Optek Music Systems Fretlight User manual

Owner’s Manual

3Introduction
4Softwar Installation
5Quick Start
7Conn ction Tips
9G tting Start d
11 Fr tlight N ck & Syst m
12 Truss Rod Adjustm nt
13 Custom r FAQ
14 S rvic Not
15 Custom r Car
16 Fr tlight Limit d Warranty
Table of Contents

Introduct on
3
Thank you for purchasing a Fr tlight®guitar. Pl as tak a f w minut s to r ad
this manual so you can b tt r und rstand and njoy your Fr tlight guitar. You
ar a valu d custom r and w thank you for your support. R m mb r, wh n
not using your Fr tlight, pl as unplug your Fr tlight from your comput r.
Your Fretl ght gu tar ncludes the follow ng tems:
Fr tlight Own r’s Manual (.pdf Fr tlight Softwar Disk
locat d on th Fr tlight Softwar Disk) (data DVD)
Fr tlight B ginn r 101 & 102 L nnon and McCartn y
QUICKSTART Int ractiv Vid o Int ractiv Play-Along
Guid L ssons Vid o
10 ft. Whammy Bar for Truss Rod and Bridg
Fr tlight-to-USB Tr molo Bridg Saddl Wr nch s
Cabl (if applicabl ) (if applicabl )

Software Installat on
PC Installation:
Step 1 Ins rt th Fr tlight softwar installation disk into your comput r.
A m nu scr n will pop up with various m nu options including a
link to an audio m ssag by Rusty Shaff r, Inv ntor of th Fr tlight.
This m ssag giv s you a good ov rvi w of how to proc d to install
and njoy your n w Fr tlight guitar. Follow th onscr n st ps 1-3.
Step 2 Conn ct th Fr tlight-to-USB cabl to your guitar and your comput r.
NOTE: Th ¼” f mal jack locat d on th USB nd of your cabl is for
conn ction to th optional Fr tlight dual footswitch.
Step 3 Launch th Fr tlight Studio softwar on your d sktop by doubl -
clicking th Fr tlight Studio icon (which is probably on your d sktop).
Mac Installation:
Step 1 Ins rt th includ d Fr tlight softwar disk into your comput r. Brows
th disk and install Mac d signat d programs.
Step 2 Conn ct th Fr tlight-to-USB cabl to your guitar and your comput r.
NOTE: Th ¼” f mal jack locat d on th USB nd of your cabl is for
conn ction to th optional Fr tlight dual footswitch.
Step 3 Launch any of th Fr tlight softwar programs on your comput r and
start jamming.
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5
Open a Fretli ht Ready
Interactive Video:
PC:
Step 1 Ins rt th Data-DVD disk into your comput r.
Step 2 Brows th disk.
Step 3 Doubl click on th titl of th vid o.
Mac:
Step 1 Mov your Fr tlight FVP vid o fil from th disk to: HD/Us rs/
"nam ofyourcomput r"/Music/Fr tlight/Fr tlight Play r/Fr tlight Vid os
Step 2 Op n th Studio and click on "Launch th Fr tlight Play r".
Step 3 Doubl click th nam of th vid o.
Open an Improviser Pro ression:
PC and Mac:
Step 1 Op n th Fr tlight Studio.
Step 2 Click on “Launch th Fr tlight Improvis r”.
Step 3 Click th “Load song” button.
Step 4 Click on a progr ssion.
Step 5 Click th “S l ct” button on a Mac or click th “Op n” button on a PC.
Qu ck Start

6
Li ht up Chords and Scales:
PC and Mac:
Step 1 Op n th Fr tlight Studio.
Step 2 Click on “Launch th Fr tlight Chord and Scal Library”.
Step 3 Click th “Chords and Scal s” button.
Step 4 Click a chord or scal .
Step 5 Click on th int ractiv pictur to show th chord. S l ct a root not
to show th scal .
Install and Open Fretli ht MIDI Son s:
PC and Mac:
Step 1 Op n th Fr tlight Studio.
Step 2 Click on “Launch th Fr tlight Play r”.
Step 3 Doubl click on a Fr tlight song in th Fr tlight Songs fold r.
Mac:
Step 1 Download, or mov , your Fr tlight MIDI song to: HD/Us rs/
"nam ofyourcomput r"/Music/Fr tlight/Fr tlight Play r/Fr tlight Songs
Step 2 Op n th Studio and click on "Launch th Fr tlight Play r"
Step 3 Doubl click th nam of your song
Download Guitar Pro 6 Tab Files:
PC and Mac:
Step 1 Go to Fr tlight’s Song Find r:
www.fr tlight.com/song-find r
Step 2 S arch a song titl .
Step 3 Click on th song that has th high st numb r of stars, as this will b
th “most accurat ” v rsion.
Step 4 Scroll to th bottom and click on “Download (song nam ) Guitar Pro Tab”.
Step 5 Click “Op n” and Guitar Pro 6 will automatically launch and load your
Guitar Pro tab fil , pr ss play and start rocking!
Step 6 Don’t forg t to sav your song.

Connect on T ps
3-Prong Cable 2-Prong Cable and
3-to-2 Adapter
Power Str ps and
Extens on Chords
7

DO:
•Wh n your comput r is conn ct d to a pow r outl t, mak sur it has a
ground d thr -prong plug. Most comput rs com standard with ground d
pow r suppli s and cabl s.
•You may conn ct your Fr tlight to a laptop without conn cting th laptop
to a pow r outl t.
•If conn cting to a d sktop, mak sur that you ar conn cting th Fr tlight
to a root USB port—most lik ly locat d on th back of th comput r.
•Mak sur you ar conn cting your comput r to a ground d pow r outl t
that has thr prongs.
•Wh n conn ct d to both a comput r and an amp, mak sur to us th
pickup clos st to th bridg .
DON’T:
•Do not us a two-prong plug or a 3-to-2 adapt r plug.
•Do not us a two-prong d wall outl t—only us a thr -prong d, ground d
wall outl t.
•Do not us an xt rnal USB hub. Your Fr tlight must b conn ct d dir ctly
to your comput r’s USB port.
CAUTION:
•Try not to us pow r strips or xt nsion cords as th y WILL introduc xtra
nois into th syst m. For b st r sults, conn ct your syst m as shown.
•Mak sur that you ar using a quality, shi ld d guitar cabl . Using a ch ap
cabl can introduc xtran ous nois into your syst m.
8

Us ng Your Fretl ght
Be inner Players—Take an interactive video lesson or play an interactive
play-alon son
Now that your Fr tlight is conn ct d to your comput r, you’r r ady to start
playing. W r comm nd you tak your first l sson or jump right in and play a
song. Just follow th s st ps:
PC:
Step 1 Ins rt th B ginning 101 L sson disk (or th L nnon & McCartn y disk)
into your comput r.
Step 2 Brows th disk.
Step 3 Doubl click on th titl of th vid o.
Mac:
Step 1 Ins rt th B ginning 101 L sson disk (or th L nnon & McCartn y disk)
into your comput r.
Step 2 Brows th disk.
Step 3 Op n a n w Find r window, op n your Hom fold r (it will usually
hav your nam as th titl and a littl hom icon n xt to it), and
navigat to: Macintosh HD>Music>Fr tlight>Fr tlight Play r>
Fr tlight Vid os
Step 4 Mov th Fr tlight FVP vid o fil into that location by copying
and pasting or by dragging and dropping.
Step 5 Op n th Studio and click on "Launch th Fr tlight Play r".
Step 6 Doubl click th nam of th vid o.
Be inner/Intermediate Players—Li ht up chords and scales
L t’s s som diff r nt chord and scal patt rs light up on your Fr tlight.
PC and Mac:
Step 1 Op n th Fr tlight Studio.
Step 2 Click on “Launch th Fr tlight Chord and Scal Library”.
Step 3 Click th “Chords and Scal s” button.
Step 4 Click a chord or scal .
Step 5 Click on th int ractiv pictur to show th chord. S l ct a root not
to show th scal .
9

10
Intermediate & Advanced Players—Solo usin different scales and
chord tones
A good plac to work on soling t chniqu s is th Improvis r. You can practic
soloing ov r on of th 120+ built-in progr ssions in Fr tlight Studio.
PC and Mac:
Step 1 Op n th Fr tlight Studio.
Step 2 Click on “Launch th Fr tlight Improvis r”.
Step 3 Click th “Load song” button.
Step 4 Click on a progr ssion.
Step 5 Click th “S l ct” button on a Mac or click th “Op n” button on a PC.
Guitar Pro 6 Fretli ht Ready software (optional)
If you’v purchas d th optional Guitar Pro 6 Fr tlight R ady softwar l ts g t
som tab fil s download d from th int rn t and g t th m playing on your
Fr tlight. Just follow th s st ps:
PC and Mac:
Step 1 Go to Fr tlight’s Song Find r: www.fr tlight.com/song-find r
Step 2 S arch a song titl .
Step 3 Click on th song that has th high st numb r of stars, as this will b
th “most accurat ” v rsion.
Step 4 Scroll to th bottom and click on “Download (song nam ) Guitar Pro Tab”.
Step 5 Click “Op n” and Guitar Pro 6 will automatically launch and load your
Guitar Pro tab fil , pr ss play and start rocking!
Step 6 Don’t forg t to sav your song.

The 8-Pin DIN Fretli ht Jack
Your Fr tlight guitar has what looks lik a MIDI jack
mount d in th body. This is NOT a 5-pin MIDI jack.
This is an 8-pin DIN plug. Th data and pow r trans-
mitt d ov r this conn ction is propri tary to Opt k
Music Syst ms, Inc. Pl as do not try to plug a MIDI
cabl or MIDI plug into this jack or try to s nd any
MIDI information to your Fr tlight n ck. Doing so will r sult in s v r damag
to your Fr tlight guitar syst m and will VOID th warranty.
Your Fretli ht Guitar Neck
Your Fr tlight n ck has a circuit board in b tw n Opt k’s advanc d polym r
fr tboard and mapl n ck. If you v r n d to r mov th n ck from th body,
you will n d to r -attach th int rnal cabl with th GREEN wir on th l ft,
ori nt d as you look down th n ck to th h adstock.
Optional Fretli ht Dual Footswitch
Int grating th optional Fr tlight dual-footswitch
giv s you hands-fr control of your Fr tlight
softwar . Simply plug th ¼” mal jack from
th footswitch into th ¼” f mal jack on you
Fr tlight-to-USB cabl .
Cleanin Your Fretboard
Th advanc d polym r fr tboard acts and b hav s lik a normal ros wood or
bony fing rboard in many ways xc pt, for xampl , cl aning and/or sanding.
Pl as only us a dry or damp cloth (wat r only) to cl an any fing r oil or
r sidu from your Fr tlight fr tboard. DO NOT us any solv nts, oils, or fluids
oth r than wat r at anytim . Doing so will VOID th warranty. If you want to
bl nd any fing rnail scratch s that may occur naturally ov r usag and tim ,
w strongly r comm nd lightly sanding your fr tboard with a scotch-brit pad,
or som fin st l wool-hand sanding only. If you us a pow r d sand r or
sanding d vic on your Fr tlight, you will VOID th warranty.
B caus th fr tboard is a polym r mat rial, you may n v r xp ri nc any
fr t migration and, for th most part, your Fr tlight n ck is going to r main
mor straight and tru than most all oth r wood fing rboard n cks. Th in rt
d ns polym r mat rial will also provid your ton with an incr as in th
natural sustain of th guitar.
11
Fretl ght Neck & System

12
Your Fr tlight guitar is fitt d with a two-way adjustabl truss rod that is
acc ssibl at th h adstock.
Two-way truss rods allow you to adjust th n ck into a back-bow or upward-
bow aka “r li f”.
1. Start by sighting down th l ngth of th
n ck. Looking from th bas of th body
to th h adstock to s if if th n ck has
a back-bow or upward-bow (“r li f”).
2. If you s a back-bow, you will n d to
turn th truss rod counter-clockwise. If you
s too much “r li f” or upward- bow,
you’ll n d to turn th truss rod clockwise.
3. B for actually turning th truss rod,
loos n th strings.
4. Whil turning th truss rod you will not
b abl to do a full circl but will mak ¼
turns. W sugg st thr to four, ¼ turns
so that you can th n tight n th strings
and tak anoth r look.
Special Note
Th two-way truss rod has a p riod of n utrality from b ing bow d in ith r
dir ction. Wh n adjusting th truss rod nut (that you ar turning) may f l
loos lik it is stripp d or just turning fr ly-don’t worry. Aft r 4 to 5, ¼ turns
th nut will “catch” and you will b gin to f l t nsion again.
Remember
Th r is no xact amount of p rf ct “r li f”. Th r li f on your guitar n ck
will d p nd on what gaug strings you hav and what kind of action you lik
as a play r as w ll as playing styl . Wh n it f ls comfortabl stop adjusting.
B ing car ful and taking your tim wh n p rforming this proc dur will
produc th b st r sults. If you don’t f l confid nt in p rforming this
proc dur you can hav a guitar t chnician do so. Any local guitar shop should
hav a guitar t chnician availabl .
Truss Rod Adjustment

13
Frequently Asked Quest ons (FAQ)
Q: I broke a str ng; what do I do now?
A: You will hav to purchas anoth r string, th y ar usually sold in a s t of
six. Your local guitar stor should hav strings or you can purchas a s t from
us at www.store.fretl ght.com.
Q: What does the Opt onal Fretl ght Dual Footsw tch do?
A: It allows a play r to hav hands fr op ration of Fr tlight softwar
functions. Note: Th optional Fr tlight footswitch is not functional with
Fretl ght Lesson Player.
Q: How do I operate my Opt onal Fretl ght Dual Footsw tch?
A: You will n d to s t th action/function for th two footswitch s l ctors in
ach of th program’s options or s ttings m nu. To p rform this action, b gin
by choosing th action you wish th footswitch to p rform and st p on th
footswitch s l ction you wish to assign to that action. If th footswitch is not
r sponding, rotat th cabl wh r th ¼" cabl conn cts to th USB Y
conn ction whil t sting th foot p dal.
Q: How do I purchase more nteract ve v deo lessons?
A: You can purchas additional l ssons ith r through your Authoriz d
Fr tlight R s ll r or dir ct from Fr tlight at www.store.fretl ght.com
Q: How can I choose add t onal scales n Improv ser other than the 3 that
t automat cally suggests?
A: Hold down th CTRL k y and click th “P” (patt rn) button in th upp r
right of th Improvis r scr n. A window will pop up giving you th choic of
many mor scal s to us .
Q: How do I set the software to sw tch to a left-handed Fretl ght?
A: All Fr tlight softwar has th ability to corr ctly light-up a l ft-hand d
Fr tlight guitar. Look for a ch ck box in th softwar or pr f r nc s/options
windows. Click on th guitar icon to switch to l fty in th Fr tlight Play r.

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Two-Way Truss Rod Adjustment
If you ar p rforming a s t-up or adjustm nt on a Fr tlight pl as und rstand
that v ry Fr tlight guitar has a two-way truss rod. Turning th truss-rod
p rforms th following action:
1. Clockwis -turning th truss rod in a clockwis dir ction will induc th n ck
to form a back bow.
2. Count r Clockwis -turning th truss rod count r clockwis will induc a
forward or “upward” bow.
NOTE: Wh n turning th truss rod from back bow to forward bow (or vic
v rsa) pl as r aliz that th truss rod will go slack. It will turn fr ly, as if it is
loos or stripp d. Aft r 4 to 5 mor quart r turns of th truss rod it will “catch”
and b gin to tight n and bow th n ck in th opposit dir ction.
Other Set-Up Concerns
A Fr tlight is a normal guitar in v ry way xc pt for th polym r fr tboard
and cabl running from th n ck to th back of th body. You can r mov th
Fr tlight cabl from th n ck if n d d by pulling it straight out from th n ck.
Pl as only us wat r to cl an any fing r oil or r sidu from th fr tboard. DO
NOT us any solv nts, oils, or fluids oth r than wat r at any tim . If you hav
any oth r qu stions r garding th Fr tlight you ar working on pl as f l
fr to contact Custom r Support at 800.575.6511.
Important Serv ce Note
for Gu tar Techn c ans

15
Pl as f l fr to contact us at anytim w appr ciat your f dback!
Ema l
Sal s, Support and S rvic : support@fretl ght.com
L ve Chat
www.fretl ght.com
Phone
1.800.575.6511
9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. PST, Monday thru Friday
Customer Care

One Year L m ted Warranty
Opt k Music Syst ms, Inc. (h r in “OPTEK”) warrants this product as stat d b low.
1. Terms and Cond t ons:
Exc pt as provid d b low, OPTEK warrants sol ly to th original purchas r of this OPTEK
musical instrum nt that th instrum nt purchas d shall b fr from d f cts in mat rials and
workmanship und r normal us for a t rm of on -y ar from th r c ipt of product as long as
th instrum nt is own d by th original purchas r and until th own rship of th instrum nt is
transf rr d to anoth r. This Limit d Warranty do s not apply: (a) to w ar and t ar to or br akag
of fr ts, strings, nuts, saddl , batt ri s, or oth r damag or d t rioration du to normal w ar
and t ar of th instrum nt or its parts, or to normal w ar and t ar or br akag of any part of
an instrum nt, including but not limit d to controls, switch s, jacks, plat d surfac s, tuning
d vic s, pickguards or finish, or to any instrum nt cas , gig bag, gig bag handl s, zipp rs,
latch s, cas hardwar , or finish; (b) to ass rt d d f cts or damag caus d by modification,
misus , n gl ct, abus , accid nts, acts of natur , or improp r maint nanc of th instrum nt or
its parts (OPTEK r s rv s th xclusiv right to mak such d t rmination of misus , modification,
or n gl ct bas d on insp ction by OPTEK or an authoriz d OPTEK r pr s ntativ ); (c) to ass rt d
d f cts involving subj ctiv p rsonal lik s or judgm nts, including subj ctiv opinions r garding
tonal charact ristics of th instrum nt or grain charact ristics or colors of woods; (d) to ass rt d
d f cts or damag to an instrum nt such as cracks, splitting, or warping of wood or damag to
th instrum nt’s finish caus d by accid nt or xposur to chang s in or xtr m instanc s of
t mp ratur or humidity, xposur to sunlight, moistur , body salts or acids, guitar straps, or
guitar stands or hang rs which caus harm to th instrum nt; ( ) to l ctrical compon nts not
manufactur d by OPTEK, (h) to s tups, adjustm nts, or any routin maint nanc , (i) to any
instrum nt whos s rial numb r is missing, alt r d, or tamp r d with in any fashion, or (j) to
ass rt d d f cts or damag to an instrum nt which has had work p rform d on it by or has
b n oth rwis r pair d or modifi d by a t chnician or r pair p rson oth r than an OPTEK
c rtifi d t chnician at an authoriz d OPTEK s rvic c nt r.
2. Warranty L m tat ons:
THE OBLIGATIONS OF OPTEK HEREUNDER ARE LIMITED TO REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT OF PARTS
OF THE INSTRUMENT FOUND TO BE DEFECTIVE UNDER THIS LIMITED WARRANTY. IN NO EVENT
SHALL OPTEK BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO TIME, WAGES OR LOST PROFITS, OF ANY NATURE OR KIND
OR FOR DAMAGES TO OR LOSS OF PROPERTY. OPTEK r s rv s th right to modify, r fin , or
improv its instrum nts and pickup syst ms, including making m chanical and l ctrical
r fin m nts, without incurring any r sponsibility to modify or xchang any products purchas d
prior to such modifications. THIS LIMITED WARRANTY IS THE SOLE WARRANTY OF ALL OPTEK
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
3. Obta n ng Warranty Serv ce:
To obtain warranty s rvic , notic must b giv n within th warranty p riod. Proof or assignm nt
must b pr s nt d. Th product, b aring its s rial numb r, must b r turn d to OPTEK or its
d signat d r pair facility onc R turn Authorization is provid d to th custom r by OPTEK. Th
purchas r shall pr pay shipping charg s for th product r turn d for warranty s rvic and
OPTEK shall pay for r turn of th product to th custom r. Th purchas r or his or h r assigns
shall pay all shipping charg s (to and from), duti s, and tax s for products r turn d to OPTEK
from locations outsid th Unit d Stat s of Am rica.
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4. No Other Warrant es:
Th Limit d Warranty s t forth h r in constitut s th ntir warranty and r pr s ntation of
OPTEK with r gard to th OPTEK products id ntifi d in th pr c ding paragraph. This Limit d
Warranty shall b controlling ov r any conflicting t rms and conditions of any purchas ord rs,
contracts or invoic s which may b x cut d in conn ction with th purchas of any OPTEK
musical instrum nt or r lat d product. NO r pr s ntation or warranty mad by any OPTEK
sal sp rson, d al r, ag nt, r pr s ntativ or mploy shall b binding upon OPTEK oth r
than as s t forth h r in.
5. Legal Remed es:
Som stat s or provinc s do not allow th xclusion or limitation of incid ntal or cons qu ntial
damag s, so th abov limitation may not apply. This warranty giv s you sp cific l gal rights,
and you may also hav oth r rights which may vary from stat to stat , or provinc to provinc .
Opt k and Fr tlight ar r gist r d Trad marks of Opt k Music Syst ms, Inc.
© 2012 Opt k Music Syst ms, Inc. All rights r s rv d.
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