First let me start off by saying that I am a huge Rock Band fan. I've stayed with the series ever since the beginning and have over 400 downloaded songs to go along with the exported songs from Rock Band 1, 2 and 3, Lego Rock Band, and the AC/DC track pack. I play all the time with friends. And just as I have upgraded my drums to the ion kit when the originals died, so too was it time to say goodbye to yet another guitar ( I think this is number 5 or 6? We have played a lot). This time however, instead of going for the usual standard rock band guitar, I thought I'd give one of these Player Edition Telecasters a try.
There are a a few differences obviously. Most are in the product description. So there shouldn't be any real surprises here. It's almost exactly the same size as the standard Strat. So it's not like you're getting one of Madcatz's oversized Bass guitars. The Fret buttons are 3/4 and after playing this for about a week, I don't really see any huge benefit or drawback to this. I just hope that it helps in the long term. I've had a few guitars quit on me early because one of the Fret buttons stopped working unless it was being pushed down by the righteous hand of God. I will say however, that the Frets are much, much quieter on the Telecaster than the standard Stratocaster. (As a side note, because of the 3/4 Frets, if you play Lefty, DO NOT buy this guitar. You will be excruciatingly frustrated).
Another difference is the strum bar. It is much stiffer than the standard guitar. It has that solid, "clicking" feel to it that is reminiscent of the early Guitar Hero 2 X-Plorer guitars. It's nice in that it gives you a more solid feel. However, it is almost too stiff for my taste. In really fast sections it can actually ware down your hand/ wrist if you are strumming a lot of notes in extensive sequences (Foo Fighters Monkey Wrench as an example).
The back button is also now a touch-sensitive overdrive button located between the strum bar and the neck of the guitar. While I am still getting used to it, I don't really like it very much. I'm just too used to raising my guitar into the air to set off overdrive. Anytime I've tried to hit the touch sensitive button, I've just lost my score multiplier (something I normally don't do when tilting the guitar). And that is exactly what the button is supposed to help alleviate. Still though, I can imagine that it would benefit some people.
All and all it is a solid guitar. I have no real complaints about it other than the wireless Xbox guide button takes far too much effort to turn on or be recognized. It's just what the rock band guitars should have been all along. A solid, fun, real looking piece of entertainment. The extra buttons are more out of the way (No more accidentally turning your Wah-Wah's off) and the whammy bar is a blast (It's solid metal and sitting on a massive spring. It also rotates down and out of your way if you're not planning on using it).
Final Verdict: If you play a lot of Rock Band and want something a little flashier than the standard Stratocaster, but don't feel like shelling out $200 for the Wooden, full sized versions of the guitars, get the Telecaster. No promises on increasing your scores though (It hasn't noticeably helped mine yet).
As I've noticed that they seem to be sold out of them on Amazon, try ordering them from NewEnglandMusicSupply.com. I bought the Butterscotch one from them a while back. And they seem to keep them in stock.
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