Like fidget spinners, NFTs, and Ed Hardy T-shirts, peripheral-based rhythm games were everywhere – and then they weren’t. Of course, while the mainstream moved on, we die-hard rhythm game devotees have still been clacking away with our increasingly crusty old controllers for many, many years now. Indeed, Rock Band 4 was still receiving new songs weekly until January this year, until support was pivoted entirely towards Fortnite Festival instead – which is a lot like Rock Band, only worse in every way.
At any rate, in what may be wonderfully welcome news for those of you whose Rock Band guitars have lost their widdly widdly will (or for those of you who want to get into the rhythm scene without schlepping through the second-hand market) peripheral maker PDP has returned to the party with the Riffmaster: the first fresh guitar controller in nearly a decade. In equally welcome news, with its excellent button feel, terrific battery life, and smart design cues, the Riffmaster rocks.
PDP Riffmaster Wireless Guitar Controller – Design and Features
PDP’s previous stab at a Rock Band guitar was 2016’s licensed Fender Jaguar guitar controller (which was released in concert with the Rock Band 4 Rivals expansion the same year). The Riffmaster retains the Jaguar’s useful folding neck design, which makes it far easier to store than any other Rock Band guitar I own (although whether you prefer the hinged neck of the Riffmaster to the entirely removable necks of previous Guitar Hero axes is up to you). To save you the heartache of dealing with imperial or metric measurements, I can tell you at its full height the Riffmaster is 84 albums tall – but when it’s folded it shrinks to just 43. (If you’ve forgotten what physical media looks like, that comes out to around 84cm/33 inches – which is more or less the same length as a Rock Band Stratocaster).
The neck locks firmly in place for use, and wiggle is negligible. There’s no more movement than the amount of flex I can generate in the neck of the original bundled Rock Band Stratocasters – and those do not have folding necks.
I also appreciate that the button to detach the removable headstock is more accessible than the equivalent button on the original bundled Fender Stratocasters. It’s a simple fix – and the frustratingly set button on the Stratocasters may only be an annoyance for kids or people with giant fingers – but the better button does make it far easier for me to pop off the Riffmaster headstock after play. The pick guard is also removable and has a handy cavity to store the wireless USB dongle that’s required for play.
The Riffmaster certainly isn’t as chic as PDP’s Jaguar, or the bundled Stratocasters, although that is admittedly an unwinnable battle against some of the most iconic guitar shapes ever conceived. The Riffmaster is an off-brand, double cutaway design that seems pretty conventional at a very quick glance, but the mix of curves and angled corners is a little odd under scrutiny. The wonkiest part is probably the wave design that juts out at the bottom, which makes the strap sit at a surprisingly poor angle from the end pin for right-handed players.
I don’t mind the use of black and dark grey, and the neck looks slick with no fret markers, although a white pickguard probably would’ve looked nicer. A very limited salvo of custom pickguards were available for the first pre-orders (which reportedly sold out within the first 10 minutes of availability), and it wouldn’t be surprising if PDP eventually made others. That said, considering it’s completely removable, customizing it should be well within the abilities of anyone who can lay down an even coat of spray paint, if they felt so inclined. Overall, the Riffmaster reminds me more of a guitar-shaped bottle opener more than any actual guitar (and it certainly loves collecting fingerprints) but it’s harmless enough.
However, the Riffmaster’s inelegant looks are really its only major blemish. I shudder to think how many double-As have gone through my plastic guitars since the dawn of Rock Band in 2007 but, with a built-in rechargeable battery, the Riffmaster is putting a stop to that. PDP claims a single charge will last more than 30 hours and that feels entirely credible; I’ve been playing for several hours a day all week and still haven’t had to charge it yet.
Button placement is a huge step up from the bundled Stratocasters I’ve been using for the past decade. Supplementary controls have been swept further south of the strum bar, meaning no useless and unprotected ‘Share’ button lurking just millimeters from the palm of your hand as you shred. If I had a dollar for every time somebody hit the Share button on a Rock Band Strat and interrupted a song over the past 10 years, I’d probably have enough to buy two Riffmasters (at US$130/£130/AU$200 they’re admittedly not at all cheap, but I have played a hell of a lot of Rock Band over the years with some pretty ham-fisted drunk people, so I reckon it’s a line ball).
The one exception is the PlayStation button (or Xbox button), which has been brought forward. The bundled Strats bury the PS button under the whammy bar; its positioning on the Riffmaster feels a lot more intuitive.
The thumbstick located on the back of the neck is also a terrific touch, and it definitely streamlines navigating menus. There’s also a 3.5mm headset 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, toggle the PS4/PS5 switcher to the appropriate device for your purposes, and simply turn it on. That’s it. It took me considerably longer to choose a first song to play than it did to get the guitar running. It’s fabulously easy.
At just a hair over one kilogram (1012g) without the strap, the Riffmaster is only a fraction heavier than the Strat (which are just under a kilo with batteries inserted). As a result, it’s still very light in the hands and can be wielded for hours at a time with no fuss. However, despite the nominal increase in weight, the plastic seems thicker and the whole unit feels noticeably sturdier. My Strat controllers creak and squeak under pressure; the Riffmaster does not. It just has a significantly more robust feel.
The high and low fret buttons remain in precisely the same positions as they are on the original Stratocasters, with eight “frets” separating the two sets. The Riffmaster isn’t seeking to undermine 17-odd years of muscle memory here, and it essentially feels identical in the hands.
Where it feels different, however, is under the fingertips. It’s much better. The best I can figure, it’s all about the button release. While quickly releasing fret buttons on the original Strats results in a noticeable hollow clack, it’s a lot more subtle on the Riffmaster. It’s a softer action. There’s just a more substantial and premium feel to the entire fretboard.
Similarly, the Riffmaster’s strum bar is also much quieter, and it has a slightly lighter action. It’s just a better piece of equipment all around. As a user, the most I could ever hear was some muffled tapping. From the other side of the room, while my kids played with it, it’s impressively inaudible against the game music.
Playing Rock Band 4 all week with the Riffmaster has been a blast, and I’ve had zero connection quibbles. I do have occasional dropouts with the Bluetooth connections on my Stratocasters when playing on PS5, but not so with the wireless connection on the Riffmaster; it’s been totally reliable. Does it make Fortnite Festival better? Well, no, but that’s nothing to do with the Riffmaster. Playing guitar tracks on Fortnite Festival is admittedly less incongruous now (that is, it feels far more at home played on a traditional guitar-based peripheral than on a gamepad or keyboard), but hey, if you like Fortnite Festival and are keen on the Riffmaster, grab a USB mic and try Rock Band 4 instead. The songs are half the price, and your friends and family can actually sing along with you in the same room.
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