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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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Customer Testimonials: Taylor 12 string setup

I had a well known luthier in Columbus do a setup on my custom Taylor 12 string including having a bone saddle and nut made. The work seemed good but a while later while using the guitar for recording I noticed a strange light buzzing sound in the B … [Read More...]

The Three Elements of a Great Guitar

Guitar players and collectors have so many choices available to them. New, used, factory brands, custom hand built...how do you narrow down the choices to the best option for you? In my opinion, any guitar should be measured by three … [Read More...]

Fine Handmade Guitars

  Hi, and welcome to Dogwood Guitars of Kansas City, MO. My goal is to provide you with the best sounding and playing guitar possible. Whether this means setting up your current guitars to play their best, or working with you to build your … [Read More...]

Customer Testimonials: Martin Fret Work

"I took my Martin D-28 to Dogwood guitars to get it worked on, It was in pretty bad shape when I bought it used. Someone had tried to install frets on their own and it was buzzing and the action was hard to play. I called Greg and he said to stop by … [Read More...]

Customer Testimonials: A. B. Manson Acoustic

"I recently had major work done by Greg Maxwell on my very expensive and treasured old guitar.  Boy, am I glad that I found Greg, because I do not think any other luthier would have given the time and effort  this project required.  My guitar needed … [Read More...]

Pearl and Abalone Inlay

One of the most beautiful customizations to a musical instrument is the addition of shell inlay. Typically this might include peghead decorations, fretboard position markers or more elaborate motifs such as vines and flowers, and body purflings. … [Read More...]

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Technical Articles

Bolt-On Necks: High Tongue Frets

I am including this article as a special page in the Services Menu because of the frequency with which the issue of high tongue frets arises. The tongue is the part of the fretboard that extends into the body of the guitar. On acoustic guitars, the … [Read More...]

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Viewpoint Articles

Why Buy a Handmade Guitar?

There are a lot of choices out there for the prospective buyer of a fine guitar. It's no secret; a handmade instrument can cost a lot. For that matter, any of the better guitars purchased from a quality manufacturer is going to command what most … [Read More...]

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