Wireless Guitar Controller for PS3 and PS2: Logitech’s Guitar Hero Guitar is Back in Black!

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Ruben Mookerjee in News and Announcements, Product with 48 Comments on Wireless Guitar Controller for PS3 and PS2: Logitech’s Guitar Hero Guitar is Back in Black!

Today, we’re very excited to announce the new black Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller for PLAYSTATION 3 and PlayStation 2 computer entertainment systems. Back in October, I blogged about our first guitar controller, the red Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller Premiere Edition for the PS3 platform. In addition to the new black finish, the guitar we announced today incorporates a few minor construction updates based on the feedback we received from players over the last few months. It still feels great in the hands and balances comfortably on its strap, and the buttons and strum bar are as quiet and responsive as the original Premier Edition. So for those of you who did not manage to get your hands on the Premier Edition, this new guitar controller gives you a chance to find out what all the fuss is about. The Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller for PLAYSTATION3 and PlayStation2 is expected to be available in the U.S. later this month and in Europe beginning in June.

Wireless Guitar for PS3 and PS2

On a related note, as a keen guitar player myself, I have been very pleased to read about how Guitar Hero is being cited as the inspiration for more people to start learning to play guitars and other musical instruments, and even causing a boost in guitar sales!

Watch this space for more news on Logitech’s guitar controller lineup in the near future!

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Ruben Mookerjee

Director of Product Marketing, Gaming Business Unit

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48 comments

  • I bought three of the red edition and had some issues with the necks cracking where they met the body. I am curiousif you could elaborate on the minor construction updates?

    What are the differences between the two editions – red and black.

    Is the red edition considered a collectors edition? Does it have any advantages or disadvantages compared to the black edition?

    Thanks!

    • Hi Jason,

      I just confirmed that the support representative you\’ve been in communication with has responded to your e-mail, but I wanted to say that I\’m sorry to hear of your experience with the Premier Edition in red. One of the updates to the guitar is in the joint between the body and neck (it now incorporates a tenon joint which avoids the risk of the body finish being damaged if strain is applied to the neck).

      The Premier Edition was a limited run of PS3 units including a Guitar Hero gig bag. We had to make special efforts to get it to the U.S. market by December 2008.

      Cheers, Ruben

  • I would really like one of these, but I have all my music games on my Xbox 360 – any chance of a 360 version of this guitar coming out?

    • Hi John G,

      As I\’m sure you can understand, I\’m not at liberty to reveal information about our future plans with regard to products. As I mentioned in my post, your best bet is to continue watching this space. 🙂

      Cheers,
      Ruben

  • I know of about 10 guys in my local city of this amazing Guitar would come out on 360, Wired or Wireless, Make it happen!

  • Mean to say , I know of about 10 guy in my local city in Canada, that would instantly purchase this Guitar, Wired or Wirless. Please Make it happen.

    Thanks,
    Jeff

  • the red premiere is available for $129 at gamestop. at that price it is totally worth it. i would have felt a little ripped off at the original $250

  • You HAVE TO release a 360 version of this.

    I assume this works fine with Rock Band as well, right?

    • Hi Alan,

      Yes, the Logitech Guitar Controller is compatible with Rock Band on the PS3 – just make sure you have the latest firmware version for your PS3. Here is a compatibility chart on Joystiq that has a useful overview of the whole compatibility subject http://www.joystiq.com/Instrument-Compatibility-Matrix/ and the Logitech Guitar controllers have the same compatibility as the controller for GHWT.

      Cheers, Ruben

  • I’m waiting for an Xbox 360 version (white ?) available in France impatiently… Merci d’avance.

  • see, i just got the red one monday, and it looks to be cracking at the neck, and has one by the body. would i be able to exchange it for the black one? i like the red better though! maybe if the black had some of that white on it. it it any different in compatibility on ps2? my red one only works with world tour but not 1 or 2. (im sorry if im repeating questions because i DO have 2 pending work orders!) im just very excited by thing guitar. irs really nice. -thanks

    • Hi Tom,

      As far as PS2 compatibility, it is the same as the Premier Edition – since GH1 and GH2 only accepted the guitars with the controller port interface (not USB). And when you put the PS2 version of the game into a PS3 with PS2 emulation, it is still \”looking\” for a PS2 controller port guitar (see my comment in the October blog post).

      Cheers, Ruben

      P.S. I believe you\’re in contact with customer support re: the replacement.

  • They aren’t making this for the Meltbox 359. This is just another reason to own a PS3.

  • Is this compatible with rock band as well?
    I’d definitely buy one if it is.

    Cheers,
    Jonathan

  • oh that old ps2 games info is perfect.. and a little obvious, as if i should have known that already. thanks! i’ll just keep my plastic clicker off to the side for nostalgia.

  • I’ve placed an order via the Logitech store. Excited to get my hands on one! Any update on the shipping date? I assume that the Logitech store will be shipping first – faster than if I placed an order via Amazon?

    Also, a related question – any update on when the wireless microphone will be coming out?

    Thanks!

    PS: I’d love to leave the first glowing review if you want to push my order through the system! 😉

  • Any chance of this guitar coming through to Australia as just discovered this existed and looks awesome and would love to add it to my Logitech collection. The only thing i have on my desk that isn’t a Logitech product is my Computer tower and Monitor lol.

    Thanks

    AL

    Just one other thing- Any chance of adding bit of merchandise to site in near future
    ie- Shirts,caps, etc etc ?. 😉

  • What is the cracking deal with the red guitars Rubin? Is it just paint cracking, or is it the wood cracking and if I bought one of these guitars and it happened to mine, what would Logitech do to correct it? Give me a black guitar, or put a neck with a tenon on the red one, or what? Also did someone mention the red one being only ps3 compatible and the black one ps2 and ps3 compatible, or what were the other differences other than the neck tenon? Thanks, Steve

    • Hi Steve,

      The hairline cracks that we found around the neck of the red Premier Edition guitars were cosmetic and do not affect the performance (and we\’re confident it will not affect the life expectancy of the controller. However, since we really want you our customers to be happy with our products, our customer support has been replacing any units that have caused dissatisfaction to the user. Since the red Premier Edition run has come to an end, we are now offering the black guitars in exchange.

      We instigated a more violent drop-test at the guitar manufacturing workshop, and the black units have a revised neck joint construction to withstand this test. However, the controller performance and materials are otherwise the same. Both the red and black versions or the PS3 guitar have the same PS2 compatibility (i.e. works with PS2 Guitar Hero World Tour and later).

      Cheers, Ruben

  • oh this is infuriating.. i preferred the 360 versions of the guitar hero games, i already owned 2 3 and aerosmith when i saw this ps3 logitech guitar. i got the guitar, and i loved it, but noticed cracks the next day. but true, it didn’t affect game play, but the more i used it, the longer the cracks got. i sent mine back, and its been a month and i never heard from anyone. i don’t even know if they received it. now i guess if i eventually do get it back, i will get the awful looking black one. (they REALLY couldn’t make it black and white, it has to be black and black!?) and what hurts the most, is that i saw the RED one IS coming out to 360 after all. i traded off my 360 games, and got the ENTIRE ps3 guitar hero franchise (3,aero,WT,metallica,smash, plus RB1&@2) and it was totally pointless, because now i’m using a double range by TAC! – very, very sad.

  • oh wait the 360 version is ORANGE. ok, now i don’t feel AS bad. i just wish the black one had the white piece like the red one did. (can i keep the white part on the red one i sent back? ha)

  • Logitech’s customer service is awesome. i like the black (yes i complain like a fool) fits the playstation’s blackness. i was a little worries since i live in the same state of the return center and i wasn’t sure if they got it. but now i know its on the way back. great stuff.

  • It would be possible to order a receiver for the guitar (if it is compatible with the original guitar (les paul PS3)) because impossible to put the hand on such a receiver above in France.
    Cordially Guillaume

    p.s. : scuse my english

    • Hi Tom,

      The Wireless Guitar Controller for PS3 and PS2 is in stock right now. If you order it today it should ship out right away.

      Cheers, Ruben

  • Hi, I’ve bought the black controller for PS3, my old guitar is out because of hours of play ^^
    But I’m very disapointed. I have the latest firmware at this moment (i.e 2.80) and Rock Band 2. The controller simply doesn’t work with this game !!!!! It works perfectly under the console’s XMB but in the game no button fonction !!!!!! even the start button. The only thing you can do is using the PS button to exit the game!!!! And because I only have this game (I mean musical game) I bought a 200€ device for nothing!!!!! I thought, according to Ruben Mookerjee in his message of May 13, 2009 at 1:23 pm to Alan, that THIS device was conpatible with this game !!!!!!

    • Hi Vince,

      I am very sorry about your experience, but firmware update 2.80 changed the way the PS3 assigns controller ID numbers, and this has complicated the steps needed to get your game working. We, and other licensed guitar controller vendors, are working with Sony on a permanent fix for this, but for now you can get your guitar (and/or drum controller) working with Rock Band by reassigning the controller number manually:

      * Press the \”PS\” button on the Logitech Guitar Controller until the menu appears
      * Select Controller Settings
      * Select Reassign Controller
      * Change the Controller Number to either 1 or 2

      Now the game should \”see\” your Guitar controller and function as intended.

      Again, I\’m sorry for your initial disappointment and I will post an update as soon as I have any news of a fix. But until then, I hope this gets you rocking!

      Cheers, Ruben

  • Hi,

    Ruben I owe you un big thank you!!!!
    It’s a pleasure to be able to use, at last, this controller.
    But it’s really strange that the PS3 is assigning the n°7 for the controller!!!
    Thanks again for your answer !!!

    best regards,

    Vince

  • excellent. i have one in “repair” a red one and i got a call last month that it would take 2 to 3 business days before it ships… so im just gonna order a new one and take it as a loss.

    thanks for the info

  • I received this guitar a few days ago and i’m not able to connect the guitar to the receiver. Is this guitar compatible with the receiver from the normal guitar hero controllers ?

  • you have to use the receiver that came with it. that’s why.. it comes with it.

    looks like some mix-up has been solved and my guitar will return home in the next day or 2.

  • Hi,

    I received the black guitar some days ago. The “play-feeling” is fantastic but I´ve got a problem with the PS-button respectively with the control stick in which the PS-button is placed.
    It´s hard to move this stick in any direction. Up, left & right are I think inside the “resistance-parameters” 😉 but the movement to the down direction is very hard and it´s a game of luck if the down direction is recognised by the ps3. Higher pressure to the down direction will convince the button to send a signal to the PS3.

    Is this a normal behavior that this stick is very stiff or should I claim it?

    Thanks ahead
    Darius

    • Hi Darius,

      It sounds like you have a faulty unit – I am sorry about that. I will have a customer support rep contact you directly.

      Since it is only needed for navigating menus, the PS button/D-Pad was designed to have a fairly stiff action anyway – to prevent accidental activation or \”rattling\” during gameplay. But yours seems to have a directional problem beyond just its stiffness.

      Cheers, Ruben

  • Ah finally.. after 3 months i got my guitar. sent it in red, came back black. I 1st played “Back in Black” for the appropriate situation, and finally popped in Metallica that I’ve been waiting to play! Very nice and looks flaw free. I can see where the neck is different so i hope it stays intact. Thanks.

  • Hello, can I buy spare parts for the wireless guitar? Since there seems to be a lot of Red Guitars being sent back, what are the chances I can score the white plate piece of those guitars for my Black one? Ha, just a wondering. My Black one show a lot of scratches just from basic cleaning. -Thanks

  • I received my guitar about a week ago and I must say the materials and build of the guitar is fantastic. I was very excited to use it and it went very well for the first few days.

    Now i’m having problems.

    The PS-Button joystick is terrible and doesn’t seem to respond when I press it most directions, I usually have to press it down quite hard to get a reaction out of it.

    Even worse, whilst playing games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, the red and yellow buttons will occasionally STAY STUCK DOWN whilst playing, and completely ruin any progress through the song. I have to slap the button when it gets stuck, which will usually fix the problem… but this will happen again about 4 or 5 more times throughout the song.

    Finally, I’m using the latest version of the PlayStation 3 firmware (1.80), and every time I start the console, the controller is assigned as “Controller 7”, which can’t be used in Rock Band … So I have to reassign the guitar to “Controller 1” EVERY time before I play the game. I’m so unhappy, especially since I payed over $350 for this guitar.

    What should I do?

    Thanks,
    Ryan

  • HI Ruben,

    Thanks for reply but still I haven´t received a mail from the customer support yet. It would be fine if I get an information about the further process. Or did I misunderstood your post?

    I tried to figure out how exactly the PS stick do work and when not. If I push the stick to the limit the guitar doesn´t react. From this position a stronger press in the same direction move the cursor on the screen. I think the internal micro switches are too far away from the digipad.

    My guitar performs another “strange sound”. If I move the tremolo up and down (not backwards to the guitar) it squek loud. This isn´t really a functional problem but for a guitar hero guitar for about 150€ it shouldn´t be.

    Looking forward to your early reply,
    Darius

    @Ryan: The assignment problem is a problem of the latest PS3 firmware. All my other guitars were assigned to controller 7 (first time assign after power up) too. This isn´t a problem of the guitar.

    (Sorry for my bad english)

  • I bought this premium Logitech Wireless Guitar for the PS3 (http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Wireless-Guitar-Controller-Playstation-3/dp/B001NTBWK4/) and, after less than a month of casual use, the strum bar broke.

    At first it started registering a downstrum together with an upstrum. Then I noticed some sort of rattling sound inside the strum bar. Carefully opening the guitar panel with a screwdriver revelead that the plastic part holding a coil inside the strum bar is broken. It can probably be fixed with some superglue and patience, but I’d rather not deal with that after paying 200 bucks on what was supposed to be the best guitar on the market.

    By the way, the rest of the guitar is perfect, so before I RMA it, I was wondering if it would be possible to just get a replacement strum bar. It will cost a lot to ship the entire guitar, and that seems to make little sense, considering that the only thing that needs actual replacing is the strum bar itself.

    Thoughts?

  • Is this part of the blog still under supervision?

    Last direct contact was at 4th September.

    Please contact me to solve the issues.

    Thanks
    Darius

  • Problem diagnosed. As I have two Guitars. Both will sync with my first Wireless Receiver. However none will sync with the latest Wireless Receiver.

    Just got off the phone with Logitech EU Support which are asking for a whole heap of stuff including photos of the product.

    I hope this is not going to be a long winded affair to correct a two day old Guitar.

  • Hi Ruben,

    can you advise if the black guitar is compatible with the newer PS3 Slims?

    Thanks in advance,
    Lee

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