page_title: Rock Band 3
section_title: Guitar and bass
hierarchical_section_title: Rock Band 3 / Gameplay / Pro mode / Guitar and bass
caption_attribution_description: Squier&#174; by Fender&#174; Stratocaster&#174; Pro Controller for Rock Band 3 @ E3 Expo 2010 〝Fender®, Harmonix &amp; MTV Games Partner To Introduce Revolutionary New Rock Band 3 Squier® By Fender Stratocaster® Guitar Controller”, press release (2010-06-11), Harmonix Music Systems, Inc
context_page_description: Rock Band 3 is a 2010 music video game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, in late October 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on November 23, 2011. It is the third main game and the 6th major console installment in the Rock Band series. As with the previous titles, Rock Band 3 allows players to simulate the playing of rock music and many other subgenres using special instrument controllers mimicking lead and bass guitar, keyboard, drums, and vocals. Rock Band 3 expands upon previous games by including three-part vocal harmonies — previously used in The Beatles: Rock Band and Green Day: Rock Band — plus support for MIDI-compatible keyboards, electronic drumkits, and even use of a real guitar in "Pro" mode.
  Distinguishing it from all previous rhythm music games, Rock Band 3 features "Pro" mode, which is designed to accurately mimic playing of real instruments.
context_section_description: (Existing "5 button" guitar controllers from previous Rock Band and other compatible games (such as Guitar Hero) can still be used interchangeably with real Pro instruments for non-Pro parts in Rock Band 3, but not vice versa.)
  Both the Fender Mustang Pro-Guitar MIDI 102-button/string controller and the Fender Squier Stratocaster 6-string guitar and MIDI controller have "fret sensing" ability, in order to display fingering on specific frets to the video display for instant feedback on where the player's fingers are on the fret board at any time.
  Mad Catz based the Fender Mustang Pro-Guitar MIDI 102-button controller on the actual Fender Mustang bass guitar, for the game software's Pro mode, as a way for 5-button players to have an intermediary step up to a real guitar using a combination of buttons and strings.  Instead of five colored buttons, the Mustang has 6 buttons across 17 different frets, for a total of 102 buttons; the player needs to strike the corresponding buttons on the right frets similar to guitar strings. The player uses the "string box" that contains six stainless-steel strings which can detect which strings are being strummed, in place of a "strum bar" from the typical legacy "5 button" controller. Though modeled after a bass guitar which only has 4 strings, Mad Catz gave it 6 strings in order for it to also be used for pro lead guitar play.  In addition to Pro mode use, the Mustang can be used to play the game in Basic mode, and it functions as a full MIDI guitar, with a MIDI output connector providing compatibility with MIDI software sequencers and hardware devices.  For use in gaming mode, each Mustang controller can only be used with the game console it is designed for (except unofficially if you connect through a MIDI-Pro Adapter, then any console's Mustang can be used with any console for Pro mode game play, although direction pad buttons, overdrive detection and Basic 5-button game play will be disabled).  The Mustang Pro-Guitar is only a few inches smaller in length than the actual Mustang bass guitar, and being made of plastic, is much lighter to hold than an actual guitar. The neck is removable from the body for easier storage and transport.
  Fender made an even further step up by turning an actual full-sized, 6-string Squier Stratocaster guitar into a Rock Band 3 Pro mode real guitar game controller.  This is a true six-string electric guitar, with electronics built in to allow it to interface with the game to provide added features such as on-screen fret sensing.  The Squier Stratocaster Guitar And Controller therefore has full MIDI output capabilities outside of the game in addition to being an actual standard guitar.
  A demonstration of the Fender Squier Stratocaster Guitar And Controller at its Electronic Entertainment Expo debut showed it being played directly through an electric amplifier alongside other players on the other controllers while playing the game. Unlike the Mustang controller which uses fret buttons, the Squier being an actual guitar, uses real guitar strings, therefore it cannot be used in Basic button mode.  However, it can be played in the game (locally or online) alongside other players using 5-button Basic controllers.
  The Squier is "console-neutral": instead of having to buy a console-specific guitar, players need only purchase the MadCatz MIDI Pro-Adapter made for their Xbox360, PlayStation 3 or Wii console, then simply plug any Squier Stratocaster Guitar And Controller into that for in-game use.
  The Mustang Pro-Guitar controller was not available until a month after game launch.  The Squier Stratocaster Guitar And Controller was not available at the game's launch either – it was finally released in March 2011 due to manufacturing delays in order to perfect the fretboard-sensing feature while keeping cost down as much as possible. In that time some players discovered that though unofficial, a third controller option was readily available from Inspired Instruments called the You Rock Guitar. The You Rock was a guitar synth much like the Mustang Pro-Guitar. In looks, an
caption: Two official guitar controllers work with Rock Band 3's Pro mode. One (left) is the stringed Fender Squier Stratocaster, while the other (right) is the Fender Mustang (modeled after the actual bass guitar), which has 102 buttons to simulate frets and 6 strings on the body of the guitar for strumming.
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