Why no fret markers on classical guitar???

[guitar george]

I sometimes use the ends of the frets as fret markers and if the frets do not extend fully to the edge of the fretboard I will make some mistakes with position. I have one guitar where it is hard to see the ends of the frets and I notice I make some mistakes with position on that guitar in particular.

[Imbler]

My response is, why not side markers? They aren’t visible to the audience and if they are even occasionally useful; why not?

I put them on the guitars I build.

[sirwhale]

Originally Posted by Imbler

My response is, why not side markers? They aren’t visible to the audience and if they are even occasionally useful; why not?

I put them on the guitars I build.

I also think "why not?". Not sure why people wouldn't want them. I didn't have them on my flamenco guitar, but I am using semi permanent dots on the 5th and 7th. They help my play.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by Imbler

My response is, why not side markers?

Originally Posted by sirwhale

I also think "why not?". Not sure why people wouldn't want them.

Simply because I don't like the appearance of them. Since I don't find them useful or necessary, why would I want them? Since I don't like the appearance of them, why would I tolerate them?

I have nothing against other people wanting and using them, but I don't want or need them. I'm not trying to convince other people that they should or should not have them, as you both appear to be: I'm just stating my opinion.

On instruments that I have made for others, I'll happily put fret markers on if that's what they want. I'd hope that if someone is commissioning a custom-made instrument, they'd have a little more creativity than wanting dots, particularly if they want markers on the face of the fingerboard. But, that's just me.

[pf400]

Don't give up, it'll come. I played guitars with fret markers and inlays for 40 years, then got a crossover with no markers. I'm no big talent, but it only took me about a month, playing everyday, to not miss the markers. I suggest that you practice pieces you already know well that require fretting notes or chords up and down the neck, and you'll build the muscle memory you need. Maybe just try some I IV V progressions (such as blues) in various positions. Just for the beauty of it, I did stick on a child's gold star sticker at the 12th fret, and it looks great but does not affect the playability.

[Dave T]

I have seen a number of classical guitars with a small dot inlaid on the side of the finger board at the 7th fret. My James Goodall classical has it. Just that one, but it helps finding your way around the finger board if you're still learning like me (after 50+ years of off & on playing).

Dave

[Paraclete]

My Ramirez has one small finish mark at the 7th fret on the side for reference. Like playing a violin, classical guitar is about position and muscle memory. I think any more markers other than the 7th fret thing would confuse me on classical.

[redir]

I personally like to have one dot at 7 on the side. Most of the time I play with my eyes closed but for long runs I like to look when necessary and that one dot helps me a lot.

I built a classical guitar once that was for sale in my shop and a student from the local university came in looking for a guitar. He really liked this guitar but said that he had to take it to 'master' first, his distinguished university professor who apparently needed to sign off on all his students guitars. He came back a week later and said he could not buy the guitar because it had a dot on the side. Of course it is easy enough to just remove it but still.

The student went on to tell me that a lot of his students will put a drip of white out on the guitar and simply remove it when they have to perform for master.

It was amusing... But the point being that the classical guitar genre is as they say in Kentucky 'all ate up' about tradition.

[ljguitar]

Hi Jeff

The answer for some of my classical playing friends is snobbery. They make a point of telling people who look at the neck how unprofessional they are.

Had a guitar once without markers, so I bought pearl dots (StewMac) for the side of the neck, and used a drill bit with a stop (for depth) and installed side markers at frets 3, 5, 7, 9, 12 (double to mark the octave), and 15.

I'm not offended at my classical friend's disdain, and I'd rather have people look at the neck and hit the right notes than guess-n-miss em.

[SouthpawJeff]

Thanks for all the great replies! I haven’t added anything yet but may still use a piece of tape at the 7th. I have noticed improvement over the last several days. I think part of the issue for me is that I’m also trying the get used to the classical fretboard as well. I find that while it’s a bit awkward at first, my fingers do appreciate the extra room. When I switch back to steel string it’s a lot easier to fret chords, but feels very cramped!

Anyway I’m still having trouble hitting anything between the 7th and 10th fret reliably, though I feel half my problem is I’m thinking about it instead of just grabbing it instinctively. That and being able to hit the 4th fret reaches with my pinky that are required for this piece. Though that’s because of the fretboard as I’m looking at the music and not the neck through those stretches, and I usually get them fine on the steel string.

Thanks,
Jeff

[RobT]

I started with electrics and when I started taking classical lessons I found the lack of side dots a bit difficult. So I used "Wite Out" to make my own side dots. I happen to prefer no fretmarkers on the face of the fingerboard but prefer side markers at the usual fret locations.

As I switch guitars quite frequently, I find the use of side dots helpful i.e. when your are playing one guitar where the body joined the neck at the 12th fret and the next half hour I might be playing a guitar where the neck joins the body at the 14th fret or higher. It takes a bit to get your frame of reference squared away. So I find side dots useful.

As far as why, I find classical guitar players are more wedded to tradition than other instrumentalists and like LJ says above there is a certain amount of snobbery involved. I've been playing a while and if push came to shove, I really don't need location markers i.e. develop your ear but if it helps your playing than I say why not.

[rob2966]

When I had my custom flamenco built I had a side-marker installed on fret 7 only. I find that one reference in the middle really helps and it is easy to quickly determine fret location using nut, 7th fret, and 12th (where the body joins).

My other flamenco has no markers at all. I occasionally screw-up a quick movement into the 6,7,8,9 fret range.

Later
Rob

[tkoehler1]

Man you are headed down a dangerous path. Next you'll be asking why are there are no truss rods.

[Pat Foster]

I like having a side dot at the 7th.

One of my classical customers wanted side dots on frets 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, and 17, and he's a highly trained classical player, university prof of classical perfromance. I obliged him, of course. It was strange, putting all those side dots on, with nothing on the face of the FB, though.

[Carmel Cedar]

I have an awesome Kohno Pro-J that I'm enjoying exploring as I try to learn classical. However, I'm thinking of putting fret marker stickers on it. Would that get me banished from this sub-forum?