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Wireless Guitar Hero Redux
jeffb writes "I just finished a DIY project and thought you guys would enjoy a look. An improved upon idea: a redux of the wireless guitar hero controller, this time with perfectly functioning whammy bar, rechargeable NiMH pack onboard which can be charged from the PS2's built-in USB ports (for charging, and/or playing while docked), wireless link/activity indicator, and assembled with a nod towards a clean, and professional looking job. Complete how-to with parts list included. Best regards, rock out, and happy soldering! " The original piece on this as well.
dadadadada dada da dundun!
Has he arms of thread? Is he paste or made of bread?
Nobody wants him! He just fiddles his frets!
you are crazy. if this guy has this kind of talent, it could help him on his resume. i mean he did this from scratch on his own. thats incredible, and shows how hobbies can seriously get you somewhere if you do it right.
This is f'ing hilarious... Look at his flickr pix, some chick with a nice set! So apparently Guitar Hero hasn't ruined his love life! Damn you Guitar Hero, if only I had learned to play fake guitar instead of the real thing!!! :(
+1 for inventive hacking/creative thinking
-10000 for degrading music as an art form.
Not looking good, Bob.
If firefighters fight fire, and crimefighters fight crime, what do freedom fighters fight? - George Carlin
the last link to the story isnt to the original wireless mod which i did and posted over at make: http://forums.makezine.com/comments.php?Discussion ID=33, its to the guy who made the self-contained music playing guitar. i dont believe that functioned at all as a controller for the game like mine did.
:)
rock on! I *love* the battery pack idea! top of my list for revision two
Eh, I'm not impressed. Now, my Wireless Air Guitar, there's a worthy hack.
I prefer his other project : http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffb/82039232/in/set -1671423/
Can you post a HOWTO? I'm tired of getting tangled up in cords when I play my air guitar.
This guy's the limit!
I'm surprised to see this kind of response on slashdot of all places. OMG I PLAY REAL GUITAR HAHA U PLAY TOY LOSER!
It's called a video _game_.
Yknow, something that isn't real, you do for fun?
I play guitar, bass, piano, and drums, and recently picked up guitar hero. honestly? guitar hero's not at all like any "real" instrument, yes, but it's great fun, if you're not so insecure and self conscious about it that the fact it's not "real HARDCORE GUITAR AAARRRGH".
So slashdot, wake up, remember you're on a tech site and supposedly a fan of odd hacks and of gaming, and stop waving your e-peen about by declaring you're better than him for playing "the real thing"
It's a video game. If we're going to get asinine here, why don't you apply the same argument to "race a real friggin' car," "shoot a real friggin' gun," "use a real friggin' sword," etc?
(Also: you're crazy.)
Here's why I don't apply the same argument to other videogame genres: learning to play a real guitar is not likely to result in injuries, death, or imprisonment. Unless you turn out to be really, really bad at it. Race a real friggin' car... Why not? Just shell out a few hundred thousand dollars for a race car, reserve some time at the track, hire a team of mechanics. Yeah, sure, you're a millionaire, go for it! Shoot a real friggin' gun... yeah, there's exactly the same amount of personal risk, expense, and legal paperwork to fill out to be able to shoot a real gun as there is to pick up a guitar and learn some chord progressions. Exactly the same amount. So go and grab a real gun and fire away. Use a real friggin' sword... um... use it to do what, exactly? I'm looking around, and I... hmm... don't see any orcs or trolls to battle in the real world, unless you count lawyers, and it's illegal to take a sword to them, at least at the moment...
This sig, aah-ah, is comin' like a ghost-sig...
As a "real" guitarist, I can tell you that the Guitar Hero games are a blast!
Way back around '92 or so Aerosmith had a game at EPCOT in Florida where you had to play rhythm guitar to "Walk This Way" and some of their other songs. You were judged on how close you got to the strumming timing and it was *hard*! I played that game for hours, totally having a blast because I didn't have to remember a lot of fingerings and could really concentrate on the right rhythm. I think if I had that game at my house my rhythm guitar would have been that much better since it interactively told you how you were doing rather than either listening to yourself (always suspect) or having to find someone to honestly critique you.
Nice game, nice controller!
This post brought to you by your friendly neighborhood MBA.
Because learning to actually play a real guitar takes a very, very long time...
I probably spend more time learning to play a single song than this guy spent building his custom guitar-hero guitar.
Any man who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood. -- H. L. Mencken
First and foremost, it is a game controller, not a gig guitar... so I think it is important to separate two different "threads" of thought here...
As a guitar, well, it's not like a real guitar. That's OK, because if you'd like to learn guitar, you can get yourself an inexpensive set up like this or this, or for left-handed folks, this. I don't think comparing the controller to a real guitar or learning to a real guitar is relevant. Not everyone that has dreams of wailin' on a guitar or spankin' the plank with some down-home (your favorite kind of music here), but lots of folks would enjoy the fun of playing guitar without the trappings of learning two hands, many strings, and 18-24 frets.
Games are supposed to be entertaining - I don't think that the comparison to real-world instruments is relevant (beyond their entertainment value).
So far as the hack... It seems pretty neat to me. Doing hardware hacks is a lot like candy - it doesn't have to have a point - it's just fun.
A Passionate Independent Musician
I have another theory: He didn't have to spend years and years practicing the opening melody of "nothing else matters" in complete isolation, so he actually has lots of time left, for example to build a wireless controller into his air guitar, or to hang around with lots of sexy chicks.
molmod.com - computing tips from a molecular modeling
In the early 90's there was a PC game called "Quest for Fame" that included a "virtual pick" that connected to a joystick/game port (a 15-pin serial port made for joysticks & gamepads specifically, before the days of USB). Basically you had to strike something with the pick in time with the music. The whole object of the game was to play gigs and eventually be a guest guitarist at an Aerosmith show. It's kind of funny to think about it now but also sad that no one can think of original ideas anymore.
He didn't have to spend years and years practicing the opening melody of "nothing else matters"
For those of you who didn't find this damn hilarious, the beginning of "Nothing Else Matters" is all open strings, that is, no fretwork involved.
All that is necessary for the triumph of good is that evil men do nothing.
Nice. Stand up for your favorite game, then take a shot at a popular web trend.
Some people enjoy pretending to play the guitar in a video game using a plastic toy.
Some people enjoy making and talking to friends via MySpace.
Neither group of people are doing anything wrong.
There is also nothing wrong with LARPers, anime otaku, Trekkies, furries, Promise Keepers, podcasters, crossdressers, luthiers, jazzercizers, kickball league players, potters, painters, fantasy football commissioners, para-para dancers, "fan fiction" erotica writers, or Seventh Day Adventists.
Within the bounds of legality, how you choose spend your free time is your own goddamn business and nobody else's.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.