Rock Band 2 Standalone Guitar

Howlsthunder: #rock_band_2_standalone_guitar I have both the RockBand 2 box-set guitar (black) and this stand-alone guitar for Wii. It seems there may be some variance between individual guitars as evidenced by reviewers elsewhere but here is my experience:

First, the stand-alone is nearly identical in materials, weight, and durability, the only visible difference being that the original is shiny black and the stand-alone has a traditional "sunburst" design, not quite as shiny. Both look good to me.

The neck fret buttons are equally clicky on my black and stand-alone guitars and reaction times seem to be the same.

The major differences are in the strum bar and overdrive sensor:
. The strum bar has a very quiet click to it, much quieter than the original black guitar and feels a bit tighter, which I like a lot.

. The overdrive sensor is MUCH improved, setting off your overdrive immediately with no delay. I find that if I keep the guitar level while playing I don't have issues with setting it off accidentally though it would be very easy to do. I prefer the new sensitivity over the original guitar.

As a real-life guitar player with multiple instruments, I find that the differences give each peripheral its own "personality" and I don't prefer either over the other; I just grab the closest guitar and alter my playing ever so slightly for the quirks of each, just like with a real instrument.

I have not had any experience with guitar peripherals from other manufacturers (Mad Catz, Niko). I bought this guitar because of its high reviews and because the official guitars simply LOOK better than off-brand guitars. I have not been disappointed. Mar 31, 09