I love Guitar Hero b/c it gives me a fun outlet for all the musical impulses that have been lying dormant for many years. Suddenly all those violin lessons bring me joy instead of tedium. Yay!

If I were interested in making real music, there's no way I'd pick up a real Stratocaster. Bleah.

I love Rock Band and Guitar Hero. But that aside, moving off of your original statement that you hate Guitar Hero b/c it's using a fake instrument when a real one is available, I don't see why you laud the Guitar Zeros given your original statement. It's not a broken thing that is fixed. It's still a shadow of the original. Or something else. I mean, why push buttons to generate sounds when you have an actual guitar (heh, even though an electric guitar is aided as well) available?

That said, I can see how you would appreciate what they've done, as do I.

"I hate Guitar Hero — I think that it takes people with the music-making impulse and channels them away from actually learning the skills that go into making music. Why would I want a fake Stratocaster-shaped Wii controller when I have a real Stratocaster?"

Every time I see you say something like this, I think "Why can't he embrace the power of 'and'?"

Playing a music-themed game doesn't mean one can't also spend energy on learning real musical skills, any more than playing a racing game means one won't learn to drive.

man, good find! here's another video, kinda the same thing but apparently they play live shows with those controllers too.

http://current.com/items/88826633_plasticky_goodness