously. If it's not released quickly enough to tie into the DVD/Blu-ray release, though, I can't imagine it'd happen at all.

There's nothing plugging any DLC in the Scott Pilgrim home video release, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

Man I cannot get past Jerry Was A Race Car Driver. I can't believe this isn't rated as a face-melter. It's the only song from the nightmare bass expert I haven't completed, and I've gotten all the songs done under Impossible Bass Expert.

Even with no fail on I can't get more than 2 1/2 stars.

I think it might be worth trying the Easy keys trainer and then playing Easy pro keys. That's what I did, at least, and after a few songs, my mind was able to better connect the highlight keys on-screen with the keyboard in front of me. I haven't moved up to Medium yet, but I'd bet that getting a good grasp with actual songs on Easy will lay a better foundation than just sticking with the trainer. Despite never legitimately having played keys before (even though I own entire banks of synths!), I can four-or-five star pretty much everything on Pro Easy now.

You could just keep Rock Band 2. I sold my Rock Band game but it seems RB2 is worth holding onto.

I really wish it would save my sort settings (or am I missing something?). I hate having to always change it from song title to artist every time.

So I powered through 25 songs on standard drums to get that achievement. Once that was done, my plan was to tackle some of the pro trainers and get into the pro mode and never look back.

Turns out that only having 2 cymbals isn't enough for the trainer. I can play the songs, sure, but I kinda wanted to check that out too. Clever bastards.

the 3 cymbals are worth it IMO. I've been having much more fun. The disco flip back to the hihat is fucking awesome, so much easier and fun to play those songs.

I wondered about the disco beat. Isn't it uncomfortable with the placement of the hi hat?

I'll get around to it eventually. I just need to decide if I want to spend the tiny amount of money on these rinky-dink sets or if I want to full-on upgrade to an Ion. I want to because I like toys, but I'm fairly certain I won't be getting anywhere near good enough to justify the investment.

Meh, the only justification you need is how much fun you'll have with them. Who cares if you can't gold star every song on them.

I'd maybe look into an e-drum kit instead of an Ion. The cymbals and the pedal are shit, and eventually your going to want to replace at least the pedal. My "Ion" kit is barely one anymore, the only things from the original kit that I'm still using are three of the pads, the frame, and the brain.

I thought the new Ion (Pro?) came with the rocker pedal?

It might, I dunno, how much is it though? I still think those cymbals are shit.

$250. This is the image from the Ion site:



Other than the pedal, it's the same as before, apparently. No improvements in pads or cymbals.

Oh, I am pretty sure they are releasing a "Pro" version that does include another pedal and cymbal. The pads are pretty decent, but eventually you'll want to do the RB Drum silencer mod to them, quiets them down once the foam starts separating and also makes them more solid.

You sure are doing a great job talking me away from the edge.

I can't tell if that is sarcasm or not (damn detector is busted!). It's a decent kit, especially for $250, but it's pretty incomplete, IMHO. You are going to spend another $80 or so getting a good pedal, and then another $50-$60 (or more?) buying a Hi-Hat cymbal and an arm. The cool thing is you can do everything in steps. I got my Ion when it first came out a couple years ago, and every once and a while I'll just buy a new part for it. Last thing I got before I replaced the cymbals was a Roland Mesh pad for the snare, so much bounce, it's awesome.

4 starred Crazy Train on Expert Pro Drums...I will 5 star that bitch...oh yes I will.

Speaking of the Ion...I am just going to add two more cymbals to my kit. I have a cymbal to my left which I usually set up as a green, but I switched it to a blue since there are good amount of songs that use blue as a crash...and hitting the ride doesn't feel right. So I am just going to take my extra Alesis surge cymbals and set up a yellow crash to my left...and add another blue crash to the right. I'm going to Neil Peart this motherfucker.

Did anyone get the Keytar?

No. No one at all did.

Did anyone pick up one of the newly branded RB3 guitars? I'm in need of a new guitar (still using my Guitar Hero Aerosmith one after my GH4 one bit the dust) and would like to upgrade.