fantomaz

Thanks for your reply Curtisa, Thanks for the compliments, And, trust me, grounding/shielding has absolutely NOTHING to do with it, it is just an excuse that they have been using for a very long time.... Its just weak engineering from the start, If I had the time I would make a video to show you... :-) This is an authentic reply from the Optek/Fretlight customer service, just for fun... :-) "quote" Hello, Thank you for your order. Sorry that there is an issue with the guitar's sound and for any lack of providing that information. Please read through the following information. It will cover a lot of what you are already aware of but there are a few things to glean and a few options or workarounds. The Fretlight Learning System utilizes 132 LED’s, which naturally produce a slight electronic noise that, if improperly connected to your device and amp or if using the wrong settings or any effects, could be heard through your guitar's connected amp. A proper musical setup should ensure proper grounding with all powered items. Here are some optional solutions/workarounds for the noise: A. You can buy a noise gate to not hear the noise when it is not being played. When it is being played it should drown out most of the noise. (Refund of up to $100 with proof of purchase if you go this route but only if no other options are used). Amplitude has a nice noise gate if you have an iRig to go into an iOS device for sound modulation. B. You can buy and use a Fishman Triple Play (MIDI via a piezo) for its sound instead. (Refund of up to $100 with proof of purchase if you go this route but only if no other options are used). https://www.fishman.com/products/series/tripleplay/ C. You buy and install a piezo pickup saddle system or an under saddle piezo pickup for its sound instead. (Refund of up to $100 with proof of purchase if you go this route but only if no other options are used). http://www.graphtech.com/products/brands/ghost/ghost-pickups---guitar D. You could swap out the humbucker for something with super turned down highs that will naturally cut out the high-frequency noise a bit more. (Refund of up to $100 with proof of purchase if you go this route but only if no other options are used). http://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/invader-bridge "unquote" THEY KNOW, THEY JUST DONT CARE... :-DDD

Its not all hatred about the Fretlight system, I think it is a valuable learning tool, and I think the educational content that they have produced over the years is actually quite good... What p***es me off is that they keep on hiding the foibles of the system to new customers, I guess what annoys me the most is the wasted potential of the whole thing... :-)

Here is the promised walkthru:

The Fretlight electronics will cause interference with ANY magnetic pickups, in the form of a horrible high pitched whine, it's even worse with active pickups, it's a well documented fact all over the internet... ALL the electric guitars that OPTEK/Fretlight has sold over the last 30 years have had that problem.... It's a basic engineering mistake... I still dont understand how these guys are still in business... When you first contact them they tell you it's a ground loop, and that it is due to your setup, then when you contact their customer service with facts they say that the lights are only for learning, and should be turned off when you play the guitar into an amp, yet there is no mention of that in their promotional material, even worse, there is plenty of videos that show instructors using the guitar with the lights on which bucketloads of distortion, a noise gate, delay and reverb to mask the noise.... These guys are real crooks, I'm curious as how many people they actually turned AWAY from learning the guitar.... Anyway.... The reason for choosing the variax is that piezo systems, as the one used by the variax modelling system, are unaffected by the interference. You can have the lights on AND get a very decent acoustic or electric sound from the variax system. :-) I like having the cake AND eating it.... :-)

I does indeed, you can see that on the picture that is against the whitish floorboards but I'll try to make better photos....

I have very limited talents as a vlogger but I'll try to put something together....

Pickups are a custom set from heartbreaker pickups, a local company here in Belgium, they sound absolutely amazing....

I installed the usb plug/switch assembly in the cutaway, it was the only space available, it works fine tough... :-)

This might be a bit better;

Hi Guys, Here is a little project I just finished... As you may know Optek, the company who makes the Fretlight guitars are really horrible people, their led system is totally incompatible with magnetic pickups: the multiplexed voltage system they use to save on wiring produces an unbearable whining noise interference when used in conjunction with ANY magnetics pickups. You would have thought, after 30 years of using that technology, that they would have produced a piezo equipped guitar but no, they prefer to keep on duping their customers as they have always done... Anyway, I still think it's a valuable learning tool for visually oriented people so I came up with this little idea: I started with a second hand JTV69, I fitted a second hand fretlight neck, not a straightforward swap, lots of routing involved here, I found a way to fit the fretlight electronics in the already busy variax body, upgraded the pickups, fitted a cool decal and presto, here is the FRETLIGHTVARIAXOCASTER! The neck was slightly reshaped and is actually very comfortable, a million times better than the original neck, and, to my surprise, the guitar sounds really, really good with the magnetic pickups, it is on par with the best superstrats out there, with the added bonus of the variax sounds... I researched the old interweb a bit before i did this and found no other mention of a similar project so this might be the only in existence :-) Let me know what you think, and I'd be happy to assist anyone embarking in a similar project!