Hardware Review: The Beatles Rock Band Rickenbacker 325 Wireless Guitar
I am a sucker for shiny things that I do not need. When I saw the first pictures of the special edition “The Beatles: Rock Band” guitars, I decided that I needed one. I ended up picking up the John Lennon Rickenbacker 325 because its design was the closest to the Rock Band 2 Stratocaster that I was already comfortable using.
The Rickenbacker 325 was one of the most recognizable guitars played by John Lennon, and MadCatz totally nailed the look and feel of the classic axe. From the faux-wood neck to the chrome plating around the whammy bar, this is by far the most detailed Rock Band peripheral out there.
Picking up the guitar for the first time, the first thing I noticed was the lack of rounded edges around the body of the guitar, making it a little uncomfortable in comparison to the Rock Band 2 Strat. Otherwise, the guitar is a complete blast to play. The effects switch is more subtle and less likely to get bumped while you’re playing, which was one of my biggest complaints with the other Rock Band guitars. The strum bar feels just slightly tighter than the Rock Band 2 Strat, which for me make the super fast strumming sections a bit tougher to pull off.
The guitar has an overall sturdy feel. Unlike some of the previous Rock Band equipment, I’m not constantly feeling like I’m going to snap it in two every time I activate overdrive.
My two biggest complaints are focused on the start and back buttons. The back button is placed just out of the reach of my palm, so in order to activate overdrive, I have to either tilt the guitar or reach down with my little finger. This isn’t really a big issue for those who prefer to tilt the guitar to go into overdrive, but I almost always use the back button, so the button placement makes things a little awkward
My number one complaint is the start button, and the fact that it barely works. It takes about 10 seconds of holding the button down for it to actually pause the game. The same goes for the 360 guide button. I have to press it as hard as I can for it to open the guide, and it only actually works about half the time. Hopefully this is only an issue for my guitar and not something anyone else had to deal with, but it is still very disappointing, especially after the exceptional performance of the Rock Band 2 Strat.
Altogether, this is the one of the best fake guitars I’ve played. The $100 price tag was a bit too steep though, especially when the $80 Wireless Stratocaster is available pretty much everywhere. If you’re a hardcore Beatles fan, though, it is worth it to be able to play with such an accurate, detailed representation of Lennon’s famous guitar.
Tags: Controllers, Madcatz, Rickenbacker 325 Wireless Guitar, Rock Band, The Beatles, The Beatles: Rock Band
This entry was posted on Monday, September 21st, 2009 at 5:00 am and is filed under Hardware, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
September 21st, 2009 at 11:35 am
Jeff says:Nice, I was debating buying the shiny set, though I think I’ll wait until they go down in price. I’m not usually into Rock Band guitars, preferring the clicky GH variety, but Beatles memorabilia is the exception.
November 11th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
Dave says:I own this and I have to say, it does not play too well. Of course it is amazing just to have and use and the experience is enhanced ten-fold when using it, but it just isn’t all that comfortable. Its strange feel is probably the reason it isn’t the main guitar that comes in the package. First of all, Beatlemania is near impossible to activate via motion controls. I found myself flailing around my room once trying to get it to work and when it finally did, about 45 seconds at been spent waving my arms-so I must say, the “back” button is a necessity. Also the strum bar is very loose so you actually have to push it all the way up or all the way down for a strum to be recognized unlike the smooth, cushiony strum bar on the hofner where just a little nudge registers a strum, making for faster, more comfortable play. The Rickenbacker 325 is primarily a visual toy than a practical one, but it still is the best guitar to get if you want two in your collection. I guess in a way I recommend it and in a way I don’t. It depends on what you like the strum bar to be like and if you need another controller…oh yeah and how obsessed you are with the beatles.