Frets and Neck are the same colour. What would you do?

SoloRule

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Many of you are very creative. Just thought I throw this out there for the creative minds.
As you know almost all of the plastic outdoor ukes share the same problem that is frets and neck are the same colour . It can be annoying especially when you are playing in low light environment.
What would you do to improve this ?
 
Many of you are very creative. Just thought I throw this out there for the creative minds.
As you know almost all of the plastic outdoor ukes share the same problem that is frets and neck are the same colour . It can be annoying especially when you are playing in low light environment.
What would you do to improve this ?

Not to be a smart aleck, but...
YEARS ago when I was taking (gasp!) guitar lessons one of the things my teacher stressed was that you keep the fretboard perpendicular to the floor. It makes fretting easier on your hand, you will have less fatigue.
Hey wait! You can't see where your fingers are going when you hold it like that!
His response? You should be looking at your music, not your left hand.
Really, I often play in the dark anyways - a tool I use to help me stop relying on having to have music in front of me.
Do try to look elsewhere than your left hand.
If you are looking for position markers, a small white dot on the top edge, perhaps some nail polish, might help you out there.
 
Not to be smart aleck #2, but yeah, practice. Fret color shouldn't be a factor. Violins don't even have frets!
 
There are fret dot stickers you can buy to either stick on the frets, or on the side of the headstock. Personally I don't use the frets themselves as a guide, but I do find the dot markers useful in making big jumps from point A to point B.

Also, I seem to recall encountering someone who had used a metallic paint pen or Sharpie (or other permanent marker) to draw a contrasting line on the fret "wires" of their black plastic fretboard.
 
There are fret dot stickers you can buy to either stick on the frets, or on the side of the headstock. Personally I don't use the frets themselves as a guide, but I do find the dot markers useful in making big jumps from point A to point B.

Also, I seem to recall encountering someone who had used a metallic paint pen or Sharpie (or other permanent marker) to draw a contrasting line on the fret "wires" of their black plastic fretboard.


Janeray1940
You got the correct answer. :)
I think it's like learning how to type in high school, there were no letters on the key. Your fingers eventually learn to feel for the key.
However, it's hard when you are switching from tenor to concert then saparino
 
You can get a white or silver Sharpie marker and either put fret marker dots on the side of the neck, on the fretboard, or some folks even underline the frets right on the fretboard, on the side facing the bridge.

If you pain directly ON the frets, string friction will rub the color off.

Later if you decide you want to remove the marks, isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) is a solvent for the Sharpie inks.
 
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My Outdoor Ukulele is my only tenor. I usually play soprano, so my muscle memory is a little off when I play the OUT. The brown frets on a brown plastic uke don't help the situation.

Dollar Tree had multiple options of 100 count sticker sets. I picked up a pack of rainbow hearts. Turned them upside down and stuck them on the side of the neck with the point facing frets 3, 5, 7, 10, & 12. Looked kind of jazzy just like that. But, I went ahead and used the handy slightly indented seam in the neck where the top of the neck meets the bottom of the neck as a guide and trimmed it to just a teeny triangle.

So, I have used five cents of my dollar investment and they are still on there six months later.
 
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On one uke, I cut angled notches on the up side of the neck at 3 -5-7-10-12 3/16 down and 3/16 in.
There are plastic clipboards out of high visibility plastic that are only 1/8 thick. I put the edge in the notch and used a pin to scratch the plastic I hen carefully sawed them out ans super glued them in place. They are very obvious!
 
I have a Tenor Fluke and a Soprano Flea both with the plastic fretboard and I have never really found it to be a problem. As others say, you shouldn't be looking at the fretboard anyway although I'm sure most of us do from time to time, especially if we have to make an unfamiliar chord change. I have used a felt pen to mark the side of the fretboard at the 3, 5, 7, & 10th frets to match up with the fret markers on the face of the fretboard if side markers are not already present.
 
However, it's hard when you are switching from tenor to concert then saparino

And that's why I only play tenors now :)
Logically I should be able to adjust.. but somehow I don't adjust very well.
So.. I stick to one size, and it works for me.
 
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