How much of a big deal are the lack of fret markers?

Sparky

I'm not talking about the ones you can find on the edge of the fretboard, but more the dots/birds/trapezoids/(insert shape here) on the front. My next guitar is likely to only have a marker on the 12th after exclusively having my hand held with various shapes to guide me.

sawyer

I thought it would be a problem but you really only take notice of dots down side when you play.

PhilKing

I have a couple of guitars with no fingerboard inlays, only side marker dots and they don't bother me at all.  They are just as easy to play as any others.

Jimbro66

My acoustic only has side marker dots which are all that's needed most the time. Certain stage lighting conditions can make the small dots hard to see, so then you have no fret guides. Blind guitarists deal with that all the time. It helps to practice playing while not watching the fretting fingers.

grungebob

Do you have a need to sing as well as play? For me side dots are fine if I’m pnly playing but when I need to be the singer also I have to have fret markers on the board as it’s much easier to quickly glance at something so large than a tiny side dot. 
In fact when I first started I also needed to put electrical tape acros the back of the neck as markers too. 

guitarfishbay

Non issue for me as long as they’re on the sides. 

Sparky

grungebob said:

Do you have a need to sing as well as play? For me side dots are fine if I’m pnly playing but when I need to be the singer also I have to have fret markers on the board as it’s much easier to quickly glance at something so large than a tiny side dot. 
In fact when I first started I also needed to put electrical tape acros the back of the neck as markers too. 

No singing required, to which my wife and kids are extremely thankful.

Funkfingers

Unmarked fingerboards are perfectly normal on bass.

underdog

sawyer said:

I thought it would be a problem but you really only take notice of dots down side when you play.

Exactly this, I bought a guitar once with only side dots, was very worried I'd struggle but then discovered it's only the side dots I looked at anyway.

thomasross20

It does irk me slightly, I must admit. I just like the look of a guitar with them.

Plectrum

I can't see the fretboard when I'm singing so to me they're totally superfluous.

LuttiS

It's only annoying if you're playing with someone who has no fret markers and they're trying to teach you something

jimmyguitar

Nothing a bit of tippex can’t fix!

Roland

Edge markers are useful, especially at the end of a long gig. Fretboard markers are useful if you're teaching. Whenever I used a guitar without them it confused my bass player, but eventually he stopped trying to work out what I was playing and accepted that I knew what I was doing.

Jalapeno

PhilKing said:

I have a couple of guitars with no fingerboard inlays, only side marker dots and they don't bother me at all.  They are just as easy to play as any others.

This.  I think it looks pretty cool too.

DulcetJones

Higher end classical guitars have no fretmarkers at all.  

suspiciousminds

My fender socal strat has no fret markers only small black side markers.
The neck is mostly painted red and being colour blind i find it really difficult to pick out the side markers - so although i love the guitar its actually harder for me to play without fret markers.

TTony

I've just removed all the frets on a neck so that I could put fretmarkers in (and then refret it).

Never really considered going marker-less.

Maybe I should have tried it and saved myself some work.

rawk100

I had a gretsch once with small markers and didn't really like it, I seem to feel more comfortable with at least dots on the board. Don't know why. ... ( probably coz I'm a crap player)!

clarkefan

I'd be screwed without them.

I think.  I've never played a guitar without them.  But I do know I don't look at the dots, they might as well not be there.

Dave_Vader

I have an acoustic with no dot on the 9th, it's on the 10th instead - gets me every time I look down at it.
So I don't look down anymore