Replacing Fret Dots

Differences in effect between different types of shell.
Couple of photos to show effects of different shell against different backgrounds - some work - some don't.
First series - Black MOP.

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...140209_007.jpg
Black MOP on Rosewood. Doesn't stick out too much, but was the look I was going for.

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...140209_001.jpg
Black MOP on Maple. Sticks out quite nicely.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...140209_002.jpg
More photos to show how light affects the MOP differently.

Paua:


http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...131020_001.jpg
Paua on Maple - haven't got fret dots, so closest thing is the logo. Doesn't stand out terribly well & hard to get a good photo. Next time I'll do something different.

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...140209_005.jpg
Paua on Rosewood. Neck has been defretted, hence the different look.

Paua logo on Rosewood for comparison.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...140206_006.jpg

Great tutorial Brendan. Thanks so much for writing this up!
You've definitely given me the confidence to try it. Thanks dude!

cheers,
Gav.

Gav, personally think it's well worth it - it does take some time, but I look and see - all high end guitars have some form of natural dots - abalone, paua, MOP, etc. Therefore darnit - so should mine!

Finally got around to doing a vid. Ads has put it up on the Pitbull Youtube channel (https://youtu.be/9yA4c4rTseY). Couple of things I learnt -
1. Don't do videos outdoors on a 36 deg day in Perth - it's hot, windy and the CA glue dries more instantly than normal,
2. Don't cover the job when you're trying to demo how to do it - at one point my hand obscures me drilling - I could redo it, but won't as I figure you all know how to drill anyway.

If you see it, I did make one mistake that Ads picked up straight away - I needed to be more careful with the pliers as I did dent the fretboard slightly near one of the dots - will need to steam that out gently...

As above - this is about my 6th go at it, so I'm still pretty raw - happy to take tips on how to improve!

Nice one BP :)

Only thing I do differently is I use a scribe point or a small flat head screw driver to lever the old dots out.
Lessens the chance of damaging the fret board.

New trick - is use a screw - drill the hole in the dot, screw a screw in enough so it has a good bite and then the dots wiggle out easily - with no damage to the fretboard.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brendan

New trick - is use a screw - drill the hole in the dot, screw a screw in enough so it has a good bite and then the dots wiggle out easily - with no damage to the fretboard.

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Great tip Brendan!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by andrewdosborne

Great tip Brendan!

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Learned it the hard way. Using something to lever the dots out runs the risk of damaging the fretboard.


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