Fretboard Side Dot Markers are hard to see

[bdplaid]

Another option is to run a strip of thin tape along the whole side of the fretboard and mark where necessary. I've been thinking about doing this with fluorescent tape.

FYI, on one of my first gigs with an all original band I was having trouble remembering keys an a couple of changes. I put masking tape on the back of the neck and wrote myself a cheat sheet.

 

[singlemalt]

Installing Luminlay rods is super easy. Drill out the old, going to a depth of 5mm, dab of super glue, stick the rod in, cut it off flush….repeat. Give the finished dots a light sand until smooth.

I took off my neck to make it easy to access the highest dots. Dressed a few frets, cleaned the fretboard, installed the Luminlay, put the neck back on, and new strings in about an hour. About $35 for the project (not including strings, another $25 there) and huge bang for the buck.

Super simple.

 

[Lenny JG]

Thanks but I've been playing guitar and bass for 32 years. I still and will always prefer a visual reference.

Then use the luminlay option. The work will be worth it.

 

[Gearhead17]

Fishing glow tape, scissors, and a liking for whatever size/shape I wanted to cut that day. Even if it does not glow, I can still see where I am playing. It's a good reference point on dark stages and sometimes I don't even need it. I have been doing this for about 14 years. I think the tape was $4.

 

[Lenny JG]

is that you in your avatar pic looking straight at your instrument's neck?

Nice try but that's me sliding up at least several frets on a multi scale fretless while trying to look cool making a nasty face at my bass.

Let it be noted though that I do have luminlay side marks as well as glow in the dark fret lines. Which like I said above to the op, the work in doing so will pay off if a visual is what they want.

 

[Grinderman]

I have a parts Jazz bass with a Fender AO '60s neck. A common complaint about Fender's production grade aged clay dots (they seem to be different from the dots FCS uses) is that they're too dark against the rosewood board. It's a great neck but I do agree that the dots are a bit too dark, almost unnaturally or inauthentically so.

I'm planning on soon drilling the original top and side dots out myself and replacing them with lighter, more creamy white NOS looking clay dots or either sourced material or homemade.

I've considered Luminlay for the side dots but I'm not sure I want to go that far.

 

[BassinCT]

I had Luminlay installed in my Sound Guitar Works custom. Love it! This is after charging it with a flashlight for 10 seconds- taken with the ambient light at dusk.

 

[deff]

Just installed luminlay on a neck I'm using for a parts build.

 

[DJWhitJr]

A lot of good suggestions here. I'm currently touching up the inlays with some paint and sanding and will see how that works out. The bass is question is a set neck so the luminlay may be a pain. That being said after seeing some of these pics I may get it for my aerodyne. I play that one the most anyway so the investment would definitely be worth it.

 

[Sands]

It beats the heck out of playing wrong notes.

Brilliant design well executed IMO. Thank you for sharing.

 

[micguy]

Brilliant design well executed IMO. Thank you for sharing.

You're welcome.

 

[Paul New]

The side dots on my old Precision were getting dark, and I still play that instrument. So, I bought some 1/8 “ guitar inlay stickers via amazon for a couple of bucks. Not invasive or permanent at all, which was important to me.

They’ve been on for about a year now and don’t seem to be loosening or curling, and if they do i still have a couple of dozen left in the package. Brand name is Jockomo.

 

[mcnach]

I also was flamed on TB by many who insisted I should learn how to play without even glancing once at the neck...very helpful.

Like someone else said before: posers.
I guess some people need to find something to feel special about in the weirdest places.

I had a black Warwick Corvette $$ years ago which was invisible in dark stages. It's rare that it is dark enough, but at the time I found myself twice in a row in that position (the stage wasn't dark, but the only space left for me was at the back and very dark... and I was more handsome than I am now, crazy, I know... ) Anyway, what I did was buy some glow in the dark paint. I got a small tester pot, and I bought powder too. I mixed some powder with paint to make it a bit thicker and I applied dots on the side of the fretboard carefully.
It didn't look amazing, but it was very bright in stages with UV lights, it was very visible under normal lighting, and they made a little 'bump' which I could feel with my thumb if I had to.

Not the prettiest solution but quick, cheap and easy. And removable without residue.

 

[claudel]

I've been pretty happy with Luminlay dots for playing live. If you go that route just make sure you get the real Luminlay brand, I've had the knockoffs on a few guitars and they don't seem to work as well. It's always funny to me when people get all uppity about dots, especially if you want to play at a high technical level. How many shred guitarists are using necks with no dots?



Please post a review of the gunsight paint, that sounds interesting! Tritium would be cool but isn't the half-life pretty short? IIRC it's something like 10-12 years. I have a few surplus guns with tritium sights but they no longer glow.

Might be awhile before I get to the paint test.

I'm used to not looking because it's been a while with no dots on my main bass... :^)

Tritium vials would be nice but they're way expensive and wear out relatively quickly.

Plus I've read that the ones readily available to civilians in the US are made of Chineseium and much of the half-life of the tritium is already spent.

I might be buying another neck soon, and I'm going to try the Luminlay if I do.

 

[Headless horse]

That's the way it is. You should get used with it.

 

[Doug P]

So I’ll tell the world….. I use white out. It stays on, and comes off with your fingernail. It gets dirty so I just put a little on top. After a while I peel it off and start over. Now the basses with while binding I used a marker to make the dots bigger. Wears off after a while. I don’t care if looks “bad” as I’m the only one seeing it

 

[Andy Marshman]

When I purchased a 62RI Precision, I discovered that it had tiny dot markers on the side of the neck that were very difficult to see, even in a dim light. I got some glow in the dark white paint and carefully put a dot of that on the original marker. That worked fine.

 

[mongo2]

Danny Gatton used small rhinestones as side dots that were very visible.

Personally, I often play with my eyes closed so I'm no help.

 

[JRA]

Nice try but that's me sliding up at least several frets on a multi scale fretless while trying to look cool making a nasty face at my bass.

i'm sure you were successful!

Let it be noted though that I do have luminlay side marks as well as glow in the dark fret lines. Which like I said above to the op, the work in doing so will pay off if a visual is what they want.

 

[swarfrat]

I want tactile dots. But the thing is I want them on the back. Like fret slots around the back of the neck. I'm not brave enough to do that to a neck but I think it'd be awesome.

I've found when practicing singing close mic'd that I can't look at all or the mic level drops off. Position shifts while singing are tough... Maybe someday I'll try it, but I've got some more thinking about what they would look like.
Bumps like side dots that stick out a half a mm? A divot in the back? (Think I like the idea of bumps better than divots, they're just smaller and easier to miss