Guitar Hero II are notable in the real world such as the USA and Battle Axe (a similar looking bass is played by Gene Simmons, and the guitar was played by John Christ of Samhain/Danzig fame). Basses, such as the Music Man StingRay, Gibson Thunderbird, and the Höfner bass (as made famous by Paul McCartney, the bassist for the Beatles) are also available for co-op play. The band itself plays with Orange amps and DW drum kits, along with more in-game endorsements. When the player passes each set of songs in career mode, his/her band is rewarded with money and equipment endorsements, including
Eight-string bass guitar are usually fretted; however, fretless 8-string basses have been known to exist, though would usually be a custom make. Though once rare, many well-known guitar manufacturers now make 8-string basses commercially available, such as Dean Guitars, ESP Guitars, Hamer Guitars, Schecter Guitars, Washburn Guitars, Rickenbacker and Hagström among others. Warmoth Guitars also offers an 8-string conversion neck that allows a normal 4-string, 34" scale bass to be converted to 8 strings. Often, the 8-string bass guitar is played with a plectrum so to have a better attack and to increase the 'ringing' of the higher-register strings, but is not essential.