Troubleshooting

Most problems come down to one of three things: the guitar input, the mic, or a footswitch pairing — usually in that order. Here's what to check first for each symptom.

The app can't hear the guitar

• Check the input device first. The number-one cause is a wrong or silent Settings → Guitar input. Open the picker, play, and watch the Level meter climb into the green (8% or higher).
• Read the status light. A red USB guitar ready light means it's not hearing you; amber means it's still warming up.
• Dead meter? Confirm you picked the right device, then turn up the gain on the interface itself.
• Non-Helix interface? It's never auto-picked — choose it by hand. Full walkthrough: Getting your guitar into Fret Beam.
• "Starting up…" message? The detection engine is still launching. Give it a moment; if it hangs there, relaunch the app.

Very quiet playing and idle hum are gated out on purpose. If soft notes aren't registering, play with more signal — that's expected, not a bug.

No sound or a blank tab in OBS or recordings

• Blank white box — the app isn't running. Open Fret Beam, then right-click the source → Properties → Refresh cache of current page.
• Tab shows in the app but not OBS — verify the URL is exactly http://localhost:3002/tab/live.
• No beat in your headphones — plug the headphones into your interface, then in OBS set Settings → Audio → Advanced → Monitoring Device to your interface. In Advanced Audio Properties, set the Fret Beam Tab row to Monitor and Output (Monitor Only keeps it out of the recording).
• Doubled or echoey beat — a duplicate whole-mix channel (often "Mic / Auxiliary Audio") is on. Set it to Disabled.
• Silent vertical clip — in the Aitum Vertical dock, open gear → Recording → Advanced and tick Audio Track 1.

Full OBS setup: Adding the live tab to OBS.

Buzz, hum, or digital noise in your headphones

• Started when the modeler's USB was plugged in? That is a ground loop between the modeler, the interface, and the computer, not the app. The tab comes from the digital USB stream and is unaffected. Fix it with balanced cables from the modeler into the interface, a rear USB port, and everything on one power strip. Full walkthrough: Buzz, hum, or digital noise over USB.

Wrong notes

• Notes landing on the wrong string or position? Use Shift Position (CC 26) or pick the Neck Zone (CC 27) before you track, so the notes land where you want them. Fret Beam won't always guess the exact string on its own — telling it the zone first is the fix.
• Stray quiet or short ghost notes? Raise Velocity min or Min duration in Capture Settings to filter them out.

Voice commands come out wrong

That's almost always the microphone, not your OpenAI key. Pick the right mic in Settings and confirm its level meter moves when you speak. The full rundown is in Voice + your own OpenAI key.