Help center

Answers to the most common setup and troubleshooting questions.

Looking for general questions about packages, the trial, or gear? See the FAQ.

Prefer to watch? Video guides walk through setup and every part of the app on screen.

Getting your guitar into Fret Beam

Plug in any USB audio interface, pick it as the input, and confirm Fret Beam hears you before you go live. The detection engine is built in — nothing extra to install.

Adding the live tab to OBS

Add the live tab to your OBS scene as a Browser source so it shows on screen next to your camera. Covers the exact URL, the sizes to use, and keeping it in sync.

Talk, Dictate, Make a chart, and Type it instead are included with an active membership — no setup, no key needed. Bringing your own OpenAI key is still available if you'd rather. Recording tabs works with no AI at all.

Setting up a footswitch

Footswitch and MIDI control lets you trigger Record and other actions with your feet while your hands stay on the guitar. Covers pairing a Bluetooth or wired MIDI pedal and what each button does.

Using an iPad as a remote

Drive Fret Beam from an iPad across the room with the built-in Fret Beam Remote (second-device control). Covers connecting it and what it can and can't control.

Buzz, hum, or digital noise over USB

A buzz or digital whine in your headphones once the modeler is plugged in by USB is a ground loop in the cabling, not the app. Use balanced cables into your interface first, then the other steps that cut USB noise.

Troubleshooting

What to check first when a tab won't appear, notes sound wrong, or a voice command doesn't land — usually the input device, the mic, or the footswitch pairing, in that order.

Installing Fret Beam on a Mac

Download Fret Beam for Mac, drag it into your Applications folder, and enter your membership key on the first launch. Needs an Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or later) with macOS 13 Ventura or later.

Installing Fret Beam on Windows

Download the Fret Beam installer for Windows 10 or 11, run it, and enter your membership key on the first launch. Covers what to click if Windows shows a prompt during setup.

System requirements

What Fret Beam needs on Mac and Windows, plus the guitar signal it listens to. Mac needs Apple Silicon (M1 or later) and macOS 13 Ventura or later. Windows needs Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit.

Your membership: trial, billing, canceling and switching packages

How the 7-day free trial works, monthly or yearly billing, the 30-day money-back guarantee, canceling, and moving between Basic, Pro and Ultimate. All of it is self-serve.

Your membership key

Where to find your membership key, how to enter it in Fret Beam, and how to use the same key on another computer. Also covers what the app shows when a membership isn't active.

Using the live tab in a Zoom lesson

Show the live tab to a student in a Zoom, Meet, Teams or FaceTime lesson by using OBS as your camera. Covers the Zoom audio settings for guitar and sharing the click with the student.

Still stuck?

Send us a message and a real person will get back to you, usually within one business day.