CRKD has opened pre-orders for three Gibson Guitar Hero controllers for Stage Tour, turning the game’s December 10 launch into a hardware sale as well as a software release. Two models are due on release day, while the Explorer will not start shipping until mid-January.
Three Gibson models
The Stage Tour Pro Guitar Collection includes a Gibson Les Paul, a Gibson SG and a Gibson Explorer. CRKD says the line was made in official collaboration with RedOctane and mirrors the button and bar layout of the official Stage Tour Kramer Wireless Guitar Controller, which costs $110.
The pricing splits the lineup by platform and feature set. The multiplatform Gibson Les Paul costs $120, while the Xbox version of the Gibson Les Paul and the Gibson SG each cost $130. The Explorer also costs $130.
Les Paul, SG, Explorer
The Les Paul and SG use Hall effect click strum bars, mechanical frets and LED neck lighting. Their wireless polling rate is 500Hz, and the wired rate reaches 1,000Hz. The Explorer is built differently: it runs at 8,000Hz whether wired or wireless, a much faster input path than the other two models.
That split is not just a spec-sheet flex. Players choosing between the models are choosing between lower pricing and broader platform coverage on one side, and the faster-response Explorer on the other. For a rhythm game controller, the polling gap will matter most to players chasing tighter timing windows rather than casual couch play.
Switch 2 at launch
Stage Tour launches on PC, PlayStation 5, Switch 2 and Xbox Series X/S, but the drum hardware will not be compatible with Switch 2 at launch. Drum parts on Switch 2 can instead be played with Joy-Con 2s or a Switch 2 Pro Controller, which leaves the new guitar bundles intact while the full instrument setup remains incomplete on day one.
CRKD also tied the SG Midnight Blue Edition to an abandoned PS2-era controller concept for Guitar Hero II, while the 8K Gibson Explorer: 20th Anniversary Edition takes its cue from the X-Plorer Controller created for Guitar Hero II in 2007. That design history gives the lineup more than nostalgia; it gives the controllers a straight-line connection to the hardware vocabulary that defined the genre’s first big run.
The practical move for buyers is simple: pre-order the Les Paul or SG if they want hardware on December 10, or wait for the Explorer in mid-January if 8,000Hz polling is the priority. The unanswered piece is the total bill for anyone trying to buy into Stage Tour on day one across guitars and drums, because the full combined price is not laid out here.
