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Inlay dot choice

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Miskatonic

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I'm getting close to putting in my neck order and am going with an ebony fretboard, but I'm still deciding on the inlay material I want. I'm leading towards mother of pearl since it seems to have an almost gray/silver appearance from what I can tell from pictures and stands out less than the cream dots. What do you guys think?
 
Mother of pearl is a nice choice, personally I'm a bit of a freak when it comes to colours and things, what I don't like about mother of pearl is that it is slightly textured and every piece will look a bit different and have very slight colour difference; If that's the sort of thing you like then awesome! Personally I like my inlay to be all the same, cream dots will pretty much be the same colour and you won't be able to tell the difference between each one on your fretboard. I dont know about mop standing out less then cream, it's quite a reflective material so it would be my guess that it would stand out more in certain lighting.


On another slightly retarded note, Mop dust is carcinogenic and I have always had a crazy fear that if I was to order some I'd be asking the people working with it risk themselves for something not that important to me. I generally like no inlay :)
 
My next Ebony fretboard will only have side dots.  However the MOP is nice.  Not a fan of the cream dots.
 
MOP & Ebony is a nice combination, but it sorta depends on the guitar's body/hardware finish. I find cream dots to work well with some things, black with others. Abalone rarely works with anything, unless you enjoy excessive and tasteless decoration for its own sake. All that said, my next neck won't have any fretboard face inlays at all. The side dots are plenty indicative of where you are.
 
On my maple fretboards I like abalone, but MOP is nice on ebony. My next build is going to be ebony and MOP dots.
 
I think abalone looks good with solid colors and on plain fingerboards - preferably jet-black ebony.  As soon as you start ramping up the figured lumber, it's just visual distraction, like a plaid tie with a floral-print shirt. 

You can get away with abalone block inlays only with a solid color guitar, and it had best be black or white.  Otherwise, I say go with pearl, if you don't like plastic/clay, or better yet, skip the fingerboard inlays.
 
I LOVE abolone!  I've got dots on a jet black ebony and a AAA birdseye maple board.  I think it's just beautiful.  MOP is just ok...  I always thought it was a little plain jane, and not really worth paying extra for, especially when you can get abolone for the same price!

You know what else looks awesome with abolone?  A nice, light colored Pau Ferro!


pauferro.jpg


The proof! ^^^
 
Miskatonic said:
I'm getting close to putting in my neck order and am going with an ebony fretboard, but I'm still deciding on the inlay material I want. I'm leading towards mother of pearl since it seems to have an almost gray/silver appearance from what I can tell from pictures and stands out less than the cream dots. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...
my latest build is a pewter jazz with maple neck, ebony board and mop block inlays. the neck is absolutely beautiful. to me, mop and ebony is super classy.
 
I have to go for side dots only; no dots on the board.  I really like to let the wood shine on it's own...
I was a bit nervous the first time I ordered a no dot board.  I thought that I would be lost.
However, it is really amazing how quickly your brain learns to focus in on the side dots.
No problem at all and the board looks clean...
Just MHO!
:rock-on:
 
I like nacre because it's what on my acoustic, which has a classic, plain look to me.  I also dig that it, too, was part of a living thing a little while ago, like the woods of the guitar.

I can't imagine someone calling it ostentatious-looking, considering some of the garish stuff that passes for the hotness around these parts.  Then again, my Tele clone is sort of brown-on-brown-on-more-brown, so it really needed something to help it 'pop' a bit, which is what I imagine is the purpose for using it on acoustics as well
 
Steve_Karl said:
swarfrat said:
black on ebony!
Click to expand...

I've been flirting with that idea for a while. I'd love to see one first.
Click to expand...

I've thought about it, too. I've always liked the look of "white-on-white", which is how the textile industry describes cloth that has a pattern woven into it of the same color as the base (not necessarily white). You don't notice it until you're right on it, then it takes on a richer character. You sometimes see it on higher-end scarves and dress shirts.

I was going to go "no dots" on the next ebony neck, but maybe I'll do that. Doesn't cost anything, and what's the worst thing that could happen? You don't see them at all? That was the original plan anyway. I'll bet it'll be pretty cool.
 
I might be thinking too much but .... the worst that could happen might be that it looks cheezy and also makes us look like we're scared to go dotless, or even worse, that we painted our cream dots black.
Kinda like is that a real poncho or a sears poncho ?
Or better yet ... are there no pantie lines because there are no panties or is it just those new fangled panties with specially engineered seams?

 
I believe you're over-thinking it. And now you've got me thinking about chicks going commando.
 
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