Which do you prefer (completely cosmetic and superficial)

[Woody Sound]

Fret markers, or no?

[marcwhy]

Nice guitars!

[I prefer no markers.]

[pcjazz]

I think you need fret markers if you are teaching. Aesthetically speaking I prefer no fret markers but easily visible side dots are a must.

[Cunamara]

I prefer no markers.

[RJVB]

On a solid-tone fretboard I'd probably prefer some kind of fret markers cosmetically speaking; for practical reasons I definitely prefer to have them.
(I wonder if marking the frets themselves would work!)

Interesting top and pick-guard on that flat-top!

[Marinero]

Hi, W,
Only fret dots(side of neck) a la Classical Guitars. My Gibson has fret markers and dots. I don't believe I really see the markers when playing the Gibson. . . only the dots.
Marinero

P.S.
However, I love some of the ornamental ones I've seen on some guitars purely from an aesthetic consideration.
M

[Woody Sound]

I think you need fret markers if you are teaching. Aesthetically speaking I prefer no fret markers but easily visible side dots are a must.

Good point. I haven't taught lessons for around 30 yrs now. At one point back then I had around 20 people a week, but I never thought I was a good teacher, so I stopped.

[Woody Sound]

Hi, W,
Only fret dots(side of neck) a la Classical Guitars. My Gibson has fret markers and dots. I don't believe I really see the markers when playing the Gibson. . . only the dots.
Marinero

P.S.
However, I love some of the ornamental ones I've seen on some guitars purely from an aesthetic consideration.
M

My classical guitar teachers (The Castellani Andriaccio Duo :: Classical Guitarists) mocked me a bit for putting a 7th fret side dot on my guitar.

[Woody Sound]

I used these to cover the existing markers.

Diamond Checker Fret Markers - Inlay Stickers for Guitars – Inlay Stickers Jockomo

[Marinero]

My classical guitar teachers (The Castellani Andriaccio Duo :: Classical Guitarists) mocked me a bit for putting a 7th fret side dot on my guitar.

Hi, W,
If you begin studying CG without dots on the guitar, it will never be an issue. However, most of us started out on EG's and became accustomed to fret markers. I still use markers on my CG's--white-out pens whose marks are easily renewed/removed.
Marinero

P.S. Were the CA duo good teachers?
M

[Woody Sound]

P.S. Were the CA duo good teachers?
M

Both awesome. Taskmasters. Never studied with them together, always one on one with either. We're all still friends.

A funny aside, Michael detested the elecric guitar. He said "Call it the Stringophone." One time I told him my hand was hurt and he said "probably from picking up an amp."

Early on they were entrenched in the early classical repertoire, then later got into the Latino/Tango stuff, that I really like.

[mr. beaumont]

I like modern style guitars with no markers, but both of those look great either way.

[6v6ster]

Makers look much better to my eye.
no markers is generally much more boring looking to me.

[bluejaybill]

I'm afraid I have to have markers for my playing, though I have never tried the alternative!

I did not start out on classical though, and I've always had them.

As far as covering them in black thingies, nah, I don't think so!

[tbeltrans]

For me, I can go either way. However, if no fret markers on the fretboard itself, then I would want them as small dots on the side. What I don't like is the "tree of life" inlay that one can find spread along the fretboard on acoustic (flat top) guitars. It looks nice, but I find it confusing to get around on as a player.

My favorite fretboard markers are either those split trapezoid markers on some Gibson models or the cloud shape that apparently some older Epiphone archtops had and are also on my Citation.

Tony

[Gilpy]

Some of us look at the neck, some never do. I’m a looker.
If I played the same guitar all the time under ideal conditions, no fret markers would be fine.
But I play different guitars at poorly lit venues, often with unfamiliar material. Fret markers give me that extra fraction of a second of certainty when I’m moving around the neck.
Appearance-wise, I don’t care.

[Alter]

Unfortunately i have a couple of guitars with no markers. It makes playing difficult for me, so markers it is!

[Marinero]

Both awesome. Taskmasters. Never studied with them together, always one on one with either. We're all still friends.

A funny aside, Michael detested the elecric guitar. He said "Call it the Stringophone." One time I told him my hand was hurt and he said "probably from picking up an amp."

Early on they were entrenched in the early classical repertoire, then later got into the Latino/Tango stuff, that I really like.

Hi, W,
Nice, beautiful playing . . . and the percussive effects used today by CG's are essential to Latin music and have been borrowed from the Flamenco tradition of guitarists.
Marinero

[Paulie2]

I think you need fret markers if you are teaching. Aesthetically speaking I prefer no fret markers but easily visible side dots are a must.

My teacher had a Benedetto without markers and I would often have to say what fret is that.

For myself, I am cool with either. It doesn't affect me playing wise at all, and just depends on how it looks with the rest of the guitar. The markers on my new guitar were a little much for me at first, but they are really growing on me:

[sgosnell]

I have guitars with and without markers, and with various types and shapes of markers. They don't affect playing, at least for me. But for pure aesthetics, I like these: