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  #16  
Old 06-23-2018, 11:37 PM
markrj markrj is offline
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I routinely switch from a classical guitar with a 2" nut fret board with zero inlay to this one with a 1 3/4" nut:



I also have a 12 fret with simple diamond dots.



I studied piano with a world class pianist. One piece of advice he gave me, will always stick with me forever, and I believe it to apply to any musical instrument.

"You should be able to play the finest concert grand, setup, voiced and tuned to impeccable standards. You should also be able to play that bar piano that hasn't seen a technician in years, and make it sound good"

I started to get into the "nut width" debate in my own head, trying to avoid anything narrower than 1 3/4". Then I remembered Renato's words and I started to not care about such things.

Inlays are just decoration. Dots and diamonds on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, etc., or elaborate inlays like on my LV-10 should not even be a factor when playing.

I'm not saying we don't have preferences. It's just, we shouldn't let them get in our way of making good music.

I would NOT remove the inlays from your guitar. I cannot imagine doing anything like that. It will most assuredly, devalue your beautiful Martin significantly.

If you just can't deal with it, sell the guitar, and start the search for a new one.
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  #17  
Old 06-24-2018, 12:09 AM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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Mark wrote, in part:

Quote:
Originally Posted by markrj View Post
...I studied piano with a world class pianist. One piece of advice he gave me, will always stick with me forever, and I believe it to apply to any musical instrument.

"You should be able to play the finest concert grand, setup, voiced and tuned to impeccable standards. You should also be able to play that bar piano that hasn't seen a technician in years, and make it sound good"

...Inlays are just decoration. Dots and diamonds on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, etc., or elaborate inlays like on my LV-10 should not even be a factor when playing.

I'm not saying we don't have preferences. It's just, we shouldn't let them get in our way of making good music.

Nice thoughtful post, Mark. A lot of what you just posted was what I was about to suggest, only you wrote it better than I would have.

Felice, as Bruce Sexauer mentioned, you can get the inlays cut out and replaced by blocks of ebony, and if done by a pro it can be nearly (but not quite) invisible. But it will be unavoidably expensive to have it done, since not only are you asking for precision handwork to be executed, but done right the frets have to be pulled out and replaced.

So in addition to whatever the bench time and materials costs for inlaying blocks of ebony into the fretboard, you would also have to pay for a complete fret replacement. I'd be surprised if you could get those combined tasks done for much under $700.

I won't condescend to you in any way: it's your guitar and thus your call. But here's my suggestion: play the guitar as it is now for six months or a year or two, until you start to accumulate some wear on the frets. Then when you can justify getting the frets worked on and possibly replaced, decide whether you still want the fingerboard inlay removed.

You might find that you've gotten used to it, or your attitude may have hardened even further by then. So make the call at that point, not now.

For what it's worth, I had a similar experience: some thirty years ago now I ordered a copy of a pre-war Martin 000-28 from Scott Baxendale, a superb builder who makes great guitars. I ordered the guitar with herringbone purfling, but Scott fell behind on building the guitar and finished it some six months after he'd promised to have it done.

He felt bad about that, so instead of trimming it as a 000-28 he added abalone around the top and gave the guitar Style 42 appointments. At no extra charge.

Which was generous of him, but I wasn't very happy because I didn't want that level of decoration. (It remains the only abalone-encrusted guitar I own.) It took me a while to get used to it, and I really didn't like it at first. I felt it was ostentatious.

I still feel that way, a little, but the guitar and its abalone trim have grown on me, and it grew in my estimation to where now it's probably my favorite of all the guitars I own. Even though I wouldn't have ordered that abalone trim back then, and wouldn't order it now.

But it has its charms, and - besides - I'm used to it now.

So I recommend that you give this guitar enough playing time so that you can put some wear on the frets. Then make your decision when they need work.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

Last edited by Wade Hampton; 06-24-2018 at 04:14 AM. Reason: corrected a typo
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  #18  
Old 06-24-2018, 02:49 AM
Jabberwocky Jabberwocky is offline
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Felice, Jockomo black removeable fretboard stickers would cover up those offensive to your sensibilities 42-style inlays without harming eventual resale value. Some folk dream about a Style 42.

Fiebing's Leather Dye is used for dyeing fretboards black but I won't recommend it unless you really have a pathological hate for those abalone inlays. It takes a careful hand not to ruin your guitar.

Sell it on and buy one without the bling? You'd be doing yourself and the guitar a favour.

Learn to live with the abalone inlays?

I would go the black fretboard sticker route first because it is non-invasive and removeable.

Last edited by Jabberwocky; 06-24-2018 at 02:58 AM.
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  #19  
Old 06-24-2018, 04:10 AM
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JayBee1404 JayBee1404 is offline
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My Lowden has no inlays on the FB (standard for Lowden). My other guitars have 'diamonds & squares' (Collings and HD-28V) or abalone dots (D-18).

All have side-marker dots, and those are all I need, I never see the FB markers on the Collings and Martins when I'm playing, they're facing away from me and I only see the back of the neck and the edge of the FB. So playing my Lowden is exactly the same as playing the others - when I'm playing, especially standing, I very rarely see the FB, so the existence of FB markers is a complete irrelevance.

But, if my eyes were offended by the FB decoration on any guitar, it wouldn't matter because I wouldn't have bought it in the first place.

BUT, in response to the original question, I'd go for replacing the FB. That would be my choice anyway, and I'm guessing (only guessing) that the cost wouldn't be a great deal more than having the decoration removed and the FB patched up.

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.
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Last edited by JayBee1404; 06-24-2018 at 10:26 AM.
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  #20  
Old 06-24-2018, 05:14 AM
mirwa mirwa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FeliceTaylor View Post
Is there any way to have the inlay removed and replaced with ebony and leveled so as to make the fretboard bare, or is that a bad idea that will just ruin the fingerboard?
When you remove an inlay and backfill with wood, typically you can see the edges and joins.

Ebony is one of the best woods to hide grafts due to its darkness of colour and it is typically follow up stained, the tightness of the grain also lends itself to blending.

Point, a good luthier should be able to make it almost invisible.

Steve
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  #21  
Old 06-24-2018, 07:39 AM
Jeff Mc Jeff Mc is offline
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I can relate. I bought a 2015 Taylor PS18e a week or so ago in spite of the fret board inlay which is really ornate. I got a really good price and like everything else about the guitar so will just live with it. I took it home for a few days to demo it and when I was back in to pay for it, I was talking to the sales guys, told them that I really liked the guitar other than the inlay. One said that I could custom order the guitar without it but it would actually be more expensive without than with.
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  #22  
Old 06-24-2018, 02:07 PM
tadol tadol is offline
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Seriously - blue tape and newspaper, and a small hobby can of satin black spray paint. A couple light passes will mute those inlays out to where they’ll hardly show, so you can string it back up and see if it makes the difference. Wont affect pulling the inlay, or replacing the board if thats what you decide, and you can wetsand it off easily to restore it if you decide to sell. Or, you keep playing it and let the paint wear away slowly, and let them grow on you -
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  #23  
Old 06-24-2018, 03:58 PM
FeliceTaylor FeliceTaylor is offline
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i get where you're going...I'm an idiot. And yes, True. Not sure what I was thinking but you know how it is - you get the guitar - it's the best feeling in the world - you play it, and it's everything you expected and more (and this build really is - Madagascar b/s with Adi top) but eh......EHHH!....one day, you are staring at it and it just displeases ....and it grates on you. Im not saying that that this is the biggest problem I have in life, but yes, it irritates me - an otherwise perfect instrument that means so much to me has this aesthetic eyesore (to me) - I don't want to replace the fingerboard because I have never a guitar with action this spot on (it plays like a taylor or an electric with it's 1 11/16th nut width), and I am afraid to mess with that, but well, that's the rub. Ill figure it out i'm sure...
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  #24  
Old 06-24-2018, 04:04 PM
FeliceTaylor FeliceTaylor is offline
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some of the suggestions here are really interesting and I so appreciate them - and I will consider them all. Thank you. Painting over them had never occurred to me, and It is something I will surely discuss with a luthier here in NYC, as well a some of the other suggestions here. I"m afraid I am entirely unqualified to perform any of this myself, but I am willing to pay whatever to have it done well so I'll discuss the options and update you all who have been so helpful.
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  #25  
Old 06-29-2018, 06:01 AM
Bonneybear Bonneybear is offline
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Here’s an option. Remove the frets,replace the ebony from fret slot to fret slot where the markers were. Installing it tight. ( like Bruce said) longitude. Level the fingerboard, Recut the fret slots where replacement ebony is. Then refret. There should be no visible signs of surgery if done properly. Mike
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  #26  
Old 06-29-2018, 06:31 AM
mirwa mirwa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bonneybear View Post
Remove the frets,replace the ebony from fret slot to fret slot where the markers were. Installing it tight. ( like Bruce said) longitude. Level the fingerboard, Recut the fret slots where replacement ebony is. Then refret.
You do not have to remove frets if you are replacing the pearl inlays with replacement pearls or ebony fill versions, filing / sanding them flush with surrounding areas is a basic hand skill that all luthiers and most DIYers possess

Steve
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Last edited by mirwa; 06-29-2018 at 06:36 AM.
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  #27  
Old 06-29-2018, 09:46 AM
hat hat is offline
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option 1: Keep it, and enjoy it as is
option 2: sell/trade it for something you can bond with.
Not really any other viable option IMO
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  #28  
Old 06-29-2018, 10:59 AM
Frank Ford Frank Ford is offline
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I'd go with the Click & Clack recommendation for dealing with the "check engine" light on your dashboard.

Black electrical tape.

Or, consider this. We get so accustomed to the stuff around us that it loses its original impact, so chances are you'll pretty much forget the inlay if you keep playing this instrument.

Inlay is decoration, and a visual thing, so it was surprising to me the first time I met a blind player who gladly spent the money for fancy decorated instruments he couldn't see at all.

After a while it dawned on me that he was buying the fancy stuff for exactly the same reason the rest of us might - not for what it does for us directly, but for the "oohs and ahhs" we receive from others validating our purchase.

So keep the inlay - other folks might appreciate it. . .
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Last edited by Frank Ford; 06-29-2018 at 11:10 AM.
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