After a request for comment from Joystiq, Red Octane has officially responded to the reported problems with the Xbox 360 Guitar Hero II X-plorer guitar. For those that missed the news, it seems that many people are experiencing problems using the whammy bar on the X-plorer guitar for the Xbox 360 version of GHII. Some claim that it is slow to respond to input, or that it doesn't respond at all. Users are also complaining of faulty tilt controls. There are two different controller models, distinguishable by the location of the pedal jack (either near the power cable, or near the headset jack and shoulder strap; both models pictured above). We've received reports of problems with both models.
In response to the reported problems, a spokesman from Red Octane told Joystiq, "In regards to the controller, we're currently in the process of having our internal QA and production teams look into this possible issue, and are working to quickly isolate this if there is one. In the meantime, we suggest our fans try to replug in their guitars without holding down any buttons or the whammy bar, and that may help immediately resolve the issue." You heard the man, you'd best resist the urge to fiddle with your whammy bar when plugging in your guitar.
As for the "recall," Guitar Hero's street date lockout caused Target computers to register the product as "Recall for Sale." For now, there is no official recall of Guitar Hero II and its X-plorer guitar. In the meantime, Red Octane is investigating any flaws in the X-plorer hardware.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-04-2007 @ 5:06PM
Knuckles Dawson said...
But, Richard, you know how much I can't resist wiggling with my whammy...
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4-04-2007 @ 5:35PM
supermanfan said...
Glad to know they are looking into it. I'm currently waiting for my 360 to get back from repair, which should be tommorrow, so I'll be checking out my guitar to see if it's defective in any way. I did check it to what version it is and the pedal jack is near the power cable. So I'll definitely make sure not to touch any buttons or the whammy bar when plugging it in.
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4-04-2007 @ 5:41PM
homer34 said...
ahahahahhahahahaha!!
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4-04-2007 @ 5:51PM
jcweber said...
The reason that Target stores had recall sale on the slip was because corperate had locked the game out so no stores could presell anything...this could be sidestepped at the register if the salesperson wanted to...but it was not a recall due to a malfunctioning part or anything.
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4-04-2007 @ 6:06PM
Foe said...
I've actually noticed both problems, plus a third.
1) The whammy bar seems to only activate when you press it all the way down, so it seems as there is just too much "play". It's also seemingly completely unresponsive sometimes.
2) The tilt works but you have to dramatically tilt it up. Dramatically to the point where it's messed up some of my streaks having to point it so high.
3) If you have the guitar plugged in, it seems to default the right analog stick up. Meaning if you play another game (Worms, for me) the screen pans up until you unplug the guitar.
These are big annoyances. It knocks the score all the way down from a 9.5 to a 9.49 or so. Still an awesome game.
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4-04-2007 @ 7:06PM
Jared said...
I noticed the whammy bar woes at a best buy kiosk...not a good thing when trying to convince people to shell out $89 for a game that they may or may not already have.
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4-04-2007 @ 8:19PM
AlbertXII said...
I picked one up at Circuit City yesterday and the guitar was totally dead, didn't respond to anything when I plugged it in. After some hassle, I got a new one and it worked perfectly...
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4-04-2007 @ 8:50PM
recon said...
my guitar had a difective whammy bar but best buy gladly exchanged for me now it works 99.5 percent of the time with a minor lag every so often!
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4-04-2007 @ 9:21PM
Smacksmackums said...
My guitar seems to work alright so far. I got the type that's "not problematic" with the foot pedal jack on the side.
Anyway, the whammy bar seems to be less responsive than the PS2 version, but it still works fine, just a split second lag before the whammying begins. In my opinion nothing to complain about. Great game.
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4-04-2007 @ 9:21PM
Jedimonkey said...
no issues with mine, but im a lefty and dont use the whammy bar too much
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4-04-2007 @ 10:35PM
James said...
Don't care; won't buy it till it comes with a *wireless* guitar. I don't plug anything into my 360; that's a rule.
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4-05-2007 @ 4:31AM
LordAlu said...
"Don't care; won't buy it till it comes with a *wireless* guitar. I don't plug anything into my 360; that's a rule."
So... no power or video/audio output then... how do you play it?
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4-05-2007 @ 6:01AM
Markus87 said...
This is a non issue I'd say. In theory you could keep returning it until you get a new one. There is no legal ground for being refused, especially if the product is defective.
But historically the first batch of guitars have always been defective. When I worked at EB and the PS2 version came out we sold all 20 we got on the first day. About 18 of them came back for a defective replacement!
The best thing you can do is either take it back to the store and get a new one, or call up Red Octane. Also, be sure to get a RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) Number or they won't accept your claim when the controller gets to them.
Plus because I'm such a nice guy, here's a quote from Octane's warranty info, found at the support center site.
"Every RedOctane branded accessory purchased from RedOctane.com comes with a 60 day warranty. RedOctane will replace or repair any defective component(s) at no charge to you within 60 days of the purchase date. This warranty is only available for the following products: : RedOctane Guitar Hero Controller, RedOctane Dance Pad, RedOctane Ignition Pad, RedOctane Metal Pad, RedOctane Arcade Stick, RedOctane Taiko Drum, RedOctane Reload Pedal and RedOctane Dual USB Adaptor.
Exchanges normally take 2-3 weeks to process after our receipt of the package. During this time, we will test your item(s) and either send you replacement product(s) or reconditioned, refurbished product(s). If a product is no longer available, RedOctane retains the right to replace the product with a similar one. If we find your product(s) is working properly, we will charge you a 15% handling fee and postage for return shipping.
Warranties are not renewed for exchanged items. For example, if a product has a 30 day warranty and was purchased September 1st, the original period lasts until October 1st. If an exchange takes places in between that period, the exchanged item’s warranty lasts until October 1st as well. The exchange does not receive a new warranty period."
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4-05-2007 @ 6:06AM
JobyS said...
Don't care; won't buy it till it comes with a *wireless* guitar. I don't plug anything into my 360; that's a rule."
So... no power or video/audio output then... how do you play it?
He doesn't, he just plays with himself.
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4-05-2007 @ 9:02AM
saxamoophone said...
Mine seems to be working fine so far!
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4-05-2007 @ 10:56AM
FurryJello said...
I have experienced both issues with the whammy and the tilt.
I have the one with the pedal jack next to the power cord.
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4-05-2007 @ 2:36PM
monkeypup said...
Day three - Dead controller. Only the start button works. Off to Best Buy to return it.
:(
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4-05-2007 @ 4:44PM
dlintball said...
Ok, so my friend got his 360 GH2 and two controllers. Both had problems with enabling star power. We didn't think it was us, because we've been playing the PS2 GH1 and GH2 for awhile now. There were some instances where the whammy didn't work but it wasn't as bad as the lag for enabling star power. We had to hold the controller upright for several seconds before it would engage. Sometimes even that didn't work.
So we tried plugging into a WinXP machine as someone recommended and checked the game controller settings from Control Panel. Everything checked out fine, both controllers were responsive. So that lead us to believe the controllers are fine. Must be software.
Then my friend remembered an issue with HDTVs and Gears of War. Apparently there was a lag problem when gamers had their 360s plugged into the HD connection on their TVs. The developers never noticed because they were using VGA inputs when testing. So we tried hooking into VGA and it worked fine. No more lag, whammy bar and star power worked perfect.
By the way there is a HDTV lag calibration built into GH2 but that did not seem to fix the problem.
So if you are using composite video or S-video or VGA you probably won't have any problems, it should work. Just the folks using HD (Component video input). Try it and see.
Sorry, my friend corrected me, it was no 4x3 support for GOW because the testers were using VGA wide screens. But that's how he got the idea to try VGA with GH2 and wha-la, game plays good now. THX
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