Activision and Logitech have announced a partnership where Logitech will create “premium” instrument controllers for Guitar Hero: World Tour. The press release isn’t very clear, but we take that to mean that Logitech will be making nicer, more beautiful and more expensive versions of the stock Guitar Hero guitars for the PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and the Wii. .

The new gear will be fully compatible with World Tour. This is probably good news for fans of GH since Logitech makes quality stuff. Soon you’ll be rocking a far better ax then you rock now.

Gibson Guitar Corp. is accusing Activision of violating one of their patents with the popular Guitar Hero series of video games. The patent in question is owned by Gibson since 1999 and involves a system that would let a musician “virtually” participate in a pre-recorded concert while wearing a head-mounted 3D display with speakers. The music played on the instrument would then be recorded on a separate track and available for playback with the rest of the tracks to simulate playing in a concert.

Activision’s Guitar Hero does have a similar premise, however it’s played on a “pretend” plastic guitar and is a game where the player tries to mimic notes in concert represented on the monitor by graphical musicians in a concert. Activision is disputing the claim that they infringe upon Gibson’s patent and is asking the federal court to provide an official ruling.

Last week we told you about how Activision was having some issues with turnaround time for the Guitar Hero III: Legends of rock discs for the Wii. The turnaround time was so bad that they are adding a refund to the list of solutions for the sound issues found with the original game discs. You might remember, the first batch of Guitar Hero III discs for the Wii only included stereo sound, as opposed to Dolby. Apparently Activision is taking 3-4 weeks to get new discs out to users. This sucks because you have to send them your old disc before they’ll send you a new one. Here are the details:

Activision and Nintendo re-mastered the game and will provide a replacement disc to consumers with Dolby digital surround sound. If you want a full refund instead of a replacement disc, you can download their refund form, which outlines the refund requirements.

This news should make both Guitar Hero fans and Aerosmith fans very happy. Activision announced plans to base an installment in the Guitar Hero series around America’s best selling hard rock band Aerosmith. The new title is scheduled for a June release and will be available for the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and PS2.

Players will be able to play as the band’s guitarists Joe Perry, Brad Whitford and bassist Tom Hamilton. Just like other versions of the hit game, players will progress from an unknown band to rock legends, this time following the story of the band, with some Aerosmith concerts and venues. Interestingly, Activision has promised Aerosmith’s extensive back catalog, as well as other songs from other artists that inspired the group.

Some Guitar Hero III owners for the Wii have been stuck in mono for months now, after a problem with some of the games. At long lat Activision is finally ready to start issuing replacement discs.

According to some end-users, Activision is now sending out pre-paid envelopes, so customers have to ship back their faulty GH III disc and wait “3 to 4 weeks” before getting the new, stereo-enabled one for free. I hear ya, fans. That sucks! Some of you can’t live without your favorite game for that long.