How can I reuse or recycle a broken Guitar Hero guitar?
We’ve had an email from Jamie:
Hey. I’ve got a broken Guitar Hero guitar. Don’t know what to do with it and saw your page about game controllers so thought you might be able to help.
Depending on how/why it’s broken, you might be able to send it back to the vendor: if it’s their fault, they should replace it. If however, it’s broken because you got a little too into the Rock moment and smashed it on the floor… they’ll probably be less like to replace it ;)
Again depending on how it’s broken, it might worth eBaying it for “spares or repairs” – I know the head and neck separate on the newer guitars, I wonder if if the broken part could be swapped out… If it’s broken for an electronic switch issue, someone that way inclined might be able to fix it in a shot.
Aside from that, a toy for a kid?
Other ideas?
(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)
Prop for a highschool play?
I’m not familiar with the product but the supplied photo gave me these ideas:
If intact, fasten hooks to the back for an instant wall decoration. A younger recipient might like it personalised with stickers or photos of a fave rock star, or printed song lyrics, or an old vinyl record. Maybe a working clock assembly could somehow be attached to the space in the middle.
If the bow has actually snapped, the body of it could still make an awesome “face” (imagine eyes and a snarling mouth painted or glued on). Again this could be mounted for display. If there is some of the bow attached, a kid might use it as a handle to hold it in front of their face like a mask.
My 9 year old and I would have a ball trying!
This might be a bit much for you, but these folks managed to turn a Guitar Hero guitar into a working musical instrument:
http://theguitarzeros.com/use_guitar_hero_controller_as_an_instrument.php
Guitar is a very good, I like this
Make a birdhouse. I saw a guitar-turned-birdhouse in a magazine.
You could donate it to a local school or Pre School and they could use it in their dramatic play area! Young kids would love to make up a band! Considering Teachers pay for most the the resource in their classrooms they would be happy with the donation. I know I would!
Try http://www.guitarherorepair.com they have repair kits for broken guitar hero controllers
make a guitar clock
For anyone who is interested, I am currently a moderator at http://www.scorehero.com and I specialize in modding/repairing guitar controllers. I have a thread called Guitar Modding 101 that has links on how to fix almost any problem and how to add more features if you wanted to: http://www.scorehero.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17492
Or offer it for free on craigslist, or send it to me to use as spare parts!
I once saw a street performer with gold face paint, metallic gold painted clothes, and a gold guitar hero guitar. Pretty sweet.