This is one hell of a bike/Guitar Hero mashup. Who knows how long it took these GH geeks to set the whole thing up. All I know is that this dude and his friends had wayyy too much time on their score-marked hands. It’s just further proof, as if we needed any, that rock nerds go freakin crazy for GH, while the rest of us are doing stuff like, I don’t know, kissin girls. Okay, I admit it rocked just a tad. They get points for a crazy ride. It just leaves ya feeling like, “What the hell did I just watch?”.

If you have a kid learning the guitar chances are your ears could use a break. You’ll want to invest in this Yamaha Silent Nylon String Guitar. Plugging in a pair of headphones lets you practice at your own pace without annoying everyone around you.

You can also connect a CD player into the guitar itself so you can play along directly with the music, despite the fact that CDs are pretty much obsolete. Why they didn’t just build an mp3 player in it is anyone’s guess. Still, it’s a nifty instrument to have around. Especially fo those living in small apartments. The Yamaha Silent Nylon String Guitar will retail for a hefty $499.99. But silence is golden.

I have talked before about Rock Band and how much fun it is to play with a group of friends. I’m not the only Rock Band fan out there that likes to play the game. Popularity for the game is so high that there is a wealth of aftermarket controllers on the market for the Xbox and the PS3. You don’t see that many for the Wii though.

Mad Catz has announced that it will be changing that. The controller maker has signed an agreement with Nintendo that will allow it to build and market officially licensed Wii Rock Band controllers outside of Asia.

The video speaks for itself. The lovely Heidi Klum playing GH World Tour. Very clever marketing. How I wish I were that Guitar.

There’s always room for dessert and nothing beats a fresh and cleverly made geek cake. In recent years “Geek cakes” have become an art form, hopefully not your pet name used by your significant other. One thing is certain, if geeks love a thing, chances are it will become a cake. So, we wanted to take a look at some of our favorite geek desserts and celebrate the clever bakers and icing artists that make geek birthdays and weddings just a bit more fun. Click through for cake and prepare to get hungry.

Here’s something for those who like to paint their faces while playing Rock Band and Guitar Hero, after a healthy argument over the merits of belonging to the KISS army. Even if you aren’t a KISS fan, this is a badass Rock Band and Guitar Hero compatible replica of Gene Simmons’ signature bass. It also features a bi-directional strum bar, ultra-responsive fret buttons, an analog whammy bar for $80. It will be released on Halloween. Demon boots and outlandishly long tongue clip-on not included.

Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips has built imself an awesome looking Guitar Hero guitar mod that marries a Korg Kaoss pad, working GH controller and a white Gibson double-neck guitar. He’s even using this beast to film an 8-second spot for NBC. Okay, so why did he create it? Because of those damn kids. “there’s a lot of kids out there that think this is actually how you play guitar now — that you just press a series of four or five buttons and and sort of different sort of sequences and it makes every sound that the guitar can make,”

You can check out a video here. The Kaoss pad is used to control a synth tone that can be modulated by the five colored neck buttons. No word on whether he’s using it on tour or not, but it will be playing the three-note NBC chime in a promo spot. Pretty cool.

When you think Nokia, you think cellphones. But now the cell phone maker is getting into the bench biz. Nokia is setting up musical benches throughout the United Kingdom, in ‘secret locations’, in order to promote their Comes With Music audio service. Each bench will feature three integrated handsets with headphones so passers-by can sample music.

Apparently the track lists will mirror the region where the bench is deployed, so you would get the Beatles in Liverpool and say Black Sabbath in Birmingham. You probably already want to steal the bench since it’s neat and all. You can’t. Each will be under close supervision by a security guard and a “performer”.

Faux rockers have waited long and hard for this day. At long last, Activision’s next installment of the Guitar Hero franchise is officially available. With Activision’s formal announcement, you’ll be able to pick one up and once again rock out. There’s a few different bundles that range from the game alone which will cost $49.99 to $59.99, the game and guitar together will be $89.99 to $99.99 and the band kit will run you $179.99 to $189.99. Since most of you already rock a plastic Axe, it will be a choice between the first and the last.

Guitar Hero and Rock Band are huge games that have been credited with reviving more than one bands career. The games are so popular that they have spawned a host of aftermarket controllers and gear to help gamers get into the music play.

Logitech announced back in July that it would be unveiling a premium line of Guitar Hero controllers. Logitech has made the first controller in the line official and it’s called the Logitech Wireless Guitar Controller. The device is only compatible with Guitar Hero on the PS2/PS3, Rock Band fans are SOL.

File this one under “Things that do not rock!” The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled all the 57,000 $55 Rage Wireless Guitars that have thus far been sold. The reason? They were made in China of course.

Apparently a circuit board defect can cause the AA batteries included to leak acid if they are installed incorrectly. (People actually install batteries incorrectly?) What it means is that the acid may burn consumers flesh and transform ordinary plain rock into Acid Rock. And that is just unacceptable. I’ll tell you what else is unacceptable. Chemical burns to the groin. Everyone stop rocking immediately. Guitars are dropping, I mean leaking acid!

It’s been a long wait. A long and winding road if you will. At last, the Beatles iPod is out, with only 2,500 units available. You know you want it. And in these tough economic times, Paul, Ringo, and Yoko need your help. So why not fork out $795. The Limited Edition Ultimate Collector’s Beatles iPod Set comes complete with a wooden box designed by Psycho Bunny, where you can store your 120GB Beatles iPod, 13 original Beatles albums on CD, two masters, the Love CD, and an engraved guitar pick that is surely the pick of destiny.

Uh, hang on a minute here. Anyone wanting a Beatles iPod surely owns all of these CDs anyway, so what gives? I don’t need all of that extra junk for 800 clams. Just give me a decent Beatles iPod. Preferably something with a classic album cover on it.

Gamers who look forward to Scratch: Ultimate DJ next spring will be able to play the game usinhg a Numark controller, a well-known name used in decks at parties around the world.

The title will be available for Xbox 360 and the PS3 sometime in Spring 2009, and will feature a variety of hip-hop artists just like Guitar Hero features Guitar gods. No track listings were released at press time. Who knows what we can look forward to next. Banjo Hero? Flute Hero featuring Jethro Toll?

One thing that sucks about playing games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero is that the peripherals take up a lot of space in your home. The AirG for the upcoming Wii game PopStar Guitar fits in your hand. (And looks like some preschool toy) Just slip the Wiimote into the AirG case and begin rockng out wirelessly with four fret buttons.

The game will cost about $60 and include two AirGs. The PS2 version of the game uses existing toy guitars to play. It’s available this November and those that live with you will thank you for not bringing another plastic guitar in the house, so they don’t have to go all Pete Townsend and smash it.

This is not my first console mod, but I think it’s the neatest. As far as I know it hasn’t been done before. I wanted to be able play Atari 2600 games like you play Guitar Hero… With a guitar. With this mod, you just pop in your favorite 2600 cartridge, and play the game on your guitar. The screen is right in front facing you as you hold it. Instead of strumming, just use the small joystick on the upper right, or for games like Breakout use the paddle controller below the screen. The fire button is the top button on the neck of the guitar, so yes, you really hold it in guitar fashion as you play.

I had originally intended to make an NES-Hero, taking advantage of all the guitar buttons, but didn’t have a spare laying around. Which was just fine with me because this Atari-Hero turned out just awesome. It took me about 2 months more or less, simply because it was hard to find the time with my duties here at the ‘Brick, but it’s finally finished. I incorporated actual pieces of the Atari console itself, like the faux woodgrain front panel with logo and the grill from the top of the console, even the cartridge slot itself. The circuit boards all had to be fabricated and custom shaped, then put in place. The Atari console combined with the circuit boards makes for a stunning look in person. (Sorry about the crappy pics. It’s so shiny it’s hard to get a good shot) More pics below.