15th fret pearl dot position makker.

[David Houchens]

I just moved up from 4mm to 5mm on my latest but only go to the 15th anyhow. As far as being centered, well I do try.

[Rob Roy]

I prefer smaller dots on a mandolin fretboard and have been using 3mm for the ones up to the octave. This makes the spacing even more glaring. I now shift the centerline of the dots 1 mm to treble side which puts them equidistant between the inner D and A strings.

[Hudmister]

I do inlay work (pearl & abalone) for fretboards, headstocks, pistol grips, jewelry boxes, etc. I am not a builder. When I do work on a fretboard the frets are already installed. This allows precise placement of the inlay relative to the frets. I lightly CA glue the piece in place, scribe around the edges and have the location accurately marked for inletting. It seems most builders install the inlays after the fret slots are cut but before the frets are installed. This allows the inlay to be brought flush with the board without having to work around the frets. Installing the inlays after the frets are installed may be more work but can help avoid an obvious misplacement on an otherwise outstanding instrument with no other visual flaws.

[Jonathan Reinhardt]

The "florida" extension is most helpful in playing classical music transcriptions (for violin) that need those notes, for example Chopin. They may lack sustain, but if they play clearly, it certainly helps not to have to drop back down an octave, or rewrite the transcription.

[sunburst]

...an otherwise outstanding instrument with no other visual flaws.

No such thing. (If there is, I'd like to see it.)

[Jim Hilburn]

If perfection is important to you then I recommend a Collings. These are instruments which are built to a thousandth of an inch from one to the next and built with a system that leaves little room for human error.

[Hudmister]

The "florida" extension is most helpful in playing classical music transcriptions (for violin) that need those notes, for example Chopin. They may lack sustain, but if they play clearly, it certainly helps not to have to drop back down an octave, or rewrite the transcription.

We're supposed to be talking about position marker placement here but since I wandered off track on florida's, I think for 99.9% of people with a florida on their mandolin it is because that's how they come because people like the way they look. That's why they come scooped now on some new "F" style instruments, it's more of a traditional appearance type of thing these days.

[dan in va]

There is a way to be positive about the negative here. Suppose that someone wanted to convert an A style to a left handed mandolin. Just imagine how far the dot would be off for the lefty if it was placed off center for a righty. The 15th dot in the true center would be the better compromise, being just a little off for both right and left positions.

Gotta say here that if'n it was my custom build mandolin, i would ask to put that dot to be centered in betwixt the inside D and A strings. Then again, no dot, no issue. No drama, no trauma.

[Dan Douris]

If ya look closely at the 12 fret markers on my last build you can see one dot is slightly higher then the other. I know i will never make an instrument flawless. I would just be pleased to put out something that really sounds great!

[Joe Mendel]

I mark my dots the same as John & Jim, it is hard keeping everything on dead center. As John mentioned, perfection is out of reach. I had to learn not to point out "flaws" in my instruments when some one was gushing over them. Things that bug the heck out of me, some people don't see even when it is pointed out. Others seem to notice every slight discrepancy. It make things interesting.

[Michael Lewis]

Strive for perfection and settle for excellence.

[tom.gibson]

Strive for perfection and be pleased you ended up with something with a little more character...

[Frank Ford]

Strive for perfection and settle for excellence.

Me, I strive for excellence, and settle for good 'nuff. . .