The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary

View Poll Results: What if any type of markers do you prefer?

Voters
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  • No markers, dots on side of neck

    67 36.41%
  • Neo classic thumbnail

    2 1.09%
  • Dots

    23 12.50%
  • Sharkfin

    1 0.54%
  • Block / Trapezoid

    68 36.96%
  • Custom

    6 3.26%
  • Don't care, or never look at them

    17 9.24%
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Posts 26 to 50 of 60
  1. #26
    Although the fb marker design do tend to make the guitar more appealing, nobody during any serious playing
    flips the fb flat to see what fret position your'e at..so basically they are useless during playing but look
    very nice. The side dots are something I can see while switching positions but classic guitars don't even
    come with those since selecting the correct fret becomes habit with routine playing.

    I don't particularly like the overkill with some makes (ie: PRS) where all sorts of fret decorations just make
    it look too busy and cluttered. The worse example is the old country artists with their names in MOP all down
    the fret board.,,makes me..excuse me..Pthew!

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  3. #27
    I don't mind a bit of MOP inlay in the right places, but as long as it looks "clean". I think that the Gretsch
    "thumbnails" are pretty cool and have that esthetically pleasing "clean look".

  4. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by Daniel Kuryliak
    Although the fb marker design do tend to make the guitar more appealing, nobody during any serious playing
    flips the fb flat to see what fret position your'e at..so basically they are useless during playing ...
    Fret markers-freddie-green-4-jpg

  5. #29
    Good one..thanks..LOL!

    Yes, I suppose that there are a few players out there because of their unique and "un-orthodox"
    style, do have to look at their finger placement and need the fret markers...Freddie Green was one of them.

    Another one that comes to mind is Albert King, one of the three kings of the blues , who was left handed playing an inverted style (flipped over) on a right handed Flying V at first..(he may have had a left handed custom V built for him later),

  6. #30

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    Fret board position markers are an absolute point of reference for me. I play sitting down with the guitar propped between my legs, classical style. I don't need to flip the guitar to as an extreme a position as Freddy Green. I see the position markers quite well . . . and I use them as a point of reference for position and note identification. I suppose I could eventually become accustomed to playing with no position markers . . actually in a relatively short period of time. But . . . why would I bother?

  7. #31

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    I sit like that, too, but only see the edge of the neck, with the side dots.

  8. #32

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    When I switch from an archtop to my classical, no fingerboard nor side dots, I experience some difficulties positioning. I dont play the classical a lot but still I guess that means I probably look more at the markers than I realize.

  9. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
    I sit like that, too, but only see the edge of the neck, with the side dots.
    Here's a photo of me with my L5CES. I see the entire fret board quite easily.



  10. #34

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    As far as fret markers go, IMO, it depends on the guitar and the visual 'vibe' at work stylistically and historically; for instance, I wouldn't think that an ES-175 would look all that good with only dots (and even Eastman acknowledged that in using markers cloned off the 'original' on their AR-371). That being said, I generally prefer having no fingerboard markers for a clean look but still having side markers.

    As an cool alternative to standard dots, there are also "micro-dots" used on some fingerboards such as by Larivee. I usually prefer those to regular-sized dots where dots are used at all; I think they provide a nice compromise visually between full dots and nothing because, at a quick glance, they can almost tend to disappear.

    Speaking of side markers, my current favorites are the longish side 'bars' on my Eastman Pisano, easy to see in low light or at a quick glance and yet still needing nothing at all on the blank ebony 'board.

  11. #35

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    I did side markers only on my new one. The clean look is cool but my brother the bass player hates it when we jam. Says it makes it hard for him to follow on improv stuff.

  12. #36
    Patrick, you are basically playing it Wes Montgomery style. I guess in smoky dark caves where a lot of
    musicians play big block markers make sense.

  13. #37
    Quote Originally Posted by Elias Graves
    I did side markers only on my new one. The clean look is cool but my brother the bass player hates it when we jam. Says it makes it hard for him to follow on improv stuff.
    Now that is starting to make sense...never thought of that angle, that other string players need to see where
    you're at.especially chord changes if there is another guitar in your group and of course the bass player.

    Never thought that's why there are markers starting at the first fret (at least on the more expensive models..so whether you are in a darkened hall, outside at night, or in a man cave playing with yer buddies..they have to see what you are playing...cuz they can't see those obscured side dots.
    otherwise as the song goes..Desafinado..

    desafinado
    "Desafinado", a Portuguese word (usually rendered into English as "Out of Tune", or as "Off Key"), is the title of a bossa nova song composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim with lyrics (in Portuguese) by Newton Mendonça. ...
    Last edited by Daniel Kuryliak; 10-19-2013 at 06:44 PM.

  14. #38
    Quote Originally Posted by ooglybong
    Speaking of side markers, my current favorites are the longish side 'bars' on my Eastman Pisano, easy to see in low light or at a quick glance and yet still needing nothing at all on the blank ebony 'board.
    Scotty Moore (Elvis' side man, who had numerous Gibsons and Gretsches, once had a custom guitar with lit side dot
    markers..I found the writeup on it online a long time ago, but can't seem to place it now.
    Scotty once complained that it was so dark in some of the places he played he couldn't see the side marker dots and he wanted "someone" to install side marker lights.

  15. #39

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    Quote Originally Posted by Daniel Kuryliak
    Patrick, you are basically playing it Wes Montgomery style. I guess in smoky dark caves where a lot of
    musicians play big block markers make sense.
    Yeah . . somewhat similar but not quite as much upward tilt. Just a little forearm pressure gets me the tilt I usually like . . and need to see the fret board. I adapted this style because I find it very hard to get comfortable with my legs crossed for long periods of time. I guess having the thighs of a running back sometimes has it's advantages . . and sometimes has its disadvantages. :-)

  16. #40

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    Thats why Danny Gatton had put zirconia side dots as they would show up better under stage lights

  17. #41

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    I need fret markers for sure, i think guitar is a very visual instrument anyway.

    Even though it would not be a decision factor as opposed to the feel of the neck, i think block inlays look cool.
    Well, until recently ... I always thought myself as a "gibson guy" until recently, i just got a strat and a tele and i realize that dots cause much less eye fatigue on the long term.
    And now i almost tend to think that blocks are a bit too much aesthetically ..

    Any one coming to the same conclusions regarding eye fatigue ?

  18. #42

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    Yes, and here's a recipe for no fatigue:


  19. #43

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    Definitely like side dots. Fretboard markers...If I was having a guitar made, I'd go none, but I don't object to them.

    I really like the markers on my taylor 414ce...swell from small dots with a thin outline to an oval in the higher frets...very classy.

  20. #44

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    To see, I prefer with no markers.
    But to play, I would like to have something like that :
    Fret markers-gibson_l-7_1936-c-jpg
    Attached Images Attached Images Fret markers-13439gibsonguitarfretboardlg-jpg 

  21. #45

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    Everyone has their own thing. I prefer markers on fingerboards, it helps me SEE where I am playing. The last couple years Eastman guitars got me liking the plainer look. But I still need some help. I'm legally blind from open field glaucoma. I got an Eastman John Pisano and the first thing I really liked about it was it had really large side markers. Not like anything you ever saw on a guitar, not little dots but big markers. The 12th position is a loscenge shape. Pisano has vision issues too, since he was making it for HIM he had that done. Love it, plain look on the top, big markers on the side.
    Gretsch wouldn't be Gretsch without the neo classic thumbprints. Rickenbacker wouldn't be it without the Sharkfins. Gibson wouldn't be Gibson without the Trapeziods or Blocks or Parallelograms those models are famous for. Really...

    And to use the "Tard" term is class less... sorry but that's crude.

  22. #46

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    Totally agree. IMO, they're a great design alternative between having nothing on the fingerboard—along with the traditional 'tiny' dots—to actually having something which you can hopefully see in nearly any lighting situation. Plus I happen to think they look really cool, too. (I also happen to like a 'bare' fingerboard to begin with.)

    This isn't the best photo (surprisingly this is about the best I could come up with via online sources), but you can just about see the longish side marker here that Mike's describing at the first fret.

    Fret markers-eastman-pisano-headstock-jpg

  23. #47

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    I use them for a reference point, like others have pointed out....I wouldn't want a guitar without at least the dots, don't like the plain look and why not have dots....at least....I think I would have problems with a real classical guitar these days, I would go with a hybrid....maybe a godin.....

  24. #48

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    None on most things but black dots on maple Tele fingerboards......just wish they were a little smaller.

  25. #49

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    Quote Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
    I give a tip of the hat to anyone who does something different with the markers. We all know who did this:

    I really liked the look of that guitar. I did those markers because they help with Lenny Breau-style harmonics. I have them on my personal guitar as well.

  26. #50

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    My marker preference has been strongly conditioned by my first Gibson, a '69 Les Paul Custom. Those bodacious blocks fitted to that ebony board looked sharp and certainly helped bass players follow my (abrupt, and frequently inadvertent) key changes. My subsequent ES-345 upped the ante with the spiffy split parallelograms that also grace my ES-175. In fact the abalone inverted triangles set in pearl blocks on my MIK Epiphone Emperor Regent are not to be sneezed at or on (and can be wiped clean in a jiffy, if need be ).

    But for sheer metaphorical and artistic beauty the abalone birds on my PRS Custom 24s take the cake and frost it. Yummy!

    All that said, dots are groovy.