12th fret Double dots on side of neck

P

Peregrine Falcon

New Member
Joined
May 23, 2021
Messages
8
Does anyone know if there was a specific time when 12th fret Double dots on the side of the neck became standard? I have a 2001 McCarty Soapbar that only has a single dot there. I recently messaged with a seller on reverb.com about a 2005 McCarty Soapbar and it also has a single dot. Another seller has a 2007 McCarty that has a double dot.
I wonder if the transition was erratic, or if there was an exact date when the double dot became standard issue.
thanks
 
2006 was the first year. I have purposely stayed away from PRS guitars older than 2006 for this exact reason. I used to occasionally play a friends CE24 that had the single dot at the 12th fret. It drove me nuts.
 
Thanks--much appreciated. I guess I will search for a post-2006 McCarty Soapbar and sell my 2001 eventually. Although it is soooo sweet otherwise, so that will be a hard goodbye.....
thanks
 
If you like the guitar, I would try to get used to it. I had a thought of having two more dots added to the 12 fret and have 3 dots there if I ever ended up owning one. Thankfully for me, my first PRS was a 2006 with the double dot. I actually have several from 2006. They had a catalog of models I was very fond of at that time. If I found a guitar that I just loved that only had the single dot, I would try to get used to it.
 
a piece of colored electrical tape makes a fine dot. two if you want them to match. chase the tone, not your place on the fretboard :p
 
sergiodeblanc said:
Who TF uses side dots that much to warrant ditching a guitar because of them?

JFC.. next thing ya know PRS will stop doing everything that made them unique, and they’ll just become another company making Strat and LP copies.
Click to expand...
How do you tell where you are on the fretboard when moving up and down it quickly, look at the markers on the face of it? Having two dots at the 12th helps identify quickly where you are on the neck. They are there for a reason. I would, and have, avoided guitars because of the side dots.

I had a custom Suhr built and chose to have abalone dots put in the side of the neck. It was the one mistake I made when coming up with the specs for the guitar. I had to have them drilled out and replaced with white dots because some were kind of dark and hard to see on a stage. I was hitting wrong notes all over the place. I let a friend of mine play it at one of his gigs for part of a night and he put it on the stand and went back to his guitar because he couldn't see them and was hitting wrong notes.

They are important to many players.
 
My 92 CE24 has the one dot (and that does not bother me), however it has golden dots, that are very hard to spot, especially on a dark stage. That DOES bother me.

Anyone ideas how to fix that?
 
JasonE said:
How do you tell where you are on the fretboard when moving up and down it quickly, look at the markers on the face of it? Having two dots at the 12th helps identify quickly where you are on the neck. They are there for a reason. I would, and have, avoided guitars because of the side dots.

I had a custom Suhr built and chose to have abalone dots put in the side of the neck. It was the one mistake I made when coming up with the specs for the guitar. I had to have them drilled out and replaced with white dots because some were kind of dark and hard to see on a stage. I was hitting wrong notes all over the place. I let a friend of mine play it at one of his gigs for part of a night and he put it on the stand and went back to his guitar because he couldn't see them and was hitting wrong notes.

They are important to many players.
Click to expand...
I dunno, by the single dot or the huge birds on the fretboard?
 
You might want to look at the glow in the dark paints! You charge them with light from a flashlight, phone, whatever and they will last a few hours!! Just paint the 12th fret dot with some of that (little dab will do ya') and it should stand out nicely!!! I too need the fret markers and of my 3 PRSi, the one that is the best is my HBII with the white binding on fret board with black dots! I never have issues with that one in good or bad light conditions!
 
I don't understand the need for both dots along the side of the neck and fretboard inlays. On the other hand, I figure out where I am by ear and feel. So what do I know.

Everyone's got their methods; everyone's got their issues.
 
I think I saw this topic come up on a PRS FB group last week. I was curious, so I reviewed my collection. I guess I'd never noticed one dot vs two dots at the 12th fret. What triggers my position information is the bigger gap on either side of the 12th fret (single or double) dot. This might be a result of my eyesight getting pretty lousy a few years ago from cataracts, before I had my lenses replaced. A lot of stuff was a blur...

Though I will admit most of my collection is post-2005, and therefore has two dots.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Revelation
What do you think about the Vintage Pattern neck?
Replies
12
Views
854
JasonE
JasonE
L
CE24 Neck Twist?
Replies
10
Views
345
archtop
archtop
M
PRS with only One side dot on the 12th fret
2 3
Replies
40
Views
2K
DISTORT6
DISTORT6
H
Question on double humbucker sound when combined
Replies
13
Views
844
JasonE
JasonE
MWebster
NGD double whammy
Replies
6
Views
643
xxxadixxx
xxxadixxx
Back
Top