Gibson and CRKD are releasing new Les Paul guitar controllers
The new guitar controllers work on Fortnite Festival and some legacy Rock Band and Guitar Hero games
Peripheral maker CRKD is teaming with Gibson to make a new range of guitar controllers.
The CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller Range features the iconic Les Paul design popular among guitar players.
The Les Paul design was previously used for the guitar controller for Guitar Hero 3, and is now returning fully licensed in this new collaboration with CRKD.
The controller comes in two versions, the Encore and Pro editions. The Encore edition comes with standard strum and fret buttons, and will cost $109 / £109 / €129, with an Xbox version costing $119 / £119 / €139.
The Pro edition features an Advanced Fret System with a mechanical fretboard “engineered for unmatched precision and responsiveness”, and a Hall Effect strum bar with haptic feedback and customisable sensitivity. The Pro edition costs $119 / £119 / €139, with an Xbox version costing $129 / £129 / €149.
While the guitars are seemingly mainly designed for Fortnite Festival, all versions also work on PC titles Clone Hero and YARG.
The multi-format Encore and Pro guitars are compatible with PC, Switch and Android, and also feature a Legacy mode enabling them to play Rock Band 4 on PS5 and PS4, as well as 16 Rock Band and Guitar Hero games on PS3.
The Xbox versions don’t have a Legacy mode, but are officially licensed for use on Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One, meaning they can play Rock Band 4 on those consoles. They also work on PC and Android.
CRKD head of product design Stephen Withers, who also previously worked as a designer for the original Guitar Hero controller company RedOctane, said: “The rhythm music genre holds significant historical importance, and our dedication to the legacy we contributed to remains steadfast. The enthusiasm for music gaming continues to thrive, particularly with the immense popularity of titles such as Fortnite Festival.
“We believe it is the right moment to enhance the experience and innovate the hardware that greatly influences gameplay. We are pleased to collaborate with Gibson to introduce this new range to both longstanding and new fans, and we anticipate witnessing the continued growth of the genre in 2025 and beyond.”
