27 April 2009 8:30 GMT / By Chris Pickering

The world of gaming peripherals has taken a quite wild turn in the last decade. Previously it was all about quite dodgy third-party controllers that seemed to be cobbled together by a blind meerkat. Now, it’s all about expensive, yet inherently solid items like the Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller.

The big difference is, well, the size. Rather than the trimmed down size of the official guitars, this one is (almost) a proper guitar size. The neck is a touch shorter, presumably in order to keep the fret buttons and slider still somewhat close, but for all intents and purposes this is one sizey beast.

Equally, gone is the plasticy lightweight feel. This guitar is staunchly solid, and packs a similar overall weight to all those guitars you see sitting idle in a thousand student rooms worldwide. The tuning pegs are metal, the neck is rosewood, and all feels suitably realistic and ridiculously expensive.

For those of you still dismayed by the constant click of both the buttons and strum bar, Logitech have you in mind. The strum bar in particular is perfectly quiet, allowing you to actually hear a few tunes rather than constant clicks. Similarly, the fret buttons themselves are also incredibly quiet. The former is understandable, but it does take a touch of getting used to. The clicks did somehow have this metronomic quality that kept you in time and on the right path, and this sudden jump to complete silence does take a few hours of practice.

The biggest thing for a lot of users is the quality of the strum bar. Unlike the last few variations of the guitar, it doesn’t feel like it’s about to drop off after a brief nudge. Here it honestly feels like it could easily stand the test of time when used responsibly.

Being completely wireless (up to 30 feet) the lack of wires is handy. And yet despite the weight and complexity of such a piece of kit, a single pair of AA batteries is enough to keep the music going for quite a considerable length of time.

Included in the pack is a “gig bag” of questionable quality. It does have enough space to lug around the guitar itself plus a copy of the game, which is handy, but it’s a long way from being something of major desire, but it’s a nice little addition, particularly considering the cost.

Verdict

Retailing at the price it stands at, this is obviously mainly something for true Guitar Hero fanatics. Considering for your £150 you receive merely the guitar, and not a copy of the game to play it with, it’s no doubt going to be a premium piece of kit in the hands of a relatively small number of users.

But there’s no denying that it’s hugely impressive. It has the feel of a “proper” guitar, and the sheer weight of it is no doubt going to astound all those who only know of the previous Guitar Hero controllers.

Score

Review Recap

Made by

Logitech

Price as reviewed

£149.99

The good

Stunning build quality, fantastic strum bar

The bad

Lacking the clicks is a big miss at first

Quick verdict

The price may be huge, but you certainly get a whole heap of product for your cash. For Guitar Hero fanatics, this is a must

Score

Winner

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