Rock Band Instrument Repairs and Modifications

The Rock Band (and Guitar Hero) instruments for the school video game club get used a lot, and we've had some casualties. Here are some quick and cheap fixes and modifications we've done.

Edit: Here's another Instructable on repairing the strum bar for a Rock Band guitar.

Step 1: Whammy Bar Not Springy?

A common issue with the guitars is the whammy bar spring mechanism breaking. Someone came up with the idea of wrapping an elastic band around the strap peg and around the whammy bar. The strap still fits on, and the tension ca be adjusted by winding the elastic more or less.

Step 2: Broken Kick Drum Pedal? Kit Sliding Across the Floor?

We broke our first drum pedal yesterday, so I jigsawed a top plate out of a thin piece of wood and screwed it above and below the break. Make sure the grain of the wood is perpendicular to the break.

As well, the kit had been sliding across the linoleum floor, a mouse pad (neoprene side down) under each of the corners helped with that. Of course you can also just play with your other foot (the one not playing the pedal) on the corner.

Step 3: Drum Pads Too Noisy, or Getting Worn Out?

We cut circles out of old mouse pads and stuck them to the drum pads. Makes them quieter, and doesn't seem to affect playing. The red one (far left) is getting a little worn already, but we have a stack of old mouse pads.

There's also a mono headphone splitter that the kick pedal is plugged into for when we hook up a second pedal. It does work, but only one pedal can be down at a time.

Not shown is the broken Guitar Hero World Tour drum stick that we repaired by wrapping tape around.