CRKD Gibson Les Paul Blueberry Burst Pro Edition Guitar Controller Review

CRKD (pronounced “Cracked”) has reverted the band back to make the third generation guitar controllers that kickstarted the Western Golden Age of Rhythm game all-new yet completely familiar. This brings mechanical switches, Hall effect technology, and even tactile feedback. CRKD Gibson Les Paul Guitar Controller Mark the new generation of high quality rhythm game controllers. And that should survive generations too.

Introducing around every curve in the CRKD Gibson-style guitar controller body is not just the guitar game buttons, but the typical buttons of the best PC controllers out there. D-PAD, joysticks, and everything you need is on hand to play any type of game. This is not to encourage you to play the best FPS games on plastic instruments – someone can definitely give you an old college attempt, but instead is designed to remove the need to reach for another controller to navigate undesigned UIS with guitar input in mind.

The CRKD guitar controller is not the first guitar to hit the market in recent years. Space is seeing a small revival every six months when the publisher decides that perhaps the late 00S boom lightning can attack twice. However, this controller has several pedigrees as it is designed by some of the people behind the iconic guitar hero III. It is a legend around the rocks that kicked off the golden age of rhythm games. We’ve been using it for a few weeks now, and with numerous connectivity options (going back to the PS3), and dozens of re-applicable controls to fill in the blank, it’s a serious upgrade. However, those who mastered the speedy slides will slide to the small frets featured in later rhythm games and controllers, so last year’s PDP refmaster is a better bet in current pricing.

specification

Features

CRKD offers multiple SKUs for Gibson Les Paul Controllers. The base model featured in the Black Tribe Finish includes rubber dome fret buttons and classic styles of noisy strambars that demand cranking game volumes. For an additional $10, the Pro model, offered with the blueberry burst finish tested here, gets a mechanical switch under a five fret and a hole effect strum bar with various actuation and tactile feedback, making up for the iconic lack of clicks that once came with every strum.

In addition to multi-platform compatibility and the latest mechanical switches, this guitar has improved neck connectivity compared to the classic guitar hero 3 controller. If your ATI GPU is not clogged right after it’s AMD, you should be able to easily rest from not having to tickle the stems with a school eraser to recognize that red button in the middle of an illness solo.

This powerful joint means that if you reach a little for your repositioning, you won’t feel like you’re trying to decapitate the beast. Sadly, our model came with a slightly looser Wammy bar, an issue reported by early adopters of this controller. This means that gravity can sometimes cause unreachable rotations. But that’s more of a minor annoying than a complete trade breaker.

The shoulder strap, cable and setup literature is about everything you need in the package, but find stickers designed to help you add support for older titles and platforms using KeyJam mode. The 2.4GHz receiver is housed in a sturdy corner under the fake neck pickup, and the compartment under the Womy bar plate features a rechargeable, removable battery pack.

This controller also has some additional options available. If you missed the rubber dome frets and need to replace the neck, or if you decided to buy a non-pro version and move on to a mechanical masher, you can buy a replacement neck (rubber dome or machine) for about a third of the price of the new unit.

And, like me, if you’re disappointed by the lack of small frets, in late September, a “solo fret” neck will feature a full-size mechanical main fret, replacing the tones along the neck with clusters of tightly packed rubber dome frets, making it CRKD’s answer to the original rock band pad. These Pro models that release without top frets are one of the great benefits that PDP Refmaster has over CRKD solutions. The extra buttons don’t even seem like a more expensive replacement neck. The price is the same as a replacement mechanical switch neck. Still, when this option becomes available, it is not a massive additional cost.

design

There are no metal fragments on CRKD’s new guitar. It is a completely plastic product. And outside of cool blueberry burst or black tribal designs, it shows. It is a thin and surprisingly light product with several compartments for the extras. However, it is firm in the hands, smooth to the touch, does not tend to smear under pressure, and resists fingerprints and stains much better than competition. Overall, it’s a much more robust product than the PDP Refmaster in almost every respect. Combined with similar launch date pricing, it’s a better guitar controller on the market today.

Styling with Gibson’s Les Paul guitar line, the CRKD offering is very rounded. Your body is easy to hold and if you sit and stay still on a more relaxed set list, it’s perfectly sitting on your lap. And if you were someone who should relax between heavy songs by massaging your tired hands on the top of your neck, that tradition lives on here too: that endless set list of rock bands felt absolutely impossible without it.

You get used to it by the vast array of buttons scattered across your shaped body. Most of the menu navigation takes place via a tall joystick disguised as a clicked dial at the base of the neck, surrounded by small face buttons. Reaching around your head will find similar tactile alternatives to D-PAD that you fully expect someone to use in the FGC event. At the bottom of the body is a cute, reused location with a profile switcher and a more thumb-friendly joystick. The large A/Space button is located just below the strambar.

The connect button is hidden below, slightly annoying. Naturally, they are placed to avoid accidental input when singing, so they are difficult to find when you want them. The buttons for sync, start and select, and USB-C for wiring connections charge the housing here, along with a four-stage slider to select the platform. It’s hardly an escape, but much of the set-up struggle was caused by having to mess around to find these. I’m left-handed and I’m playing around with the controller flipped over, so it should be noted that these complaints may not be so obvious to right-handed users.

I mostly chose to use the controller using that included cable, which worked for sure, but personally I would prefer a lighter style of cable, as is the case with many of the best gaming mouse options.

On the other hand, if you choose wireless, that setup is not without some struggles at least initially. Release the receiver from the particularly robust sliding latch, plug in, shift into PC mode, hold the sync button for both devices, and switch the profile dial to 1.

Also, unlike wired modes, the controller fires, there is no obvious on/off switch to turn on the guitar. This meant that I danced in Destiny by pressing over 20 buttons to make the lights brighter. Simply click on the profile switcher like a joystick. Like the logo on your PlayStation or Xbox controller, there is the CRKD logo for a reason. I really recommend the official setup video for CRKD’s YouTube channel. The fact that it is almost ten minutes long says it all.

performance

Once set up, don’t struggle to stay connected safely wirelessly. I had the receiver plugged into a hub with at least two other wireless dongles and had no issues lining up for a sustained session. I left Dragonforce and left for Wired Play, but it was absolutely fine to stuff the Jam wirelessly into Yarg’s Beatles Rock Band Playlist. The remapping feature even helped us avoid the unstable left-handed implementation of Clone Hero completely. Googoogjob.

The differences in mechanical frets are immediately noticeable. These are modest keys, so travel is slim, but operation is immediate and return is smooth. It looks and feels like a modest switch in Cherry MX Red Style, and is designed around smoothness, speed of response and longevity. However, this means that it can look a little “cheap” to some users as it doesn’t provide satisfactory click feedback for other styles of switches. However, in the end, you can enjoy the tracks you are trying to replicate without cranking the volume to 11, as it provides accurate input with much lower noise than the Clickier Switch type.

For those who want a more clicky feel, but want a newer, faster speed, this controller is moderately modable. I don’t recommend replacing the switches (although it’s probably possible, but you can break solder iron), but their softness is partly caused by the sound dump measurements seen on high-end gaming keyboards. Finesing a few screws will allow you to remove the padding, giving the fret a little more travel and cracking sensation.

Other minor adjustments using this controller compared to the classic model include linear nubs on the central frets that help you return to neutral positions, such as the J and F on the keyboard. Rather than risking the blister like the Guitar Hero III pads, they are not proud. You will feel it, but it won’t rub you the wrong way.

But the real star of the show is Strum Bar. Again, the Pro model exchanges the original clicky feel for the same shame soft mechanical options. And while that change means reducing noise and muted feedback, today’s technology means that a light rumble of tactile feedback is here to fill the gap. It’s a fun modern solution to what feels like an old problem now, but as you stir up faster songs, you’ll start to notice fewer and fewer.

price

For around $130, the CRKD controller is on the more expensive side of the guitar controller. If this had arrived at the same time as the PDP Riffmaster, the fight would have been completely one-sided. CRKD’s options are much more on the table for $10 less than $10, at least for multi-platform products.

However, later this year, the imminent one year anniversary of PDP’s products means they will be available at a substantial discount. It doesn’t completely remove CRKD from the game, but for PC-focused players it can make it an unattractive option for those just beginning their rhythm game journey. I don’t know what’s missing without a mechanical switch, but you can play 90s cartoon characters with Scorpion doing Macarena to spend on the top of the FRET button and the $30 Fortnite Festival song.

Alternatives

For more information, please see the PDP Riffmaster review. “data-logo =” https://www./wp-content/sites/pcgamesn/2025/09/pdp-riffmaster-affiliate.jpg “data-gamename =” “data-affmerchant =”Data-Affctatext = “View Deal-PDP Riffmaster” data-afflink = “https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/b0cwn15trf/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=utf8&condition=all qualifying sales. “data-widget-type =” star”>

For more information, please see the PDP Riffmaster review. “data-logo =” https://www./wp-content/sites/pcgamesn/2025/09/pdp-riffmaster-affiliate.jpg “data-gamename =” “data-affmerchant =”Data-Affctatext = “View Deal-PDP Riffmaster” data-afflink = “https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/b0cwn15trf/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=utf8&condition=all&tag = ablmssage =” Affiliate Committee from netgremase Qualification Sales. “Data-Widget-Type =” Star”>

verdict

If you are craving the era of plastic instrument parties, there is little reason to hand over a new CRKD peripheral. There will be some kinks for years to come at Fortnite Festival, but there are plenty of top charts until a big publisher decides to license a new premium play space, with completely free titles like Yarg and Clone Hero dominating Roost on PC, using fully reapplyable keys to ensure compatibility with other titles.

CRKD guitars place the rights to all the mistakes of the first major generation music controllers. And with a relatively inexpensive add-on set, shifting the tier to hope for near future, paired with the stellar connection options, this is a keeper who doesn’t expect to swap out anytime soon. Maybe wait in case you’ve updated your Pro Sku to include a solo fret neck and save a $40 upgrade right now.

For more ways to get peak performance in games you’re not playing with your keyboard and mouse, why not check out the best racing wheels and the best joystick guides for the time you want to have on the track or on the sky.