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You are here: Home / Pictorials / Pearl and Abalone Inlay

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. Virtually any surface of the guitar can receive an inlay although for tonal reasons inlays to the Spruce top are usually limited to the sound hole rosette and body purfling.

Cutting and inlaying shell such as Mother of Pearl or Abalone requires great skill and is one of the most difficult techniques in guitar making to execute with precision. A handful of individuals make a full time living cutting pearl. Dogwood Guitars is proud to offer custom inlay as part of our spectrum of services. Inlay is not inexpensive but the results are always worth it!

inlay 4Please contact Greg to discuss your ideas for a custom inlay on your Dogwood guitar, or to have inlay work performed on your instrument. Any inquiries for inlaying your design must include an actual size image file which may need to be resized for correct placement and fret clearance. This is necessary to determine the time and pearl cost so that a quote can be given. PLEASE NOTE: Fretboards can not be inlaid with frets in place. If you require inlay work on a completed neck, a refret will be required as part of the quote. The cost of the refret is $350.

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Luthier Services & Labor Estimates for 2021

Dogwood Guitars is a full-service setup and repair shop. We are equipped to handle all of your acoustic and electric guitar adjustment and repair needs. The prices listed below are labor estimates and do not include parts such as new strings, bone … [Read More...]

Customer Testimonials: Monarch 12 String

"Greg Maxwell's 12-string Monarch guitar is the product of an artist. I played the guitar among a small of group of rock-climbing paramedics during my interim stay in Richmond, Kentucky, before returning to Kailua, Hawaii, and the comments about the … [Read More...]

Building a Monarch: The Neck

Guitar construction can be divided into to major sections: The body and the neck. Neck construction begins with gluing up a blank. Although some guitar necks are made from one solid piece of wood, many builders make necks using a laminated blank. … [Read More...]

Mastery of Craft

As a high end artisan woodworker of over 30 years, Greg's passion for excellence is a hallmark of his instruments. Every Dogwood guitar reflects this dedication to fine craftsmanship. All the skills required to make exceptional high end guitars- … [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...]

Customer Testimonial:

"In thirty years of playing and actively gigging in and around Ohio, I’ve had my fair share of guitar maintenance issues. Greg is by far the most customer-service oriented luthier I’ve dealt with.  Not to mention the top notch quality of his work.  … [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

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...]

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