wileypickett
Enlightened Member
Clever observation. I don't know if that was a benevolent design decision on Guild's part, or simply an effort to just save money. But it sure makes sense, especially for beginners, as massive position markers only serve to confuse fingering when the player tunes down 1/2 to 1 step and adds a capo.
If that were true, why put fretmarkers on their six-strings?
The fact that Guild later added them to all their guitars, including their 12-strings, suggests -- as CC says -- that it may have been economical. (Did their top-of-the-line 12s -- the F412 and F512 -- ever come without fretmarkers?)
It is true that the frets are key to the geometry / stiffness of the neck -- the neck arcs more without them than with them -- but I doubt the fretmarkers have any impact on that.