Finally, in our last bit of news that struck whilst I was away, Fender announced a release date, preorder date, and pricing for the Rock Band 3 Squier Strat Controller. (In case you’ve been living under a rock, that’s the fully stringed, fully functional guitar that interfaces with Rock Band 3.)
The details: It’ll be available for an MSRP of $279.99 on March 1, 2011, with preorders opening up on New Year’s Day.
My thought: I would certainly have appreciated a lower price, especially since you’ll need to pick up a $40 MIDI adapter to make it work with Rock Band, but it could have been much, much worse. A basic Squier Strat tends to run around $200 on its own. So an $80 — or even $120 — premium to make it a full-fledged game controller and MIDI instrument? Seems totally reasonable to me. And on top of that, it’s sure to be available for cheaper from various music-instrument retailers.
Agree? Disagree? Lemme know in comments.
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is there any news about whether the UK will get it? or if US Fender will accept international orders? price?
I’m lazy. I’ll copy and paste:
It’s pretty close to what I expected price-wise. I know that if I was just buying a starter guitar, there’s no way I’d spend this much. However, as a starter guitar + an entertaining tool to assist me in learning to play guitar, I think the value is definitely there. They’ll get my money day one.
Save yourself $10! Buy the MIDI Adapter at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Rock-Band-MIDI-PRO/dp/B00409SOD2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1288895275&sr=8-1
I agree. I was expecting $250-$300 for the price, so anything under $300 is good as far as I’m concerned. When you consider the price of a basic Squier Strat and add MIDI hookups and the extra tech in the neck for detecting finger positions, this is a very reasonable price. Yes, we’d always like it to be lower, but this is a 100% “real guitar” we’re talking about here. Yes, it is a cheaper beginner’s instrument, but it’s still a real instrument. News flash: Real instruments are freaking expensive.
I can’t wait to get one of these. I’ve always been curious about learning real guitar, but I always thought I didn’t have the time or patience. This integrates that learning experience with the game I love. If they can do for guitar what they did with me for drums, I will be ecstatic.
I’m perfectly fine with the cost…
If it doesn’t feel and play like a toy I’m definitely buying it, even if I only ever learn how to play Smoke on The Water on it, and you bet I will.
Pro-tip: Saving $20 every week (I’d say namely tuesdays) from now up until its release will amount up to enough money for the Squier and MIDI adapter.
I will be placing my order on Jan 1! One thing I just noticed but haven’t seen discussed anywhere is the lack of a whammy bar. I guess this would conflict w/ the string mute?