Rock Band 3 won’t be out until Tuesday, but for would-be Emersons, Joels or Manzareks, here’s an up-close look at the new keyboard controller.
As you can see, the new peripheral has 25 keys, covering two octaves both starting and ending on C. Above the keys, different areas of the keyboard are divided into zones that correspond to traditional in-game note colors — green / yellow / red / blue / orange.
In the upper right of the controller, you’ll find the D-pad and navigation buttons (the MIDI and headset jacks are on the right side, along with the controller sync button). From this angle, you’ll also notice that the five keys starting with middle C have smaller color codes above them.
If you’re curious how this keyboard compares to a typical MIDI controller, here’s the keytar sitting on of an Axiom 49-key keyboard. There are some subtle differences, but by and large, the keys are standard size (and not weighted, as you’d probably suspect).Â
It’s interesting to note that in Rock Band 3, you can unlock a setting that lets you play guitar charts with the keytar. It’ll be challenging, as the traditional roles are reversed — you’ll “fret” with your right hand and “strum” with your left. However, in all the older Rock Band and Guitar Hero games I tested, the keytar was detected as a basic gamepad and the game assumed I was trying to play as a vocalist.
The wireless keytar works on 3 AAA batteries (included), and also comes with a Rock Band-branded strap in case you want to roll up the sleeves on your white blazer and go all Miami Vice. As far as how well the keyboard modes work, we’ll all find out for sure in a few days.
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