The Creation of the HeroGear Rock Band rig

  As some of you already know, HeroGear is more a labor of love (sometimes referred to as a money pit) than a profitable business. I still feel this is more due to my inability to reach my true customers, either through advertising or just not hanging out in the right places, than the possibility that there is no market for this type of product. I can reach/connect with the hardcore crowd any time of day or night, but of course they only make up a fraction of one percent of the music gaming public. So I've been quietly trying to figure out ways to reach more people and advertise on the cheap. Several of my ideas have begun to take shape, and will be appearing here on the website shortly as well. But I believe that this project has the greatest potential to help me get exposure here locally at least. I've been thinking about something like this for about the last year, and finally got all the pieces I needed to make it happen.

First public test at Green Day concert

                It is a self contained mobile music gaming system. Here is a list of features:

• 23 inch 1080p monitor
• Hitmaster stage monitor
• Rock Band drums  w/triple cymbals*
• A Rock Pedal drum pedal
• PS3
• Custom battery/inverter box gives approx. 3 hours of playtime.
• Everything fits in cargo area, no loss of seating capacity.

Construction

                For this page I'm going to keep things simple, if I get enough requests I'll just have to build version 2.0  to make a complete build guide. The basic structure is made from 1" pvc pipe and various fittings. The rig was painted using silver hammer tone paint. This fixture can be broken down, as only horizontal fittings are glued. The top crossbar is removable so that the monitor and it's crossbars can be put in place. The entire unit is sitting on the floor, it is strapped to rear seat for extra stability while traveling only.

Stage fixture

                You may notice some variation in pictures as far as changes to design or pieces present in some pictures but not in others. These photos are not in chronological order, as I have already made several changes to the design as well as addition pieces in the last several weeks after first building it. The newest things to be added are the stage floor and the backdrop. The stage floor is made from 1/8" pressed board with wood grained shelf paper and gives a cleaner look by hiding the wires. The backdrop is a scene setter which is normally taped to a wall for parties. Here it blocks off the front of the car, and as it's translucent it can be backlit. For now it will be lit with some simple flashing lights, may make some kind of custom light show for it later.

Stage floor and backdrop

                All pieces fit within the back cargo area for travel, and setup takes about 10 minutes. The Hitmaster speaker not only adds to the stage "look" but it also puts out an incredible amount of sound, so far I haven't cranked it all the way to 11 only because I don't need to. Using a deep cycle marine battery and a 750 watt power inverter I can run everything for 3 hours without a drop in power. The color strobe lights are battery powered, and have run for more than 10 hours so far without a battery change. the entire rig can be run from a single extension cord when power is available.

Current build of rig and second playtest

Additional pictures and more info to follow.

RR