Fingerboard position dots

[ToneRanger]

(Not sure whether this should be here or in EUB's...)

My new solid-body EUB is nearing completion and I've decided to inlay position dot markers on the fingerboard. An admission of defeat, but as I'm primarily a BG player I've realised I need some extra help finding my way round the high notes. Maybe dots on 5th's & octaves will be enough.

What's the best way to work out the location of the dots? I've done it before on fretless BG and prototype EUB by just finding the note and marking the spot, but is there a set of measurements out there, or a simple mathematical method that would be more accurate?

[Bob Gollihur]

There's a freeware program out there called FretSpecs that I've used in the past; just feed in the scale length and it produces measurements. Only thing is, it doesn't seem to run on XP, though it did run on Windows 2000, 98, and 95.

[Matthew Tucker]

You could save yourself the trouble and do what most of us probably did in the first place on DB - make some pencil or tape marks until you find you way around, then rub them off. Doesn't take long.

Then again, as on an EUB you may have less built-in reference points like the neck heel ... so why not use a single brass stud to locate your thumb where the neck heel would be on a DB (around D or Eb on the G string) and learn the rest the pencil way ( marks at say 3 & 5 on the edge of the FB and maybe a dot at 12) - then you'll have less trouble if you ever pick up a DB.

And its always good to to read this thread for a balance of views:

The Perils of Fingerboard Markings

[jstiel]

An alternative would be small dots of white-out on the side of the FB. The white-out can be seen in dim light and is easily removed.

[ToneRanger]

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

....Then again, as on an EUB you may have less built-in reference points like the neck heel ...

And its always good to to read this thread for a balance of views:The Perils of Fingerboard Markings

My EUB is fairly minimalist - even though it has a traditional
neck heel, the lack of body references are what made me decide on some markings. The Steinberger EUB's have an array of dots for that reason, and I like the way they move the ones in the higher range to the G-string side of the fingerboard. I think I'll just do octave and fifth dot inlays, with maybe some tape in other positions while I get used to this thing (I've been playing BG since 1970 - I'm an old dog and EUB is a new trick...)

Thanks for the link to the previous discussion - very helpful.

[COUNT ZACULA]

http://www.baroquebows.net/contenuti/calculator.html#

[ToneRanger]

Originally Posted by COUNT ZACULA

http://www.baroquebows.net/contenuti/calculator.html#

Thanks, that's exactly what I needed!