I went to a friend's house yesterday to try his PS3 Rock Band.  The drums were quite a workout, and I have no drumming experience.  It does closely resemble playing real drums.

I like the PSN online store interface more than XBox Live Marketplace.  At least the prices of digital items are in actual dollars instead of the points nonsense.

Yep, I'm on my second set now (broke the foot pedal on my first a few weeks ago). This second set is quieter than the first. I'm not sure if it's simply because I wore out the first one, or if this one was made differently. Either way, I like it better.

Are you using the new Rock Band Music Store from within the game? It's much better than browsing to the Rock Band add-on content in the regular PlayStation Store.

The only reason I'd ever want to play Rock Band is for the drums.  But the fact that the game emphasizes multiplayer is the main thing preventing me from buying it.  Tell me, is it at all possible to enjoy the game as a single player experience?  Is there an auto-play option for the guitar and vocal sections if I, say, just want to spaz out on the drums alone?   

I'll need to go and check out the PSN store later today; they did a complete overhaul on it, didn't they?

Oh yes. I regularly just jam with the drums. Any instrument not being played by a human is still played by the computer, so you'll get the whole song experience. There is a solo world tour mode, and that's what I do most of the time.

Yeah, the new store i supposed to launch very soon. I can't remember the exact date, but I think there was a two week freeze on new content to the existing store as they finished the new one.

There's a video walkthrough of the new store here: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/04/ … lkthrough/

From what I heard, the launch instruments had some quality control problems, because they would break easily, especially the drums.  The new instruments coming out are supposed to be a little sturdier.  You probably have a later model with the second set of drums.

Yeah, my friend was browsing new songs inside Rock Band, but he had to exit the game to install the songs.  I found it weird that even though you buy the game from within the game, you have to tell the PS3 to install them.  I was thinking that only the game needed to reboot.

There is a solo world tour.  You play with only one instrument while the other instruments play "perfectly."  You get to create an avatar and customize his/her look.  As you do the tour, you earn money to buy more clothes and items to customize your appearance.

Not yet, but even the default interface looks better than Xbox Live Marketplace.  I like the simplicity and sleekness of the PS3 interface.  In cnotrast, the Xbox Live Marketplace feels cluttered and robotic. 

I heard that the Rock Band guitar on the PS3 is wireless while the Xbox 360 is wired.  You need a wireless guitar for this game, as you can have everybody crowding the screen.

I am strongly leaning towards a PS3 and dumping the Xbox 360 just because of one game.  We're not even at MGS4 or GT5 yet.

When I think of Rock Band's drums all I can hear is clickclickclickclickclick. I think the muffled noise it makes when you hit the pads is one of the most annoying and un-metal sounds ever.

Listen to me rock the hell out of this song! Clickclickclickclick clickclickclick click click click clickclickclickclick!!!

So negative.  Sorry your stereo setup is wack!  ;D

I'm loving Rock Band.  Drums are the most fun, but also the most difficult.  I imagine it's fairly realistic although I guess most drum sets have more things to hit.

It's not my stereo setup. I don't have Rock Band. I meant the actual noise coming from the hardware.

Do you know what's more fun that Rock Band drums? Real drums. Those are a hoot. You can play more than 60 licensed songs on them, too.

Well, somebody has a crappy stereo.  If it's loud, you won't hear the clicking, right?

Also, real drums are fine... but you don't have a screen telling you which ones to hit.  And they're more expensive.  And there aren't any "points" when you play real drums. 

The way the game handles downloaded songs is a little strange. I have two profiles on my PS3 - mine and my roommate's. I've paid for and downloaded some of the songs, and he's done some. All of the songs show up in the game regardless whose profile we are using. But if I'm in the Rock Band Music Store, it only shows songs I've downloaded as having been purchased before. The songs my roommate bought show as not having been purchased, since he did it from his profile. Sometimes I don't know if I really have a particular song or not and have to exit back to the game to see.

I've seen some forum threads elsewhere about transferring purchased songs from one PS3 to another, but I didn't see any method that worked very well at all. (You can physically transfer the files to another PS3, but they are not unlocked and don't show up in the game.)

Now I know how all guitarists felt after Guitar Hero reached its zenith.  Look - four pads and a pedal (that breaks at the slightest movement) does not equal a drum set. 

Here's mine - don't mind all the stuff around it (it's a crowded garage, what can I say?)

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc20 … MG0018.jpg

One word - cymbals!!  (Two words - Behemoth [holy living F***])

... oh yeah - no double-bass or hi-hat pedals?  Tsk tsk.

Brandon's video was impressive, and if that sort of playing came from Rock Band, then bravo.  Kevin Periera (spelling?) on G4 played some song by Coheed & Cambiria on the drums that he "learned" from Rock Band.  That's great.  If he can learn "YYZ" from Rush, then we'll talk.

*edit*  Sorry for the rant - will make up for it later.

Ok, so we don't further anger the real drummers here, can we agree it's fairly realistic for an *electronic* drum set?

Granted, one not nearly as complicated as this: http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/g … 8714_1.jpg

Well, I suppose it depends on genre, too.  I've seen jazz sessions with a snare, a bassdrum, and a hithat only, so...

Anyway, you have to admit that 4 pads and a bass pedal are closer to the real thing than 5 frets and one string is to a guitar.

I pretty much exclusively play single player and I have a ton of fun.  I will occasionally play online with some online friends, but not nearly as often as by myself.  The DLC each week really keeps the songs fresh and fun to play without getting over-repetitive. It's not really like "real" drumming, but of all the other instruments it most closely resembles playing one.

I will admit nothing!!

No, really, for $70.00, it's not that bad.  A decent electronic set will run you about $500-$700 (if you don't include all the bells and whistles), but a real kit costs money.  I think I've sunk over a grand into mine and considering what I could do, that's cheap.

Oh, and apparently I'm not the only one

Nothing wrong with a real drum kit.  I think that Rock Band's drums definitely feel closer to the real thing, so the jump to playing real drums isn't as big of a stretch as with the guitars.

I've had the game for about a week. So far, it's fun. Found some gems in the tracklist I wasn't expecting (the bonus songs are killer this time around).

Not a fan of the RB guitar...The strum bar is kind of mushy and it's hard to time stuff compared to the GH one (I lose strings of similar chords far too easy...I never miss these in GH). Also, the little frets at the bottom of the neck are completely worthless...Too small and out of the way to use. Definitely switching to a GH controller first chance I get, although I like the effects switch and the main frets are okay once you get used to them.

I like the drums. They're hard because I'm not used to the placement or the kick pedal, but it is fun. Even on medium, it's a hell of a work out. I'm trying to take it in and learn it, but they do feel really awkward right now.

Love the vocals. I'll probably like it more once I crack open some more songs I like, but it's funny that all the ones I know (which just happen to be the hardest ones!) I do really good at, but even medium ones I'm not familar with I do bad on. After awhile, I forgot I was singing and just concentrated on the little pitch detector. Then I wondered why my throat hurt for a few days...Expert seems like a real bitch though: Three lines into Paranoid and I was dead, even though I hit most of the lines! Geez...

I thought the secondary keys at the base of the neck are for solos.  And you don't need to strum during a solo if you use those keys.

Correct!

Btw, I've had multiple GH "pros" tell me the RB guitar is harder to play. And by "harder" they mean "not as good" - not because the songs are more complicated.

So now that more people on getting on board, we're gonna have to play each other online!

Yep, that's how I feel, too. The original GH guitar is the best guitar I've used. The RB one's strum bar is loose and doesn't provide the amount of accuracy that the original GH controllers do. It's quieter, sure, but it sucks comparatively. I'm a damn good GH player, but I will miss stupid little sections in Rock Band because the controller isn't reliable.

The general consensus from reading forums and other web articles is that RB's guitar segment are not as complicated as GH's.  When I tried out RB's guitar, I did notice that the strum did not "click" like an arcade stick.  Also, the fret keys are now flush with the guitar neck, so I did invariably hit the wrong button a few times.

Unfortunately, I don't have RB or a PS3 yet.

I've heard and experienced the same.

I don't see those lower frets being practical unless you want to show off. I mean, what if you need to hit a chord in a solo? Those puny buttons...Good luck hitting the right combination. I prefer the GH controller main frets, but the RB ones are nice once you're used to them. Because they sit lower, they might be easier to slide the fingers across...I have to use it more. But the strum bar is just...too mushy to really make a difference. Think I'll wait and see if they announce a bundle for GH Aerosmith...Kill two birds with one stone.

In other news...Motley Crue put out a new single for their album on Rock Band, "Saints of Los Angeles" for the upcoming album. Wonder if this is the start of something big opening up...

Just a fun poll: Taking drums, vocals and guitar/bass into account, what songs would you guys like to see as DLC?

Cool setup!  I love cymbals...I only have one crash at home, it's cracked and sounds terrible...lol.  I was very lucky to get to play that kit in the video.  I was in heaven with all those finely tuned toms and well placed cymbals.  Wierd, I don't get to practice with such a setup but they were there and I used them and it all felt very natural.

I'll work on getting a picture posted of my current setup.  It's far from attractive.

I can't say rock band enabled my playing ;-) I'm going on over 25 years of playing off and on (and many hours alone...haha).  I love rock band though, it's totally fun.  All facets of it too, not just the drumming. I've tried a few songs on expert, and they have kicked my ass. I can do Hard though out the gate for most songs the first or second time (after I've learned the song).   I did ok with the Police tracks though, since I really know those songs.  The difficulty to me is because when playing drums (as with any instrument) there are many nuances that may or (in many cases) may not be specified by the game designers.  While I may try to 'groove' on top of whatever the drum beat that's expected, the programmers want you to hit certain accents, etc.  So I am inevitably off on expert.  I have heard it quoted by developers that being able to play rockband drums on expert that you are essentially able to play drums.  Yes and no, but I have to say it's a fairly good stab at getting folks into playing and practicing drums in a very non-traditional, 'fun' way.  The best way to learn music is of course to have an underlying passion, but ultimately to have fun playing practicing, etc.  I think the concept behind Rockband and Guitar Hero could enable future musicians, and maybe a renewed interest in playing an instrument.  Granted playing the guitar in Rockband/Guitar Hero is nowhere near playing real guitar, but it is a ton of fun nonetheless.  And it's all about having a good time with your friends.  Bad karaokee and all..

I am definitely hopeful for more song selections.

Also regarding the drum set, yeah it is pretty cheap, and I have heard about them breaking often.  It would be really creative of them to enable electronic drum sets (Roland / Yamaha / Simmonds, etc) to plug into Rock Band.  With all the hacking that's going on these days, I gotta think they are thinking of that.

cheers

Why, thank you.  That's the result of about 8 years on-and-off tinkering and adding on.  School was a rather large deterrent from playing seriously, as was working at UPS.  I'm finally done and am able to dedicate more of my time to drumming.  Really, if you want to get good at something, you have to spent alot of time practicing.

Yeah, I guess I'm just jaded because Guitar Freaks came out a good 5 years before Guitar Hero and no one took notice.  Suddenly you throw it on the PS2 and give it an American developer and people go ga-ga?  Give me Taiko Drum Master anyday.

I do have to say that I was impressed with the addition of In Flames on Guitar Hero 3.  I'd love to see some Behemoth or Slayer just to give the right arm a good workout, and some Opeth or Meshuggah would make a very welcome addition indeed.

I really want to see Van Halen and Rage Against the Machine ( / Audioslave) made available.

There is already a reported hack for the drum's foot pedal.  You can apparently buy an expensive metal foot pedal that supports MIDI and with some adjustments, plug that into the Rock Band's drum system. 

But, first, that Gibson lawsuit has to be tossed out of court.

I think it was largely Konami's fault for failing to study and capitalize on the market.  I think the problem was that DDR in the U.S. was largely played by people who liked Japanese music.  Even when Konami added Western music to the game, the audience didn't change much.  Thus, Konami got the wrong impression of the market and assumed its other music games wouldn't sell very well or would only sell to the same audience.

Definitely Konami's fault for not releasing the game...They have no one to blame but themselves. The licensed music has been a huge factor in the popularity no doubt, but I've discovered a lot of good music through GH, so I'd probably have the same effect either way (would love to see Impulse and Jordan make to a CD release). I never fail to remind people about Guitar Freaks though and that the Japanese were definitely ahead of us on this one, before the idea was borrowed and improved upon.

As for my own poll: Probably any quality metal from the good ol' 80's. Bark at the Moon/Crazy Train almost immediately come to mind and hopefully Angels of Los Angeles leads to more Motley Crue (*praying for Kickstart my Heart*...). Poison, Dio, Megadeth, (more) Metallica, Van Halen, (more) Maiden, Priest, Anthrax (Madhouse!!! Just for the vocals)...They could really go nuts. Odd that the 80's are so underrepresented as far as DLC so far. Maybe they're holding out to release a standalone "Rock Band 80's". *shrug*

With DLC for PS3/Xobx360, they can just keep releasing music in the DLC.  They might do it for Wii and PS2, since they have no games that use DLC at the moment.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080418/mus … 6QsxWXExkF

YES! YES! And some more YEEEEESSSS! Someone at Harmonix saw my post.

More metal? Check. 80's? Check. Priest? YES! Two of my favorite songs of all time (Electric Eye and the title track) will be present and accounted for in 4 days! Even the crappy songs on Screaming for Vengeance should be fun to play (which admittedly is about half the album..."You've Got Another Thing Comin" should be fun to sing at least).

Ok, of those that have Rock Band, who here has the Xbox 360 version and who has the PS3 version?  Just trying to gauge system popularity before deciding which version to buy ultimately.

I have the PS3 version.  I usually get high 90's (and the occasional 100%) on vocals, I've just started pushin myself to do hard on guitar and medium on drums.

I have the 360 version. My Gamertag is "GF From Hell", since I couldn't move my "GoldfishX" account over without some added BS...

Whew...As maligned as some of the notecharts are for being easier, Blackened's solo absolutely killed me. Hell, the riff and the solo. Just...ouch! Was a little disappointed the Synchronicity II and Message in a Bottle ones weren't as good as the GH ones (MUCH fewer notes in Message and Synchronicity has a pretty stupid opening riff that I don't like as much as was in the 80's chart). Luckily, the vocals were such a huge draw for both.

REALLY looking forward to Screaming for Vengeance in a couple days!

I'm on the PS3.

PS3 profile name is BAMAToNE. My RB character's name is Charlie VanHalen. (Field wasn't big enough for the space between Van and Halen.)