PS2 guitar pedal allows for precision rocking
by Kyle Orland 
{ Jan 30th 2008 at 2:00PM }
Sure, everyone loves activating star power and wailing on the whammy bar in Guitar Hero. But for a certain, incredibly anal subset of players, these actions and their distracting arm movements represent potential streak killers. Well, those finicky gamers are in luck, because peripheral maker React has now released a foot pedal that transfers those pesky arm motions to your feet, which were just sitting there tapping out a rhythm before.
The wireless pedals, which require 4 AA batteries and work with any PS2 guitar, might seem steep at $25, but they're a bargain for the truly compulsive GH player. As the sole Best Buy reviewer put it, "I bought this pedal primarily because activating Star Power by raising my guitar usually results in missed notes." And was we all know, rock music is about exacting precision above all else.
[Thanks Dan]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
maverick_saturn_626 @ Jan 30th 2008 2:05PM
I AM CURRENTLY AT BEST BUY, IF YOU NEED TO TALK TO ME, LEAVE A MESSAGE AFTER THE TONE....BEEP....
WiNG @ Jan 30th 2008 2:06PM
What next, someone mods a DDR pad to play GH?
Dave Silva @ Jan 30th 2008 2:07PM
I can see the pedal for a whammy bar, that's a neat idea. But for star power? You don't even have to lift the guitar, all you have to do is shake it for an instant. That's what I do. Jeez, people are lazy.
jsn @ Jan 30th 2008 2:24PM
I don't think any of the top players use the tilt, as it is rather imprecise and when you're trying to squeeze every point you can activation time is kinda key.
The wammy bar part I don't really get though...
paragraph @ Jan 30th 2008 2:24PM
Select/Back button too...
Dave Silva @ Jan 30th 2008 2:48PM
jsn: Having the whammy bar as a pedal makes sense. Electric guitar players use effect pedals to change the sound of the guitar. A friend of mine has several and he can do a ton of cool effects just by pushing them when he needs to.
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Jan 30th 2008 2:08PM
This is a horrible idea.
And the better mod is modding a midi drum kit to play guitar hero. Look it up on you tube. I think joystiq even had it posted.
NATO_Duke @ Jan 30th 2008 2:20PM
To me it seems like a good idea. I miss notes when I raise the guitar - and generally feel thrown off. So it seems like a decent solution.
Of course, I suck at GH and RB.
Zeus.:God @ Jan 30th 2008 3:41PM
Actually, this is a fucking GREAT idea, considering that many guitarists (who are serious about what they do) will use these effect pedals to remove the clumsiness of a whammy bar.
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Jan 30th 2008 5:04PM
No, its a freaking moronic idea, because YOU AREN"T PLAYING REAL GUITAR. The Wammy bar is just as functional, as are the 2 alternate buttons for deploying star power. To WASTE MONEY on this makes you just as much a moron.
If you miss notes when angling your axe, then SUCK LESS. It doesn't take that much co-ordination to hit the right buttons and hold your guitar up.
Vagn Henning @ Jan 31st 2008 9:03AM
I thought the risk/reward mechanic of the Star Power was intentional, but obviously I was wrong.
Scotto @ Jan 30th 2008 2:20PM
Kyle Orland: "And was we all know, rock music is about exacting precision above all else."
I'm drowning in irony. Glorious, glorious irony. :D
- Scott
Nate @ Jan 30th 2008 2:13PM
Actually, I think it's fantastic for one specific demographic - PS3 users playing PS2 versions of the game. Their tilt doesn't work for starpower, so a pedal is a hell of a lot better than trying to reach over and hit select.
I have to agree that the whammy bar as a foot pedal is just dumb. At least star power has no real life analogue, but whammy-ing with your foot?
Now if they could only fix the HOPO issues...
Markusdragon @ Jan 30th 2008 5:15PM
"At least star power has no real life analogue, but whammy-ing with your foot?"
It's real life analogue is an effects pedal, surely?
Martez @ Jan 30th 2008 2:24PM
I guess I'm one of those anal people. I just do not whammy and do not use star power (unless I have mastered the song and know the perfect spot to use it for uber-points). I'm much more interested in streaks and overall percentages.
maverick_saturn_626 @ Jan 30th 2008 2:26PM
Next = Steering wheel ^^
Eric @ Jan 30th 2008 2:31PM
Come on! Any one who can't do both of these things should not be playing the game.
deaftly @ Jan 30th 2008 2:37PM
Shouldn't this be for the Wii?
Game Artist @ Jan 30th 2008 2:39PM
I think the star power thing is great. Tilting is unreliable. Sometimes it goes off on its own, sometimes it wont't go off without violently shaking the guitar. Plus tilting makes you miss notes and screw up combos. I dont agree with the whammy bar, but the star power pedal sounds great. (I'd also like to see effect switches for the RB guitar)
creid @ Jan 30th 2008 2:45PM
Hasn't anyone seen real guitarists using foot pedals?
Dave Silva @ Jan 30th 2008 2:50PM
That's what I'm saying! Having the whammy bar as a pedal makes PERFECT sense!
Nate @ Jan 30th 2008 2:55PM
I know very little about real guitars. Do they use foot pedals for "whammy"? Seems like it would be unwieldy. I thought foot pedals were mainly for switching effects (echo, etc) and thus were things you'd only tap once in a while.
Eric @ Jan 30th 2008 3:06PM
The pedal is used for the same effect but in most cases it is used as extra effect. Like if im already using the whammy and can use the pedal and stretch the notes even more. Its also used to activate different effects like distortion or echo in some cases. It's kind of over kill for this game. It would be better for rock band instead of the effect switch just push the pedal.
Sky Shark X2 @ Jan 30th 2008 2:53PM
This great for people who want to be ultra percice and not miss a note from activating star power, the back button is hard to reach for some. Also the whammy pedal is a perfect solution to those who play lefty due to being lefty. The whammy bar is never in a good place for lefties as there is only a righty giutar.
shoeshine @ Jan 30th 2008 3:51PM
...why don't they just hit select to activate star power then? That's what I do.
Kadrom @ Jan 30th 2008 3:53PM
For a second there I got excited and thought this was a double bass pedal for Rock Band..
Joseph @ Jan 30th 2008 5:16PM
I thought that EXACT SAME THING. I was almost ready to be sickly excited, then I learned it was more GH3 nonsense...
ThornedVenom @ Jan 31st 2008 3:32AM
Both pedals right next to each other?
Scott @ Jan 30th 2008 4:31PM
Isn't acting like a flashy rock star SUPPOSED to be a bit more difficult?
Hafk @ Jan 30th 2008 5:16PM
Why are you all caring about this?
It is made by React, so it doesn't matter. The company's reputation is pure shit, just play with a React Rocker to find out.
Anyway. I can see the use for the Star Power pedal, it could really help with squeezing. Knowing React, this might have lag, which would be useless then.
nytestalker @ Feb 1st 2008 11:47AM
whammy bar - utterly freakin pointless. dont whine about real guitarists using EFFECTS BOXES. Its not a whammy bar at there feet. its an FX-Box.....
StarPower- just suck less. Seriously... my non gaming wife and her other fem freinds can hammer out medium and get star power on. Suck less....
(hint - activate it on held notes... OR just as your about to hit a single note...)
EMOruffino @ Jan 30th 2008 7:21PM
This is still not what i had in mind for that extra plugin on my xplorer guitar for 360... :(
joe @ Jan 30th 2008 9:46PM
there are whammy pedals for guitar, but their a bit rare. I mean i guess if you bought a guitar that had a fixed bridge with no way to whammy but you wanted to whammy (idotic), you would go buy a whammy pedal. Other than that if you use a whammy pedal and your guitar has a floating bridge you would definitely be considered noob at guitar.
Lukeyo @ Jan 30th 2008 11:19PM
Wow. This is a great idea. A lot of guitars out there have problems tilting, and my whammy bar is broken from drunken friend use. I was actually considering doing this myself with steering wheel pedals, jackasses beat me to it.
ThornedVenom @ Jan 31st 2008 3:33AM
I personally think that it kills part of the intended game design, which I don't think is great. =(
Brian @ Jan 31st 2008 9:54AM
Can I just say that I love how people are arguing over what's appropriate and inappropriate for A GAME CONTROLLER!? As if "realism" was ever a goal of Guitar Hero to begin with? Some of you people are just stone crazy...what's "appropriate" for a game is anything that makes it more enjoyable for the person playing.
Which makes the solution pretty simple. If you think this controller is somehow "inappropriate" or "unrealistic" or, heaven forfend, "cheating"...don't effing buy one.
God save us from the Power of the Internet™.
Libb @ Jan 31st 2008 10:16AM
I feel a great disturbance in the Force, like every score-oriented owner of a 360 Xplorer suddenly screaming with joy and and then just as suddenly being silenced.
Seriously, the Back button on an Xplorer is in quite possibly the worst possible position known to man. The pedal would be perfect there to activate SP. The SG has a decent Select button positioning, close enough to the strum bar that with a little practice you can use it to squeeze, but far enough to prevent accidental use. The RB Strat has Back literally right under your whammy fingers, meaning if you go a little too wacky on the whammy, you're activating Overdrive constantly...
Why can these people get it right?!?
Libb @ Jan 31st 2008 10:20AM
Argh, I can't type today.
Why CAN'T these people get it right...
Darcy @ Jan 31st 2008 1:28PM
I don’t play videogames much, and I don’t own the systems for Guitar Hero, but when I get to play it from time to time, I get absolutely hooked. The fact that they now have pedals to prevent you from having to move your arms to hit the whammy bar and activate star power seems, really stupid. But having played every now and again, that seems like it will come in good handy. Having a 200 note streak and messing it all up with star power is a real bummer when you’re in the middle of a competition or trying to win to get more songs. If I owned the game, I would have no problem spending $25 for something I played all the time and wanted to simply be the best at. I think it’s a pretty damn good invention. The only possible downside to it that I could see, is by being able to not mess up note streaks, you’ll do much better, and by doing much better, you’ll just play all day. Or at least I know I would.