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do flamenco guitars normally come with dots either on the side of the neck? I never see them on the front. Like the big names guitars are they made with dots? What's the standard?
Posts: 3463
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
RE: position dots on neck (in reply to xirdneH_imiJ)
Yeah. When you move the capo, the dots don't move. You might say, just ignore the dots. Dots are insidious, in my experience. My best classical has dots. I wouldn't have ordered it that way, but I got it second hand. I learned a new piece on it. Later I picked up a different classical and played the piece. Found myself looking for the dots.
RE: position dots on neck (in reply to rogeliocan)
Thanks guys, my guitars don't have them either and I was just wondering. I too am used to it like that. But I finally decided to work on learning the fretboard and I could see the dots helping, after a while I get lost and have to count frets. But I think it's just because I just started.
RE: position dots on neck (in reply to rogeliocan)
I recently purchased a very nice blanca (used) that has a single dot on the side of the fingerboard at the seventh fret. I'd rather it wasn't there but I've pretty much managed to ignore it. None of my other guitars have them.
Posts: 151
Joined: Nov. 7 2008
From: San Diego, CA
RE: position dots on neck (in reply to rogeliocan)
Your eyes will take you where you need to go if you practice enough. You don't need them to learn the fretboard. As a matter of fact, it's worse with dots.
Posts: 176
Joined: May 11 2012
From: Edmonton, Canada
RE: position dots on neck (in reply to rogeliocan)
You can learn to become dependent on the dots so it is better to learn the fretboard without dots. Besides, when you are really into it you will be playing with your eyes closed.
Yes , I have the famous Yamaha Cg171 and they do put dots on the side 5 and 7 and it is really annoying cos of the capo effect , worse on some frets than others , Normally I play a lot without looking at my left hand at all . I had to train myself to do that , it was for sight reading/transposition purposes , so that , when asked , for example i might read something in D but play it in Eb , with the saxophones , so you just move a fret and think in your head that you havent moved , and bingo it all works out , so long as you avoid the open strings ,....and dont look
Anyway with the Yamaha its a bit like that it goes OK until I inadvertently look down and ,, damn ...mistake ... what I did in the end was i got some paint approximately the same colour as the side of the neck and a small model brush and painted in the 2 dots so they disappear , almost unless the sun shines on them they are almost not noticeable ...
2nd fret capo was not bad as it gave a 3 and 5 dot...but ist fret capo gives a 4 and 6 dot ....bum ........
RE: position dots on neck (in reply to rogeliocan)
The dot comes actually together with:
a footstool a sound port a flamenco metronome with fancy functions that is way overpriced if bought alone one of these arm rests a guitar mute an Andalusian Guitar from the king a traditional cejilla a table tennis ball for your nails the flamenco method "I´m a self claimed youtube guitar teacher but can´t play myself and don´t know **** about flamenco guitar" and with last but not least a guitar stand for your knee....
to complete the "hey man look at me, I have tons of fancy tools but I still can´t play any better with all these gadgets"-style. ;)
And it has nothing to do with DoIt. tststs... From a Hungarian I expect better jokes. You are from the country I look up at because you have meat plates with big pieces of meat, filled with more meat..and as side dish..meat! .. A nation that invented such awesome dishes must pull off better jokes. Please keep that in mind for the next one. ;)
RE: position dots on neck (in reply to rogeliocan)
LOL Originally I meant the famous Nike slogen, but after I wrote that, it seemed better to use the bi-functional version... but anyway.... understood Maestro! the better jokes work only on my native language...so You gotta learn Hungarian to catch my better side
Posts: 667
Joined: Aug. 20 2008
From: DFW Area, Texas
RE: position dots on neck (in reply to rogeliocan)
When I first started playing, I got a Flamenco guitar and saw that it did not have the dots, I thought it was defective. I was later educated on the subject and realized that Flamenco guitars do not have them. I have learn to navigate the guitar with out dots, and feel better for it. Just another skill of the many that I have learned playing Flamenco.
RE: position dots on neck (in reply to rogeliocan)
Mine's got a stupid dot on 7 on the side, I permanent markered it out. Dots are no bueno especially for flamenco cus of the whole cejilla thing. Do classicals tend to come with them on the side?
When beginning with a flamenco guitar it can help to have a dot on the 7th fret(such as small white sticker) and later one can remove the sticker. It's helpful especially if using capo only rarely I must add that if Paco used single dot in his concert then it's pretty much OK thing to do
Really, really expensive guitars don't come with dots.
People use white out in order that they can be played.
The only guitar I have with dots is the Romanillos
But it's a '73 so it wasn't really, really expensive when it was new--maybe £400-600, in the same ballpark, perhaps a bit more than a Ramirez 1a at the time.
The £ was still hanging in around $2.50/£ then. I remember paying $2.45/£ the first time I started working in England in 1975. I recall Ivor Mairants in London asking £575 for a 1a in 1976. They were cheaper at the Ramirez shop in Madrid.
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