Using your guitar hero controller - It's easy, I promise.

[JanDeis]

I plugged in my Rock Band Guitar(360) and I tried Joy2Key, but:

1. What do I need to change for Joy2Key? And do I keep Joy2Key open while playing?

2. My guitar does not work at all when I jump on FOF.

OK, the frets work, but the strum bar/D-pad isn't.

I already mapped it out. You do need to keep it open if you want to use the controller. Just minimize it and it should go into the task bar.

Here is my .cfg file for my settings. I was also able to use button 9 as a third strum linked to the solo buttons. Yay tappable solos! Just drop this file into you Joy2key folder and open up notepad to see if it works. You should type "12345" into notepad if slide down the fret buttons.

EDIT: To use the strum/d-pad, you need to activate the POV switches.

[rednano12]

I think that the Wii guitar should go in this sticky or become one itself. The link is in my sig if anyone wants to see.

[bobbyjonesrocks]

I was looking at some PS2 to usb adapters on ebay. I found this [url=http://cgi.ebay.com/For-PS2-to-PS3-Controller-Adapter-2-3-USB-Converter_W0QQitemZ180205589176QQihZ008QQcategor

yZ147177QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem]item[/url] and the seller looks pretty reputable. Do you think I should buy this? (The official red octane one is out of stock)

After reading this whole forum, I want a couple of questions answered:

1) Using a PS2 controller is okay with FoF?
2) Certain PS2 to PC adapters will work and others won't?

Thanks, I really appreciate this!

[the wicked child]

Took a bit of trial and error, but eventually got my Wii Guitar hooking up to the computer. Many thanks to those who made it possible.

[metalrocker]

The 360 one works. Anybody know if the PS3 Rock Band controller works? It's wireless, but it's USB as well.

it should. the ps3 GH3 guitar works with FoF, try it out

[MarcoCampo]

Do you need to buy an adapter for GH2 controller on 360? I can plug it into the back of my pc and it says found new hardware, i have the option to install it. Still need to do so though.

[Harmonicat]

Well, I see I'm not the only one having problems with their guitar controllers. I have had some success getting it to work, but it is far from successful.

So I bought a wireless guitar controller for ps2 - check

Bought the ps2 - usb adapter, instaled drive - check

downloaded joy2key - check

downloaded a joy2key config link - check

followed all instructions, opened up FOF, went to key settings, changed keys to frets buttons, up and down to strum bar, escape to select, start to pause - check

play game, pick a song, so far so good, game begins, 3, 2, 1, go, and the problems begin.

Problems, fret buttons do not always work, usually have to restart song to make them work. When they do work, they hardly work, and maybe only 2-3 frets will work, hardly ever the green. Game changes speeds making it impossible to play along. Have had FOF freeze on me numerous times when choosing song. Now here is the catch, the game works flawless with the keyboard. So i know the game works fine, i know the game CAN work with the guitar as i used it last night. How the hel can i get this guitar to work flawlessly each and everytime? i know it can be done, people are doing it as i speak. This game is such a good idea and is quickly becoming famous, but if this small error can not be fixed, many people will stop trying and move on with thir lives. Surely someone knows whats up? Anyone.........

[Harmonicat]

Finally got my 2 port PS to USB adapter working with Frets on Fire on XP after a few hours of googling and reading this post. Bought a really cheap adapter off eBay (doesn't even have a brand name...) and when i pulled the driver mini-cd out of the plastic sleeve the silver layer with all the data on it stuck to the plastic. So i couldn't install the driver from CD. Since there's no brand...i couldn't find the correct driver online, so i just plugged it in with a regular PS controller plugged in one of the ports and windows automatically installed it as two "Twin USB Joystick"s. Under the Control Panel > Game Controllers the regular controller buttons registered and everything. Then i swapped it for the redoctane guitar controller and the buttons weren't registering. Tried using drivers from other sites...no luck... Finally i saw chunky34's post on page 8 about how he had to plug in 2 controllers for his dual port to work...so i tried that...and it worked. Remapped keys in FoF and it works great. Kinda stupid...but meh...

Just wanted to have this here for other's people's use. If you recognize the adapter from the ebay page and have the drivers could you p.m. me? I'm still curious if i can get better functionality, whammy bar, not have to have 2 controllers plugged in, etc.

will have to try this myself, if it works, it will save soooo much ******* hassel trying to find the solution. If not, i'm calling my Techy neighbour over to figure this **** out, because quite frankly, in the words of Twisted Sister, "I Wanna Rock"

So I tested this theory out last night, and low and behold, it actually did work when i plugged ps2 cont/ into the second port. Makes no sense but who am I to question something that works. I can't say it works flawlessly, but it's working. One thing I have noticed however is that songs taken from GH 1, 2, and 3 work best. Custom made tracks tend to F up everytime I play them. Also, even though the guitar is now working, it still tends to not work at all times during song play, which can really suck if you're rockin out and you're about to nail the 3 note chord and nothing happens. You can always restart the song and hope it works better this time, or hit pause until your frets work again, but by this time your score has gone to ****. In my opinion, it's still a WIP

[Pastiche]

I need a little bit of help here, I'm having trouble Alternate strumming with FoF, strumming regular works fine but when I Alt-Strum it causes a bunch of misses out of no where. I have the Alternate Pick set as 'Down Strum' on the guitar controller and Pick set as 'Up Strum'. How do I make it so Alt-Strumming works?

[hetecro]

People with Guitar Hero controllers.

I didn't read all 24 pages, so if it's been said, sorry.

Any Guitar Hero controller will work if you have the right adapter.

The XBox 360 WIRED controllers (the x-plorer in particular) work the best. In fact, these are the same guitars found in the PC version, exactly the same. (I know, I tried one in my friends 360) They require no extra adapters and work right away; However, these are the hardest to find and are sold out almost everywhere you look.

All PS2 controllers work with the right adapter and Joy2Key. The reason why you must use Joy2Key is that sometimes buttons don't work right, like the strum will not act like two buttons, but like a pwm_x_axis or pwm_y_axis (if you don't know what I am talking about, think algebra... there is an x-axis and y-axis. On a regular Joystick, the large moving part moves around in a virtual graph that rests at (0,0) and when it moves around, the computer tells the Kernel where it's at on the graph, which in turn runs the operation) These are the most common.

The WIRELESS 360 controllers are native RF controllers, which means that they cannot be plugged in to USB. Even the charge cables they sell for them do not communicate with the PC, they ONLY charge them. (I've know people to make that assumption) However, Microsoft sells a wireless adapter for the PC that converts the controllers Radio Frequency (RF) signals into the USB device. These will work with Frets on Fire without the need for additional hardware/ software minus the wireless USB bridge for RF. *These controllers have to be charged after 2 hours of use, I find them difficult to play with.

Wii controllers are awesome. and by far my favorite. They don't die every two hours, and they use bluetooth, so all you need is a computer that uses bluetooth and Joy2Key. (Search Google for directions) They get pretty decent range and the three that I have tested worked very well.

PS3 wireless controllers also work decently, but they don't install as quickly or easily. Some people have spent large volumes of time searching for drivers.

RECAP

If you already own the guitars, try getting it to work. All guitars for all systems WILL WORK with the right hardware and drivers.

If you do not own a system, the best method by far is the Guitar Hero 2 Wired X-Plorer for XBox 360.

If you don't mind the price, though... the Wii controllers are really my favorite, but cost the most if you don't have a Wii. This is why, you must buy the Wiimote (although, it can be used in any game with Joy2Key which is really fun in Counter-Strike:Source) and the Wiitar. Then you also have to have Bluetooth, which if you don't have on your computer, you can always get a transciever or dongle from Newegg.com for very little.

I have found that the cheapest method is the old PS2 controllers (Like the red SGs and the ugly controllers) because they are the easiest to find and the cheapest guitars made. And you can find the PS2 adapters pretty much anywhere such items would be sold.

ODD THINGS TO CONTROL FoF WITH

Doomsday Buttons
http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/accessories/9116/

Optimus Keyboards
http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus-concept/

Media Center Remote/ Apple Remote

Symbian Based Cell Phones
(Salling Clicker)

Cyber Snipa Game Pad V2/ Ideazon FANG Gamepad

BELKIN F8GFPC200 N52TE Tournament Edition

Response Box
http://www.response-box.com/k4227.shtml

And when all else fails, get creative and make your own damn controller. If you are a hardware engineer and a programmer, you can just make one from scratch or you can rip apart a cheep keyboard assembly and re solder everything inside a cardboard guitar.

[kanjinfo]

Not sure if this has been posted or not...If so, excuse the repeat.

To use the XBox 360 WIRELESS GH3 Controller with the Microsoft Wireless Gaming Receiver in FoF I have had to do a few things in order to work around some fairly large bugs with the receiver itself.

First off, you need to disconnect ALL USB devices from your PC , except for the Gaming Receiver.

Reboot your system.

For mouse and keyboard I use old PS2 connections, but some USB mice and keyboards may work...Just wait until your system fully reboots before you try to connect them.
(If you have the Logitech MX5000 Wireless Desktop with Bluetooth, don't even try it...The gaming receiver stops responding immediately if you plug in the bluetooth dongle)

Power up the Guitar and try to sync it with your gaming receiver now. Hopefully they sync up fine at this point...

For setting up the controls, I use a program called Xpadder, but FOF may do that part for you by selecting the Use Alternate Controller option in the FoF Setting tab.


Hopefully these steps will work for most people, but from what I have read on the Gaming Receiver bug forums, it may not be a universal work around. ???


Good Luck,
Seraphem

ok, so i just bought a brand new guitar hero 3 for xbox with the les paul wireless controller..

i also got the microsoft gaming receiver for windows..

i tried ur procedure but i still can get it to work..

i updated the receiver drivers through auto update, i tried taking out all my usb periphs except the receiver.. it seems the receiver works fine, its the guitar that i think isnt wanting to connect.. the xbox button light keeps flashing, never getting solid like the receiver

when i tried running xpadder, it kept searching, but couldnt find the controller. ive tried both my laptop and my pc.. same dealio.


PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! someone tell me how to make this work properly.. ive yet to find any other guidelines for this wireless controller and the knowledge base at ms is **** for the receiver..

[kanjinfo]

nvm.. got it to work, but some notes for those of whom are struggling:

FOR GH3 LES PAUL WIRELESS XBOX controller, u need the xbox 360, microsoft wireless gaming receiver for windows.. i got it at futureshop for 20 bucks (looks like a small white egg with a flush-faced button in the middle

ok.

1) install the receiver software (if ur having hardware communication issues, remove other usb paripherals, but may not be necessary)
2) reboot if you want to play it safe
3) plug in the receiver to usb port
4) receiver should have a solid green light
5) press and HOLD xbox button on guitar
6) IMPORTANT: press the connection button on the receiver and HOLD until flashing, then press connection button on guitar and HOLD for a few seconds (your goal is to have the guitar xbox button light solid green, not flashing) <--pressing connection button briefly may not establish connection

7) download xpadder software (google it)
run xpadder and press the file icon in top left corner of window (looks like xbox controller).. select new
9) play with dpad if u like, but ur really interested in the buttons tab
10) press all the fret buttons and pick.. a little box with a appear for ever new button detected
11) go to finish tab and close
12) u will now see those new buttons and directional cross on the main program window (grey background) -- press each of those button icons and select your keyboard bindings

NOTE: these are mine.. dont ask why.. they work --> fret1=F3, fret2=F2, fret3=F5, fret4=F4, fret5=F6, pick=return

you are almost done.

13) launch fof, go to settings, rfmod setting or whatev (u want to turn ON alternate controller)
14) go back to settings, go to key settings and punch in ur fret buttons and pick..see above for eg.
15) go to "test keys" and make sure your selections respond and make sense

congratulations u now have the sexiest guitar game controller operational!

for those who appreciate detailed instructions, i hope this helped..

cheers.

ps. holy crap, the controller is WAY diff than keyboard.. this is going to take some getting used to!

[engel]

The XBox 360 WIRED controllers (the x-plorer in particular) work the best. In fact, these are the same guitars found in the PC version, exactly the same. (I know, I tried one in my friends 360) They require no extra adapters and work right away; However, these are the hardest to find and are sold out almost everywhere you look.

Nevermind, I searched around and another had the same problem.

Edit - Problems arise, I downloaded what the person told another user with the same problem to download. Didn't really work, so I continue to have problems with my X-Plorer controller.

[Kerowyn]

I'm currently using the Wii GH3 controller in Arch Linux to play FoF with Bluez and Cwiid. I have not been successful under windows yet, I can't seem to get the WiiMote to stay connected to my Bluetooth dongle.

Works like a dream, except I'm going thru batteries at an alarming rate, not to mention carpel tunnel :p

[tanstaafl]

I have an HTPC and a 360 in my living room, so my best option was to use the wired 360 controller. We had bought GH3 with the wireless controller for the 360, and I totally fell in love with the game. So, after some research, and finding FOF, I decided to buy the GH2 pack that includes the wired guitar so that I could do co-op play with the wife and play FOF on my HTPC.

I have to say I'm really impressed with how well it all works.

Great job to all involved!!!