What you need to play Rock Band 3 on RPCS3.

You will need:

A copy of Rock Band 3 for the PS3 on your computer

BLUS30463 version only!

A controller

You can use:

  • Rock Band and Guitar Hero Guitars (PS2, PS3, PS4, Wii, X360, XBONE) a
  • Rock Band and Guitar Hero Drums (PS3, PS4, Wii, X360, XBONE) a
  • Standard controllers/computer keyboards for “Padtar” or vocals b
  • Many instruments using Santroller software
  • Rock Band 3 PRO Guitars (PS3, Wii, X360 via MIDI to USB adapter)
  • MIDI Keyboards (37 keys minimum recommended via USB or MIDI to USB adapter) c
  • MIDI Drum Kits (via USB or MIDI to USB adapter, or via MIDI to Roll Limitless)

a Some instrument controllers are missing features like tilt or effect switches. Refer to the instrument section for more information.
b Controllers have auto-strum, like GH1-GH3. Keyboards can be setup to be both auto-strum or manual strum.
c Connecting keyboards via MIDI with less than 37 keys is possible but not recommended. [Click here for more information.]

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

    Drums

    Picture Name Platform Compatibility
    MIDI Drums MIDI Drums MIDI Drums Okay Compatibility Symbol
    Rock Band Drums with cymbals Rock Band Drums (with or without cymbals) PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol
    Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter Drums PlayStation 3 Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter Drums PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol
    Santroller Powered Drums Santroller Powered Drums Santroller Great Compatibility Symbol
    Rock Band Drums 4 with cymbals Rock Band Drums 4 (with or without cymbals) Xbox One Great Compatibility Symbol
    Rock Band Drums with cymbals Rock Band Drums (with or without cymbals) Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol
    Rock Band Drums with cymbals Rock Band Drums (with or without cymbals) Nintendo Wii Great Compatibility Symbol
    Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter Drums Xbox 360 Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter Drums Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol
    Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter Drums Nintendo Wii Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter Drums Nintendo Great Compatibility Symbol
    Roll Limitless Drums Roll Limitless Drums MIDI Great Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero Drums Guitar Hero Drums Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero Drums Guitar Hero Drums PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero Drums Guitar Hero Drums (Raphnet) Nintendo Great Compatibility Symbol
    Rock Band Drums 4 with cymbals Rock Band Drums 4 (without cymbals) PlayStation 4 Bad Compatibility Symbol

    Guitars

    Picture Name Platform Compatibility
    Rock Band Stratocaster Rock Band Stratocaster PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol
    Rock Band Precision Bass Rock Band Precision Bass PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol
    The Beatles: Rock Band Höfner Rock Band Höfner PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol
    The Beatles: Rock Band Gretsch Rock Band Gretsch PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol
    The Beatles: Rock Band Rickenbacker Rock Band Rickenbacker PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol
    Santroller Powered Guitars Santroller Powered Guitars Santroller Great Compatibility Symbol
    RetroCultMods V3 Adapter Guitars RetroCultMods V3 Adapter Guitars RetroCultMods Great Compatibility Symbol
    RetroCultMods Kit Guitars RetroCultMods Kit Guitars RetroCultMods Great Compatibility Symbol
    PDP Riffmaster PDP Riffmaster Xbox One Great Compatibility Symbol
    Rock Band 4 Stratocaster Rock Band 4 Stratocaster Xbox One Great Compatibility Symbol
    Rock Band 4 Jaguar Rock Band 4 Jaguar Xbox One Great Compatibility Symbol
    PDP Riffmaster PDP Riffmaster PlayStation 4 Great Compatibility Symbol
    Rock Band 4 Stratocaster Rock Band 4 Stratocaster PlayStation 4 Great Compatibility Symbol
    Rock Band 4 Jaguar Rock Band 4 Jaguar PlayStation 4 Great Compatibility Symbol
    Rock Band Stratocaster Rock Band Stratocaster Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol
    Rock Band Precision Bass Rock Band Precision Bass Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol
    The Beatles: Rock Band Höfner Rock Band Höfner Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol
    The Beatles: Rock Band Gretsch Rock Band Gretsch Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol
    The Beatles: Rock Band Rickenbacker Rock Band Rickenbacker Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol
    Rock Band Stratocaster Rock Band Stratocaster Nintendo Wii Great Compatibility Symbol
    Rock Band Precision Bass Rock Band Precision Bass Nintendo Wii Great Compatibility Symbol
    The Beatles: Rock Band Höfner Rock Band Höfner Nintendo Wii Great Compatibility Symbol
    The Beatles: Rock Band Gretsch Rock Band Gretsch Nintendo Wii Great Compatibility Symbol
    The Beatles: Rock Band Rickenbacker Rock Band Rickenbacker Nintendo Wii Great Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero Les Paul Guitar Hero Les Paul Xbox 360 Okay Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Hero World Tour Xbox 360 Okay Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero 5 Guitar Hero 5 Xbox 360 Okay Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock Xbox 360 Okay Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero Xplorer Guitar Hero Xplorer Xbox 360 Okay Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Hero World Tour PlayStation 3 Okay Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero 5 Guitar Hero 5 PlayStation 3 Okay Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock PlayStation 3 Okay Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero Les Paul Guitar Hero Les Paul (Raphnet) Nintendo Wii Okay Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero Les Paul Guitar Hero Les Paul (WiitarThing) Nintendo Wii Okay Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Hero World Tour (WiitarThing) Nintendo Wii Okay Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero 5 Guitar Hero 5 (WiitarThing) Nintendo Wii Okay Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock (WiitarThing) Nintendo Wii Okay Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Configurator (Obsolete) Guitar Configurator (Obsolete) Guitar Configurator Okay Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero Gibson SG Guitar Hero Gibson SG PlayStation 2 Okay Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero Les Paul Guitar Hero Les Paul PlayStation 3 Bad Compatibility Symbol
    Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Hero World Tour PC Bad Compatibility Symbol

    Gamepads

    Picture Name Platform Compatibility
    Xbox One Controller Xbox One Controller Xbox One Great Compatibility Symbol
    Xbox Series Controller Xbox Series Controller Xbox Series Great Compatibility Symbol
    Xbox 360 Controller Xbox 360 Controller Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol
    PC Keyboard PC Keyboard PC Great Compatibility Symbol
    DualSense Controller DualSense Controller PlayStation 5 Great Compatibility Symbol
    DualShock 4 Controller DualShock 4 Controller PlayStation 4 Great Compatibility Symbol
    DualShock 3 Controller DualShock 3 Controller PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol
    DualShock 2 Controller DualShock 2 Controller PlayStation 2 Great Compatibility Symbol
    Nintendo Switch Pro Controller Nintendo Switch Pro Controller Nintendo Switch Great Compatibility Symbol
    Nintendo Switch CRKD NEO S Wave Nintendo Switch CRKD NEO S Wave Nintendo Switch Great Compatibility Symbol

    Keyboards

    Picture Name Platform Compatibility
    Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter PlayStation 3 Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol
    PlayStation 3 Rock Band Wireless Keyboard with dongle Rock Band Wireless Keyboard (with dongle) PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol
    MIDI Keyboard MIDI Keyboard MIDI Great Compatibility Symbol
    Santroller Powered Keyboards Santroller Powered Keyboards Santroller Great Compatibility Symbol
    PlayStation 3 Rock Band Wireless Keyboard without dongle Rock Band Wireless Keyboard (without dongle) PlayStation 3 Okay Compatibility Symbol
    Xbox 360 Rock Band Wireless Keyboard Rock Band Wireless Keyboard Xbox 360 Okay Compatibility Symbol
    PlayStation 3 Rock Band Wireless Keyboard Rock Band Wireless Keyboard Nintendo Wii Okay Compatibility Symbol

    Pro Guitars

    Picture Name Platform Compatibility
    Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter PlayStation 3 Rock Band MIDI Pro Adapter PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol
    PlayStation 3 Fender Mustang with dongle Fender Mustang (with dongle) PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol
    Santroller Powered Pro Guitars Santroller Powered Pro Guitars Santroller Great Compatibility Symbol
    PlayStation 3 Fender Mustang without dongle Fender Mustang (without dongle) PlayStation 3 Great Compatibility Symbol
    Xbox 360 Fender Mustang Fender Mustang Xbox 360 Great Compatibility Symbol
    Nintendo Wii Fender Mustang Fender Mustang Nintendo Wii Great Compatibility Symbol
    Squier Stratocaster Squier Stratocaster MIDI Great Compatibility Symbol

A microphone

If your computer can see it, you can probably use it. Up to three mics can be used at the same time.

A computer

But of course.

Minimum Recommended
OS:
Windows 10
OS:
Windows 10 or higher
Processor:
Intel Core i5-4460
(or equivalent CPU with AVX2)
Processor:
AMD Ryzen 5 2600
(or equivalent), or better
Memory:
8 GBs
Memory:
16 GBs or higher
Graphics:
GeForce GT 730 2GB (or equivalent)
with Vulkan support
Graphics:
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (or equivalent) or better
with Vulkan support
Storage:
7200 RPM Hard Drive with ~11.2 GBs of space after installation for
• Rock Band 3
• Rock Band 3 Deluxe
• No DLC at all
• Additional custom songs require more space.
Slow hard drives may cause temporary game pauses!
Storage:
SATA SSD (or faster) with ~67.4 GBs after installation for
• Rock Band 3
• Rock Band 3 Deluxe
• All Harmonix DLC and exports
• An additional 16.7 GBs are required for Rock Band 4, Rock Band Rivals, and Rock Band 4 DLC
• An additional ~80 GBs are required for RBN 1+2
• Additional custom songs require more space.
Notes: The absolute lowest one can realistically play this game on.
• 720p/60Hz with no post-processing
• 100 ms audio latency
• Occasional performance drops
Notes: Great performance with ample headroom for multitasking while playing.
• 1080p/60Hz with full post-processing,
• 32 ms audio (or lower)
• Solid performance

[7-Zip] or [NanaZip] if you’re on Windows 11.

(or WinRAR if you hate yourself) to extract archives.

Something to drink or eat

It may take up to 30 minutes to get your setup working.