The game typically uses a special guitar controller, often packaged with the game disc. It can also be played with a standard DualShock controller.
DualShock controller
When played with a DualShock controller, no strum action is utilized; only the buttons on the fret of the guitar controller are used, and are mapped to various DualShock buttons.
Guitar Controller
The guitar controller features five colored buttons on the fret, a strum bar, and a whammy bar.
It is possible to make custom guitars, using an original DualShock controller. (This controller must be used; the original PlayStation controller is unsuitable without analog sticks, and the DualShock II is unusable due to its pressure-sensitive buttons.) The game uses 
to determine if you've plugged in a guitar controller—it must be set to constant "on" for the game to recognize the unit as a guitar. The other buttons are mapped to buttons found on a standard PlayStation analog controller. The following buttons are mapped on the guitar:
| Guitar Hero | DualShock |
| GREEN | 
|
| RED | 
|
| YELLOW | 
|
| BLUE | 
|
| ORANGE | 
|
| STAR POWER | 
|
| START/PAUSE | 
|
| STRUM |  
|
| WHAMMY (analog) | 
|
| STAR motion sensor | 
|
The other buttons (
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
, and the remaining axes of 
) are unused.
These buttons are not the same as the buttons the game uses when a DualShock controller setup is used.