PDP’s Riffmaster guitar controller is now available for pre-order

21.03.2024 - 16:19 / polygon.com

If you want to play Rock Band 4 on consoles, it hasn’t been easy or affordable to pick up a new guitar controller. It’s common to find second-hand (ew) guitar controllers selling for $500 or so. That’s changing, thankfully, with the launch of PDP’s Riffmaster. It’s a $129.99 wireless guitar controller that’s coming to shelves in April for both PlayStation and Xbox consoles (either guitar is compatible with PC, to boot, and ships with a USB-A wireless transceiver). Its design accommodates right- and left-handed players.

Prices taken at time of publishing.

The Riffmaster supports Rock Band 4 out of the box. However, this guitar’s main reason for existence is its planned compatibility with Fortnite Festival, a free-to-play game mode that essentially infuses the Rock Band experience into Fortnite on consoles and PC. Currently, gamers can play the mode with a controller or keyboard — not an ideal setup in either scenario. The exact launch date of the Riffmaster hasn’t been shared, but I suspect it’ll arrive whenever the instrument integration is ready to go in Fortnite Festival.

Digging into what makes the Riffmaster guitar different from past controllers, to start, it’s rechargeable via USB-C. PDP claims it can last up to 36 hours per charge, and the guitar has a 2-year warranty that covers manufacturing defects. It features a 3.5mm headphone jack, so you can listen to game audio routed through the guitar on a set of headphones. Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, the Riffmaster features an analog stick where you naturally rest a thumb as you press on guitar frets. It makes menu navigation on consoles much easier than reaching for the D-pad. As far as any other functionality, PDP declined to share more.

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The PDP Riffmaster’s pickguard can be lifted up for convenient storage of its USB wireless dongle. And, as you may have expected, there will be additional pickguards available in case you want to customize your guitar. In fact, PDP is offering the pickguard shown above as a freebie to the first 500 people who pre-order the Riffmaster through its site. Otherwise, the guitar ships with a glossy black pickguard that looks totally fine.

I appreciate the features that have been added to modernize the Riffmaster compared to past guitar controllers. Its additions make up for what little it lacks. However, I wish that it had the audio and video sensors present on past Rock Band 4 guitars, which aided in the calibration process by letting the guitar interface directly with your audio and video equipment. Without those sensors present in the Riffmaster, I’ve disappointingly spent more time in the calibration menu in Rock Band 4 than I have actually playing songs.