If you are still with us after that price revelation, you might be interested to know that the Mad Catz guitar also features fast-action ‘Shredderz' fret buttons—an exclusive addition that makes it easier to tear up solos. If that isn't enough to improve your game, the optional Electro-Harmonix Overdrive Pedal, the back tuning button, the old-fashioned tilt mechanism, and a new touch sensitive pickup are thrown in for good measure. Expect to see it on store shelves sometime in the next few weeks. [Kotaku]

Sure that is more than Guitar Hero for Wii (including guitar and drums) will cost you but for those that love to have the best for rocking, the Logitech stuff is made from the best stuff on earth (just like Snapple). The wireless guitar has a maple neck, rosewood fingerboard and metal frets. Even the wireless controller has a white finish with a glossy-black pick guard.

Like those for the PS3, the Logitech Wireless Drum Controller for Wii has got three drum pads and two cymbals. You can adjust them to your liking and there is a recessed-rim around the pads that help avoid accidental rim shots. And haven't you always wanted a kick pedal made of stainless steel. The Wii remote fits into the panel on the drum set (and into a slot on the back of the guitar).

Logitech also released a wireless drum set for the Xbox360 which is pretty much the same as the one for the Wii without the opening for the remote. Same pricing and all.

For those watching the cash, you can always find the closest pub with a Rock Band jam session and totally mooch on their instruments. [Logitech]

• If you've ever failed "Green Grass and High Tides" just because your overdrive wouldn't activate, no matter how hard you shook the controller or cursed, Madcatz has a new accessory that could put an end to your woes. The Stomp Box is modeled after an effects pedal and activates your overdrive when you, as the name would suggest, stomp on it. Coincidentally, it unleashes a wave of "I feel awesome" endorphins at the same time.

It would almost be worth grabbing one of these just so that my friends stop complaining that the guitar is broken. I would miss those moments of frantic terror, though, when someone realizes they're about to fail and starts wildly jumping up and down to save themselves during a solo.

Madcatz claims the unit features "durable, long-lasting construction," but I would have to see how it holds up during the chorus of "More Than a Feeling" before I could back that claim. Works with PS3, 360 and Wii Rock Band guitars. Now shipping for $30. [Product Page via OhGizmo!]

• Let's get the worst part out out of the way first: Madcatz's latest Rock Band Guitar costs $300. That said, let's look at what you get with the package. The guitar is built from the same stock that real Fender Stratocasters are, and includes a high-gloss sunburst finish and real metal Fender tuning pegs.

A part of the $300 dollar asking price apparently goes to licensing Microsoft's proprietary wireless controller technology, because the guitar connects to the Xbox 360 sans dongle. Even with all of these fancy features, though, you have to be a pretty serious Rock Band diehard to justify spending $300 on a controller. Shipping to stores now. [Product Page via OhGizmo!]

That plan is called the Laser Synthitar. The DIY project combines a broken guitar (thought useless!) with three standard laser pointers (thought boring!) and a sound modulation system (thought deafening!). Combined, these technologies form the most promising defense against sharks with laser beams. But even if we still fall to the techno-aquatic beast, we'll do so while rocking. [Instructables via Synthopia via MAKE]

The touch strip on the neck used to be analog but now it's completely digital, so Activision says it's now "100 percent accurate." The strum bar has also been redesigned internally, so it's way more durable. I didn't actually get to hit it to see if you can feel how much more solid it is. But hopefully the DJ Hero turntable is a pretty nice indication of the quality of hardware we should expect this generation. The whammy bar has been subtly redesigned as well, and now you've got some fake chrome tuners instead of fake plastic tuners.

I've always preferred the Guitar Hero guitars to Rock Band's since I think the latter's strum bar is too squishy. What were you hoping would change with the new guitars?

The app itself is very neat. You can play back synth guitar versions of popular songs by just tapping on chord buttons on your iPhone. What makes this video is the composition and the editing. It is AMAZING. Seriously, just watch it.

We think they should get your $3.99 just for making this video, with the fact that you get to play guitar or something on your iPhone as a bonus prize. [Amidio]

The bundle, which comes at $250, will include new instruments modeled after the real ones used by the band, which may or may not include that violin bass Paul used. Still, custom plastic instruments are custom plastic instruments, so we're excited. [Kotaku]

Strap the Maestro onto any guitar, load a music file with the songs you need to learn, and then little laser lights will point out the way to play chords. Only, the hardest part of learning the guitar for me was switching your hand fast enough between chords, not actually knowing which to press since most tablatures already had that covered...

So I take it back. This is worse than the self-playing piano. Also, I wish I had musical talent. [Dvice]

Because while guns aren't officially part of the Holy Trinity that is sex, drugs and rock 'n roll, just like leather jackets and the propensity to not wash one's hair, they do go hand-in-hand with the lifestyle.

Of course you don't need the Pistol Instrument Cable to rock. But if you find yourself standing on stage with an equally talented, equally drugged and equally attractive rocker, you'll be glad to have the boost. $25. [Core One via Nerd Approved]

It should be noted that no Artist Lessons come free with iLife '09. So if you want Sting to teach you the way of the guitar (and I mean, who doesn't?), you'll need to purchase his lesson through the GarageBand Store. That's not actually synonymous with the iTunes Store, as it works completely through GarageBand (which redirects you to the web). iTunes never actually enters the picture.

The downloads are sizable. Sting is 600MB, which shouldn't be so surprising as multiple angles of high resolution video appear in two stitched-together 16x9 frames (32x9). (Unfortunately, there's no angle for Sting's butt.)

And my favorite part about the GarageBand store might be that it's not "Roxanne" that you are downloading. It's "Sting" that you are downloading. I've got you now, Sting!
The basic Artist Lesson comes in three parts: Learn Song, Play Song and Story. With Sting, you get two versions of Roxanne to learn (beginner and advanced levels). Through Learn Song, Sting gives you a brief rundown of each chord. Play Song is just a straight play-through of the song itself. And then the Story is just Sting talking about his inspiration behind the music, as if Sting could ever just talk.
In terms of actual time spent, that's:

Learn Song
Beginner Lesson: 8 minutes
Advanced Lesson: 4 1/2 minutes

Play Song
Beginner Song: 3 minutes
Advanced Song: 3 minutes

Story
The Story: 5 minutes

Glancing at this lesson outline, you see that it's not super long. The whole thing is about 24 minutes in all—if you go through basic and advanced levels. But what Apple did to expand this content is within GarageBand's new Learn to Play interface. Some very well-thought options really stretch the lesson's value beyond Sting's charm.

Whether you want to look at realtime frets on a virtual guitar or just follow along with various notations (simple chords, chord grid, and TAB), you can really get in there and match the lesson to your training preferences.

Then you can do some other neat things to expand the content through integrated Practice Tools, including changing the playback speed so you can take your time with the chords (this option ditches Sting's melodious vocals), work with a metronome, loop passages like the refrain or record your audio straight to the timeline to play back and remind you that, no, you are not Sting.
So is it worth $5? It depends on your perspective. A song runs $1 on iTunes (which most of us consider decent) while a 2-hour movie is $10+. Technically, this is just 24 minutes of content. But given its clean presentation and the real replay value, at your own pace, alongside a celebrity to make it all a little sexier, I'm going with yes.

I was pretty certain the Artist Lessons were just a cheap and trendy Apple gimmick when announced at the Macworld. But there's some real love in GarageBand's Learn to Play interface that is well-suited for celebrities to show up and teach you to jam. Apple hasn't committed to just how many Artist Lessons they will release moving forward, but if they can develop a reasonably sized library of musicians/music, I could see the platform growing into something very, very interesting.

Disney Star Guitarist, made with help from Washburn Guitars, uses the same style of "falling notes" that Guitar Hero and Rock Band use so well. But instead of cheap plastic buttons that mock my years of slaving over a sweaty fretboard, trying to learn some shitty Dave Mathews Band song so girls at college would sleep with me, Star Guitarist makes use of a real guitar. The special strings are included with the $200 game, and can be strung onto any standard guitar. Disney Star Guitarist, along with similar versions for keyboards and vocals, will be released for both PC and Mac this summer. [Wired]

This guy affixed two iPods to the front of his guitar; one runs Itouch Midi's Matrix app and the other is running my beloved Bloom. He then plays the guitar with a bow to make hazy, formless music. It's a neat idea, but I can't help but think physically attaching the iPods to the guitar is unnecessary. But hey, what do I know? I'm no musical genius like this guy. [Matrixsynth via Make]

Currently, we expect unit sales to decline by more than 50 percent series-over-series for November," said EEDAR's Jesse Divnich, "This is coming off the October month where series-over-series units declined by more than 60 percent.

So going into Christmas, sales are down. It's also notable that eBay pricing on the recent Guitar Hero: World Tour has dropped below retail pricing.

Even without citing sales numbers, EEDAR is grouping Rock Band right alongside Guitar Hero as a waning fad.

Divnich does go on to explain that both Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles should retain a loyal fanbase for the next decade or so, even if they aren't the wild cultural phenomenons they once were—just as Dance Dance Revolution keeps a following despite most of us sticking our metal pads in the basement by now. [Edge via Kotaku and most righteous image]

* Yeah, I know it's not impossible. Actually, just a few days ago here in Williamsburg, Christy—from the weird and wonderful Christy & Emily, get their album—left me speechless with her amazing live—and real—guitar performance, which included a drumstick in a song.

The Price: $19.95

The Verdict: It works, but it'll cramp your hand into an unrecognizable mess in under three minutes. The strummer button works, despite being awkward for a grown man to play with his two grown man fingers. The strummer is where the problem lies. If you thought those normal Guitar Hero buttons cramped your hand into awkward positions, imagine putting your hand down on a barstool and having a fat guy sit on it.

For $20, it's not expensive by any means, but unless they actually lengthen the fret a bit so adults can play this without getting carpal tunnel, it's only going to be useful for a quick break at the office. The Frets on Fire game it's meant to work with is a decent game, seeing as it's been around for a few years, and if you don't mind semi-legally downloading fan-made album packs, it gives you a good number of songs not found in Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Also, I'm not sure why "No clubs to join" is a selling point. I don't think I've seen that phrase in use since 1992.

p.s. Boing Boing Gadgets didn't like it either, but don't click that link unless you want to see Joel make a face that's previously only been reserved for his lovers. [Drum Bum]