Rock Band

[NebachadnezzaR]

Who wants to be John Paul Jones when you can be Jimmy Page? Or even better, Robert Plant with the pube-revealing low rise jeans.

I don't care about them, I just want to be Steve Harris

[bawitback]

meh. nothing special imo. Aptitude/Frequency did it for me.

[Niode]

You know rockband (the game this topic is kinda about) has a bass feature... right?

Yeah, but there's not a game especially devoted to the bass. I have a right to be mad about that, right?

In fact, in my (probably distorted) perception of Rock Band, I'd imagine that the pudgiest, ugliest person in the group would get stuck on bass because it's... well... bass guitar. Who wants to be John Paul Jones when you can be Jimmy Page? Or even better, Robert Plant with the pube-revealing low rise jeans.

I was angry when I was designated bassist back when we were in high school, actually. Turns out it was perfect in the end. But it just states something about the way people perceive guitar over bass guitar. The guy playing the 8 minute solo (all the while fiddling around with a 7 note penatonic - which to me is the equivalent of masturbating in front of a crowd) gets more recognition that the rhythm section who are actually playing the song.

Sorry for the little rant there. I actually enjoy playing a show and being able to get a beer in peace afterward. Although I wouldn't mind getting all the attention from the ladies that is typically reserved for singers and drummers. Not that I'd be able to do anything, being engaged and all...

There's plenty of bass heavy songs in Rock Band (much more than GH) Tom Sawyer by Rush, Long Time by Boston, Run to the Hills by Iron Maiden, Don't Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult, all the Police songs on DLC, I could go on all day.

Also on the time signature thing, YYZ by Rush is in 5/4, the SRV song from GH 1 is in 6/8. There's a few others but they escape me right now...

The thing that I find interesting about these games is the fact that I can play (or could play if I wanted to) every song in the games. Yes that includes Through the Fire and the Flames. For some reason that song is easier to play in real life than in the game. Yet I'd much rather just pick up the game and play it. I find it more fun in instant gratification rather than long term reward. Don't get me wrong I love playing guitar but sometimes I find it easier to relax playing Rock Band.


That made me think of another thing. Since playing the drums section of Rock Band a bit more than the guitar, it feels like a much more accurate simulation of an instrument than the 'guitar'. I really feel like the skills learned while playing the drums could be translated fairly straightforward to an actual drum kit.

[glynnahab]

That made me think of another thing. Since playing the drums section of Rock Band a bit more than the guitar, it feels like a much more accurate simulation of an instrument than the 'guitar'. I really feel like the skills learned while playing the drums could be translated fairly straightforward to an actual drum kit.

Yeah, this could be an efficient training tool. People could practice their rudiments on something other than a boring old practice pad. Why hasn't someone already done this? Something like an electronic kit should be built with cymbals, hi-hats, bass pedals, etc. What does the Rock Band kit have anyways? It looked to me like it was only a few toms and maybe a snare or something.

Another benefit is that parents could let their children learn to play drums without the noisy agony of having to listen to them during the learning process.

[Niode]

That made me think of another thing. Since playing the drums section of Rock Band a bit more than the guitar, it feels like a much more accurate simulation of an instrument than the 'guitar'. I really feel like the skills learned while playing the drums could be translated fairly straightforward to an actual drum kit.

Yeah, this could be an efficient training tool. People could practice their rudiments on something other than a boring old practice pad. Why hasn't someone already done this? Something like an electronic kit should be built with cymbals, hi-hats, bass pedals, etc. What does the Rock Band kit have anyways? It looked to me like it was only a few toms and maybe a snare or something.

Another benefit is that parents could let their children learn to play drums without the noisy agony of having to listen to them during the learning process.

The Rock Band drums are noisy as hell. I've already ordered some silencers. The drum kit isn't perfect as a practice pad for rudiments as the pads don't have much stick response. The sticks bounce very low on the pads so it's not great for rolls. The silencers i've bought apparantly increase this, but I will have to wait and see. A lot of people use rubber dipped sticks rather than the wooden tipped sticks that come with the kit. These increase bounce and roll off considerably. I use my girlfriends signature Lars Ulrich metal sticks with nylon tips, much lighter and faster response than the wooden ones.

The kit is basically 4 pads and a kick drum. Red is usually snare, yellow is usually hi-hat/tom1, blue is tom 2/floor tom and green is cymbals/ride. Depending on the context of the song. Kick pedal is self explanatory i'm sure