Why no fingerboard markers?

[floatingpickup]

Good side question: what bling do you like/not like?

The golden (geddit?) age a jazz guitars was definitely blingy. I've come to like Telecasters. Even fretboard binding seems excessive to me now.

I like this kind of bling…

[wintermoon]

Either way is fine by me, I really only use side dots anyway.

"I absolutely hate dot in lay on an archtop guitar and in fact any guitar except a Gibson 335, then it fits great."

Oh I dunno Mark, they look pretty spiffy on a 20's L-5 imo, matter of fact I prefer them to blocks on 16" L-5's

[wintermoon]

I like this kind of bling…

Keith, isn't that Glenn's old Excel?

[skykomishone]

It's all good. Some play by feel. I get that too. I like both. A black ebony fretboard without markers looks awesome on some guitars. And, if I can see and feel the notes without them, like Ray Charles, or Stevie Wonder, then it wouldn't matter. Even if I have eyes.

[sgosnell]

Benedetto seemed to start the no inlay trend, supposedly because he thought it just looked better. He did some later custom guitars with inlay, notably Jimmy Bruno's, because Jimmy insisted on them so his students couldn't see where his fingers went without them. I have guitars with all sorts of inlays, and without any. They all play the same for me. I have more important things to worry about, like whether the sun will rise tomorrow.

[skykomishone]

That Excel is amazing!

[floatingpickup]

Keith, isn't that Glenn's old Excel?

Yes, it is. He still has it. Really nice guitar.
Keith

[Woody Sound]

I really don't care either way, depends on the guitar.

[rsclosson]

PS What drove me nuts was playing a Selmer-style guitar with a dot at the 10th! That got me into a lot of trouble!

On Gypsy Jazz, I assumed the 10th fret dot was there because of the keys that a lot of the songs were in. It was pointed out to me that a lot of banjos have the dot on the 10th fret. Frankly, I like the dot there so much that I put a tiny piece of tape on the 10th fret side of the fretboard on all of my guitars. I know it's a strange quirk but it works for me.

[Tricky Fish]

Side dots only for me

i like a clean minimalist look and would rather see the grain of the fretboard

my classical and flamencos have a full suite of side dots - 3 5 7 9 12 15 17

[D'Aquisto Fan]

Benedetto seemed to start the no inlay trend, supposedly because he thought it just looked better. He did some later custom guitars with inlay, notably Jimmy Bruno's, because Jimmy insisted on them so his students couldn't see where his fingers went without them. I have guitars with all sorts of inlays, and without any. They all play the same for me. I have more important things to worry about, like whether the sun will rise tomorrow.

I'm pretty sure D'Aquisto was doing no inlays before Benedetto, but I could be wrong.

[Gladders]

Classy.

Yes, but so is this.

Sent from my SM-T830 using Tapatalk

[floatingpickup]

Did Bob B. do it because it was less work? Possibly but just a comment.

I don’t think that was the reason.

[deacon Mark]

Bob B probably did it because he made violins too and possible Jimmy D'aquisto's influence. That makes sense to me but certainly not putting in inlay it much easier and faster. That particular Benedetto with the vine inlay actually looks very nice to me and I believe because it shows nice symmetry and fret markings. The neck looks really narrow but that could be an illusion too. I still much prefer metal tailpieces and I think that provide a better sound to my ears.

[floatingpickup]

I'm pretty sure D'Aquisto was doing no inlays before Benedetto, but I could be wrong.

Thats what I thought too. The “Acquired if the Angels” book says that Jimmy made his first New Yorker “Classic” (no inlays) in 1985. There is also a picture In that book of a small oval hole archtop with no inlays that he made for pop singer Melanie in 1972. I scanned the Benedetto log and I don’t see any Manhattans listed there until the late 1980’s. Bob’s other models typically had inlays, although he certainly could have made some other guitars without inlays before that. All things considered, I really think Jimmy D’Aquisto deserves the credit for reducing the bling on archtops.
Keith

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Benedetto let the worms supply the decoration.

[jim777]

I owned the three right up to the point where I couldn't play guitar anymore due to the karate induced arthritis in my right wrist (now surgically repaired). What I wouldn't give to get that Hamer back! I did buy another of the Ibanez Jems though, they are just perfect for the type of guitar I played for the previous 20 years.

Behold cool rock inlays

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

How 'bout The Unknown Hinson sig model?

[Alter]

If the guitar has no dots on the fretboard, i know this Db chord is just waiting to embarrass me sometime during the set! Side dots help most of the time, but it's definitely fretboard inlays for me!

[2bornot2bop]

Hilarious, since the popular L5CES has the largest fret markers of any guitar.

[citizenk74]

As a practical matter, the markers may be of help to the bass player, depending.

[D'Aquisto Fan]

Thats what I thought too. The “Acquired if the Angels” book says that Jimmy made his first New Yorker “Classic” (no inlays) in 1985. There is also a picture In that book of a small oval hole archtop with no inlays that he made for pop singer Melanie in 1972. I scanned the Benedetto log and I don’t see any Manhattans listed there until the late 1980’s. Bob’s other models typically had inlays, although he certainly could have made some other guitars without inlays before that. All things considered, I really think Jimmy D’Aquisto deserves the credit for reducing the bling on archtops.
Keith

In Rudy Pensa's wonderful book there's a 1982 New Yorker #1156 with no neck inlays. There's also a 1984 New Yorker #1168 with no neck inlays. Paul Simon's oval hole from 1975 has no inlays either.

[Spook410]

Elegance good. Bling bad. Function over fluff.

Good for bass player, maybe. However, the bass player should have markers for me to see. Not the other way round.

[Jimmy blue note]

I'm pretty sure D'Aquisto was doing no inlays before Benedetto, but I could be wrong.

Right you are. I remember a talk Jimmy gave back in the early 80's. He was a character, with his own mysticism when it came to wood, vibrations and his version of 'Purity of Essence'. At that point he was toying with the idea that the purest instrument would be pure wood (hence that inclined plane bridge saddle adjustment he would later develop), and he was certain that material of differing densities had a detrimental effect on the pure wood sound of a great guitar. Pearl became akin to a devil's material and tuning of a guitar was something that was dependent on tailpiece, headstock, bridge mass and resonance-and of course his tuned top and back plates and sound hole tuning. He had a complex equation of all the elements and 1) It did NOT include pearl. and 2) He put his money where his mouth was; the results spoke for themselves. His instruments, to this day, have a unique ringing and singing quality that only he knew how to pull from a piece of wood.
Back when Jimmy D was rewriting the rules, Bob Benedetto was still finding his sea legs.

[jim777]

How 'bout The Unknown Hinson sig model?

Isn't that the Adam West model?