CRKD Gibson Les Paul Blueberry Burst Pro Edition guitar controller review — Rockstar

CRKD has a way with accessories. I've loved the Nintendo-oriented ones, with the Nitro Deck+ a huge favorite (and we need one for the Switch 2, hint hint). What I didn't expect next from the gear maker was a guitar. After using it to jam out, however, the team is not only onto something, but has crafted the best possible guitar they could have.

In the large, rectangular box, you’ll find the Gibson Les Paul Blueberry Burst Pro Edition guitar, with the body separated from the neck. Accompanying these are the guitar strap and an 8.2ft USB-C cable for charging the guitar and playing it wired. There is also a dongle lodged inside a compartment on the guitar body for connecting it for wireless use, and a removable battery. I love both of these choices, making it easy to take the USB dongle with you while keeping it safe, and the battery being able to be swapped out if it dies, so you don’t have to replace an entire guitar.

This Blueberry Burst edition is an absolute stud. The aesthetic is everything you remember from the Guitar Hero Gibson days, but the blue finish is to die for. With a recent Cherry Sunburst color variant also coming through, and CRKD’s penchant for amazing designs and collabs, you’re sure to have some great options in the future. Beyond that, the collector’s status of these returns, with an NFC chip inside to designate which number you’ve gotten in the app. CRKD making every version collectable in its own way is amazing, and it makes this controller even more valuable.

There is a wealth of controls on the Gibson Les Paul Blueberry Burst Pro Edition guitar. On the neck are the five colored buttons you’ll remember from old. If you don’t like the Guitar Hero style, CRKD offers another variant of the neck you can purchase that has the extra five solo buttons towards the bottom of the neck. These are mechanical buttons on this model as well, which feel great in your hand. Behind the headstock on the neck is a directional button pad, allowing you to make selections easily from that area of the guitar. The neck also has built-in motion sensors so you can activate Star Power, and a couple of RGB lights down the button-less area to amp up the experience.

Beyond just the neck, the body has a ton of buttons, levers, and more. The strum bar is the most important part of the body, and this edition has haptic feedback with it. I absolutely love this feature – strumming the guitar has never felt so good. It’s also Hall Effect, so strum to your heart's content without fear of wear. There are also the usual options and menu buttons, along with a share button at the bottom next to the USB charge port and 3.5mm audio jack. There’s also a sync button and platform slider, that way you know where you’re connected and if you’re connected.

Three other controls are also fantastic: the two knobs under the whammy bar, and the switch-looking lever close to the neck. The bottom two are an analog stick and a mode dial. This analog stick functions as a right stick and can work in KEYJAM mode as a mouse pointer. The mode dial has access to nine different controller modes for your guitar – an insane offering if I do say so myself. Modes 5-8 are programmable by you (more on that later), with five presets to help you play established games in the rhythm genre.

Yes, there are even more controls to talk about, and this one is my favorite. The navigation hub sits next to the neck, and this is your best friend in most games. Surrounding the lever – which you can use for navigating menus or to move in Fortnite Festival – are nearly every face button and the bumpers/triggers. Each button has its function clearly printed on it, so you won’t be at a loss as to what you’re pressing. Given the excess of modes and how it changes up your fret buttons and the strum bar, these are essential to navigation and a huge win for the versatility of this guitar controller.

Speaking of versatility, you will need to purchase the correct guitar for your platform. My Gibson is for Xbox and PC, with Android capability as well. The multi-platform version will have you set on PlayStation, PC, and Switch, with Android devices included. I also find it incredible that the Xbox version works for Xbox One, a nice bonus for those who played a lot there or maybe haven’t upgraded their console yet. I do wonder why these differences have the Xbox model at ten dollars higher in price, but it’s well worth it in my opinion.

Whatever device you connect to, you can do it in a few ways. Xbox and PC both support the wired option, with the best latency occurring here. The 2.4GHz option is the next best thing, supporting a lower latency as well through their proprietary connection. Finally, you can use Bluetooth, but this doesn’t have the greatest latency to it, so I’d generally recommend this being your last resort.

I honestly didn’t expect an experience with a gaming guitar to be as phenomenal as this one has been. This guitar is simply the best it can be, no notes. When I play it, the neck is comfortable in my hand – no fatigue or cramping from the grip. I already mentioned how great the strum bar feels, but I’ll say it again: it’s tremendous and the haptics are sublime. My inputs were responsive and precise, with the mode dial coming in handy for quick swapping between games. Most people won’t use it that way, but it’s nice to know how quickly you can jump from Fortnite Festival to Rock Band 4.

The compatibility with all my games has made this experience as good as it gets. While you will have to memorize what number represents each mode, being able to play Rock Band 4 and achieve my high scores was excellent. Instantly being able to dive into Fortnite Festival and rock out is a trip. The Gibson is also spectacular in use with Clone Hero, a popular freeware Guitar Hero variant. Those are truly the three main guitar rhythm games out there, so all of the bases are covered.

While I haven’t come across anything on CRKD’s site for battery life (which I find odd), I’ve been able to use it for several days without worrying about a recharge. If I don’t have to think about it, it’s good battery life. Given the ability to run the guitar wired, you won’t be without it if you do run out of charge. As mentioned above, the battery being interchangeable allows for your guitar to live past a dead internal battery.

CRKD’s mobile app is something special. With the capability of scanning your guitar via the NFC chip and getting a numbered entry as to its rarity, that alone makes it awesome. CRKD has taken it a step further, however, and implemented the CTRL feature they have in place for their controllers. This functionality allows you to remap buttons, change the RGB lighting, adjust the tilt needed for activating Star Power, and more. It's just so expertly implemented, with thought and care, that it makes this a consummate companion for your guitar.

Something I will mention – it’s better to spend the extra money and purchase the Pro Edition. While I’m sure the Encore Edition is great, the lack of mechanical fret buttons, haptic strum bar, and 3.5mm audio jack isn’t worth saving $20. If you’re spending $115, it’s not a huge jump for the benefits provided.