Adding inlays to a fretboard?

chcjunior

chcjunior

New member
I've found a guitar at a great price with no markers.....and am having trouble finding an idea online as to how much it would cost to have a luthier add some inlays. Extremely basic circle inlays would work....and I do have the option to just replace the neck outright as it is a bolt on.

Anyone have an idea as to the cost?
 
Re: Adding inlays to a fretboard?

If you buy existing inlays through someone like Stewmac it should not cost too much. Prices for this type of service are market driven. Could run about $100 to $200, depending on the Luthier doing the work.
 
Re: Adding inlays to a fretboard?

You could buy abalone sticker inlays for like $15 off ebay and some online stores.
 
Re: Adding inlays to a fretboard?

Bones said:
I prefer no inlays. I need the side dot markers though.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately no side dot markers either....I was considering attempting to train myself using those as a 'Plan A'.....but upon closer inspection had to move on to contigency planning.
 
Re: Adding inlays to a fretboard?

There used to be a product aimed at beginners that consisted of sticky labels to denote the pitches at each string/fret position. (Kinda like a cheapskate version of the late John Entwistle's Alembic bass guitars.) Unfortunately, I cannot recall the product name or whether it is still available.

IMO, tone wood almost always sounds better than abalone, ceramic or plastic. The less of it that you remove, the better.

EDIT: Side dots would be relatively inexpensive to add. Gretsch-style "thumbnails" could be interesting.
 
Re: Adding inlays to a fretboard?

I've got some Cross stickers from that Ebay seller, and they're barely noticeable under my fingers. I've had guitars that I could feel the excess epoxy around the inlays, and that's about what it feels like.

Of course, my nails don't drag the board for string bends, so they stay in place. Your mileage may vary.

As for the comment about removing "tonewood", I have yet to see any scientific proof that the same board with dot inlays sounds any worse than without any inlays. Seriously, that's gotta stop.
The mass of the inlay materials is greater than the mass of the wood removed. Musical notes do not require an uninterrupted piece of wood. They're not electrical impulses that require a constant piece of wire, and even pickups do not need one continuous piece of wire from beginning to end - they just need something that is electrically conductive to splice two halves together.
With wood, you simply need something of equal or greater mass and a tight enough fit to transfer the resonance. Inlays have been in guitars for decades and no one has yet proven they detract from the tone.
 
Re: Adding inlays to a fretboard?

it takes a fair bit of work to add inlays really... not that simple in someways even if it seems so... basicly the inlay dots and side dots are just drilled out holes with the dots glued in place... the trick is to do so with as little finnish touch up or marking up the finger board... the dots are flat and not curved like the radius of the fingerboard... when they install them in a new neck they sand the neck to the radius with the dots glued in and that smooths everything out before fretting... to add the dots afterwards with the frets still in place you basicly have to grind each dot to match the fingerboard without scarring up the fingerboard around the dots...

it can be done it's just more time consuming then you'd think
 
Re: Adding inlays to a fretboard?

How 'bout putting on some of those left-over stickers from the Easter-Egg decorating kit? Chickies and bunnies might be just the touch this guitar needs.
 
Re: Adding inlays to a fretboard?

paint pen?

naw I prefer side dots only

whats it for ?
a strat?

I'll swap ya
 
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