The new software will let players really join the mix, when getting overly enthusiastic and singing well above the mic tolerance the game will voice code the and clean up the sound. While some may see the shift as cheap, it allows for a harmony when playing and makes allowance for anyone to sing in the game without feeling embarrassment.

I do hope that more details drop in so we know what RB3 is about this year.

· Billy Idol – “Mony Mony”
· Billy Idol – “Rebel Yell”
· Fleetwood Mac – “Don’t Stop”
· Fleetwood Mac – “World Turning”
· Jet – “She’s a Genius”
· Tom Petty – “I Won’t Back Down”
· Tom Petty – “Runnin’ Down a Dream”

Billy Idol is great and the fact that I can destroy my vocal chords trying to sing like him in any capacity is just a good time waiting to happen. Look for these tracks next Tuesday in the Rock Band Store.

Abbey Road (1969)

Release Date: October 20, 2009

Pricing: $16.98 (or 1360 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for album

$1.99 (or 160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for individual tracks

· “Come Together”
· “Something”
· “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”
· “Oh! Darling”
· “Octopus’s Garden”
· “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”
· “Here Comes The Sun”
· “Because”
· “You Never Give Me Your Money”
· “Sun King”
· “Mean Mr. Mustard”
· “Polythene Pam”
· “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window”
· “Golden Slumbers”
· “Carry That Weight”
· “The End”
· “Her Majesty”

In addition, purchasers of the full album download of Abbey Road will have the option to play the famous 16-minute B-side medley as a single continuous track. The medley includes “You Never Give Me Your Money,” “Sun King,” “Mean Mr. Mustard,” “Polythene Pam,” “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window,” “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and “The End.”

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

Release Date: November 2009

· “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”
· “With A Little Help From My Friends”
· “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”
· “Getting Better”
· “Fixing A Hole”
· “She’s Leaving Home”
· “Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite”
· “Within You Without You
· “When I’m Sixty Four”
· “Lovely Rita”
· “Good Morning Good Morning”
· “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)”
· “A Day In The Life”

Rubber Soul (1965)

Release Date: December 2009

· “Drive My Car”
· “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)”
· “You Won’t See Me”
· “Nowhere Man”
· “Think For Yourself”
· “The Word”
· “Michelle”
· “What Goes On”
· “Girl”
· “I’m Looking Through You”
· “In My Life”
· “Wait”
· “If I Needed Someone”
· “Run For Your Life”

As previously announced, “All You Need Is Love” will be released Sept.9, 2009 for the standard Rock Band DLC pricing of $1.99 (or 160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360), exclusively through Xbox LIVE for a limited time as a downloadable song for The Beatles: Rock Band, with Apple Corps Ltd, MTV Games, Harmonix and Microsoft proceeds benefitting Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

* “Boys” / Cavern Club
* “A Hard Day’s Night” / Ed Sullivan Theater
* “I’m Looking Through You” / Shea Stadium
* “If I Needed Someone” / Shea Stadium
* “Ticket to Ride” / Shea Stadium
* “Drive My Car” / Budokan
* “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” / Abbey Road Dreamscape
* “Getting Better” / Abbey Road Dreamscape
* “Good Morning” / Abbey Road Dreamscape
* “Hello, Goodbye” / Abbey Road Dreamscape
* “Hey Bulldog” / Abbey Road Dreamscape
* “Dear Prudence” / Abbey Road Dreamscape
* “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” / Abbey Road Dreamscape
* “Helter Skelter” / Abbey Road Dreamscape
* “Something” / Abbey Road Dreamscape
* “Come Together” / Abbey Road Dreamscape
* “Don’t Let Me Down” / Rooftop Concert
* “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” / Rooftop Concert
* “I Me Mine” / Rooftop Concert

The game itself is stacking up to be a great experience, people can team up in game for up to 6 players including the three way vocal section of the game. Personally it would have been great to see a full band setup with Lead / Rhythm and Bass as well as drums since that’s how they did it as a band but I guess we’ll have to wait until Harmonix finds a way to make it work. Unfortunately Guitar Hero 5 will be featuring just that which is a bit disappointing.

The game is almost set to launch this September, hopefully we’ll be able to do some impressions on the game when it arrives.

As cool as the game sounds with all these unique licenses and songs, I still can’t bring myself to want to get the game, something about the design feels clunky and even though I started on Guitar Hero, I can’t help but be a Rock Band addict for my music gaming needs. The store is easy to use, the character creation is in-depth and the song selection is great with additions like the Rancid track pack and the upcoming marketplace to introduce all independent artists to the game.

The Man in Black would be amazing to play but honestly I’ll have to miss out on that one, GH5 would need a lot more to move me over.

While there are many popular methods out there to fashion your own MDF plate or even metal plate and screw it in, not everyone is that savy and sometimes a splint and some tape might be the best option available.

Enter the handy fix, steel hard drive rails, they’re about $2 on the internet (Directron.com) and they’ll do well for this fix, I already had a pair in my parts box so I went ahead from here.

The Rock Band kick pedal generally breaks just before the spring, the plastic is unsupported and just floats for the most part while there’s a huge amount of tension that comes out of the toe portion. Using a rail on each side one is able to form a strong support that absorbs the flex and distributes it through both sides. If your RB1 kick hasn’t broken yet then this is even more ideal so that you can save it before it does.

The first thing to do though is pull off the steel tabs at the top of the rail, these will just get in the way of things later on, once the tabs are off we’ll go forward.

The rails we used were just over 1/2 an inch wide, as a result they dont go far enough over to actually interfere with the spring. place the rail with the edge just supporting the outside of the pedal, basically hooking it as a guide if you’re not sure if it looks right check out the attached pictures, the goal of the rail is to have about 50% of it on each side of the break in the plastic, if the bottom is hitting just slide it until it closes properly, keep in mind that if the pedal can’t make a complete press then it wont register. At this point I used packing tape to secure the single rail just slightly so it wouldn’t flop off, duct tape or electrical tape should work just as well, make sure that it’s secured first before proceeding to do the same to the other side of the pedal, one rail isn’t enough to support it and things will only get strange from there.

If the pedal is being a pain to cooperate you can bunch up some socks or grab a shoe and shove it at the end of the pedal, this should bring it back to alignment with the base section of the broken pedal. If need be ask someone to help hold things still as you strap it down with tape.

Once both sides are secured, start applying longer strips of tape on the top and bottom of the pedal, wrap it about 3-4 times tightly and things should be good to go. Push down on the pedal with your hand and the pressure should be absorbed with no more flex from the breaking point.

This is a bit of a quick and dirty guide but for $2 and some tape I don’t think we can polish that much. This current fix has been steady in heavy use for about 3 months now. I have to thank Franks for the initial info on how to get things working again.