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You are here: Home / Building A Monarch / Building a Monarch: Pearl Inlay

Building a Monarch: Pearl Inlay

Shell inlays are a time-honored way of adding flair, beauty, and value to musical instruments. The two primary types of shell used in making guitar inlays are Mother of Pearl and Abalone. Each of these come in several color varieties. There are many options available for using inlays to dress up a guitar. Fretboard and peghead decoration is commonly seen on high end guitars, and inlay work can be added to the bridge, heel cap, pickguard, and back. As shown in the binding gallery, shell is also a beautiful material for purfling. All Dogwood Monarchs have the Dogwood logo inlaid into the peghead with hand cut Mother of Pearl. Cutting and inlaying shell is one of the most challenging aspects of lutherie work and is a learned art. In the gallery below you can see a little bit of what goes into cutting and inlaying a logo and also a customer’s name.

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Building a Monarch: Binding

The quality of the binding and purfling work is one of the factors that makes a guitar a true work of art. Some builders install bindings and purflings in one step, and this can lead to less-than-perfect results. Dogwood guitars are bound using a … [Read More...]

Customer Testimonial: Taylor Custom setup and upgrades

Greg, when I met you and talked with you, it helped ease my apprehensions. You were very professional and explained in detail what, why, and how you would make my guitar play and sound better. You said that guitars sound what they sound like, but you … [Read More...]

The Monarch

The Monarch is a wonderful 14 fret guitar for anyone who appreciates great tone and a classic appearance. The Monarch body features a slimmer waist and curvier shoulders than a Dreadnought. It has a well-balanced tone and is a versatile instrument … [Read More...]

1977 Martin D-18 Restoration

Older Martins often need substantial work to restore them to excellent playability. Recently a 1977 Martin D-18 was brought to me for evaluation. The guitar needed a neck reset, fret work, bridge plate repair, and cracks in the top repaired. A new … [Read More...]

The Eminence

The Eminence is a Grand Auditorium sized guitar that I designed to provide a slight boost to the treble response, along with the clear and balanced tone that all Dogwood models are known for. A slightly smaller body depth and a more narrow waist … [Read More...]

New! Online Setup, Repair, and Restoration Course

Purchase the course (or select individual classes) at obrienguitars.com … [Read More...]

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Technical Articles

Humidity, Temperature, and Your Guitar

Maintaining your wooden instruments at an appropriate level of humidity year round is vital to their health and well-being. It is surprising how many owners of expensive instruments are unaware of this. I suppose that the primary reason is a lack … [Read More...]

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Viewpoint Articles

Exploring Common Guitar Myths

I am going to divide this article into two sections: Myths and misunderstandings about playability and care; and myths about tone. We will take these two topics in order. Playability and Care So, your guitar is a little hard to play, the … [Read More...]

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