The fourth gen Guitar Hero is now a full on band simulator, with even the ability to record original songs, and with downloadable content. It is likely to be just as awesome as Rock Band 2, if not more so!

You will want to connect your PS3 to your HDTV with an HDMI cable to get the most from the awesome PS3 game graphics and Blu-ray videos. Any HDMI cable that is long enough for your setup and works is as good as any other (it is digital; it either works or it doesn't) and this cable for less than $5 including shipping works great in my house!

If you have a PS2/PS3 Rock Band drum kit but playing it is LOUD and the hard drum surfaces are taking a beating, these pads will provide some protection for the drum heads, make playing them less noisy, and give you better drumstick rebound.

Sitting on the front edge of a chair while playing the drum controller is uncomfortable for you and not good for the chair, which probably wasn't built to take the abuse of someone playing drums. This inexpensive drum stool works for me, a 220 pound adult (100 kilos, or almost 16 stone).

If you've been playing Rock Band solo on your PS2 with a Guitar Hero controller, you'll need the game PLUS a seond guitar, drums, and a mic to join the multiplayer band fun! But maybe you should wait until the problems with the new version instruments are ironed out. It has been announced that these controllers should work for Guitar Hero World Tour as well as Rock Band games.

If you don't already have the Rock Band instrument controllers, you may prefer the Guitar Hero World Tour band kit. Both guitar and drums are announced to work with Rock Band 2 (and maybe Rock Band) as well as Guitar Hero games. The GH drum kit is configured with cymbals in the right place, and may be more to your liking.

One of the highly optional cymbal expansion kits for Rock Band 2 drums (not for original Rock Band drums!).