Spots for Personalizing Guitar

[The Bard Rocks]

Since it would be silly to install a truss-rod cover when there is no hole for it to cover, that brings me to the possibility of inlaying the pickguard. A subsequent owner could put another in its place if they didn't like it.

[heavy_picker]

How about a tasteful inlay on the head stock. I'm sure Martin could suggest some that are very tasteful. I rubber stamped my name on a top brace where you have to use a mirror to see it.

[whvick]

Even though there is no truss rod, you could do a fake truss rod cover, and it could be removed later, if need arises

[mcl116]

not a fan of the truss rod cover idea.

I'm thinking of going with the initials on the 16th fret.

I really liked the heel cap idea but it's such a tiny area on a D28 that it's pretty silly.

I thought about in the end piece but the button strap will go there.

I thought about on top of the actual heel of the neck but ehh and it'd likely be more expensive to put that in the neck rather than the fretboard.

Not sure there are too many other spots that keep it subtle and realistic

[musicman1951]

Originally Posted by frankmcr

This may not even be a concern in the OP's case, but I probably would not consider buying a guitar with somebody else's initials on it. Definitely not, if the initials were on the fretboard.

How about sticking with the heelcap idea, and coming up with your own image (not initials or other lettering) to be inlaid?

This was my first thought on reading the post.

[Quake17]

How about getting a set of bridge pins spelling out your name? Assuming it fits in six letters and no pairs, you'd also know which pin goes where and easily reversible?

[nightflight]

On a guitar that I had made, I designed a logo that was inlaid on the 12th fret. No other fret markers. Not initials - an image. The inlay person did a wonderful job.

[Dru Edwards]

I have my mother's birth year as the 12th fret inlay. Adds a very personal touch.

[JayBee1404]

Initials or a signature anywhere on the guitar are an absolute no-no for me - that’s the reason I’ve never owned a 28EC. But I’d happily go with an image on the FB - the image of the Edmund Fitzgerald on the FB of the Martin D-18GL looks very nice indeed. Maybe an abalone or MOP image of something personal to you?

[Kubase]

I can’t afford a custom but luckily my name is Martin Gibson.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by mcl116

I'm getting a Custom Shop Martin made and I would like some form of personalization on it.


I had seen a picture of a Martin with a rose in abalone in the heel cap and thought that looked awesome. I also liked that it was on the back as I'm not into being flashy and blinging out a guitar.


So I thought it would be awesome to have my initials "MCL" in abalone in the heel cap.


While I was at GC yesterday trying to test out different necks, I noticed that the heel cap is an extremely small area and it has me questioning whether or not that's a good spot for this.


Any other suggestions on where I could get my initials in abalone that would look great while also keeping it classy?


cheers!

Hi mcl116

My 'personalization' of my Olson (26 years ago) was it's first 'ding'.

[Ludere]

Originally Posted by Kubase

I can’t afford a custom but luckily my name is Martin Gibson.

I am in the camp of "custom inlay vice initials", that way it's your own, but will minimize the deterrent factor for potential future owners ...

I once knew a machinist, we'll call him Fred Smith - 'Fred' engraved all his hand tools with the following mark: "Stolen from Fred Smith" ... I always chuckled at that, but resale potential was pretty much zero.

...

[Acousticado]

I had a custom rosewood truss rod cover and heel cap with my initials done by Bill Nichols for my Taylor 814c. Very nice.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by Ludere

I am in the camp of "custom inlay vice initials", that way it's your own, but will minimize the deterrent factor for potential future owners ...

That is my opinion as well.

One of the things that has always puzzled me is that many guitar players are willing to spend thousands of dollars to purchase a custom-made instrument. What do they have inlayed as fret markers? Dots. The same thing every other instrument from $49 and up has. It's like paying an architect to design you a house that is identical to every other house on the street.

Generally, one of the primary reasons to have something custom made is that you want something different than what is offered "off the rack". If one is paying the money to have something custom made, why not inject something that "elevates" that object to make it the best it can be, at least by your standards - it's your money, after all.

By having something custom made you are paying for the opportunity to do something special - as you define it. In my opinion - likely different than yours - inlaying one's initials is one very small step up from dots.

[Skarsaune]

I've inlaid initials on the fretboard of two guitars I've built for friends, after the last fret, next to the sound hole.

They're a couple of my first guitars so resale is going to be negligible. They got them because they wanted something I did.

Now the giant "Uncle Dave" I'm putting across the entire fretboard for another friend, well, don't think he's concerned with resale either.