Student-Contributed Wiki
An awesome team of students from our education program made this wiki.
The buttons do not move when pressure is applied.
If a button is stuck in place, it is likely due to debris that is stuck between the button and the neck. To fix this, remove and thoroughly clean the buttons. Do not use any cleansers, cleaning products, or chemicals, as doing so may damage the controller. Remove the buttons using this guide.
If there is no dirt stuck under the buttons and nothing else appears to be broken, there is likely a crack in the clips that hold the buttons in place. This problem can be addressed by removing the circuit board and observing the clips, which is shown in the provided guide.
If buttons are repeatedly catching on the plastic guitar body and there is no dirt wedged underneath the buttons, there is a possibility that the guitar has oversized buttons. To fix this, remove the buttons and shave the plastic down using this guide.
When the controller is brand new the buttons may stick, but they can be loosened through usage of the product. If the issue persists, refer to the other listed causes for malfunction.
The guitar neck keys are in the wrong order.
Misplaced keys are only aesthetic and do not affect the function of the controller. If you want to put the keys in the correct order, see this guide.
The whammy bar does not respond when depressed.
The controllers with a model number of 95065 or 95055 are known to have been incorrectly assembled. The whammy bar sensor needs to be rotated clockwise to properly register. See this guide for details.
The components that make up the whammy bar are held together loosely. Open up the device to see if one of the components is broken and needs to be replaced using this guide.
There is no resistance in the whammy bar.
There is a spring which maintains tension on the whammy bar. If it has come loose, see this replacement guide.
The controller flashes indicating it is trying to connect to my PC.
If the driver was installed incorrectly, then you will see an exclamation point or question mark against the device driver. To fix this, right click on the driver to uninstall it completely from the computer. Restart and reconnect the device back to the computer. The driver should automatically install. If the driver does not install automatically, then you will have to install it manually.
To update the driver, click “Start” in your software program. Select “Control Panel” and click on “Classic View” in the left column. Double click on “System” and click on “Device Manager” in the left column. Find “Microsoft Common Controller for Windows Class” and click on the “+” symbol. Open the “Xbox 360 Controller for Windows” and click on the “Drivers” tab. Click “Update Driver” and allow Windows “Search Automatically”. Close the controller once Windows updates the driver.
If the driver won’t install automatically, first make sure all of the software on your PC is up to date. If the driver still does not install automatically then you will need to contact the manufacturer to manually install the driver.
The buttons do not register when pressed down.
If the buttons are not registering it is likely that a component on the inside of the Guitar Hero neck is damaged. Take apart the neck with the provided guide and observe the internal components for damage. If parts are damaged, refer to the replacement guide here.
If there are no obvious internal damaged components, it is likely that there are faulty connections between components. Proceed to open the Guitar Hero neck in the provided guide. You will be ensuring that all internal components are plugged into one another, and connecting any disconnected parts. If nothing appears to be damaged or disconnected, contact the manufacturer.
