![]() The interface is quite intuitive you basically pick the root note and it’ll give you choices for all the chord shapes, scales and arpeggios your little heart desires. This is essentially the same product with the added feature of being able to light up frets on the guitar. Some of you may know about Guitar Power – a scale, chord and arpeggio reference tool. There is so much with the software that is beyond the scope of this review for me to go into it with any detail, so I’ll just give you a brief overview. One note – the Fretlight software was designed for a PC, so if you run Mac, you’ll have to find another solution, or just use the guitar with an amp. The included cable plugs right into a USB port on the computer and there is an input for an optional footswitch to control different features of the software. Setup and installation of everything was a breeze, and there’s a DVD video to help you out if you get stuck – even the most computer phobic users should be able to figure this one out. When combined with the included and optional software, the FG-451 turns into a powerful instrument. Of course, it would be easy to sit and point out how the Fretlight compares to a Classic Player Strat or Tele, but that’s unfair all models of the Fretlight line, the Pro included, were designed to be robust teaching tools. That being said, most musicians would not approach this as a gigging guitar – with the Pro’s comparitively high entry price ($899.99), one might be better off getting one of the cheaper models for something that will probably never see a stage. I found the tone to be a bit underwhelming, and it was hard to keep the sound from becoming muddy in higher-gain situations. The guitar plays fairly well for having an non-conventional fretboard – the maple neck in a “C” shape felt smooth, and the fret job was respectable – but the sum of all parts results in a somewhat mediocre guitar tone when plugged into an amp. Humbuckers in the neck and bridge, a middle position single-coil and locking, sealed tuners rounded out the package. It features a Swamp ash body, with curved flamed maple top in a natural finish. The model we received is Optek’s top-of-the-line model, the Pro. There are four options of the guitar you can purchase at different price levels, meaning that the Fretlight is feasible for those looking to get into guitar without much initial outlay. The Frelight is a unique instrument, featuring a 21-fret LED grid buried underneath an advanced polymer fretboard – plugging the guitar into your computer, and using the included software (more about this later) causes the LEDs to light up and display various chords or scales, depending on what you would like to learn. This month we took a look at the Fretlight FG-451 Pro from Optek Music Systems, to see how it works as a guitar and as a teaching tool. We’ve all seen it, and wondered just how it works – it’s that guitar with the little red lights in the fretboard that shows you where to find chords and scales. ![]()
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