Pearloid

Last updated
Pearloid inlays in the neck of a Gibson Les Paul electric guitar Gibson Les Paul '57 Historic Reissue (2002).png
Pearloid inlays in the neck of a Gibson Les Paul electric guitar

Pearloid is a plastic that is intended to resemble mother of pearl. It is commonly used in making musical instruments, especially for pickguards, electric guitar inlays, and accordions.

Contents

Production

Pearloid is produced by swirling together chunks of celluloid in a solvent, then curing, which gives it a mother of pearl effect. [1] It is sliced and bonded to or inlaid in other materials, such as the wood of guitar necks. [1]

Use

Pearloid is used in any context where genuine mother of pearl or abalone might be used, as it is much cheaper and doesn't deplete the supply of the natural material. Gibson uses it as a substitute for the mother of pearl inlays in the fretboards on most of its guitars. Various colored versions are often used on items intended to have a retro appearance.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson SG</span> Solid body electric guitar model

The Gibson SG is a solid-body electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1961 as the Gibson Les Paul SG. It remains in production today in many variations of the initial design. The SG Standard is Gibson's best-selling model of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nacre</span> Organic-inorganic composite material produced by some molluscs

Nacre, also known as mother of pearl, is an organic–inorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent.

The King V is an electric guitar made by Jackson Guitars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purfling</span>

Purfling is a narrow decorative edge inlaid into the top plate and often the back plate of a stringed instrument. Inexpensive instruments may have no purfling and instead simulate the appearance with paint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pickguard</span>

A pickguard is a piece of plastic or other material that is placed on the body of a guitar, mandolin or similar plucked string instrument. The main purpose of the pickguard is to protect the guitar's finish from being scratched by the nails of the picking hand, as it was included on guitars not played with a plectrum. The pick does not normally contact that part of the guitar when used correctly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epiphone G-400</span>

The G-400 is an Epiphone solid body electric guitar model produced as a more modestly priced version of the famous Gibson SG. Currently, Epiphone is a subsidiary of Gibson and manufactures the G-400 and other budget models at a lower cost in Asia. Visually and ergonomically, it is almost identical to a 1962 SG.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson ES-125</span>

The Gibson ES-125 is an archtop, hollow body electric guitar model that was produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation.

The Jackson Soloist is an electric guitar model manufactured by Jackson Guitars that was officially produced since 1984. The design is a typical "superstrat" with differences from the Stratocaster being a: neck-thru design and often a Floyd Rose or a similar tremolo, premium woods, a deeper cutaway at the lower horn for improved access to the higher frets, and a sharper body with squared off edges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson J-200</span> Steel-string acoustic guitar

The Gibson J-200, is an acoustic guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson Hummingbird</span> Steel-string acoustic guitar

The Gibson Hummingbird is an acoustic guitar model/series produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inlay (guitar)</span> Decorative material set into the wooden surface

Inlay on guitars or similar fretted instruments are decorative materials set into the wooden surface of the instrument using standard inlay techniques. Although inlay can be done on any part of a guitar, it is most commonly found on the fretboard, headstock—typically the manufacturer's logo—and around the sound hole of acoustic guitars. Only the positional markers on the fretboard or side of neck and the rosette around the sound hole serve any function other than decoration. Nacre, plastic and wood are the materials most often used as inlay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Jaguar Bass</span> Electric bass guitar

The Fender Jaguar Bass is an electric bass guitar currently manufactured in Mexico by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fender Stratocaster XII</span>

The Fender Stratocaster XII is the 12 string version of the Fender Stratocaster electric guitar made by Fender. It was introduced in 1988 and briefly re-issued 20 years later after a discontinuation in 1996. Unlike the Fender Electric XII, it uses a Strat-style body. Fender discontinued the Strat XII in 2009. It was reintroduced in 2019 with either a Sunburst or Olympic White finish

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson Les Paul Studio</span>

The Gibson Les Paul Studio is a solid body electric guitar produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation since 1983. It is a model of Les Paul with some features omitted to appeal to musicians looking for the tonal qualities of the guitar but with less of an emphasis on cosmetics and to reduce the price of the instrument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inlay</span> Artistic technique

Inlay covers a range of techniques in sculpture and the decorative arts for inserting pieces of contrasting, often coloured materials into depressions in a base object to form ornament or pictures that normally are flush with the matrix. A great range of materials have been used both for the base or matrix and for the inlays inserted into it. Inlay is commonly used in the production of decorative furniture, where pieces of coloured wood, precious metals or even diamonds are inserted into the surface of the carcass using various matrices including clearcoats and varnishes. Lutherie inlays are frequently used as decoration and marking on musical instruments, particularly the smaller strings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duesenberg Guitars</span>

Duesenberg is a brand for electric string instruments founded in 1986 and located in Hannover, Germany. The headquarter is in Hannover, Germany, they are known for using a Plek machine for the levelling of frets and setup. The actual place for production of guitar bodies and necks have never been revealed by Duesenberg e.g. by showing a factory Tour video.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibson ES-333</span>

The Gibson ES-333 is a semi hollow body electric guitar made by Gibson Guitar Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sigma Guitars</span>

Sigma Guitars is a guitar manufacturing brand originally released by C.F. Martin as a line of guitars at affordable prices to compete with the increasing number of imported guitars from Japan and elsewhere. The Sigma line was discontinued by Martin in 2007. The rights to the name was acquired by German company AMI Musical Instruments GmbH, which relaunched the brand with guitars being produced in China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imitation pearl</span> Manmade objects resembling pearls

Imitation pearls are man-made faux pearls. They are not to be confused with cultured pearls, which are real pearls created through artificial intervention.

The Gibson ES-359 is a semi-hollow body guitar which was manufactured in Gibson's Memphis Custom Shop in Memphis, Tennessee. The guitar is an upscaled version of the ES-339, featuring gold hardware, a multi-ply binding on the front and back of the body, and block pearloid inlays on the fretboard.

References

  1. 1 2 "Pearloid | Sweetwater". 28 November 2007.