Fingerboard Dots

[Jake]

I saw Jeremy Kurtz (Principal San Diego Symphony) had dots on his fingerboard and we've all seen the dots on Edgar's fingerboard. I was just working on a piece with octave F's in thumb position (not double stops) and drawing circle with a pencil on the lower F really helped me to play it in tune. So my question to the luthiers and other people with know how is this: Who does inlay work on fingerboards and how much money would be reasonable to have dots put on like Jeremy Kurtz and Edgar?

[james condino]

Jake:

Almost any luthier who works on instruments beyond double basses does inlay as part of their regular work. If you need to have them inlayed, Randy Allen, of Allen Guitars and luthier supplies sells mother of pearl and abalone dots in a variety of sizes for about $20 per hundred; most other places charge you close to $20 for a half dozen or so. You should be able to do it yourself with a small drill bit and a little glue. Use a good tuner to find the exact spots you are after.

I'd recommend using a simple white out pen; if you change your bass setup and / or strings, the location of the marker can change slightly, leaving you with a nice inlayed piece that is innaccurate.

j.
www.condino.com

[kurt ratering]

i agree with the white out pen. if your bridge moves for whatever reason your dots will be off, not to mention that inlay of any sort makes it a huge pain in the butt to dress a fingerboard in the future.

[tornadobass]

I have a dark blue paper dot from an office supply store stuck on the fingerboard between the D and G strings at the octave.

Very handy, lasts a long time, and removable!

[bejoyous]

Pencil is easier. And by the time it's worn off, your fingers know where the notes are located.

[Cody Sisk]

Originally Posted by bejoyous

Pencil is easier. And by the time it's worn off, your fingers know where the notes are located.

+1

[arnoldschnitzer]

If the bass of Jeremy's in question is his George Panormo, I probably installed the dots. They are face-grain maple, made with a plug cutter, and will not interfere with planing the way abalone or m.o.p. will. One can also use the small plastic round stock used by guitar makers. It's very soft and will not hurt a plane or other cutting tool. As far as dots going out of whack when the bridge moves out of position, this is a good incentive for the owner to keep the bridge in the right place. I gave up trying to locate dots with a tuner because fingers are too broad and inaccurate, so I now use a computer fret-placement tool. Personally, I don't like playing a bass with dots, but if it works for Edgar...