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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Well... I got it up & running.
Here is a short video showing part of what it does.
Note how you can slow a song down to a crawl.
NING video.. HERE |
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Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 4536
Location: Flahdaw | Thanks a lot for the early Sunday morning brain seizure, Brad. |
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Joined:
December 2008
Posts: 253
Location: Seattle | Interesting product.
Compared to what I am paying for lessons seems reasonable, if it works for you.
How good is the lesson content?
Can you upload your own music to the guitar?
Transposition?
Anticipated future pithy comments
Can I use it with Guitar Hero?
Will SWMBO be able to control it (and send me honey do messages)? |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | I'm just scratching the surface.
Lots of lesson content. Scales, theory, etc.
Will light up any scale in any or all positions while providing a backing track in any key. Chose any key and the scales change to fit.
Will light up one scale position for two runs though a blue pattern then automaticly move to the next position up the neck.
Will blink the root notes in the scale.
You cannot program your own songs in but there are hundreds of downloadable songs. |
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December 2003
Posts: 13997
Location: Upper Left USA | How about B# or Cb?
Look'in good Brad! |
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Joined:
August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | Look at that yoyo, that's the way you do it! You play your guitar on the OFC.
Are there a lot of different genres represented with songs ... i.e do they have classical guitar pieces, jazz, or the tricky hard stuff like AlanM plays? |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15682
Location: SoCal | This is very cool. How much did it run?
Problem with it, like with all instructional stuff, is you actually have to work at it to get good. I'm waiting for the "take a pill and play like Django Reinhardt" method of playing..... |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Moody... 'bout $500 with the upgrades I choose.
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Bobbo.. Funny you should ask. I have been in contact with the Fretlight guys about Alan's stuff. I referred then to Alan's website to see what they could do.
After some research and destroying a couple guitars in the process they came to some conclusions.
1) They can't figure just what key it's in.
2) They can't seem to get the electricity to the lights fast enough to keep up.
They figure that in 15 or 20 years the technology might catch up with the art.
And bobbo... I'm not sure about the genre thing. I have not dug deep enough.
I do know that they show travis pick stuff. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 2793
Location: Atlanta, GA. | Maybe I'm missing something.
It looks like it shows you where to fret the strings to play the song, but
you still don't know what note or chords your playing.
That's just memorizing their arrangement.
Is there more to it than that? |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | You can use it for pure muscle memory or get as deep into theory as you want. Lots of lesson material. |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Kewl... |
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May 2008
Posts: 4996
Location: Phoenix AZ | Doesn't Arthur Murrey have something like this that lights up footprints on your floor to teach you how to dance? |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Pretty cool. That's a hardware implementation of something that's been in GuitarPro software for quite awhile. Of course in GuitarPro it just shows the fretboard and fingering on your screen as the notes play. That's a neat trick to show it on your actual guitar. |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | I just counted the number of backing tracks provided in the "improvisor" section.
150 with names like:
Classic Blues 1&2
Domimant 7th Variations
Dorian Workout
Harmonic Minor Swing
Hindu Scale Folk Jam
Lydian Diminished Jam
Mixolydian Funk
Southern Rock 1&2
Two Five One Jazz Jam
The Blue Door - Cuban Salsa
and 140 more |
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Joined:
May 2008
Posts: 4996
Location: Phoenix AZ | That set list sounds like GWW's album track listing. Man, I wonder if you could turn them all ON at the same time in some sort of psychotic meditation splitting headache. Sort of like Adrian Legg, but not quite as bad.
So what's it actually like to PLAY the thing? Are you just mesmerized by the lights and trying to blindly slap down your fingers in the right spot? I've gotta try this some day. I can't help but think of it as a guitar players version of Whack-A-Mole. We could call it Whack-A-Riff.
But seriously, if this thing 1) makes you play/practice more, 2) enjoy the process, 3) actually improve your playing ... then it was money well spent. |
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Joined:
May 2008
Posts: 194
Location: Las Vegas, NV | They used to sell a Fretlight-ready version of Guitarz (v. 6.6), which allowed you to import tab files in ASCII format. Guitarz would then play the song in midi, and light up the notes on the fretboard, again with the ability to slow down the song to learn/practice.
They also sell AxMaster, which seems like a pretty good learning tool, and would be very good for an instructor that might want to use the Fretlight guitar to teach students, since you can create your own lesson content as well. |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | "Wack-a-mole" describes it well. But I think there is a more productive way to use it.
I'm brand new with the thing but I think I've come across a way to make it work for me.
First I'll just put the guitar on the stand and watch it blink at me for 10 minutes. It's like watching someone else play it and gives me a idea of what real estate I have to cover.
Then vary the playback speed while I try to do the whack-a-mole thing.
Once I get the form somewhat handled I can hit the foot switch which turns off the blinking lights but keeps playing the backing track.
The blinking lights are a firm taskmaster and can be a more of a problem when you have the basic pattern but are just trying to smooth it out.
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It also allows me to take one section of the song, (intro, bridge, solo, etc) and puts it in a loop. |
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Joined:
May 2008
Posts: 194
Location: Las Vegas, NV | Brad, let me know if you'd like to check out Guitarz (for tab). I think I might still have the zip files somewhere. |
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Joined:
April 2008
Posts: 1851
Location: Newington, CT | Originally posted by Slipkid:
Moody... 'bout $500 with the upgrades I choose.
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Bobbo.. Funny you should ask. I have been in contact with the Fretlight guys about Alan's stuff. I referred then to Alan's website to see what they could do.
After some research and destroying a couple guitars in the process they came to some conclusions.
1) They can't figure just what key it's in.
2) They can't seem to get the electricity to the lights fast enough to keep up.
They figure that in 15 or 20 years the technology might catch up with the art.
And bobbo... I'm not sure about the genre thing. I have not dug deep enough.
I do know that they show travis pick stuff. Errrrrrrrrr...huh?
So, there I was just sittin' there mindin' my own business, and I think I just took a SERIOUS razzin'!
Funny, though... |
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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | AlanM consider yourself part of the "in" crowd when your privileged enough to be "razzed" on. It must mean they really like you!
Medications #69 & 96...... |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Originally posted by AlanM:
and I think I just took a SERIOUS razzin'! You think? ;) |
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April 2008
Posts: 1851
Location: Newington, CT | Welllllll...ya can't be too sure of ANYTHING around here! |
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August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | That's for sure. |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Nothing is for sure. |
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Joined:
November 2004
Posts: 4413
| Though this week you can get 3 for $5. |
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April 2008
Posts: 1851
Location: Newington, CT | Originally posted by Waskel:
Nothing is for sure. I'm not so sure... |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Just one last thing.... With all the fine examples and encouragement I've give my kids to pick up the guitar, finally, one of them spent a couple hours with the fretlight. |
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Joined:
April 2008
Posts: 1851
Location: Newington, CT | Originally posted by Slipkid:
Just one last thing.... With all the fine examples and encouragement I've give my kids to pick up the guitar, finally, one of them spent a couple hours with the fretlight. Now, THAT's an endorsement! |
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Joined:
August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | Originally posted by Slipkid:
Just one last thing.... With all the fine examples and encouragement I've give my kids to pick up the guitar, finally, one of them spent a couple hours with the fretlight. How much of that time was spent trying to get it to connect into Guitar Hero? :rolleyes: |
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Joined:
December 2008
Posts: 1456
Location: Texas | Slipkid…
How about an update?
How do you like the Fretlight guitar now that you've had it for a while? |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Well... I still think it's a good value for the dollar. The Fretlight program that allows the guitar to talk to the computer has been a little sketchy. They have a new version that I have not downloaded yet. Maybe that will help.
Rules of life #837.... Any technical type electronic toy or program is ALWAYS only half as user friendly as it is advertised to be. ALWAYS.
And... raise your hand if you have purchased "stuff" with the best intentions of putting it to extensive use.... and find you never find the time. |
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Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 4536
Location: Flahdaw | Originally posted by Slipkid:
And... raise your hand if you have purchased "stuff" with the best intentions of putting it to extensive use.... and find you never find the time. The Popeil Pocket Fisherman |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | Both my hands are up. |
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Joined:
November 2010
Posts: 125
Location: Derry NH | I just picked up a std guitar in seafoam green for my daughter. I have no doubt she will use this without any need of encouragement from dad.
Anyone interested in ordering, here is a PSA:
Try using coupon code: ght25offtjoos
It worked for me; basically paid for std shipping. |
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Fretlight Demo