Look, we've all been there. You just dusted off the old Gibson Les Paul controller, plugged in the dongle, and realized your old save file is long gone. You want to play "Through the Fire and Flames" on Expert, but the game is forcing you to play through "Slow Ride" and "Talk Dirty to Me" for the hundredth time. It’s annoying. Honestly, most people just want to jump straight into the hits without the slog of a career mode they finished back in 2007.
If you want to unlock all songs on Guitar Hero 3, you basically have two paths. You can do it the "legit" way by grinding through the setlists, or you can use the cheat code that every kid in middle school had memorized.
The Quick Way: The Famous Cheat Code
Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way first. You probably don't have five hours to kill just to see the credits roll. There is a universal cheat code that works on PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii. It even works on the PC version if you’re one of the three people still playing that.
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Go to the Options menu from the main screen. Select Cheats, then Enter Cheat.
Now, here is where it gets tricky. You aren't just pressing buttons; you’re strumming chords. If you mess up the timing, it won’t register. You need to hit these combinations in order.
Yellow + Orange
Red + Blue
Red + Orange
Green + Blue
Red + Yellow
Yellow + Orange
Red + Yellow
Red + Blue
Green + Yellow (twice)
Yellow + Blue (twice)
Yellow + Orange (twice)
Yellow + Blue
Yellow + Orange
Red + Yellow
Red + Blue
Green + Yellow (twice)
Yellow + Blue (twice)
Yellow + Orange (twice)
Yellow + Blue
Yellow + Orange
If you did it right, the game will give you a notification. You won't hear a "ding" like in some other games; usually, it's a guitar riff. Once that's active, every single song in the game—including the ones normally hidden behind the final boss battle with Lou—will be available in Quick Play.
A Common Misconception About Save Files
One thing people get wrong all the time is thinking the "Unlock All Songs" cheat saves your progress. It doesn't. This is a "session" cheat. If you turn off your console, the songs go back behind the lock.
If you want them unlocked permanently, you actually have to play the Career mode. Or, you know, just leave your console on for three days straight like we did back in the day.
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The Hard Way: Beating the Career Mode
Some people find the cheat code a bit hollow. I get it. There’s a certain satisfaction in earning your way to the top of the Rock Legend ladder. To unlock songs on Guitar Hero 3 naturally, you have to progress through the tiers of the Career mode.
The game is split into eight tiers. Each tier has four songs you must complete before you get to the "encore" song. Once the encore is finished, you move to the next venue.
- Starting Out: This is the basement/party phase. Easy stuff.
- The Video Shoot: You’ll start seeing more chords here.
- The Prison: This is where the difficulty spikes for newer players.
- The Desert: If you can’t hit "The Seeker" by The Who, you’re gonna have a bad time.
By the time you reach Tier 8, you're at the "Battle for Your Soul." This is the infamous fight against Lou. To unlock the final songs, you have to beat him in a Guitar Battle. It’s not about points; it’s about using power-ups to make him fail.
Pro tip: Save your power-ups for the fast solos. If you use a "Whammy Bar" or "Broken String" power-up right before a massive stream of notes, the AI usually chokes.
Hidden Tracks and the Bonus Store
Even if you beat the game, you haven’t actually unlocked everything. The "Unlock All Songs" cheat usually covers the main setlist, but the Bonus Songs are a different beast.
In the main menu, go to the Store. You’ll see a list of tracks like "She Bangs the Drums" or "Take This Life." These cost in-game cash. You earn this cash by playing Career mode or by getting high scores in Quick Play.
Interestingly, some of the hardest songs in the history of the franchise are tucked away in this bonus menu. DragonForce’s "Revolution Deathsquad" and "Operation Ground and Pound" are in there if you’re playing the PC version or have specific DLC. For the base game, you’re looking at songs by bands like The Hellacopters and An Endless Sporadic.
Why Some Songs Might Still Be Missing
You’ve entered the code. You’ve beaten Lou. But you’re looking at the list and something is missing.
This usually happens because of Co-op Career.
Guitar Hero 3 had a specific set of songs that were exclusive to the Co-op mode. Songs like "Suck My Kiss" by Red Hot Chili Peppers or "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll" by Blue Öyster Cult wouldn't show up in single-player Quick Play unless you played through the Co-op campaign with a friend.
This was a massive pain for solo players.
Fortunately, the cheat code mentioned above should bypass this on most versions of the game. If it doesn't, you’re going to need a second guitar controller and a very patient friend to sit through a few hours of mid-tier rock with you.
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Troubleshooting the Cheat Code
"It’s not working!" I hear this a lot.
The most common reason the cheat fails is the strum bar. You cannot just press the buttons on the neck. You must strum for every single line of the code. If the code says "Red + Blue," you hold both buttons and hit the strum bar once.
Another issue is the controller itself. If you're using a third-party guitar, sometimes the polling rate is weird, and the game misses a "chord" entry. Try doing it a bit slower. Don't rush. It's a rhythm game, after all—treat the cheat code like a very slow, very boring song.
Also, check your Calibrate Lag settings. If your TV has high input lag and you haven't calibrated it in the options menu, you might be hitting the notes at the "wrong" time according to the game's internal clock.
Actionable Next Steps to Get Shredding
- Check your hardware: Ensure your strum bar isn't "double-clicking," which is a common failure point for old GH3 Les Pauls. This will break your cheat code sequence every time.
- Navigate to Options > Cheats: Don't try to enter the code on the title screen or in the middle of a song. It only works in the specific Cheat menu.
- Write the code down: Don't rely on your phone screen turning off every 30 seconds. Put it on a piece of paper and cross off the lines as you hit them.
- Verify in Quick Play: After the "Cheat Enabled" message pops up, back out to the main menu and enter Quick Play. Scroll to the bottom to see if "Through the Fire and Flames" is there.
- Manage your save: Remember that if you want to keep these songs available without re-entering the code, you need to leave the console on or actually complete the Career tiers to save the "unlocked" status to your memory card or hard drive.