Rock Band 3 Wireless Keyboard for PlayStation 3

With the game 2 weeks away from release, the fervor that it's generating is at its peak as evidenced by the fact that Amazon is sold out of the keyboard (as of 10/12/2010 anyway). I received both keyboard and stand (review for the stand is here: Rock Band 3 - Keyboard Stand for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii ) last week. Here are my initial impressions of the keyboard: - Build quality is solid. It has a good weight to it and none of it feels flimsy. Battery compartment is snug and tight and there's no fear of anything running loose. - The keyboard comes with its own strap should you feel inclined to "key-tar" it, 80s style. - The keyboard has a touch pad at the end of the handle, on the top. Presumably you will be able to distort held notes, similar to a whammy bar on the guitar. - The keyboard also has an overdrive button adjacent to the touch pad. - The packaging notes that the keyboard will also be able to play guitar and bass parts as well; why you might feel compelled to do that is unfathomable, but it's available...obviously, it won't support Pro modes for stringed instruments. - The keyboard dongle will allow you to plug in TWO peripherals. This may be key for those of us who own the PS3 slim and may not necessarily want to invest in a USB hub (I did, but that's just me) or any other attachment that allows for additional USB hook-ups. - All of the other PS3 controls (Start, Select, PS button, etc.) are all there just like the Rock Band guitar peripherals. - MIDI is supported ... again, I'm not sure why you might want a 25-key keyboard as a MIDI device when a full keyboard would do the job better, but there you have it. Here is my only con thus far: - Keys are not weighted. Granted, it's a relatively compact peripheral, so weighting the keys would have only required additional precious volume, but for something that is purported to be "velocity-sensitive", weighted keys would have been a benefit in this area. Oh well, you can't have everything. So far - very excited. I will update my review once RB3 comes out. However, my initial impressions given the completed keyboard are very, very positive. -- Edit forthcoming -- -- Edit 10/26/10 -- The keyboard responds very well in gameplay. Keys respond accurately and PRO Mode works as advertised. As a warning, Pro Mode will challenge you quite a bit if you're not experienced with a keyboard. But it's a blast -- enjoy!

I just reviewed the game of Rock Band 3 while discussing the keyboard, but I'll add a few notes here as well. The keyboard is the sole reason I got the game, and was enough to get me to start playing Rock Band for the first time. (I was playing Guitar Hero World Tour before. Not too big on the guitar but the drums are fun.) This keyboard works great. The keys feel better and are more solid than I was anticipating. I've seen more expensive compact midi keyboards that have very cheap flimsy feeling keys. They are sturdy and feel nice. Keyboard works very nicely in the game. I jumped right into pro keys from the start and they feel pretty natural. On pro keys easy you start off using all the keys, however you stay within a set area of the keyboard for each song. On medium you still stay in a set area (depending on song) but chords come into play. On hard you get more chords, more notes, and you are no longer in a set area. The area will change from right to left showing you move up and down the keyboard. This is very confusing to look at first, and while I haven't mastered it, it doesn't seem too bad. And expert is just crazy mode. I love it, having a lot of fun with it. It has brought new life to the game, and is actually beneficial for really playing the keyboard/piano.

I purchased the Rock Band 3 Wireless Keyboard for the PS3 a month ago. As with all PS3 wireless controllers installation is instantaneous. In this case, simply plug the dongle into the PS3, put the batteries (conveniently supplied with the controller) in the back of the keyboard controller and it just works. As a lifelong piano and keyboards player myself, I was keen to explore the Pro Keys mode in Rock Band 3 immediately. Once I'd callibrated the controller with my A/V setup I was pleasantly surprised at how accurate the keyboard is. The Pro modes in RB3 demand some pretty accurate playing and the keyboard controller gave me great results right out of the gate. The keys are completely unweighted, which has it's pros and cons I suppose. On the plus side the keys are effortless to play, whether you're a child, a teen or an adult. I did notice myself accidentally activating the notes when simply resting my hand on the keys, but it's a very minor point against what is an otherwise brilliant device that adds a huge new dimension to the Rock Band dynamic. Recently I had my son on the drums, a couple of mates on guitars, wife and daughter on vocals and me on keys and it was a huge amount of fun. The touch sensitive ribbon controller on the arm of the keyboard works really well. It's used in RB3 to add sonic effects like wah-wah and resonance to the keyboard parts as you're playing them. I was debating whether to wait for the MIDI interface so that I could use one of my own (very expensive) keyboards in the game. But having used the controller for a few weeks I'm very glad I bought it. The controller's convenient size (about 50cm long) means that it can be easily stored away in a drawer or cupboard - something you wouldn't really want to do with a full size MIDI keyboard. If you're not a keyboard player, the basic mode uses five adjacent notes in the centre of the keyboard for the five colour symbols onscreen. You get the benefit of some farely complex keyboard accompanyments in an easy-to-keep-up playing mode. If you have any interest in playing keyboards in Rock Band, I won't hesitate to recommend this product as a good value, good quality and hugely fun addition to your Rock Band setup.

The only reliable way to get back into rock band these days.

So excited to finally get the keyboard. So disappointed to see the content was corroded. Not sure if i should return it or clean and try it out. $70 down the drain

Actually, it IS a real, functional MIDI keyboard. ...Two octaves at a time. Rock Band 3 handles this via a shift mechanism that allows you to move that two-octave window left and right along what a full-size keyboard would be. It took a musician friend about thirty minutes of tearing his hair out to figure that out. But that's only in Pro mode. You can also just use it in basic mode and mash keys in four color-tagged areas of the keyboard, just like any standard Rock Band controller. You can't beat the value, if you'd like a keyboard in your Rock Band.

Sure, 24 keys seems like a tiny keyboard, but this little number is very fun to play. I highly recommend getting a stand or having a stable surface to set this on, as playing it as a "keytar" is not the most pleasurable; YMMV. The broad color bands you see in the picture are used with the Pro Keys mode; for standard Keys mode, only the white keys are used (I believe, honestly forgot to check the black keys in Keys mode, hehe). There is a tagged set of keys in the middle-right of the keyboard. What is not indicated is that the keys on the far left duplicate those, so you can use two hands to play, even in Keys mode. Using two hands does make activating overdrive and sustain/whammy somewhat challenging, because the overdrive port does not currently function (software problem to be fixed in the near future) and your only option is the button and pad on the neck. Reaching them while playing *and* not missing any notes can be very difficult. Still, very fun new way to play. With many songs getting updates and new songs being released, this may become your new favorite way to play!

For any keyboardists, pianists, or others aspiring to do such in a video game; the keyboard peripheral for Rock Band 3 provides a very solid feel and performance in it's Rock Band debut. The keys feel just like a keyboard that you could pick up and buy from your electronics outlet, and all buttons and functions on it operate as you would expect. My only slight complaint (and it is a minor one) is that they made what was supposed to be the pitch wheel, a touch pad. This is used to "whammy" your sustain notes, and so the touch pad can be tapped and/or rubbed to produce the desired whammy effect, but an actual pitch wheel would have felt better and more realistic. Other than that, this unit is highly recommended and works very well! It is also supposedly MIDI compatible, so it should be able to be used somehow in conjunction with a computer for music compositon purposes? Anyways, I give it 4.75 stars, so rounds up to 5!

The keyboard looks and works great. This instrument is easier than guitar and drums. Traditional mode is very easy to pick up and play since it is only using 5 keys which is perfect for your 5 fingers. Pro mode a lot of fun and is not that hard either. You can either use the shoulder strap for a more rock-n-roll play style or put it on your lap or a table for a more piano-ish play style. It's true that not all songs have keyboard parts. BUT you can use the keyboard to play Guitar or Bass parts in non-pro mode, that's right. So unless you have two other guitar players playing at the same time, do not worry about having to sit through a song watching.

El que faltaba para la colección de rock band .... Junto con la batería es lo más cercano a lo real

Using this as a midi controller with a Roland GR 20. Works great! Well worth considering, especially at under $40! Tough to find a controller with 5pin DIN midi at that price.

El teclado muy bien, y todo, de hecho parece nueva, pero la abrieron para sacarle el juego. Si dejaran el juego que realmente así es como debería de venir, y no abrieran la caja, antes de entregártelo. Tendría cinco estrellas.

Took only a few days to get the product, even with free shipping. Nice. Great quality, working great, no complaints at all. Just wished the batteries were not leak-damaged, though. I understand the product is old (not used, but still old), but I hoped the batteries would not be outdated. I had some batteries anyway, so I put them in the keyboard and everything was fine. Despite this little detail, everything is fine with the product. Thanks !