New stand-alone guitars for The Beatles:RB announced (pictures added)

May 5th, 2009 | Tags:

Via Kotaku-

Harmonix and MTV today announce two new Beatles-themed guitar controllers going on sale when The Beatles: Rock Band hits stores in September – the Rickenbacker 325 and Gretsch Duo Jet.

The Rickenbacker 325 and Gretsch Duo Jet are a pair of full-bodied, classic guitars used extensively by John Lennon and George Harrison throughout their careers. Both guitars should be available for purchase when The Beatles: Rock Band launches on September 9th, retailing for $99, €99.99, or £89.99 depending on where your store is located. This brings the price tag for the true Beatles Rock Band experience up to $450, and that’s not counting extra microphones.

Here are pictures of the original guitars-

Lennon and the Rickenbacker

Lennon and the Rickenbacker


Harrison and the Gretsch

Harrison and the Gretsch

…and here are the game’s versions (thanks to Dogmatic2020 for the links):

B:RBs Rickenbacker

B:RB's Rickenbacker

B:RBs Gretsch

B:RB's Gretsch

Wow… between these and my Ion, my fake instrument collection is going to look more realistic than my, well, real instruments.

On a related note, the game’s website has its pre-order section up now.

-Kyle

  1. Ms_Renee
    May 5th, 2009 at 09:09
    Reply | Quote | #1

    I am very wary of the quality. If they are anything like their Fenders then they aren’t worth the money.

  2. eyescovered
    May 5th, 2009 at 09:12
    Reply | Quote | #2

    i gotta say this is pretty cool. they’ve come a long way (if you remember the original GH1 guitar). but, this brings up a question: will this game have bass and/or have lead & rhythm guitar options? hmmmm

  3. Tendimes
    May 5th, 2009 at 09:16
    Reply | Quote | #3

    I guess that’s yet another benefit of doing a Beatles themed experience – the largest fan-base have probably 4 times the disposable income of your average gaming aged 15-28 year old. 500 bucks for a beatles game ain’t no thing when all the kids are out of the house.

  4. Dogmatic2020
    May 5th, 2009 at 09:30
    Reply | Quote | #4
  5. Dogmatic2020
    May 5th, 2009 at 09:53
    Reply | Quote | #5

    They look REALLY nice, but I was completely turned off by HMX made guitars after going through 4 Strats. The Höfner bass, I may have to pick up though… if it becomes available separately. -_-

  6. D Rock
    May 5th, 2009 at 10:29
    Reply | Quote | #6

    lol $100 each for the game versions is pretty feasible because to snag these actual guitars is upwards of $1000 each!

  7. smacd
    May 5th, 2009 at 10:34
    Reply | Quote | #7

    personally more interested in the Hoefner Bass, as a bassist. I’m just hoping that its not awkward to use as a righty.

  8. RMThompson
    May 5th, 2009 at 11:49
    Reply | Quote | #8

    The code just shows you the pictures you already have, with the information you’ve already posted. Nothing more.

  9. Ms_Renee
    May 5th, 2009 at 12:21
    Reply | Quote | #9

    @eyescovered
    I disagree. I still have the original PS2 GH guitar and it’s going strong without a single problem. I gave up on HMX Fenders after the 4th was returned. @ of them I got at the same time and one broke after 62 days and the other went on the 67th and you only get 60 days warranty… funny about that, eh? I have since bought the Warbeast for my PS3 and it’s the ION of guitars :-)

  10. Ms_Renee
    May 5th, 2009 at 12:24

    Typo: @ = 2 lol

  11. sebastian
    May 5th, 2009 at 12:36

    175 fricken dollars?????for one guitar? after we pay 100 overprices dollars for a game that may not be exportable?????

  12. eyescovered
    May 5th, 2009 at 12:40

    @Ms_Renee
    i was referring to making the instruments look real. i do agree, though, the original GH guitar was made to last.

  13. smacd
    May 5th, 2009 at 12:54

    @sebastian
    where are you reading $175 for a single guitar? The story says each retail for $99 separately.

  14. Xzyliac
    May 5th, 2009 at 14:01

    Nice looking but not interested. I could see this being sort of like the Ion of the guitars.

    If the size and weight is improved and made more realistic I wouldn’t knock anyone for buying it. Otherwise I don’t approve.

  15. kirby-eats-you
    May 5th, 2009 at 14:26

    nice! but I already have a RB2 guitar that works perfectly.
    but damn these look nice!

  16. Armisael
    May 5th, 2009 at 14:44

    I’m sticking with Ol’ Trusty (My PS2 SG…we’ve gone through a lot together :) ) for hard songs, but damn, those guitars look…well, they’re just breathtaking. The design is just perfect, and if they hold up well, Ol’ Trusty might have some new partners, because they look simply amazing.

  17. xHoly Div3rX – News Editor
    May 5th, 2009 at 17:33

    Mmm… George’s Gretsch looks so sexy. Too bad i probably won’t throw that money to buy it. I need all the money for DLC that I can possibly get…

  18. Witticus
    May 5th, 2009 at 21:22

    As much as I like those, I already have like 3 plastic guitars. Maybe buy when I’m rich someday, which won’t be anytime soon.

  19. cyberwolf500
    May 6th, 2009 at 00:01

    i own the rb1, gh3, and gh:a guitars. my aerosmith cant be used because the sync button broke and the strum on my hmx guitar is useless. why cant they just face it, guitar hero stole half of rb2 songs, band layout, and even the drum colors, so why cant they use a similar strum bar, because it should be obvious that hmx guitars arent real hits, my black les paul has seen better days… :’(

  20. Fugazikill
    May 6th, 2009 at 06:51

    @cyberwolf: I agree completely. GH2 guitar for my 360 is the only way to go, just love that click from the strum bar!

  21. Meh
    May 6th, 2009 at 11:19

    @Fugazikill
    I modified my guitar using the neck from a PS2 GH2 guitar and the body of an Xbox360 GH3 guitar. Those square buttons were horrid…

    To those with Fender guitars, they are very easy to fix. If you’ve ever looked inside it, where the connections meet just dab a little bit of sauder(spelling?) on the little rectangle points and voila! I’ve never had a problem with it again, except that it’s buttons are annoying.

  22. Ausnick2001
    May 6th, 2009 at 15:47

    £90!!! No chance…British ripped off yet again…

  23. Jeremy
    May 6th, 2009 at 18:58

    those are pretty sexy guitars…I just wish they had clicky strumers

  24. reksav
    May 7th, 2009 at 09:00

    they look really nice!! my dreams of a lefty-friendly guitar are still pipe dreams though. i cant count how many times my watch has accidentally hit the start button mid-song. also having the whammy bar above the strum makes it a bit more difficult to use. if you try to use it like a righty would, you end up hitting the strum bar and breaking the combos. but these, still good looking

  25. Weber34
    May 7th, 2009 at 18:21

    is the disk alone going to be $60?

  26. xHoly Div3rX – News Editor
    May 8th, 2009 at 05:29

    @Weber34
    Well, of course. All of the other spinoff GH games were 60 bucks. Keep in mind that this ISNT just a “Track Pack”, like the ACDC songs. This game is designed to give people an actual “Beatles Experience”, with band info, venues, etc.

  27. sebastian
    May 8th, 2009 at 08:05

    :S i thought the disk was 100, the way he said the totally price was 450?

  28. Kyle- RBDLC News Editor
    May 8th, 2009 at 08:44

    What he meant by that is that if you combine the cost of the special edition (game+bass+drums+mic+mic stand=$250) and the two guitars ($100 each), it comes out to right at $450 for the “full” Beatles experience.

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