Hey guys, I have another question I'd need help with.
I've been browsing through guitars and saw a S/H guitar which would probably be more suitable for what I want, tone-wise, than my H/H guitar. However what I dislike about the S/H guitar is the lack of inlays on fretboard. From what I've heard it's very expensive to have someone build them into your guitar, so it's a lot cheaper to buy fret marker inlay stickers (I've found this site, for instance: http://www.inlaystickers.com/servlet/th ... Categories).
But I am worried about the effects the stickers might have on the tone of the guitar and the durability of these stickers - ie will they change the tone and will they even last, or will I have to change them after each jam session?

If anyone's had any experience with these, please advise

Thank you.

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Gear: Gibson Les Paul Studio Limited WBCR (2 Burstbucker Pro PUPs)
Fender Stratocaster Highway One
'93 Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue

If the neck has side dots, you won't need fret markers.

You shouldn't be looking at the fretboard anyway

I joke but there is a truth to it. Fret markers become meaningless as you become comfortable with a guitar. You know where you need to be and go there, without looking.

[EDIT]

Though after looking at the Abbey Road stickers I'm thinking of getting some for my CS Strat. Too cool.

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No no and no

It has no side dots, no orientation markers what-so-ever.
I say better safe than sorry, which is why I prefer to have some markers, especially for the times when I have to change the position of playing for many frets (some quick solos or something). I generally don't look at my guitar when I'm playing, except for when I start the solo, to start it on the right tone, or something like that, so better safe than sorry.

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Gear: Gibson Les Paul Studio Limited WBCR (2 Burstbucker Pro PUPs)
Fender Stratocaster Highway One
'93 Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue

Everything I've read about the stickers has been favorable but I don't have any personal experience with them.

Adding side dots and fretboard dots to a rosewood fretboard is pretty easy and fairly inexpensive. If you're handy with a drill (or better yet a drill press) it can be a do-it-yourself project. It's fairly easy on a maple fretboard too but some refinishing may be needed.

Fancier inlays are much more expensive to add. Those need routing and/or chisel work and that's hard when the frets are already installed. (It's not particularly cheap or easy on a blank board before the frets are installed either.)

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I have a guitar that has side dots and fretboard dots. The fretboard dots are bright and easy to see but the finish on top of the side dots is pretty dark. In a dim room the side dots are hard to see and I get lost sometimes -- the easy to see fretboard dots don't help at all.

That guitar has a poly finish so I took a silver paint marker and put dots on top of the side dots. Huge difference -- it's as easy to play in a dim room as my other guitars. The paint wears off slowly so every few months I re-do them. They don't look too bad and no one else sees them while I play.

Based on that guitar I've concluded that side dots are important for me but fretboard inlays only affect how the guitar looks. Some of the sticker companies sell side dots and I can't imagine them affecting tone or playability. You might just buy a couple packs of those.

BTW, I know I "shouldn't" need to look at the neck. There are blind guitarists like Jose Feliciano, the Rev Gary Davis, Blind Lemon Jefferson, etc who never saw a guitar neck in their lives. When I'm alone and relaxed I often play with my eyes closed, and even when I'm stressed out I don't need to look very often.

But when I'm tense and I want to slide my hand from the 5th fret up to the 12th, side dots really help.

Thanks strayedstrater. I too have guitar currently which has both side markers dots and fretboard trapeze (I own a Gibson LP so standard inlays are trapeze). I'm not really good with tools, so I'd rather not drill into the new guitar I intend to buy Not to mention it'd cancel my warranty.
I'll try to find the side dots as well somewhere online - because I didn't find it on this page. It really helps to have it yeah.. Who knows, maybe the side dots will be enough

And I totally agree with what you said about playing guitar with your eyes closed and playing guitar on a gig when you're nervous and stressed, you're much more prone to making mistakes if you don't have markers when you're tense & stressed out.

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Gear: Gibson Les Paul Studio Limited WBCR (2 Burstbucker Pro PUPs)
Fender Stratocaster Highway One
'93 Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue

Sounds to me like a perfect situation to play by feel and sound rather than by visual.
I wouldn't bother adding markers...Classical guitars do not have them.

Now if you were playing a fretless..perhaps side dots for reference only but you do have the frets, so use those for a quick ref. check.

At last night's jam, I was more at ease than I anticipated but only an occasional look was needed to see where I was at at the beginning of a tune..

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

This topic has been discussed before (as have most topics on this Forum, so no big deal) and that OP went ahead and bought fret marker stickers and applied them to his guitar. They were, as I recall, very thin and long lasting. He bought some very cool ones and even I was tempted, though I forgot about it in a few days and never followed through. If you want to try some, just do it. They should not affect your guitar tone in any way as the string hits the frets, not the markers.

Guitar tone... now THAT topic HAS been beat to death...

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963