Set up a two-camera lesson studio in OBS, even if you’ve never opened it.
The step-by-step kit that takes you from “OBS isn’t even installed” to recording a real lesson in two formats at once, wide for YouTube and vertical for Shorts, Reels, and TikTok, with your live Fret Beam tab on screen the whole time.
Get the whole kit free
The same course, scene file, and templates as the $97 kit, with a small Fret Beam mark on the frame overlays. Just your name and email.
- 6-module course
- Importable OBS scene
- Overlay templates
- Printable checklists
Delivered to your inbox in a minute, plus a short Fret Beam email series. Unsubscribe any time. We never sell your address. Privacy Policy.
Want the templates without our branding? Buy the kit for $97: the same kit with no Fret Beam mark on the frame overlays.
One-time purchase. $97, charged once. No subscription, no auto-renew. The free option enrolls you in Fret Beam emails; unsubscribe any time.
You play a lick. You press Record. The tab is on screen, right next to your face and a close-up of your fretting hand. Students read the notes as you teach them, and a vertical clip of the same moment is already recording itself for Shorts.
That’s the setup this kit builds. The catch has always been getting there: OBS is free, but the first time you open it, it’s a wall of panels, sources, and settings with no obvious order. Most teachers either give up and screen-share a blurry tab window, or lose a weekend to YouTube tutorials that assume you already know what a “scene” is.
This kit is the order. Every click named by its exact menu path, every camera pointed exactly where it goes, the whole thing checkpointed so you know it worked before you move on. If you can follow a chord chart, you can follow this.
The promise: a studio setup, on your existing gear
You don’t buy anything to run what’s in this kit. OBS is free. The Aitum Vertical plugin that records your vertical clips is free. The audio routing that lets you hear the app’s click in your headphones uses OBS’s own built-in monitoring, with no extra software. The whole studio runs on the computer you already have, a webcam or two, and the audio interface you already teach with.
What you’re paying for is the year of figuring-it-out that you get to skip.
What’s inside: the value stack
Each piece is a real file in the download, and each is genuinely sold on its own. Here’s what the $97 covers:
The zero-to-recording course
6 short modules + 5 appendices. Never-opened-OBS to a real lesson recording, every click spelled out. Read it as web pages or as one illustrated PDF.
The importable wide scene
An OBS scene file you import. Point it at your two cameras and the tab, and the three-box layout snaps into place at the exact sizes. Skip the hand-building.
The overlay template pack
Alignment wireframes that show you exactly where to aim each camera, plus the permanent branded frame that gives your video its finished look, in three colorways, with editable source files.
The printable checklists
A pre-flight card you tape to your desk and run before every session, and a shot-alignment card that reminds you where your face, guitar, and fretboard belong.
Free with your email, or $97 if you’d rather just buy it.
Same course and scene file either way. The free kit's overlays carry a small Fret Beam mark on the frame overlays; the paid kit ships them clean, no Fret Beam mark on the frame overlays.
What you get, module by module
The course is the core, so here’s exactly what it walks you through, nothing padded:
0 · Welcome
what you’re about to build, and why "never used OBS" is the perfect place to start.
1 · Install OBS + first-run settings
download it, answer the setup wizard, set the recording quality once so your files look clean and don’t eat your drive.
2 · The three-box layout
the signature look: your face and guitar top-left, the live tab top-right, your fretting hand across the bottom. Import the ready-made scene and relink your gear in two minutes, or add your cameras, the tab, and your audio interface and build it by hand. Both paths are here; you pick one up front. Includes the branded frame overlay in three colorways.
3 · Audio that just works
one mic, one guitar, no accidental double-recording, and the app’s click coming through your headphones. Free built-in path first; a Pro Audio sidebar for teachers who run Loopback.
4 · Go vertical
add the free Aitum Vertical plugin and record a stacked 9:16 clip at the same time as your wide lesson. One take, two formats, including the silent-clip trap that bites everyone the first time.
5 · Record your first lesson
the pre-flight walk-through, a test recording, and the playback checks that prove it all worked.
Plus five appendices: a full studio-tour video walking through Mike’s own camera, lighting, and audio setup (A1), a one-camera “Lite” layout (A2), different tab looks in white, dark, gradient, or see-through (A3), a consolidated troubleshooting reference (A4), and a starting-point settings template for going live over Zoom or to YouTube/Twitch (A5).
On the videos: the four modules that build your setup, Parts 1 through 4, each have a shot-by-shot video walkthrough in the online course, and A1 is the studio tour. The written guide is complete and stands on its own too, every step, every screenshot, so read it, watch them, or do both.
Who it’s for
- The private teacher who runs lessons on Zoom or Discord and wants students to actually read the lick instead of squinting at a shared window.
- The lesson-video creator who’s tired of building on-screen tab by hand in post, video after video, and wants wide and vertical from a single take.
- The in-person teacher going online who was told to “just use OBS” and needs someone to actually walk them through it.
If you’d rather your students see the fretboard than watch you fumble with a screen-share, this is for you.
FAQ
Do I need two cameras?
No. One camera works. Appendix A2 has a one-camera “Lite” layout that still gets you a clean, professional shot with the live tab. Two cameras give you the full face-plus-fretboard look, but you can start with the webcam you own.
Do I need Loopback or any paid audio software?
No. The core audio path uses OBS’s own built-in monitoring, which is free. Loopback (a paid app by Rogue Amoeba) is covered as an optional Pro Audio sidebar for teachers who want split streams and the lowest latency. It’s how Mike runs his own rig, but nothing in the kit requires it.
Mac or Windows?
Both. The Fret Beam app and OBS both run on Mac and Windows, and the kit’s layout, overlays, and scene collection work the same on either. A few OS menu paths differ slightly, and the guide calls those out where they matter.
Do I need the Fret Beam app?
The tab-on-screen part is Fret Beam, the app that turns your playing into the live tab. The OBS layout, cameras, framing, audio, and vertical clips all work whether or not the tab window is running, but the reason to build this setup is to put the live tab in it. (The kit is also the easiest way to see what the app does before you try it.)
Why would I pay $97 if the kit is free?
Branding. The free kit and the paid kit share the same course, scene file, and templates, but the free templates carry a small Fret Beam mark on the frame overlays and the paid kit ships them clean. If a small mark on the overlay doesn’t bother you, take the free door; it’s the one we want you to take.
Is this going to be over my head?
No. It assumes you’ve never opened OBS. Every click is named by its exact menu path, every module ends with a “you should now see this” checkpoint picture, and there’s a troubleshooting appendix for when something looks off. Go one module at a time, in order.
What format do the recordings come out in?
Standard video files (MP4/MKV) you can upload straight to YouTube, or the vertical clips to Shorts, Reels, and TikTok. The kit sets the recording quality for you in Module 1.
Guarantee
30-day money-back guarantee. Buy the kit, work through it for up to 30 days, and if it doesn’t add up to a real two-camera, two-format recording setup on your own gear, email us and we’ll refund you in full. No forms, no “why are you leaving” runaround, and you keep every download. The free kit is the same course and scene file with a small Fret Beam mark on the frame overlays; the paid kit is the unbranded version.
Build the lesson studio this week.
Everything you need to go from a blank OBS window to a two-format recording, on the gear you already own.
Get the whole kit free
The same course, scene file, and templates as the $97 kit, with a small Fret Beam mark on the frame overlays. Just your name and email.
- 6-module course
- Importable OBS scene
- Overlay templates
- Printable checklists
Delivered to your inbox in a minute, plus a short Fret Beam email series. Unsubscribe any time. We never sell your address. Privacy Policy.
Want the templates without our branding? Buy the kit for $97: the same kit with no Fret Beam mark on the frame overlays.
One-time purchase. $97, charged once. No subscription, no auto-renew. The free option enrolls you in Fret Beam emails; unsubscribe any time.
Sold by Fret Beam LLC. Refund policy