Over in the Tech Support section of the official Rock Band forums, numerous posters are complaining that their game's peripherals are malfunctioning after limited use. The majority of complaints surround the bundle's four port USB hub which reportedly breaks apart and the Stratocaster guitar which can have a faulty strum bar. We've already heard from a few fanboys reporting Stratocaster issues, but we're not ready to call peripheral shenanigans just yet.The good news is that EA is being very proactive in the matter and is ready and willing to deal with Rock Band peripheral replacements. So, if you've been bitten by the broken peripheral bug, head over to Rock Band's warranty website to get more information and to request a replacement. Here's to hoping this whole entire ball of peripheral problem wax is isolated and only happens to the bad people of the world. You know who you are.
[Thanks, Dale]












Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-23-2007 @ 11:24AM
JasonTD said...
My drumkit didn't work straight out of the box, but everything else was fine, and EA was very helpful and prompt about helping me get a replacement.
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11-23-2007 @ 11:28AM
Josh said...
A friend of mine who has been shunning GHIII for Rock Band had his foot pedal on the drums break in half on the first day. Apparently the pressure point on the pedal is the thinnest/weakest part.
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11-23-2007 @ 11:43AM
corbin said...
Yeah that usb hub is probably the cheapest part in that whole box. I can't believe I paid for a piece of crap like that. I just hope my drums don't break after the warranty is over.
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11-23-2007 @ 12:10PM
ian said...
All I know is that I beat the ever loving crap out of these drums for a few days not and their holding out great. I put a little padding on each to cut down on the thwack they make but still perform fine.
My guess is that the people that broke the strum part more than likely play it wrong (constantly moving their whole hand up and down instead of pinching it). I havent really played the guitar much because I love playing those drums so much.
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11-23-2007 @ 12:22PM
mdb said...
The guitar seems to give after 6-8 hours of playing from all the people I've spoken to. I've played mine for 4 hours now and the downstrum is starting to not work sometimes now. It's particularly brutal in sections that require constant strumming.
Also, my drum pedal broke in the back where it's achored down to the rest of the pedal. Some duct tape fixed that though.
I did break stick within a few hours of playing too, but that wasn't a big deal.
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11-23-2007 @ 12:25PM
Big Bird said...
My fret buttons are already sticking, pretty much out of the box :(
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11-23-2007 @ 12:37PM
Doug said...
Not surprising people are having problems... The guitar and hub are very cheaply built. My brother and I have completely given up on the guitar and use GH3 guitars exclusively now.
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11-23-2007 @ 12:49PM
Brian said...
I gotta say I'm very surprised with the quality of the drum kit. My opinion is if you break anything on that kit including the pedal, you're simply playing too hard. It's a video game for crying out loud and playing harder doesn't make them louder. The guitar however is cheesy and I can hardly activate my power consistently unless I use the back button.
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11-28-2007 @ 2:03AM
tothextreme said...
Your opinion is wrong. TEN SECONDS into "Little Sister," I broke the drum pedal in half. That is _ridiculous_
I've been playing drums for 15 years, and knowing how cheap that drumset looked, I handling it like a baby. Three bars into the song, I look down because my bass drum notes don't seem to be working, and lo and behold, the drum pedal is now in two pieces. GARBAGE. Like another poster said, they made the point of impact the thinnest/weakest part of the pedal. That is some weaksauce design.
11-23-2007 @ 1:09PM
Tr3y MoNey said...
I beat the SHIZA out of my drums AND kick pedal and no problems so far. They have about 12 hours of play time right now. I have noticed when playing the Fender that the strumbar isn't extremely responsive when you have a super-fast rhythm going, but it's not like anyone gets perfect all the time anyways. Overall I have to say that this is probably the best purchase for my 360 Yet (besides COD4 of course).
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11-23-2007 @ 1:30PM
Kriegs said...
Mine's been fine. Played for a good 12hrs (on and off, had to cook a turkey) but everything is fine. I may pick up a different usb hub as the one that comes with it, the cord is REALLY shirt and just seems very cheap.
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11-23-2007 @ 1:31PM
Granteezy said...
My down-strumming is inconsistent after 20 hrs of play between all of us. Definitely on the phone with EA as we speak!
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11-23-2007 @ 1:34PM
Frank said...
I've had two (real) drummers, wail relentlessly on the drum kit and have experienced no problems.
However, I concur with those that think the guitar strum bar is a joke. I'm also having downstroke problems and every 5th or 6th note won't register properly. The fact of the matter is when you get to sections where you have to constantly stroke up and down the strum bar is gonna take a beating and this just doesn't feel like it was put together properly.
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11-23-2007 @ 1:37PM
GrossGreg said...
Man, I hate to be a cynic, but Rock Band doesn't need another nail in its coffin. The PS3 could withstand such a pummeling (no hate intended), but I'll be surprised if Rock Band can survive the storm.
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11-23-2007 @ 2:42PM
Frank said...
Now I'll disagree with you Greg on this being a nail in the coffin.
I think the game itself if phenomenal, they obviously didn't have Red Octane making the peripherals this time and in the guitar it shows... I'm getting used to the fret buttons, and my only problem is with the strummer. Other than that I really like the guitar.
The game itself is just plain ole fun, and the presentation is far superior to Guitar Hero. The crowd interaction, the graphics, it's just nicer.
I love both games, but I refuse to be as pretentious as some GH purists can be. Yes, it's not as difficult as Guitar Hero. It's an accessible title for gamers and non-gamers alike and it's extremely fun. Most of my friends can't hang with me on Expert in GH2 and 3... with this game anyone can pick it up and have a great time.
I hope they learn from the mistake with the strum bar and make it sturdier down the line, that's the only knock I have. Other than that, I think this is a must-have game.
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11-23-2007 @ 3:23PM
E.J. said...
The title update didn't fix the strum bar as promised. My guitar busted on day one. I paid $180 for this game and now I have to pay $20 because I have to get my defective guitar replaced?! Ridiculous.
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11-23-2007 @ 6:46PM
Stan said...
Both mine and my friend's bass pedal have broken in half. At least EA is replacing it for free.
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11-23-2007 @ 8:53PM
carnage rules said...
I've had it for a couple of days and the spring on the whammy bar broke and now its just limp and I had to start strumming up because down wasn't working correctly.
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11-23-2007 @ 10:49PM
Granteezy said...
I can't believe the poor build quality of the guitar! Harmonix better re-design the strum mechanism and fast before this tanks the IP!
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11-24-2007 @ 12:42PM
Dan said...
My strummer broke after about 3 hours of use. I started to think that I had my hands placed wrong on the frets or something, but it turned out the strum was intermittently not registering my strums. EA claims 48 hour replacement free of charge, so I should be getting one in the few days. I have 2 Guitar Hero guitars for my Xbox as well, so I am able to use those in the meantime. I do think that the drums seem very sturdy.
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