From Guitar Hero to Guitar Zero

[The Continental]

A particularly tech savvy group of musicians in San Francisco have devised a method (http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/18/guitar-zeros-rock-out-with-guitar-hero-axes/) of playing actual music using their unmodified GH2 controllers, the results of which are just damn fun to watch (http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9720382-1.html).Making music with today's newfangled controllers is nothing new, but the Guitar Zeros are taking things a step further by actually forming a band that uses non-modified Guitar Hero controllers and a good bit of programming to please crowds. The San Francisco-based four-piece utilizes a standard drum kit and set of pipes, but opts for a much more digital approach to the guitar and bass. Both guitarists use Guitar Hero axes that are hooked up wirelessly to a Windows XP laptop, and thanks to some serious coding efforts within MAX/MSP, the controllers are able to emulate acoustic sounds, electric wailing, and mind-blowing lead lines without being plugged into a game console. Of course, the end result is purely a matter of taste, but the science behind the strumming is what's really impressive Thanks Engadget. (http://www.engadget.com/)

For those interested in trying this at home, the band has a how to guide (http://www.theguitarzeros.com/use_guitar_hero_controller_as_an_instrument.php) on their official site.

[Blue]

That was really smooth. I'm not nearly that computer savvy, so it was cool to see how they got it to do what they wanted it to. And I'm equally as bad at Guitar Hero, so I'm sure any attempt of mine to incorporate anything "real" into my playing would be met with pain.

[Sirindu]

That was really smooth. I'm not nearly that computer savvy, so it was cool to see how they got it to do what they wanted it to. And I'm equally as bad at Guitar Hero, so I'm sure any attempt of mine to incorporate anything "real" into my playing would be met with pain.

Same. Though I incorporate "real" guitar by playing my... real guitar. :p Which isn't meant to put this down in anyway- it was pretty cool. I always wondered if something like this could be done but, like Blue, I don't know enough to know if/how it would work.

[Exodus]

Does this mean I can play eruption or the curse of castle dragon on my... ghg? o_O?

that guy, reminds me of courtney cox's husband.. dunno his fucking name but, yeah, that guy's a goof, can't help but laugh at him

[Loganrapp]

It's cool to see actual musicians get into this stuff. Obviously they'd have to know a bit about music and guitar playing already in order to make this work properly.

[ElectroDruid]

I did something like this last December, slapped together a very quick bit of code to get the controller triggering noises through a PC. My flatmate is an industrial noise musician, so he loaded the program up with drum samples instead of guitar ones, and played it live at a couple of gigs. I think it's kinda become a staple of his live set now.

It's pretty easy to get a basic version up and running (my program so far hasn't had more than an hour's work to get it up and running), but what these guys have done is more impressive than what I did. I like that they seem to have modelled each of the guitar strings individually on the strum bar, and the binary scheme for putting notes onto buttons is smarter than the one I came up with. Pity that their actual band sounds kinda terrible, but their tech is nice :)

[fiercey]

I wish Guitar Hero would let me hook in my real guitar and it detect whether I'm playing the rifts right. That cannot be that hard to do. Otherwise, as a guitarist, I don't see the point of playing the game. I hear it's fun though.

-f

[Morangie]

Otherwise, as a guitarist, I don't see the point of playing the game. I hear it's fun though.
You just answered your own question.

[fiercey]

You just answered your own question.

I guess... but only in the same way that it may be fun to play "store" with a toy cash register. I still think it would be fun to have a game that tested real guitar accuracy.

-f