by Dr. Matthew Warnock.

The Fretlight guitar provides a unique approach to both learning and playing the instrument that combines visual, audio and memory-based learning techniques that provide players with a fully-functional guitar learning experience. The basic premise behind the guitar is that it provides a visual aid, by means of lighted dots on the fretboard, which helps players learn songs, scales, chords and licks across the neck. Instead of having to look up at a book to know what to play, the Fretlight guitar simply lights up the notes on the neck that spell out the chords, scales and riffs that users wish to learn. The guitars are sold in a variety of styles, though for the purpose of this review the FG-400 Series guitar will be used, and comes with everything one needs to begin learning to play the instrument.

The Fretlight package comes with a fully functional guitar, including whammy bar and pick, USB cable that is used to connect the instrument to a computer, start-up software, including a large amount of learning material, and a disc containing four sets of instructional videos that range from beginner to advanced level instruction. With all of these added features, as well as a playable instrument, the Fretlight guitar provides the user with a well-built starter instrument and enough pedagogical resources to help them progress from an absolute beginner to being able to perform songs and even improvise solos over common chords and progressions.

When first opening the box, players may not understand how the guitar functions outside of plugging it into an amp and playing it as if it were a normal guitar. The instructional booklet that comes with the guitar does an excellent job in alleviating any confusion by quickly directing the user to a start-up website featuring practical instructional videos describing how to set up the Fretlight guitar and install the included software. All in all, the process is relatively simple. The guitar is plugged into an amplifier, as any other guitar would be, and there is an 8-pronged cable that plugs into the body of the guitar while the USB end plugs into the computer. After this is done, the software disc needs to be installed and the guitar is ready to go, giving the user access to the dozens of lessons and resources that the software contains.

One of the most practical aspects of the Fretlight guitar is that it can be used in both a "lighted" and normal capacity with little in the way of effort to make the change. If the user wishes to play along with a video or visual lesson on their computer they can plug directly into the USB drive and not need an amplifier to have the guitar function in this capacity. Equally, if they wish to play along with a CD, jam with friends, or just practice the lessons from the software and videos on their own, users can plug into an amp and the guitar functions normally.

When attaching the guitar to both a computer and amplifier, it is very important to note that the computer needs to have a three-pronged plug. The grounded 3-wire design prevents humming from occurring in the amplifier. If the computer does not have a three-pronged plug these can normally be purchased at any computer or electronics store, as well as from the usual online venues.

When played straight through an amp as a normal guitar, the Fretlight plays extremely well for what would be considered a "starter" instrument by its price range. The guitar provides a nice, warm tone similar to any single-coil Strat-like instrument. It comes with a 3-way pick-up switch that can be used to vary the instrument's tone and the whammy bar is easy to use and the guitar seems to stay in tune, even when pushing hard on the bar.

As far as playability is concerned, the instrument comes with a signed letter stating that it has been set up for the user's specific environmental conditions, adjusted to fit the particular temperature and humidity levels of that location. While this provides the user with a guitar that can be played out of the box, it won't replace having a local tech set up the guitar once it's been acclimatized to that area, something that is also stated in the literature provided.

While the guitar is very well made and sounds great through an amp, the setup seemed to leave the strings a little high for a beginning player. This may not always be the case with every guitar, but it might be worth having the strings lowered by a tech upon purchasing the instrument so that it will be easier on the hands of beginning players. Apart from this minor issue, the instrument is solidly built and is more than capable of being used in private lessons or in jam sessions with friends.

The instructional videos and resources that are included in the two discs that accompany the guitar contain a wealth of information for the beginning to intermediate level player. The videos are a mixture of verbal presentations of the practice material and short practice sessions where the camera is focused on the right and left hand of the instructor.

When the instructor is playing a note on the video, at any time, that note will light up on the guitar so the user can see where they need to put their fingers to play that chord, scale, arpeggio or song. During the practice sessions, users can choose to look at the video, and focus on either hand of the instructor, or the lighted note on the neck of the guitar. When working through the material in the videos, a combination of both the on-screen shots and fretboard lights seemed to work best as far as allowing the user to learn the material quickly and retain it after one or two passes.

For users who may not be familiar with the terms being used in the videos, a bar appears on the screen whenever the instructor mentions a common musical term giving a definition of that term. It prevents the instructor from deviating from the lesson to talk about the musical terms they use. There is also an "Intellitempo" button on the lower part of the screen that allows users to slow down any musical example, or speed it up if they wish, allowing the examples to be molded to the student's level of experience.

Overall, the Fretlight guitar is a finely made starter instrument that goes beyond the realm of normal guitars. Its built-in learning tools are designed to increase the learning curve of beginning to intermediate guitarists. Though some guitarists may see this approach as a bit gimmicky or more of a "videogame" than an instrument, the quality of the guitar and its ability to function as any other guitar defy these labels. For the price of a medium-level starter guitar, the Fretlight guitar gives the player a solid instrument on which to learn and enough instructional material to last them several years as they progress through the beginning and intermediate stages of their development.

Links
Fretlight
The Fretlight Store
Introduction to the Optek Fretlight Guitar and an Interview with Optek Founder, Rusty Shaffer (2005)