How to map your controllers on RPCS3.

Intro

Rock Band 3 on RPCS3 can be configured to be played with a variety of controllers. To make things easier, we cataloged various instruments that work with Rock Band 3 on RPCS3 with their respective mappings.

Controllers have been sorted by and given a “Compatibility” rating depending on whether or not they have issues and/or missing features.

SHAPE MEANING
A red triangle. Bad Compatibility
An orange triangle. Okay Compatibility
An green square. Great Compatibility

Mapping

Click on the Pads icon at the top of RPCS3.

A screenshot of RPCS3, showing the cursor over the Pads menu.

On the instrument pages, click on the instrument’s icon or the “[CLICK HERE]” link to be taken to their respective pages for more information.

A screenshot of the instrument mapping page, showing the cursor over the "Click Here" menu.

Follow the instructions and match the assignments.

A picture showing how the instrument page and RPCS3 can be used as a mapping reference.

Pro Tips:

  • If you are planning on plugging in multiple instruments, you must set them on different ports (Player 1, Player 2, etc).
  • PlayStation 3 guitars, drums, and MIDI Pro Adapters for the Rock Band series are plug and play and require no additional setup. DO NOT MAP THEM!
  • If your controller isn’t being detected, click “Refresh”. If that doesn’t solve it, restart RPCS3.

Once you’ve finished configuring, remember to click “Save”.

Instrument List

a Connecting three or more PlayStation 3 Rock Band instruments (drums, keyboards, guitars) may cause issues with instrument detection. This only happens with PlayStation 3 Rock Band instruments and only if they’re all plugged in at the same time.

Drums

Picture Name Platform Compatibility Configuration
MIDI Drums MIDI Drums MIDI Drums Okay Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Rock Band Drums with cymbals Rock Band Drums (with or without cymbals) PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol Plug and play!a
Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter Drums PlayStation 3 Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter Drums PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Rock Band Drums 4 with cymbals Rock Band Drums 4 (with or without cymbals) Xbox One Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Rock Band Drums with cymbals Rock Band Drums (with or without cymbals) Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Rock Band Drums with cymbals Rock Band Drums (with or without cymbals) Nintendo Wii Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter Drums Xbox 360 Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter Drums Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter Drums Nintendo Wii Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter Drums Nintendo Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero Drums Guitar Hero Drums Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero Drums Guitar Hero Drums PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero Drums Guitar Hero Drums (Raphnet) Nintendo Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Rock Band Drums 4 with cymbals Rock Band Drums 4 (without cymbals) PlayStation 4 Bad Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Unknown Drums Unknown Drums Unknown Platform N/A [CLICK HERE]

Guitars

Picture Name Platform Compatibility Configuration
Rock Band Stratocaster Rock Band Stratocaster PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol Plug and play!a
Rock Band Precision Bass Rock Band Precision Bass PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol Plug and play!a
The Beatles: Rock Band Hofner Rock Band Hofner PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol Plug and play!a
The Beatles: Rock Band Gretsch Rock Band Gretsch PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol Plug and play!a
The Beatles: Rock Band Rickenbacker Rock Band Rickenbacker PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol Plug and play!a
PDP Riffmaster PDP Riffmaster Xbox One Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Rock Band 4 Stratocaster Rock Band 4 Stratocaster Xbox One Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Rock Band 4 Jaguar Rock Band 4 Jaguar Xbox One Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Rock Band Stratocaster Rock Band Stratocaster Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Rock Band Precision Bass Rock Band Precision Bass Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
The Beatles: Rock Band Hofner Rock Band Hofner Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
The Beatles: Rock Band Gretsch Rock Band Gretsch Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
The Beatles: Rock Band Rickenbacker Rock Band Rickenbacker Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Rock Band Stratocaster Rock Band Stratocaster Nintendo Wii Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Rock Band Precision Bass Rock Band Precision Bass Nintendo Wii Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
The Beatles: Rock Band Hofner Rock Band Hofner Nintendo Wii Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
The Beatles: Rock Band Gretsch Rock Band Gretsch Nintendo Wii Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
The Beatles: Rock Band Rickenbacker Rock Band Rickenbacker Nintendo Wii Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero Les Paul Guitar Hero Les Paul Xbox 360 Okay Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Hero World Tour Xbox 360 Okay Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero 5 Guitar Hero 5 Xbox 360 Okay Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock Xbox 360 Okay Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero Xplorer Guitar Hero Xplorer Xbox 360 Okay Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero Les Paul Guitar Hero Les Paul (Raphnet) Nintendo Wii Okay Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero Les Paul Guitar Hero Les Paul (WiitarThing) Nintendo Wii Okay Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Hero World Tour (WiitarThing) Nintendo Wii Okay Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero 5 Guitar Hero 5 (WiitarThing) Nintendo Wii Okay Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock (WiitarThing) Nintendo Wii Okay Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero Gibson SG Guitar Hero Gibson SG PlayStation 2 Okay Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero Les Paul Guitar Hero Les Paul PlayStation 3 Bad Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Hero World Tour PlayStation 3 Bad Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero 5 Guitar Hero 5 PlayStation 3 Bad Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock PlayStation 3 Bad Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
PDP Riffmaster PDP Riffmaster PlayStation 4 Bad Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Rock Band 4 Stratocaster Rock Band 4 Stratocaster PlayStation 4 Bad Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Rock Band 4 Jaguar Rock Band 4 Jaguar PlayStation 4 Bad Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Hero World Tour PC Bad Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Unknown Guitar Unknown Guitar Unknown Platform N/A [CLICK HERE]

Modded Instruments

Picture Name Platform Compatibility Configuration
Santroller Powered Custom Guitars Santroller Powered Custom Guitars Santroller Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
RetroCultMods V3 Guitar Adapter RetroCultMods V3 Guitar Adapter RetroCultMods Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
RetroCultMods Kit Guitars RetroCultMods Kit Guitars RetroCultMods Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
PDP Riffmaster (Adafruit Feather) PDP Riffmaster (via Adafruit Feather) Santroller Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Roll Limitless Roll Limitless MIDI Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Guitar Configurator (Obsolete) Guitar Configurator (Obsolete) Guitar Configurator Okay Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]

Gamepads

Picture Name Platform Compatibility Configuration
Xbox One Controller Xbox One Controller Xbox One Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Xbox Series Controller Xbox Series Controller Xbox Series Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Xbox 360 Controller Xbox 360 Controller Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
PC Keyboard PC Keyboard PC Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Nintendo Switch Pro Controller Nintendo Switch Pro Controller Nintendo Switch Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
DualSense Controller DualSense Controller PlayStation 5 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
DualShock 4 Controller DualShock 4 Controller PlayStation 4 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
DualShock 3 Controller DualShock 3 Controller PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
DualShock 2 Controller DualShock 2 Controller PlayStation 2 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Unknown Controller Unknown Controller Unknown Platform N/A [CLICK HERE]

Keyboards

Picture Name Platform Compatibility Configuration
Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter PlayStation 3 Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
MIDI Keyboard MIDI Keyboard MIDI Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
PlayStation 3 Rock Band Wireless Keyboard Rock Band Wireless Keyboard PlayStation 3 Okay Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Xbox 360 Rock Band Wireless Keyboard Rock Band Wireless Keyboard Xbox 360 Okay Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
PlayStation 3 Rock Band Wireless Keyboard Rock Band Wireless Keyboard Nintendo Wii Okay Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]

Pro Guitars

Picture Name Platform Compatibility Configuration
Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter PlayStation 3 Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
PlayStation 3 Fender Mustang Fender Mustang PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]a
Xbox 360 Fender Mustang Fender Mustang Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Nintendo Wii Fender Mustang Fender Mustang Nintendo Wii Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
Squier Stratocaster Squier Stratocaster MIDI Great Compatibility Symbol [CLICK HERE]
a Connecting three or more PlayStation 3 Rock Band instruments (drums, keyboards, guitars) may cause issues with instrument detection. This only happens with PlayStation 3 Rock Band instruments and only if they’re all plugged in at the same time.

Using Profiles

Profiles are premade setup files made by the community. They are drag and drop files which have preconfigured mappings for various instruments.

  1. Download the .7z file in the folder for the instrument(s) you want to use.
  2. Extract the .7z file.
  3. Drag the input_configs folder into the configs folder where you have RPCS3 in.

A GIF of a user dragging the Wii Rock Band Guitar configuration into their RPCS3 folder.

After that, you can select the profile in the “Pads” menu.

A screenshot of RPCS3's Gamepad Settings, showing the cursor over a profile.

Most of the time, these controller profiles should work out of the box. If they don’t, try changing the controller listed in “Devices”, next to the “Refresh” button until it receives an input. You can edit this while the game is running.

Keep in mind that the profiles are formatted for single players. You will need to add all instruments needed.

Alternatively, you can combine multiple files if you know your way around text editors like Notepad++ or Sublime Text. Select everything from line 2 to the end of line 86 in the Default.yml file of the instrument you want to add, then copy it. Paste it into:

  • Line 88 to 172 for Player 2
  • Line 174 to 258 for Player 3
  • Line 260 to 344 for Player 4
  • Line 346 to 430 for Player 5
  • Line 432 to 516 for Player 6
  • Line 518 to 602 for Player 7

Contributing

Do you have a controller we don’t have documentation on? Want to help expand this list further? Contact us on [the Milohax discord] or [open an issue].
The following information is needed:

  • Instrument brand and model (Guitar Hero Les Paul)
  • Adapter(s) used (RetroCultMods V3 Adapter)
  • Platform for instrument (Nintendo Wii)
  • Written bindings for every button (Green Fret = Cross)
  • The bindings file
    • (RPCS3\config\input_configs\global\ProfileName.yml) if it’s with the global “Pads” menu
    • (RPCS3\config\input_configs\BLUS30463\Default.yml) if it’s made in “Custom Gamepad Configuration”
  • A screenshot of the Gamepad Configuration