The design for this guitar is simple. Five colored buttons up high. A strum bar and whammy bar. A tilt sensor inside. No special buttons, no fancy silver knobs - and it WORKS. It is a true workhorse. When other guitars we own fail and fall apart, these Xplorers keep on trucking.The unit is wired, and it has a breakaway connector at the end. One end of that connector has a mouse-style input and the other side is USB to go into the XBox. So make sure, if you're buying used, that it has that connector - otherwise you won't be able to plug it into the 360.
The full length of the cable including that connector is just under nine feet. So fairly short. If your living room is long, or if you have a lot of people moving around between you and the TV while you play, you might want to consider going wireless instead.
It's recommended you don't get an extension cable because that would mess up the timing of your button presses.
The unit is sturdy. You can hammer the buttons and they stay responsive. The strum bar and whammy bar both hold in there. Most impressively, the tilt sensor is sturdy! We have the Stratocasters as well as these Xplorers and the Strats are notorious for having their tilt sensors fail. We've never had any problem with an Xplorer tilt sensor failing.
Are there any down sides here? Well certainly the Xplorer cost a bit more than the Strat does - but there's a reason for that. It lasts longer. So if you're really into the Guitar Hero / Rock Band games you probably want a guitar that will stand up to your pounding. Of course you could always upgrade to the real wood versions, but those get quite pricey. This is a nice mid-range compromise.
It's worth noting, for those new to buying guitars, that they are generally console specific. This one has a green X button on it at the lower left. Make sure you look for that when buying one for your XBox 360. Also note that you can't then use it on your PS3 nor on your Wii.
Well recommended for fans of Guitar Hero / Rock Band who want a reliable, sturdy guitar.
We purchased our X-Plorer guitars with our own funds in order to play our many music games.
Buy a X-Plorer Rock Band / Guitar Hero Wired Guitar from Amazon.com
