Double Bass fingerboard dots and instrument changes...

[groooooove]

i've had dots installed on all my basses for years... 4 instruments over the last 10 or so years...

they always seem to adjust out of place over time.

recently I had them removed from a bass (luthier did an invisible repair filling holes with ebony) and decided to try the 1/8" silver fingerboard dot stickers from amazon. I placed three on the fingerboard as I normally would've had them inlaid.

looking at my bass side by side with my backup bass (inlaid dots) - honestly, I can't tell a difference. the inlaid dot is no more elegant, or better looking in any way.

seeing as how dots are relatively normal these days (lets leave that argument for another thread all together ) i'm curious to hear opinions:

if you had dots inlaid (especially on a brand new instrument) did they stay accurate over years?

makers, why not go with stickers? does it just seem too 'cheap' for a fine string instrument?

when carefully done, as of today i prefer the sticker - and if this instrument works out, i'm probably going to have them removed and replaced with stickers for my other instrument.

here are the ones I tried:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GKX3KGQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[turf3]

Well, I just put two dots of white-out on the side at the third and fifth "frets", and two more on the face at the octave. If for some reason I want to change the location it takes a few seconds to scratch the stuff off and put a new dot.

 

[Mark_T]

Someone suggested to me using a silver permanent marker to make dots. It comes off with isopropanol (rubbing alcohol). You may want to try it on a less fancy bass than your new one first. I tested it on my Shen and eventually put dots on my Arvi. I was debating having permanent markers put into my new bass but ultimately decided against them.

 

[misterbadger]

My carved bass came with inlaid dots and seem to have stayed true. I have Gollihur sticky dots on my ply. Between parallax and my inconsistencies in stopping notes accurately and repeatably, they're only approximations - fine-tuning requires attention and a good ear.

 

[unbrokenchain]

Three tiny dots of "glow-on," smaller than the head of a pin, is my preference. They're never actually "on" the note, just a visual reference point. The glow-on is great on dark stages, a lifeline when I'm starting exposed on a gentle tune.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I don't use dots but I can't see any reason why the stickers wouldn't be a better option, especially being easily reversible as they are.

 

[Eric Hochberg]

I used a hole punch on an unused mailing label to get sticky dots when I needed them on a new bass. $9 for 12 dots seems a bit high, LOL.

 

[Phil Rowan]

I used Elmer’s white school glue for the dots on my fb (side too). Figure they’re easy to remove should I need to change or do away with them.

 

[groooooove]

I used a hole punch on an unused mailing label to get sticky dots when I needed them on a new bass. $9 for 12 dots seems a bit high, LOL.

haha $9 is in fact high - but i guess thats sort of my point, is that they look just as elegant as inlaid pearl and there's nothing cheap/"sticker" looking about 'em

I also considered making a template (3mm or so hole?) and using a silver paint pen or something like that, but for now these fake-but-real-looking pearl stickers are working great.

no "sticker" is worth $9 for 12 of em... but in this case, it was well worth the $9 if that makes sense

 

[Who da Ville]

+1 on Silver Sharpie.

 

[longfinger]

I got the ones from Golihur.

Stick-on Fingerboard Markers (Temporary Inlays, side dots)

I was thinking of using a hole punch on a mailing sheet, but hole punch circles were a little too big for my taste.

 

[Ed S]

I used a pearlescent fingernail polish. My wife had several I was able to choose from.

 

[RSBBass]

I doubt the dots moved. Either your bridge moved, you changed strings, or your ear got better.

 

[Up and Away]

I have the Gollihur ones, I ordered both colours, white and "warm maple". I put the maple ones on my DB and the white on my EUB and they look good and are easy to see and look better than the dots of Whiteout I was using. I had enough left over to pass on to a friend who is just learning to play cello and is using a rented instrument so wanted to be careful about marking it, she loves them.

 

[groooooove]

to be clear, i never thought the inlaid dots moved, but the entire instrument changes over time - be it strings, bridge height, seasonal changes, and so on.

and the pack I got was actually 24 dots for $9, so at about 38 cents per sticker i don't think it's too outrageous.

I'm loving them and planning on having the inlaid dots removed from my backup bass. they're slightly out of place, but not so bad that it ever really bothered me.

obviously to play in tune we use our ears, but dot that is not in the right spot just seems unnecessary.

 

[rditmars]

I use post-it dots. I place them on the side at the 3rd 5th and 7th fret positions and on the front between the G and D strings on higher positions. The packs come in several colors so I use a darker color on the front.

"If markers are good enough for Edgar Meyer..."

 

[Ed S]

...

"If markers are good enough for Edgar Meyer..."

Or maybe, "Once I can play like..."

 

[nacl_k9]

Being a fly tyer, I had these already, and I think they add a nice touch:

 

[Anthony White]

On dots staying accurate: I had a teacher who had one base marked with silver marker-pen lines for his beginner young-teenage students. He said that when he marked them himself, the lines end up in the wrong place because of strength and technique. So he has the young students find the place and then he would mark them.

so maybe rather than your marks moving, your technique and strength is improving so the marks are in the wrong place with your improved technique? (This is just a hypothesis)

(The same teacher also did a demo with me where he would stop the note and I would bow the string, to demonstrate that left hand technique does have a deep effect on tone.)

 

[vin*tone]

Being a fly tyer, I had these already, and I think they add a nice touch:
View attachment 4189418

You use googly eyes? Hey that'd be cool.