Does the Rock Band 3 Squier lock you into playing notes/chords a certain way for the game?

Question

I know that the Squier Stratocaster for Rock Band 3 uses a semiconductive fretboard to read your finger placement in order to interpret the notes you are playing, rather than actually using the sound/tone of the strings. The guitar is still not available in the EU and I do not own the Mustang, so I can't try pro-mode properly. I was wondering if, for gameplay/scoring purposes, it allows you to play alternate fingering for fretting.

For example, on my real bass guitar, to play an E note , I can play either the open E string, like so:

E|------0-0-0-0------|

Or I can play an E note by holding down the 5th fret of the A string, like so:

A|------5-5-5-5------|

If RB3 wants to play an open E string but I play a fretted A string instead, will it still count me as playing an E note or not? Basically, I'm wondering if the tablature is open to interpretation based on playstyle and/or what one may have previously learned in a certain way.

Answer 1

Yes, you have to play it the way the game tells you to. But I think you may misunderstand how the charts in the game are shown. It doesn't tell you "play an E", it says "play the 5th fret of the A string". Trying to convert what you're seeing to a completely different method of playing the same note, while it's scrolling towards you, would be extremely difficult.

I do remember reading that they put a great deal of effort into making sure that the charts in the game were the way the song was actually played in terms of location though, comparing with live videos of the actual bands playing the song and such. So if that's true you may be making it harder on yourself by trying to use alternate methods.