Logitech's 'Premiere' wireless guitar isn't fake enough

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Oct 23rd 2008 at 11:22AM }

As lovers of rhythm games -- frequent instrument protagonists, if you will -- we've grown accustomed to our musical instruments bearing the mark of imitation, the clickety clackety sound of second-rate synthesis. It is with shock and awe then, that we react to Logitech's "Premiere Edition" Wireless Guitar for PS2 and PS3, built especially for upcoming fake band sim Guitar Hero World Tour. It costs something to the tune of $250.

Designed with realism in mind, the Logitech Wireless Guitar controller boasts "the authentic materials you'd expect to see on a real rock guitar," including metal frets, metal tuning peg handles, a rosewood fingerboard and wood neck. You'll also be able to get your hands around a touch-sensitive neck slider and fret buttons which benefit from quieter, "rubber dome technology."

And while we're sure all those enhancements amount to a fantastic play experience, Logitech's director of product marketing for gaming, Ruben Mookerjee, reminds us that it's really just a "I have a bigger penis" thing. "There's no better feeling than being the guy with the best instrument when you walk into your friend's house to jam on Guitar Hero," he says. If you have the bucks, you can whip this baby out in December.

Tags: Activision, Guitar-Hero, Guitar-Hero-World-Tour, Logitech, Logitech-Wireless-Guitar, Wireless-Guitar

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

OMGOMG @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:27AM

I can't believe I'm saying this.

Buy a real instrument instead.

Dirty @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:42AM

I hate when people say this.... buy yeah your right.

xFenixKnightx @ Oct 23rd 2008 1:24PM

For 250? Yup, you can get a real one alright. A real shitty one...

If I had that kind of videogame cash to spend all at once I wouldnt buy that though. Im even hesitant to but GHIII now that its pretty cheap. Im trying to trick my wife into letting me get GH:WT by telling her it will be for "the whole family" lol. Wish me luck.

DCBlack @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:42PM

Or, have them make a guitar that functions both as the real deal and as a controller. Not sure how the logistics of that would pan out, but that would be worth the money.

capt_carl @ Oct 23rd 2008 4:21PM

For $250 you can buy a shitty Stratocaster.

ExMcCloud @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:28AM

Wouldnt a real instrument be the same price?

Heh (Mr. ESC, living in the hearts of us all) @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:56AM

My custom axe is about 1,200.

My pick-ups alone are around the price of this thing so lol no. Only cheapass guitars are in this price-point.

JonFitt @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:31PM

Axe?
Do you have a blonde mullet? Is your playing radical?

:-)

Heh (Mr. ESC, living in the hearts of us all) @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:41PM

I have a foot tall blue mohawk, I wear so much metal my clothes are about 10 pounds in weight, and yes my playing is very radical TYVM.

wiredknight @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:43PM

Short, arrogance-free answer: Yes.

Dirty @ Oct 23rd 2008 1:45PM

Of course a nice guitar is going to be more expensive. But shit you can buy a starter kit for 300 buck to LEARN. Jesus H-Christ.

JoeTheBlow @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:00PM

Maybe all you housewives have time to learn a damn guitar, but some of us have jobs to go to.

Once you get past a certain age learning an instrument just seems like work more than anything else. So our dreams of rock stardom will have to wait till our kids reach a certain age and we can force real guitars on them.

Burritoclock @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:28AM

I've never seen something that is so awesome, lame, ridiculous, stupid, and awesome all at the same time...

Glad it's not Rock Band specific or I would be out $250 bills.

captainprotonx @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:31AM

*whips out the 12-incher*

Let's rock.

John @ Oct 23rd 2008 1:00PM

Got me the strangest woman
Believe it, this chicks no sinch
When I wanna get her goin
Then I whip out my big ten inch

Shagittarius @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:30PM

Record of a band that plays the blues...

xtremeholymuffin @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:33AM

toy guitar is toy

Kyle @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:34AM

I agree. Pick up a real guitar and actually learn a skill that may have a chance of enriching your life. $250?? This guitar hero thing has gotten out of control, if you ask me...the entire trend is ridiculous, imho.

If I walked into a party-room holding a 250 dollar Rock Band guitar, I wouldn't feel like the biggest badass; I'd feel like a tool for spending $250 on a friggin toy.
"Check it out guys, im gonna grind." *widdly wahh wahh* ugh.

borland502 (SDF Macross) @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:46AM

If you have actual musical talent, then you are correct sir. But the reason the "trend" is so popular is that it brings that fantasy of being a musical badass to the masses.

I'll never buy that thing, but if it helps boost someone's immersion then who are you to judge? There are worse things to blow $250 on. 16-17 months of MMO for instance.

Erluti @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:54AM

@borland:
"There are worse things to blow $250 on. 16-17 months of MMO for instance."

Really dude? Both are $250 out of pocket for purely entertainment purposes.
"who are you to judge?"

Kyle @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:58AM

Musical talent is simply dedicating ones self to sticking with an instrument and practicing it.

There's no such thing as a person who simply CANNOT play an instrument.

I'm not going to stop anyone from buying this thing, but my *point* is, if you're going to blow this amount of money so that you can look a little bit more convincingly like someone who actually plays guitar, then why not get a REAL confidence booster and learn a skill that is useful?

As for me being someone to judge, everyone makes judgements every single day in life.
Everyone has an opinion, and my opinion is that this this is an incredible, lavish waste of money and a sign of how sad some people are.

You act as though some people are born out of the womb with "musical talent" and some people are not. No one gets good without practice, and there is not a SiNGLE person who lacks the ability to play an instrument if they do not actually dedicate the TIME to learning it.

Im so sick of guitar hero, it has been a video game trend that I personally have not jumped on to. I'm sure that we'll go up to Guitar Hero 10 at some point, and I'll still not own a single one of them.

I'm not saying that you're bad if you enjoy these things, but it's sad how people act like they're a legitimate "guitar hero" if they're good at this game. I ACTUALLY heard one kid say "I bet I could do REALLY good at guitar since I can beat this game on the hardest mode." Well, why don't you try and find out...

[playwhutyalike {C.E.P}] @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:57AM

The games are about having fun with your friends.

I've been down this road saying the same thing about "learning a real instrument" and had a little ass chewing from a fellow Joystiq member/musician. He opened my eyes to the truth: Half to most of the people who play this game don't give two shits about learning how to play a real instrument. They don't care.

Not everybody in the world wants to learn how to play any type of instrument, period. I don't play these games, but I do like that it is expanding peoples' interest in music they might not have ever cared to research. It has even been responsible for getting people to actively explore a musical hobby.

Puffles @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:43PM

I'm a musician, and I still find Guitar Hero and Rock Band amazingly fun.

wiredknight @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:48PM

Dude I don't even need the game now. *clickity click click*

Anam @ Oct 23rd 2008 1:29PM

Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. I played Guitar Hero first and then later decided trying a real guitar. I didn't expect to be good but I thought if I enjoyed Guitar Hero than I might also enjoy learning the real thing.

I was miserably wrong. Yes, I'm sure it's just a matter of patience and practice to learn how to play it but the problem with a real guitar is simply that it's really, really not fun to learn. And when I consider what things I can spend patience and practice on, I find things higher on the list than learning how to play guitar.

Do I spend a ridiculous amount of time learning how to play on expert? Yes, but the learning is actually enjoyable and I don't feel like it was a waste if I give up and do something else. Unlike the $300 and about 3 weeks I completely wasted trying to learn the real guitar, which I have nothing to show for except that I can say that I used to know how to play Seven Nation Army (not the solo, obviously).

Anyway, my point is that Guitar Hero doesn't lead to anything amazing but it's fun right from the beginning. Real guitar is amazingly not fun but if you stick with it, it will - I assume - be awesome later on. So please, just stop comparing the two. They're not all that similar except at face value.

borland502 (SDF Macross) @ Oct 23rd 2008 1:37PM

"Really dude? Both are $250 out of pocket for purely entertainment purposes."

You sir, get a cookie. Indeed, both expenses are for entertainment purposes and could be characterized as foolish by outside parties. So, bravo for spotting the point.

This dude abides.

borland502 (SDF Macross) @ Oct 23rd 2008 1:55PM

"Everyone has an opinion, and my opinion is that this this is an incredible, lavish waste of money and a sign of how sad some people are."

Correct, and my opinion is you are wrong. Still, let get on my own soap box and break games down for you: They let you pretend to do extraordinary things for little effort and less consequence than real life. Oh you get get so good a Halo 3 that mere mortals can't approach you, but can you really take out damn near an entire army and wreck a vast ringworld in outer space?

So yeah, nearly anyone with sufficient effort can become good at an instrument. But native talent factors into the timeline there chief. I don't want to take 10 years to get halfway decent when Rock Band gives me a taste of it within weeks with my friends. It's not the focus of my life.

Now onto the instrument. You're right, it's a total waste to many. But unless he/she is choosing the guitar over feeding their kids, personally I'd say it'd look nice. Especially if I didn't have the talent to become Jimi Hendrix in a single lifetime.

Equality hippies try and trot out that you can be "whatever you want to be" shit now and again. They're right of course, but fail to mention just how long it takes one person vs another. I'll take the fake experience thank you.

Markez @ Oct 24th 2008 12:35AM

"if you're going to blow this amount of money so that you can look a little bit more convincingly like someone who actually plays guitar"

Nobody would purchase this for that reason, ever, you're dumb to think so and I don't understand why anyone would actually think that. Congratulations on not getting on the trend, you must be proud, twit. I'll get off my soapbox now, feel free to stay on yours.

RobLink (Alex Kidd incarnate) @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:35AM

I'd never EVER buy it, but that thing is frickin' sweet.

xtremeholymuffin @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:39AM

"...the Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller gives you the credibility you rightfully deserve.”
- Logitech

Because YOU earned it!

Erluti @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:55AM

$250 earned it.

Duke @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:40AM

"There's no better feeling than being the guy with the best instrument when you walk into your friend's house to jam on Guitar Hero,"

No better feeling eh? So says a guy who really needs to live more.

Dirty @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:00PM

Ha, Im sorry but I think there are lots of feelings better than embarrassment.

Jakka @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:41AM

This is pathetic...especially when you notice how they took care to add the bridge and pickups...

Esat Dedezade @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:42AM

This....

... does not need to exist.

[playwhutyalike {C.E.P}] @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:43AM

I like it. Imagine that you have your gaming console out in the living room for all the world to see. You have well-kept, matching furniture and decor. You have the Plasma/HD and a great looking audio/visual setup. Everything is in place except right there on the couch is a plastic peice of shit controller fucking everything up.

Is this controller the size of a real guitar? Put it on a stand, tucked away blending into your surroundings. (I hardly read the source articles.)

Just Mr ESC. @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:46AM

You know what would be cool that people who buy it find out that is not really compatible with Rock band or Guitar hero...Okay that might be bad for those guys but I would laugh so hard.

Biff_McFresh @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:11PM

Yeah, it only works with Rock Revolution.

RobLink (Alex Kidd incarnate) @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:33PM

Where did you get that? Both article and source say it's designed for GH:WT.

Just Mr ESC. @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:51PM

I know I was just saying.

Sgt. Pepper @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:47AM

JESUS CHRIST.

iamronaldinho @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:50AM

"If you have the bucks, you can whip this baby out in December." That's what she said :) (transexual prostitute)

Matt Rix @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:51AM

For all those saying "just buy a real guitar", keep in mind that lots of people who have $250 to blow on a fake guitar probably have plenty of money to blow on real guitars if they want. There's a good chance they've already got real guitars that are worth a helluva lot more than this one.

Keep in mind that $250 buys a top-of-the-line fake guitar, but a pretty crappy real guitar.

xtremeholymuffin @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:53AM

Actually, I just thought of a few people who might take some understandable interest in this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBsozoShRGY

Ryan LN @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:54AM

While there is no denying that it is cool, unless you are a *really* spoiled kid under the age of 17, there is also no denying that owning this thing would NOT be cool. It would invite far, far too many "what the hell is that?" questions from people who just wouldn't understand. As a single college-aged guy it might stop you from getting laid, as a married guy at any age it might get you murdered by your wife. As a woman... well, the rules don't apply to them seeing as ANY woman can seriously inflate her worthiness rating by professing a desire for video games- but still- overkill.

Alex @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:56AM

Who really cares? I highly doubt they're expecting massive sales on this thing, but a high niche market, honestly, I'd rather have all the tools continue to buy controllers instead of real guitars, as a real musican myself (cello), there's nothing worse then walking into a Guitar Center listening to all the tools, playing smoke on the water, crazy train, or some terrible G, C, D chord combination.

So please, stop encouraging all the tools out there to join in the real music community for the sake of the entire world.

JonnyNapalm @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:40PM

Reverse psychology always does work best with 'tools'.

Shagittarius @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:36PM

Pull the chello out of your arse and don't be such a music snob. Deep Purple makes fantastic music.

Heh (Mr. ESC, living in the hearts of us all) @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:00PM

"Ruben Mookerjee, reminds us that it's really just a "I have a bigger penis" thing. "There's no better feeling than being the guy with the best instrument when you walk into your friend's house to jam on Guitar Hero," he says."

So if I bring my real guitar I have the biggest penis of them all, no?

ill trooper @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:01PM

I heard the tuning pegs let you fine-adjust the colors on the buttons!

just kiddin'

No matter how much you spend on those replica Star Wars lightsabers, they still aren't functional... And I sorta feel that way about this thing.

I'm not one of those guys that is gonna say 'just get a real guitar!' because 'buying a real guitar' and 'learning to play guitar' are two very different things, people have been learning that lesson for decades - but the cost of this thing should cause pause and make someone realize that if they love their rhythm gaming enough to spend that, it might mean they _could_ maybe get into really learning and practicing guitar if they don't already.

I bet that thing is smooth and feels better because it's full-size. It would be good for those 'Guitar Hero/Rock Band' nights at bars, where the quality and $250 can be justified by many evenings and many people. And I bet it's very serviceable for worn-out strumbars, etc. But it's more than I need.

I think BurritoClock summed it up best. I would love to play on that thing but I don't want to spend that money. Nor would I want others to know I take 'Rock Band' that seriously!

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