The Art of Inlay

       To a guitar player, the words "mother-of-pearl" or "abalone" conjures up images of Martin D-45s, PRS "dragon" inlays, or simple Gibson crown fingerboard markers. Inlay designs can consist of simple geometric shapes, or they can be almost surrealistic scenes from nature and life. Most of us don't give much thought to the origins of this complex art form, or the source of materials utilized by the luthier or inlay artist creating the patterns adorning our prized instruments.

       There is often some confusion between the terms "inlay" and "marquetry". The later is the art of making patterns with wood veneers and gluing them onto a surface, and historically is more prevalent in western society, especially in furniture making. Inlay, on the other hand, has its origins in the Far East and utilizes a variety of shells and materials into a cavity and then sanded flush with the surface. 

       The earliest known inlaid object is a Mesopotamian bowl (3000 BC) with shell pieces embedded into it. Other documented examples include an inlaid coffin from the Yin Dynasty (1300 BC) and many examples from the Shoso-in Repository are still in pristine condition 1200 years later and held by experts to be unexcelled in design and execution. Asians historically have developed two distinct methods of inlay: thick-shelled 'atsu-gai' inlaid into the surface of wood, or thin shelled 'usu-gai', only 5/1000" thick, fixed directly onto the lacquer under coat.  Contemporary North American inlay is thick shelled and done mainly on musical instruments, although it is starting to be seen now on pool cues, furniture and objets d'art. Some modern inlay artists utilize techniques and tools similar to the ancient eastern masters, while others have modernized with the use of computer controlled vertical mills.

       Different cuts, sections, grain patterns, chemical treatments and refractive alignments of a huge variety of shell types, wood species (natural and dyed), bone, ivory, metals, stones, gems and vegetable nuts are all often put to use in modern inlay. Some of these materials, such as abalone shell, have irregular characteristics that change as you sand them. There are thousands of shell varieties but commercial slabbing of shell for inlay is limited to a narrow range of species because of shell size, curvature and colour. Often brilliant patterns on the surface are only thousandths of an inch thick and when sanded, become less attractive. Abalone and mother-of-pearl shells are fairly abundant in the Pacific Basin, but supplies are getting scarce due to otter depredation and 'killer tides'. 

       Abalone shells are gastropods (literally 'stomach foot') and have only one arched shell over their body to protect them from predators and a sucker-like foot that attaches to rocks on the ocean floor. There are four main types of abalone (genus Haliotis) suitable for inlay. The largest of the four is Red abalone, which has been known to grow as big as 10-12" across (more commonly 9"). The largest slabs available for inlay work are from this species, although many are spoiled by parasitic wormholes, stress cracks or disease. Green abalone is smaller and more curved than red, producing smaller pieces that are extremely vibrant in colour and in some cases, if cut near the outer 'bark', very rippled in appearance. Black abalone shell is fairly rare and generally has the most depth and pearlescence. The most valuable shell comes from New Zealand and is called Paua (pow-a). Paua shell is characterized by it's electric blue colour with veins of green and rose running though it.

       Mother-of-pearl (genus Pinctada) is a bivalve with 2 luminous white shells facing each other and can grow up to 12" in width. The shell is 'mitten' shaped with the 'thumb' as the thickest part (historically used for knife handles and pistol grips!). The 'nacre' closest to the bark exterior is sometimes a beautiful rippling golden hue, especially in pearl harvested near the Philippines. Black mother-of-pearl is available in small quantities from Tahiti and displays iridescent blacks, purples and browns with streaks and ripples throughout. 

      Feel free to consult with one of the Twelfth Fret's inlay artists with regards to personalizing your existing instrument with a custom inlay or refer to Larry Robinson's definitive book "The Art of Inlay" (shamelessly plagiarized in this article) for a much more in-depth look at this intriguing art form!.

       I recently had the pleasure of touring the Martin Guitar factory. Having toured most of the guitar factories in North America, I was pleasantly surprised to see how relaxed and calm the shop was. There was very little clutter or dust compared to other shops I've seen. The logical layout of the shop assembly line was impressive. The 80 odd men and women that I saw building Martins impressed me as people who enjoyed their jobs and took pride in the quality of their work. 

      The tour begins in the wood grading facility. The Rosewood, Sitka Spruce and Ebony is selected and sorted into piles destined to become various models of Martin guitars. I was interested to see that every piece of wood for back, sides, neck and top is assigned a Martin serial number at this point. The number is stamped onto the heel block of the completed guitar and registered to the purchaser for the Martin Lifetime Warranty. The tour follows the assembly line where we see the top being strutted, the sides bent, backs and tops fitted to sides and binding applied to the bodies. The inlay department is adjacent to the binding section since they often overlap on models such as the D-45 where Abalone shell is inlayed next to the multiple binding. The patience and manual skill of the inlay people was great fun to watch. I arrived as a young female luthier was being coached in the art of fitting the complex inlay around the heel joint of a Brazilian Rosewood D-45. We were not  allowed to take photographs in the finishing department due to flash bulb blindness. Final finish buffing a bridge and neck to body assembly is where quality control is most important. Any finish blemishes are dealt with at this point. Martin claims that any truly defective guitars are sawn up and destroyed but I find it hard to believe that a true defect could escape ;the conscientious eyes of the Martin Luthiers. The finished guitars are setup and put into storage for two weeks. They are inspected again, setup if necessary and shipped off to Martin Dealers worldwide. The Martin tour is offered daily at 1:00 and is open to the public. I highly recommend it!

       The turn of the century saw many stringed instrument builders in Chicago. Lyon & Healy (est. 1864) and Harmony (1892) were the largest and most prolific, but there were many other smaller manufacturers that flourished (and many others that didn't survive the depressions of 1893 and 1929). Around 1885 Robert Maurer (pronounced Ma-wer) shifted his emphasis from teacher to instrument manufacturer, employing two young emigrants from Sweden by the name of August and Carl Larson. Other manufacturers to start in Chicago around this time were Wm. Tonk and Bros. (est.1901), Regal Manufacturing Co. (1908), National (1925) and Kay Musical Instruments (1931). 

       Around 1890 the Larson brothers began an independent 2-man workshop producing a wide variety of instruments under various trade names including Maurer, Prairie State, Euphonon, Stahl and Dyer. A young "Rhubarb Red" (stage name of Lester Polsfuss, later to be known as Les Paul) was a frequent visitor to the Larson's workshop. "I think I remember the place so well because it was so much like a barn. The wood front was unpainted and weathered. I would pull a string by the door, which rang a bell on the second floor. August would open what was like a hayloft door and ask 'who's there'. When I got to the second floor his opening line would always be 'say what you've got to say cause I'm busy'"!!!

       From these humble beginnings, and throughout the years of heavy competition, world wars and depressions, the Larson brothers were able to maintain a healthy business and a reputation for very high quality and innovative instruments. Laminated bracing, internal metal support rods and "built under tension" tops and backs set them apart from any other manufacturer and indicate and early concentration on steel strung instruments, predating Gibson and Martin in this respect by 20 years!

       Of the pre World War II makers, the Larson's steel strung guitars are the only ones built by a small manufacturer that are still widely recognized today by collectors for their beauty and by musicians for their tone. We are lucky to have a fine example of an all original Maurer Model 593 (top of the line, Brazilian back & sides with "vine-of-life" inlay) on display in our store currently!