Location of FingerBoard Fret Markers - 9th or 10th

[scgc.om]

The position of fret makers on the finger board of either a guitar or a mandolin are pretty much the same: 3rd, 5th, 7th, 12th fret. BUT the marker between the 7th and 12th fret IS ALWAYS different - 9th for guitar and 10th for mandolin.

Anyone know the reasoning behind the difference?

[John Flynn]

This topic crops up a couple times a year. We have never come up with an answer other than, "Its always been done that way." I have my own theory, based on pur conjecture, that I expounded in this thread:

http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin....=marker (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=12;t=14782;hl=marker)

[pklima]

There are guitars out there with a marker at the 10th fret. This is something that wasn't completely settled till the 1920s or 30s - all the Larson brothers' guitars have a 10th fret marker. Tenor and plectrum guitars should have a 10th fret marker regardless of what era they were made. It appears that mandolin and banjo fret markers were standardized much earlier than guitar. Not that it helps answer your question...