Guitar Hero pedal controllers
Recently I was asked to build some single-handed Guitar Hero controllers to show at the Games for Health conference, and Red Octane was kind enough to donate some guitars for me to experiment with. Here are the results, I built two of them:
Click here for a larger version
These replace the strum and whammy bar from a standard guitar, allowing you to use a single hand for the chords. What you do is use your foot and click your toes up or down to strum or navigate menus. To perform a whammy you lift up your heel - the spring loaded plate is shown in the up (full whammy) position in the photo, but normally your heel compresses it (no whammy). The pedal plugs into a modified Guitar Hero 3 Les Paul wireless controller. You can still strum the modified guitar but the whammy is only on the pedal.
For more photos and info check the rest of the story below. This project also finally gave me an excuse to throw together a “music video” demonstrating its use, check it out here.
I first started with a wooden prototype… it’s really quite simple but I guess it’s the though that counts.
As you can see my woodworking skills are not very good, but all it had to do was sort of work to test the concept. At first I tried using a separate pedal for whammy, but it was hard getting my feet to do separate things. (Maybe it’s just me) An all-in-one solution seemed better…
When stumped I usually go hit the local bar and sketch out ideas. (I also do this when non-stumped as well) Scribbling on the back of a karaoke sign-up slip, I came to the idea of putting a pedal under the heel…
The actual slip. (Much better writing surface than bar napkins)
I then modified the wooden prototype with a flimsy heel pedal, as shown above with one of my Sperries. One of the trickiest parts of this projects was figuring out the correct range of rotation for the whammy potentiometer. This then has to fit the range of a spring, and yet be within the range of lifting ones heel.
A shot of me playing GH3. And yes, I do still have an Atari 2600 hooked up to my TV - why wouldn’t I?
Myself with the pedal and guitar. The pedal kind of resembles a big metal shoe, kind of like if Robocop went to Holland.
Click for larger version, suitable for use in press releases and/or print without having to email me asking for larger pics. Using the stickers included with the guitars really tied the look together, wouldn’t you agree?
Click here for larger version. Fun fact - I used an old Atari Jaguar controller cable with this pedal. Hopefully it doesn’t jinx anything…
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May 8th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Very cool. Also, the video was very nice work with the splicing of your films in and stuff. Worked well.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:58 am
[…] VideoGamesBlogger - Bit by Bit, Only the Best Game News wrote an interesting post today on Guitar Hero pedal controllersHere’s a quick excerpt Recently I was asked to build some single-handed Guitar Hero controllers to show at the Games for Health conference, and Red Octane was kind enough to donate some guitars for me to experiment with. Here are the results, I built two of them: Click here for a larger version These replace the strum and whammy bar from a standard guitar, allowing you to use a single hand for the chords. What you do is use your foot and click your toes up or down to strum or navigate menus. To perform a whammy y […]
May 8th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
The flame stickers really add a touch of class.
May 8th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Everytime I come to this site I find something awesome to make me smile and think I can still be a gamer :) Thanks Ben! I hope these get manufactured one day!
May 8th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Very nice work! This plugs into the guitar itself? I love that all-metal build. It looks like it belongs on-stage at a concert. That attention to detail is great!
May 9th, 2008 at 2:23 am
[…] Extra: Bonus picture and video! (more details about this project on the official page) […]
May 9th, 2008 at 2:28 am
[…] Extra: Foto bônus, e vídeo! (vejam mais detalhes sobre o projeto na página oficial) […]
May 9th, 2008 at 3:28 am
This is awesome, will gamers with one hand be able to get these somehow?
You should really go into business selling some of your creations, you would make a killing because there is plenty of money to be made in Guitar hero and Rock Band related products.
As for this specific idea, there may not be a huge population of one-handed gamers, but plenty of people would love to have something like an effects pedal that sets off overdrive / star power.
May 9th, 2008 at 6:57 am
[…] Check out how it was built at Benheck.com […]
May 9th, 2008 at 7:57 am
[…] got to be the fact he wired them using the controller cables from an old Jaguar controller. Guitar Hero pedal controllers [Ben […]
May 9th, 2008 at 8:00 am
[…] Here’s Ben Heckendorn’s latest invention. It’s a pedal for Guitar Hero (and presumably Rock Band) that controls the strumming and whammy bar functions, so people with only one good arm (and presumably chronic masturbators) can rock out like everyone else. Heckendorn built the pedal for the Games for Health conference. These replace the strum and whammy bar from a standard guitar, allowing you to use a single hand for the chords. What you do is use your foot and click your toes up or down to strum or navigate menus. To perform a whammy you lift up your heel…The pedal plugs into a modified Guitar Hero 3 Les Paul wireless controller. You can still strum the modified guitar but the whammy is only on the pedal. […]
May 9th, 2008 at 8:55 am
[…] since the first 360 Laptop, and console modder extraordinaire, Ben Heckendorn, has been busy. His newest project is designed to allow users to use their Guitar Hero controllers with a single hand. The controller […]
May 9th, 2008 at 9:13 am
[…] since the first 360 Laptop, and console modder extraordinaire, Ben Heckendorn, has been busy. His newest project is designed to allow users to use their Guitar Hero controllers with a single hand. The controller […]
May 9th, 2008 at 9:14 am
[…] since the first 360 Laptop, and console modder extraordinaire, Ben Heckendorn, has been busy. His newest project is designed to allow users to use their Guitar Hero controllers with a single hand. The controller […]
May 9th, 2008 at 10:05 am
[…] To activate the whammy, the user lifts up on their heel to release the spring-loaded rear of the pedal. Yeah, it sounds a bit confusing, but Heckendorn makes it look pretty normal in this example video. Well, as normal as geeking out to Guitar Hero will ever look, at least. [Ben Heck] […]
May 9th, 2008 at 10:47 am
[…] since the first 360 Laptop, and console modder extraordinaire, Ben Heckendorn, has been busy. His newest project is designed to allow users to use their Guitar Hero controllers with a single hand. The controller […]
May 9th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
[…] To activate the whammy, the user lifts up on their heel to release the spring-loaded rear of the pedal. Yeah, it sounds a bit confusing, but Heckendorn makes it look pretty normal in this example video. Well, as normal as geeking out to Guitar Hero will ever look, at least. [Ben Heck] […]
May 9th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
[…] To activate the whammy, the user lifts up on their heel to release the spring-loaded rear of the pedal. Yeah, it sounds a bit confusing, but Heckendorn makes it look pretty normal in this example video. Well, as normal as geeking out to Guitar Hero will ever look, at least. [Ben Heck] […]
May 9th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
[…] cable used with one of the pedals — Ben just hopes that "doesn't jinx anything." Read | Permalink | Email […]
May 9th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
[…] Jaguar controller cable used with one of the pedals — Ben just hopes that “doesn’t jinx anything.” Read | Permalink | Email […]
May 9th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
[…] Jaguar controller cable used with one of the pedals — Ben just hopes that “doesn’t jinx anything.” Read | Permalink | Email […]
May 9th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
[…] Jaguar controller cable used with one of the pedals — Ben just hopes that “doesn’t jinx anything.” Read | Permalink | Email […]
May 9th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
[…] Jaguar controller cable used with one of the pedals — Ben just hopes that “doesn’t jinx anything.” Read | Permalink | Email […]
May 9th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
[…] Jaguar controller cable used with one of the pedals — Ben just hopes that “doesn’t jinx anything.” Read | Permalink | Email […]
May 9th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
[…] Jaguar controller cable used with one of the pedals — Ben just hopes that “doesn’t jinx anything.” Read | Permalink | Email […]
May 9th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
[…] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments […]
May 9th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
[…] Jaguar controller cable used with one of the pedals — Ben just hopes that “doesn’t jinx anything.” Read | Permalink | Email […]
May 9th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
[…] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments […]
May 9th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
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May 9th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
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May 9th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
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May 9th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
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May 9th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
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May 9th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
b:
They’ve got something like that available. I saw them on e-Bay before. I can’t remember how expensive they are, though.
May 9th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
[…] Andrew Yoon wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptRecently I was asked to build some single-handed Guitar Hero controllers to show at the Games for Health conference, and Red Octane was kind enough to donate some guitars for me to experiment with. Here are the results, I built two of … […]
May 9th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
The Official Site of Benjamin J Heckendorn…
Recently I was asked to build some single-handed Guitar Hero controllers to show at the Games for Health conference, and Red Octane was kind enough to donate some guitars for me to experiment with. Here are the results, I built two of them:…
May 9th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
[…] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments […]
May 9th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
[…] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments […]
May 9th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
[…] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments […]
May 9th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
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May 9th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
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May 9th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Shops of Guitar Hero pedal controllers…
shops about guitar : Recently I was asked to build some single-handed Guitar Hero controllers to show at the Games for Health conference, and Red Octane was kind enough to donate some guitars for me to experiment with. Here are the results, I built tw…
May 9th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
[…] To activate the whammy, the user lifts up on their heel to release the spring-loaded rear of the pedal. Yeah, it sounds a bit confusing, but Heckendorn makes it look pretty normal in this example video. Well, as normal as geeking out to Guitar Hero will ever look, at least. [Ben Heck] […]
May 9th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
[…] since the first 360 laptop, and console modder extraordinaire, Ben Heckendorn, has been busy. His newest project is designed to allow users to use their Guitar Hero controllers with a single hand. The controller […]
May 9th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
[…] Heckendorn was recently asked to build some Guitar Hero controllers that would require the use of only one hand. The custom controllers were requested to show at the […]
May 9th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
[…] Read […]
May 10th, 2008 at 1:23 am
[…] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments […]
May 10th, 2008 at 3:15 am
[…] Read […]
May 11th, 2008 at 10:22 am
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May 11th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
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May 11th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Where can we get one? One of the kids I work with has a left hemiplegia; and is a Wii fanatic. He plays Guitar Hero, but only with one hand, which plays havoc on his scores.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:23 am
[…] Ben chyba znudził się wciskaniem konsol w laptopowe obudowy, bo wziął się za ulepszanie Guitar Hero 3. I nie chodzi tu o naklejenie na plastikową gitarę naklejek z czachą i płomieniami. Ben Heck stworzył pedał (chyba najlepiej pasujące słowo), który pozwala uderzać w wirtualne struny palcami u nogi! Obecna jest również wajcha whammy bar, za którą odpowiadają ruchy pięty. Nie dość, że akcesorium wygląda naprawdę fantastycznie, to dzięki takiej modyfikacji nawet ludzie z tylko jedną sprawną ręką będą mogli pobawić się grą od Activision. Więcej informacji znajdziecie na stronie projektu. […]
May 12th, 2008 at 6:06 am
[…] Ben chyba znudził się wciskaniem konsol w laptopowe obudowy, bo wziął się za ulepszanie Guitar Hero 3. I nie chodzi tu o naklejenie na plastikową gitarę naklejek z czachą i płomieniami. Ben Heck stworzył pedał (chyba najlepiej pasujące słowo), który pozwala uderzać w wirtualne struny palcami u nogi! Obecna jest również wajcha whammy bar, za którą odpowiadają ruchy pięty. Nie dość, że akcesorium wygląda naprawdę fantastycznie, to dzięki takiej modyfikacji nawet ludzie z tylko jedną sprawną ręką będą mogli pobawić się grą od Activision. Więcej informacji znajdziecie na stronie projektu. […]
May 12th, 2008 at 9:25 am
[…] donate some guitars for me to experiment with. Here are the results, I built two of them: Click herehttp://benheck.com/05-08-2008/guitar-hero-pedal-controllersCablevision plans wireless broadband network The Journal NewsNEW YORK - Cable TV provider […]