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by Ben Silverman
Every rock star begins as a lowly roadie, setting up, breaking down and lugging around their own gear. Once you're done marveling at the monstrous size of the box, tear into it like it's Christmas morning and start building a band!
WATCH ROCK BAND VIDEOS
Your Rock Band bundle should contain:
- One Fender Stratocaster guitar
- One guitar strap
- One USB microphone
- Two headset adapters
- An awesome drum kit in eight parts
- Two drum sticks
- A copy of the game, of course
- One USB hub (Xbox 360/PS2 only)
First off, you might want to shift your living room around a bit to accommodate the gear and, more importantly, your glut of friends eager to audition for a spot in the band. Six or seven square feet of uncluttered freedom in front of the television is a good start, but remember that when it comes to rock 'n roll, you can never have too big a venue.
First out of the box is the guitar, which comes mostly intact. You'll have to pop on the headstock (the part of the guitar where strings are tuned), which requires a fair bit of force. You'll hear a click when it's fully attached. Next, connect the strap by slipping one end over the little silver knob at the top of the body and the other end over the knob at the bottom of the body. That's it!
The regular microphone requires zero set up - just plug and play. If you're an Xbox 360 user and plan on singing while playing, you can optionally use your handy Xbox Live! headset instead. First plug the small black cord into the headset, then attach the clip. Now plug the other end of the black cord into the guitar or drum peripherals to allow simple, hands-free vocals.
Speaking of which, time to set up that drum kit. After unpacking the monster (you might need some Gatorade before you're through), start out attaching the two black feet with the smaller rods, then slide the two larger, telescoping rods into the top of the base. Tighten those clamps to avoid injury. The four drum pads come connected already, so go ahead and pop that sucker on top and secure the clamps. Now just attach the bass drum pedal by setting it on the base rods and plugging it into the top unit, and presto - you've got the beat!
All that's left is to plug the instruments into the USB ports on your console. In the case of the PS3, the guitar is wireless and the console already comes with four ports, so no worries there. Most Xbox 360 owners (and all PS2 owners), however, will have to first pop in that goofy USB hub. Plug it into an open USB port, connect the other end to an outlet and plug the instruments into the hub itself.
Some 360 owners might not have to bother with that, though. The 360 has two USB ports in front and a third located at the back of the console. If you happened to also buy the HD/DVD add-on player, you'll have gotten one extra USB port and will now have enough for four players. Looks like betting against Blu-Ray paid off.
Either way, congratulations! You're ready to rock.
Posted: 15 Nov 2007
