The Beatles Rock Band

First off I am pretty pumped about The Beatles Rock Band coming out and I am really interested in the new guitars, but I am also on a budget right now and I am having a hard time justifying $250 when I already own two guitars, drums and a microphone from Rock Band 2.

If you are in the same position, and who isn't these days with the economy and want to save almost $100 here is what you need to do, With the pending release of The Beatles Rock Band, they are blowing out Rock Band 2 Special Editions at just under $100 and it includes the RB2 drums, guitar and microphone. These are all compatible with the Beatles Rock Band game, so you can then just purchase The Beatles Rock Band Software only version at under $60 for a grand total of $160 versus $250 for the Beatles Rock Band Limited Edition version.

Sure you don't get the Hofner Bass, the tricked out new drums and a stand, but I am willing to bet within six months you can piece together these other items at some discount prices after all the excitement of the release is over.

If you haven't played RockBand or any of the other music genre games, but are excited about the idea of playing The Beatles Rockband you may want to check out one of my previous lenses, RockBand versus Guitar Hero. There I provide a bit more background on the music games and what is involved.

If you have already played, then let's skip directly to the exciting parts!

The Beatles Rockband is going to include 45 of the Beatles songs including classic songs like Back in the USSR, I Want to Hold Your Hand, I Saw Her Standing There, Here Comes the Walrus and even Taxman! These songs will cover the entire span of the Beatles career and they come directly from the Abbey Road master tapes.

While the music is going to be the exciting part, you will also be able to appear in many of the famous venues they appeared in during their early days, like the Cavern Club, to The Ed Sullivan Theater and even the infamous Rooftop! You truly will get to play the part of a Beatle.

The exciting part for me will be the new instruments available. Harmonix has created the famous guitars that the Beatles originally played with and have even updated the RockBand 2 drums. If you are purchasing the Limited Edition Premium Bundle it will include Sir Paul McCartney's famous Hofner Bass. The story behind the incredible finish on the bass is they were able to acquire a high resolution photo of the wood grain finish from a violin maker and they have replicated it to create an incredibly accurate wood grain finish on this guitar.

As add-on's for the game you will also be able to buy separately John Lennon's Rickenbacker 325 Guitar Controller (with some incredible chrome details on it!) and George Harrison's Gretsch Duo-Jet Guitar Controller. Of course the true Beatles fan will absolutely have to have these, so don't wait to long too add them to your collection!

For the drums a couple of refinements and adjustments have been made. The drum pads have been changed to a white top and have been modified to be even quieter than the vastly improved Rock Band 2 drums. The reduced noise will help make the experience even better. Additionally they have added a pearl finish around the drum heads and a Ludwig branded Kick Drum Head to proudly display The Beatles name. The finishing touch is the pedal also has The Beatles proudly stamped on it.

I'll have more updates, more pictures and even more videos to post as information continues to get updated. Be sure to leave comments if there is anything you really want to see information about regarding the game!