So if you have got your Guitar Hero equipment up and running the only thing that can go wrong now is if your console breaks down. You may have been there already, that terrible day when you come home, turn your console and see a light, not the light you're expecting, a different light. It is a nightmare scenario that too many console users have had to face. We too have had to fix the old console from time to time and is a tricky process so here is our advice on what to do if your console breaks down.

XBOX 360 Repair

The most common fault on Xbox 360 is the dreaded RROD or Red Ring Of Death! This can take the form of a number of the normally green quadrants on the front of the Xbox turning red, number and position of the red lights to indicate different faults. Although there are a number of different reasons for this error including E74, three red rings, two red rings and a number of other audio visual problems including screen freezing and having no video at all, the repair is the same for all three. If you Google Red Ring Of Death or Xbox repair you will find no end of entries all over the Internet with varying degrees of usefulness, you can also watch the many YouTube videos which will attempt to guide you through the procedure. The only issue we are really found with these is that they are usually of poor quality and when you're messing around inside your beloved games console you cannot afford to make any mistakes! We recommend you consider buying a professional well-designed, well illustrated guide and we have heard very good things about James Dean, not the actor but the video games expert!

You can go and see his site Here

PlayStation 3 Repairs

While many PlayStation owners will claim that the PlayStation never breaks, we can tell you it does and we have had to repair a few ourselves for friends and family. The PS3 suffers from various errors in time to time, including the yellow ring of death (blinking yellow light of death) any combination of flashing red lights or green lights, a seemingly endless possibility of error codes and the most common one we have encountered is when the wave screen freezes (home screen). Having looked at a few options we like the look of the guide over at PS3lightfix, they give you a full-colour guide and detailed informative video guides for each of the possible errors.

You can check out the PS3lightsfix website for more info.

We have been selling a drum repair kit on Guitar Hero Repair for a while now, but the feedback we have been getting is that it is quite fiddly and difficult to fit, well in response to this we have now launched the new version of this kit.

It can be used to fix any of your main drum pads on both the Guitar Hero and Band Hero drum kits and takes no more than 10 minutes to fit with just a screwdriver needed.

The drum pads work by means of a small sensor on the underside of the drum pad which picks up vibrations when the pad is hit. The wires from this sensor take the signal back to the main circuit board of the drums where all the important processing takes place. This repair kit includes a pre-assembled sensor, wire, plug for the circuit board with the special adhesive pad to allow you to attach it to the drums.

Installation could not be simpler! Open up the back of your drums with the appropriate screwdriver (Phillips or Torx 10 both of which are common sizes) unplug the old sensor wire from the circuit board (using pliers if needed) and remove the old sensor from the underside of the drums, then plug the new sensor in and stick it back to the underside of the drums using the special adhesive pad provided with this kit. The installation video above shows just how easy this repair is.

Choose a Currency

You may choose a currency from those shown below, if your local currency is not listed Paypal will automatically convert the payment for you. Worldwide shipping is included in the price you see - no extra charges.

Solderless Drum Repair Kit USD 1 Solderless Drum Repair Kit $11.95 2 Solderless Drum Repair Kits $19.95 4 Solderless Drum Repair Kits $34.95

Solderless Drum Repair Kit GBP 1 Solderless Drum Repair Kit £7.45 2 Solderless Drum Repair Kits £12.95 4 Solderless Drum Repair Kits £22.95

Solderless Drum Repair Kit EURO 1 Solderless Drum Repair Kit €8.95 2 Solderless Drum Repair Kits €16.95 4 Solderless Drum Repair Kits €29.95

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If you have any questions please have a look at our FAQs or Contact Us

Solderless Drum Repair Kit FAQ's

• Does this work on the red / blue / green pad?

Yes, these kits are made with longer cables to allow it to be used on whichever drum pads you require so no need to specify which pad you are repairing

• Is this kit compatible with the Band Hero drum kit?

Yes, the Band Hero Drum kit has almost identical internals so this kit has been tested on the new drum kit and it works perfectly

• Do I get instructions with my order?

No, in this case the repair is so simple that all the instructions you could need are contained within the tutorial video above, you will receive a conformation email with a link to this page.

• Do I need any special skills to fit this item?

No, if you can operate a screwdriver you will be fine to fit these!

• Where can I get a Torx Screwdriver
  

Have a look at our 8 in 1 Torx Screwdriver Set

• Can I use the sensor to repair my broken cymbal?

You could, but a cheaper option would be to just buy our standard drum repair kit, which also includes instructions on fitting a new sensor into your cymbal (soldering required)

This example is for the Xbox 360 but it should work just the same on any console.

To get your e-drum working with Guitar Hero on the Xbox 360 you need a least the following six things:

- an e-drum with a MIDI Output, e.g. Roland TD-12,
- the Xbox 360 Controller Box from the Guitar Hero drum kit,
- the Drum Brain from the Guitar Hero drum kit (it's called "DRUM SYNTH V2R00" on the circuit board),
- the MIDI Input from the Guitar Hero drum kit,
- a MIDI cable,
- a Guitar Hero game which supports drums (all versions including World Tour and up should work).

You can get all of these parts (except the MIDI cable) from the guitar hero spare parts store for a very reasonable price. Of course you can get a Guitar Hero Drum Kit and use this as your MIDI connector to the Xbox, but that might take up a little bit too much space in your living room.

click to enlarge

Now to the setup:
1) Connect the Drum Brain to the Xbox Controller. Make sure that the red cable is connected to the pin marked "CK".
2) Connect the MIDI Input to the Drum Brain. The red cable must align with the "Kick" pin.
3) Connect your e-drum's MIDI Output with the MIDI cable to the Guitar Hero's MIDI Input.
4) Put some batteries in the Xbox Controller, turn on your e-drum and the Xbox Controller and start Guitar Hero (at least World Tour, Guitar Hero III doesn't support drums). Make sure, the Xbox Controller is paired and works (i.e. you can navigate the menus).
5) If your e-drum sends the standard MIDI notes for the different pads on the standard MIDI channel for drums, you should be set and ready to go. Just choose Drums as your instrument and give it a try.

That was easy, wasn't it?! For a little more tweaking, just read on.

Hm, what to do, if the e-drum doesn't use the correct MIDI channel or notes? That involves a little bit more of work, but no magic at all.

Go to your devices MIDI setup (check with your manual on how to get
there) and set your e-drum's transmit channel to 10. This setting is usually buried somewhere in the global settings.

Now the only thing left to do is to set the pads to send the correct MIDI notes for Guitar Hero. This setting is usually done in the pad's settings section. You need to setup them up like this:

Red Pad: Note 38,
Yellow Pad: Note 46,
Blue Pad: Note 48,
Green Pad: Note 45,
Orange Pad: Note 49,
Purple Pad (Kick Pedal): Note 36.

The Red pad is usually a Snare Drum sound, so it's a good idea to map your SD pad to note 38. Blue and Green are Tom Sounds, Yellow and Orange are Hi Hat resp. Cymbal. Purple is the Kick Pedal (Bass Drum).

If that didn't work, first try the other MIDI connector on your e-drum.
Sometimes the MIDI connectors are labeled weird regarding Input/Output.

If you have got multi-zone pads that send different notes when being hit in different zones, make sure to map them to the same note. E.g., a Snare Drum pad is usually equipped with a rim and head sensor. You want Guitar Hero to recognize both sensors, so set both to Note 38. The same applies for multi-zone Cymbal Pads and so on.

Of course you can map your pads to your liking. I have my Ride pad and the Hi Hat mapped to the same note and both the Crash pads mapped to the other colour, so that you are free to play the rhythm stuff on the HH or Ride to your liking (or whatever the sounds in Guitar Hero are like ...;-) ).

Hope you enjoy it. If you have any problems, just drop a note in the comments.

Many thanks to our reader for that nice tutorial.

We couldn't stop without having a little play ourselves and have come up with a nice little mod to this guide, allowing you to enclose all the parts in the original controller box. The mod is quite simple all you need to do it to cut the GHWT midi port out and replce it with a slick looking surface mounted one which will cost pennies.

Open the back of the controller box by removing the four screws in the back

click to enlarge

Cut the circuit board off the end of the Guitar Hero midi port cable leaving you with as much of the ribbon cable attached as possible, You wil see that the ribbon cable is made up of 6 wires, we only need wires 3 and 4 (doesn't matter which way you look at it, it's the middle two!). You need to strip and solder these two wires onto your surface mounted midi port, attaching them to the same pins as they were attached to before (The red and yellow lines on the image show where they were attached, look at your own it will become clear, just make sure you have the midi port the right way up!)

click to enlarge

Drill a hole in the side for the port to go through and your done! You should have plenty of room to fit everything back inside the controller box, leaving you with one small neat box to connect up!

click to enlarge

This is a short video we have produced to show you just how easy it is to do! All you need is a new pad, a screwdriver and 5 spare minutes take a look and tell us what you think. If you have any problems with this or any other Guitar Hero related problem take a look in our Guitar Hero repair forums

Made from thicker, more durable wire, they also have plugs which are straight (as opposed to the angled ones on GHWT cables) which have a much greater surface area to grip onto the cable. They are also longer, allowing you to leave yourself a bit of slack in the wire for when your ham fisted friends try and take the cymbal off! If you are not sure if it is your cymbal or the cable that is broken have a look at these useful steps to finding out

They are easy to fit requiring only the small phillips or torx screwdriver needed to get the back off your drums then its plug and play!

You may choose a currency from those shown below, if your local currency is not listed paypal will automatically
convert the payment for you. Worldwide shipping is included in the price you see - no extra charges.

GHWT Upgraded Cymbal Cable USD 1 Cable $16.95 2 Cables $28.90 4 Cables $42.80

GHWT Upgraded Cymbal Cable GBP 1 Cable £9.50 2 Cables £16.95 4 Cables £31.95

GHWT Upgraded Cymbal Cable EURO 1 Cable €11.95 2 Cables €19.95 4 Cables €37.95

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If you have any questions please have a look at our FAQs or Contact Us

Cymbal Cables FAQ's

• Will this fit my drumkit?

These cables will fit either the left or right cymbals on the Guitar Hero World Tour drum kit

• Is this kit compatible with the Band Hero drum kit?

No

• Do I get instructions with my order?

Yes you will receive instructions via email showing the fitting procedure in great detail.

• Do I need any special skills to fit this item?

No, if you can operate a screwdriver you will be fine to fit these!

• What tools will I need?

The only tool you will need is a screwdriver (either Phillips + or a Torx T10 both of which are very common sizes). The other items you may find handy are a small pair of pliers and some sticky tape for securing the cables inside the drums.

• Where can I get a Torx Screwdriver
  

Have a look at our 8 in 1 Torx Screwdriver Set
 

Obvious things first - make sure batteries are good and the controller is connected to your console!

Ideally you will have lots of friends who play Guitar Hero too ( if your friends do not play GH ditch them now and get some proper ones!), if this is the case you can borrow one of their guitars, swap the necks around and see if that makes the difference - This will confirm weather the issue is in the neck of guitar side of things.

If the different neck does not stop the problem then the first thing to do is check the connector inside the body of the guitar that the neck plugs into. This sits just inside the body of the guitar and should be well fixed into position and not full of dust - a tiny bit of movement is OK but if it is moving about a lot it is not making the connection to the neck properly and you are lucky if any of your buttons work! If this is fine then the problem either lies in the wiring inside the guitar or with the connection to your console - both of which are very difficult to fix so we shall leave there!

If the problem is in the neck of the guitar there are a few things you need to check see our troubleshooting video below

Download this video to watch later (wmv 6.5mb)

One thing to note with fret button problems is that they are not always traceable or fixable, due to the way the buttons work, if the board or connector is faulty then you really have no option but to buy another guitar as replacement of these parts if quite difficult.

If you have any questions about your fret button problems please post them here and we will try to help!

If you have snapped your strummer, killed your cymbals or battered your bass pedal half to death then you have come to the right place! Our GH Parts store stocks a full range of items for repairing or replacing whatever is wrong with your kit and stopping you having fun with it!

We have got a selection of items available and lots more on request so even if you are just missing a cymbal screw or stick holder to fix your drums or if your touch slider is broken you can rely on us to get you back in the game!

Check it out now but don't forget to bookmark it for later!

We have now opened a forum for all your guitar hero questions as this page was getting a bit too big! You can now post all your problems and read the solutions here, and comments will be closed on this page from now on.

Send us your problems and we will answer them for you! See how simple an idea can be?

Following a few emails from people with different Guitar Hero problems we have decided to start this section. All you need to do is post your problems below and we will tell you how to sort them out with pictures and advice. We hope over time this will become a useful resource for people all over the world who need a bit of help sorting out any issue they have with drums, microphones or guitars, after all they take a lot of abuse and are going to need some TLC from time to time so why not ask to see if we have any guides for fixing broken whammy bars, neck sliders or why the red drum does not respond anymore!

To start you off here is a letter we received

Hi

I just found your site while looking through ebay and I was wondering about my Whammy bar which recently broke, well it still works but it just hangs down limp all the time and does not spring back anymore, it just sits there pressed down all the time. Any ideas on how I can fix this or have you come across this problem before?

Thanks Jay

Well as it happens we had seen this before. It is caused by a small spring on the back of the whammy bar which would either break, fall off a small anchor point inside the guitar or the small anchor point could have broken off. We sent Jay a few pictures of what he needed and he was back up in no time!

If you want your questions answered just post them below for all to see and we will get back to you.

Go to the new GHR forum here

Problem:

While drumming like a hairy neanderthal you manage to hit the cymbal so hard it physically breaks the plastic holding it together.

Solution

The fix here is superglue nice and simple, when joining hard plastics superglue joins pretty much as hard as the original bond, it is cheap, fast and simple (unless you end up gluing your fingers together!)

What you will need to do is:

• Take the cymbal off
• unscrew the back cover ( so it looks like the one in the picture above)
• remove the rubber covering ( it is only held in place by a couple of spots of glue)
• examine the extend of the crack so you know where to apply the glue
• TOP TIP - breath heavily on the area to be glued just before you glue - superglue reacts with moisture in the air to make it harden so this just helps the process
• hold it in position for a minute or two
• reassemble and play

There are also some things you can do to prevent this problem happening

• don't hit it too hard (duh!)
• swap your cymbals around occasionally so one is not taking more abuse than the other
• reinforce the area with strong glue before this happens (do not get any glue near the sensor, this will affect the sensitivity of the pads)