Inlay Guitar Control Plates & Pick Guards

This is a catch all section for Control/Toggle/Trim/Whatever plates that go on guitars/banjos/sitaurs/whatever.

		Just when I think I can't make anything cooler for a Greatful Dead fans, John Blunk of Portland, OR commission this dragon for his GD inspired bass. I LOVE this one. Made from 69 pieces, this tree dragon is made of Black and White Mother of Pearl, Red Abalone, Silver Fantail, Paua, Koa, Rosewood, a red acrylic tongue, and 50,000 year old Mammoth Ivory on Ebony. Simple AWESOME! Here is John's reaction, "Cliff, that's incredible. I'm totally at a loss for words... I would ordinarily say things like "unreal" and "unbelievable" in this circumstance, but in fact it looks totally REAL and BELIEVABLE! The etching and paint look great too. I'm also impressed how quickly you made the piece -- I guess that's another advantage of the CAD/CAM system. It's absolutely stunning! I've been carrying it around to different rooms, looking at it in different lighting. Eventually, I suppose I'll actually attach it to the bass it's designed for... " I get asked a lot if I can work with the client's artwork. The answer is YES, I can. I make the piece just like what you have, or modify it into some more like what you envision. When John came to me, he had sketched the drawing on the left and asked me if I could enhance it. At first, I just made small changes like the wing claws and such, but soon it become clear that John didn't want a cartoon look to the piece and then I made a lot of changes.
		This is for a Grateful Dead Style Tribute guitar produced by Troy (good guy, good builder) over at Post Guitars for David Martinez of Cool, Califonia. What a great name for a town, "Cool." This control plate goes on the front of the guitar, below the bridge like Gerry Garcia's guitars did. I'll post pics of the guitar when I get them from Troy. This cover is 5" x 3" made of many differnet materials including; Mother of Pearl, Red Abalone, Black Mother of Pearl, Paua, Blue Jean Lapis, Dark Blue Lapis, Obsidian, Onyx, Black/Gray Grannit, Orange Spiny, Oriental Jade, Malichite, and Arizona Jade, and Maple all on top grade Rosewood. It's a real stunner, I wish you could see it live. David have this to say about this new cover, "WOW!!!! So cool.... This is exactly what I had hoped for - it is perfect! I'm blown away by the detail... I can imagine it shimmering. The cattails and water are great. I am really torn..... I want to see this in person!!! But.... you should probably ship it to Troy so he can set it in he body of the guitar. I can't express how happy I am with this..... I didn't think I could get this level of detail and depth, and luminosity, and..... Cliff, thanks for getting this done so quickly, and doing such a beautiful job - a real piece of art. This is going to be the coolest guitar in the world.... at least in my eyes!"
		Another Greatful Dead inspired piece, the Dancing Terrapins was patterned after a well know GD art work piece. This piece was commissioned by Steven Kralles from Rochester, NY. It's made from three different types of jade; imperial, oriental, and Arizonia, purple agate, mother of pearl, and agora on ebony. A little minor pianting was done in order to give the shell some highlights and make it more like the orginal painting. Here is the picture I was working from.
		This blue crab pickguard was commissioned by Craig Simpson of Wheaton, MD. The cute little guy is made has 53 pieces and is made up of Airzona Jade, Imperial Jade, Lapis, White, Gold, and Black Mother of Pearl, Paua, Red Abalone, and Silver Fantail all on ebony. A great looking piece. Craig posted a great testimonial for this piece on the Gretch-Talk form, "Cliff at Shark Inlay does a fantastic job, and is really great to work with. Though his web site states that 95% of customers are happy with the initial mockup artwork he sends them, I was among the 5% who had a fairly exact vision in my head and needed revisions. It took us 53 emails and one phone call to get to the design finalized, and Cliff remained patient and helpful throughout the whole process. The results blew away my highest hopes. The pieces were also much more affordable than I would have guessed- I gave him a run-down on what I was looking for, and a budget, and he came back with a proposal for larger, more detailed pieces for a price that was around $150 less than my limit. Also, he produced the actual guards and covers to spec. from the originals. If you're thinking about going the inlay route, I can't recommend Shark Inlay highly enough."
		Flying Hearts Gretsch Pick Guard made with White and Black Mother of Pearl, Red Abalone, and Bloody Jasper on Ebony. With Matching T-Cover
		Dancing Fairy, with bat. I know, fairies and bats are different themes, but it's what Chris Bell of LA wanted. And that's the beauty of custom inlay is you get what you want. This is an awesome piece.
		This is the Blue for Allah control plate on a Post Guitar. To see lots of picture of this one being built, click here.
		Another control plate going on a Post Guitar. This one is unique cause the sterling silver rings has litterial 3D. The rings are above the service in front of the plant and lower than the planet at the back. A star field has also been paint in the background for effect. Very good.
		Obviously for Rob Calise of Frederick, MD. He was a Chief in the Navy and this Tele replacement pickguard for to honor his service to his country. The cover is made from White and Gold MOP, Dark Lapis, and Bloody Jasper on Rosewood.
		A tribute piece for the Greatful Dead this cover is made from Silver, White and Gold Mother of Pearl, 10,000 Year Old Mammoth Ivory, Bloody Jasper, and Lapis on Ebony. This plate is owned by Daniel Stanley of MA. Dan shared these thought with me, "Your work gets a TON of comments."
		The Crab is made with Paua, Red Abalone, White and Black Mother of Pearl and four different kinds of stones on Mahogany. This piece was comissioned by Leonard Bosh Jr. of CT.
		Based on the Ever Watchful t-cover design this piece was commissioned by Mark Gagliardi of East Hartford, CT. This will go on his private stock PRS that has turquoise bird fret markers and a mahogany back. This has a nickel steel surround. ""
		Plate for a PRS single cut 20th anniversary guitar commissioned by John Nussbaumer of Gastonia, NC. This is green paua and silver fantail on rosewood.
		Lay....La!!! Tribute trim plate for a Fender Strat. Custom made for Ric Golemon from Chicago." All I can say is.... frickin' unbelievable! Another excellent job, I can't wait to get it! It's going to be killer looking on the guitar! I can't appreciate your artistry more, its truly magnificent. "
		Based on our flying eagle design, this if an ebony pick guard for a Taylor guitar custom ordered by Robert Gontarek of Roseville, MN. Robert shared this with me, "The postman just delivered the beautiful pick guard this afternoon. I installed it and it fit beautifully. Your inlay work is of utmost precision and a thing of beauty. Great work Cliff."This pick guard was attached with 3M double back tape and on modification of the guitar are necessary.
		The second piece in the "King of Dragons" set ( the tcover is already designed ) this is probably the best dragon I have ever done. By doing just the head, I could really add a lot of detail to the piece. I'm looking forward to doing the trim plate. The first owner of this design, Dave Nalewajek had this to say, "The Dragon Head arrived today. As the old man on Everybody Loves Raymond use to say, HOLY CRAP. This is unbelievable."
		This Owl face is a toggle cover for a PRS Single Cut. Boy, I love this one! It is made of Silver Fantail, Red Abalone, Black Mother of Pearl, and Gold Mother of Pearl on Ebony. This piece commissioned by Gianni Del Degan from Canada.
		This is the matching back control plate for the owl face above. This cover would probably not be for you if you're a snake fan. :-)
		Matching Trim Plate.
		Control plate for a guitar made specially for the Detroit Jazz Festival by Marcovis Guitars.
		The Blue Jean Baby is made with Paua, Blue Jean Lapis and Dark Lapis on Mahogany. This piece was once again comissioned by Leonard Bosh Jr. of CT.
This really isn't a control plate, but I just don't know where else to put this. This is a "Pick Up Ring Inlay. The piece replaces your two pick up rings and suspends the inlay on the front of the body between the rings. This one is a standard model for a Paul Reed Smith 22 fret guitar.
	PRS, Control Plate with Flying Eagle Made of Paua, Red Abalone, White/Gold Mother of Pearl, on Ebony $350.
	Shared photograph from customer.
	Based on the design of my custom, this egyptian style bird is made of Paua, Silver Fantail, Gold and White MOP on Ebony. We are making up matching tcovers.
	Matching Trim Plate.
	PRS, Trim Plate with Flying Eagle Made of Paua, Red Abalone, White/Gold Mother of Pearl, on Ebony $350.
	I like this little turtle and I really wanted people to see it. This was made for Princeville Guitars and is made of Paua, Red Abalone and Webbed Malichite on Koa.
	Here is the entire Princevill guitar control panel set.
The Well Dressed PRS Set Includes Control Plate, Trim Plate, Pick Up Ring Inlay and T-Cover. Avaiable in Ebony or Rosewood.
	Simple, but elegant, Paua birds to match a PRS.
	Not sure what this symbol is, but it was a client requestion. This is a Greatful Dead style control plate in brass and ebony.