Like fidget spinners, NFTs, and Ed Hardy T-shirts, peripheral-based rhythm games were everywhere — and then they weren’t. Of course, as the mainstream evolved, we die-hard rhythm game fans have continued to bang around with our increasingly crusty old controllers for many, many years now. Indeed, Rock Band 4 still received new songs every week until January this yearuntil support is all geared towards the Fortnite Festival – which is a lot like Rock Band, only worse in every way.
Regardless, which may be wonderfully welcome news for those of you whose Rock Band guitars have lost their crazy will (or for those of you who want to get into the rhythm scene without going through the second-hand market) peripheral manufacturer PDP is back at the party with the Riffmaster: the first new guitar controller in almost a decade. In other equally welcome news, with its excellent button feel, terrific battery life and clever design elements, the Riffmaster is awesome.
PDP Riffmaster Wireless Guitar Controller – Design and Features
PDP’s previous attempt at a Rock Band guitar was the licensed Fender Jaguar guitar controller from 2016 (which was released in concert with the Rock Band 4 Rivals expansion that same year). The Riffmaster retains the Jaguar’s useful folding neck design, making it much easier to store than any other Rock Band guitar I own (even if you prefer the hinged neck of the Riffmaster to the fully removable necks of the previous Guitar Hero axes, it’s up to you). To save you from having to deal with imperial or metric measurements, I can tell you that the Riffmaster measures 84 albums in its full height, but when folded it shrinks down to just 43. (If you forgot what looks like the physical stand, which is about 84 cm/33 inches – which is more or less the same length as a Rock Band Stratocaster).
The neck locks firmly in place for use and movement is negligible. There’s no more movement than the amount of flex I can generate in the neck of the stock Rock Band Stratocasters – and there it is. not have their necks bent.
I also appreciate that the button for detaching the removable headstock is more accessible than the equivalent button on the original Fender Stratocasters. It’s a simple fix – and the frustratingly tuned knob on Stratocasters may just be an annoyance for kids or people with giant fingers – but the better knob makes it much easier for me to remove the Riffmaster doll after playing. The pick guard is also removable and has a convenient cavity for storing the wireless USB dongle needed for gaming.
The Riffmaster certainly isn’t as fancy as PDP’s Jaguar or the supplied Stratocasters, although it’s admittedly an unwinnable battle against some of the most iconic guitar shapes ever designed. The Riffmaster is an off-brand double cutaway model that looks fairly conventional at first glance, but the mix of curves and angled corners East a bit strange under scrutiny. Probably the weirdest part is the wave-shaped design that juts out at the bottom, causing the strap to sit at a surprisingly shallow angle to the end pin for right-handed players.
I don’t mind the use of black and dark gray, and the neck looks smooth without fret markers, although a white pickguard probably would have looked nicer. A very limited salvo of custom pickguards was available for early pre-orders (which would have been sold out within the first 10 minutes of availability), and it would not be surprising if PDP ends up creating more. That said, since it’s completely removable, customizing it should be within the reach of anyone who can apply an even coat of spray paint, if they choose. Overall, the Riffmaster reminds me more of a guitar-shaped bottle opener than any real guitar (and it sure loves collecting fingerprints), but it’s pretty innocuous.
However, the Riffmaster’s inelegant looks are actually its only major flaw. I shudder to think of how many double-A’s have passed through my plastic guitars since the dawn of Rock Band in 2007 but, with a built-in rechargeable battery, the Riffmaster puts an end to that. PDP claims that a single charge will last over 30 hours and that seems entirely credible; I’ve been playing for several hours a day all week and still haven’t had to recharge it.
The button placement is a huge step up from the clustered Stratocasters I’ve used for a decade. Additional controls have been swept further south of the typing bar, meaning no unnecessary, unprotected “Share” buttons hiding millimeters from the palm of your hand while you shred. If I had a dollar for every time someone pressed the Share button on a rock band Strat and paused a song over the last 10 years, I’d probably have enough to buy two Riffmasters (at US$130/£130/AU$200, they are certainly not cheap at all, but I to have played quite a few rock bands over the years with drunk and pretty drunk people, so I think it’s a line ball).
The only exception is the PlayStation button (or Xbox button), which has been moved forward. The supplied Strats bury the PS button under the strike bar; its positioning on the Riffmaster seems much more intuitive.
The joystick on the back of the neck is also a great touch and definitely streamlines menu navigation. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack, so you’ll be able to shred in relative silence if the need arises.
PDP Riffmaster Wireless Guitar Controller – Performance
The Riffmaster is plug and play, right out of the box. Insert the USB dongle, switch the PS4/PS5 switch to the appropriate device for your needs and simply turn it on. That’s it. It took me a lot longer to choose a first song to play than it did to get the guitar working. It’s fabulously easy.
At just a hair over a kilogram (1012g) without the strap, the Riffmaster is only a fraction heavier than the Strat (which weighs just under a kilo with batteries inserted). As a result, it remains very light in the hands and can be used for hours without problem. However, despite the nominal increase in weight, the plastic feels thicker and the whole thing feels noticeably sturdier. My Strat controllers squeak and creak under pressure; the Riffmaster does not. It just has a noticeably more robust feel.
The high and low fret buttons remain in exactly the same positions as on the original Stratocasters, with eight “frets” separating the two sets. The Riffmaster isn’t trying to sap some 17 years of muscle memory here, and it feels essentially identical in the hands.
But where the sensation is different is under the fingertips. It’s much better. Best I can figure out it’s a button thing release. While quickly releasing the fret buttons on the stock Strats results in a noticeable hollow snap, it’s much more subtle on the Riffmaster. It’s a gentler action. There’s just a more substantial, premium feel throughout the entire neck.
Likewise, the Riffmaster’s strike bar is also much quieter and has a slightly lighter action. It’s just better equipment across the board. As a user, all I could hear was muffled tapping. Across the room, while my kids were playing with it, the sound is incredibly inaudible compared to the in-game music.
Playing Rock Band 4 all week with the Riffmaster has been great, and I’ve had no connection issues. I have occasional dropouts with the Bluetooth connections on my Stratocasters when playing on PS5, but not with the wireless connection on the Riffmaster; it was totally reliable. Does this make Fortnite Festival better? Well no, but that has nothing to do with the Riffmaster. Playing guitar songs in Fortnite Festival is certainly less incongruous now (i.e. it feels much more comfortable playing on a traditional guitar peripheral than on a gamepad or keyboard), but hey, if you like Fortnite Festival and you like the Riffmaster, grab a USB mic and try Rock Band 4 instead. The songs are half price and your friends and family can sing along with you in the same room.