CES 2008: The Peavey Riffmaster Guitar Hero Controller

I guess that anyone who has been playing in a band has at least heard about Peavey, a legendary name in the music business, in need of no introduction.

Suffice to say that Peavey has brought an immense contribution to everything that means the music business as it is today, whether we're speaking about guitars or guitar amplifiers, loudspeakers and mixing consoles and so many more.

The Guitar Hero game (and the rest of the similar games), even if with a most recent history, has also found its place in the music business as major names in the industry have started to take things seriously.

First it was Mackie, getting involved in the national tour and gaining exclusivity as far as the in-game loudspeakers and floor wedges monitoring was concerned, just to see that the CES 2008 brings another name (yes, Peavey) in the spotlight.

The funniest thing of all is to see a major guitar manufacturer customizing a real guitar and having it transformed in one of the coolest Guitar Hero controllers ever to see the light of day. In fact, we're dealing with an iconic rock/metal guitar, the Peavey Riffmaster, modded to become a controller.


The Riffmaster has had its internal electronic and wiring removed, except for the bridge pickup. The strings have been replaced with the traditional 5-button control section and a tremolo bar has been added; not on the bridge, but in a more convenient location for the "heroes". The cool thing is that the Peavey Riffmaster can be image-customized: if you don't like the Pantera logo and the flames, you can order a new finish and send a picture of your girlfriend, a Hello Kitty design or some picture of you doing the air shredding!


Peavey has actually come up with a whole lot more than the Riffmaster - we're talking a complete custom package, including the guitar, a PA system including the PS2, amp head and even a floor monitor! The Peavey Riffmaster Pro System runs around $2,000 but hey, it's something that's as close to the real thing as it gets!

It remains to see how long will you be able to play with the proper Riffmaster around your neck, because, once more, we're talking real rock guitars now!

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