Tom Blackshear -> RE: Rose Rosette on Primera/A-1 Models (Jan. 1 2009 6:06:42)
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ORIGINAL: Exitao I'm curious: Anyone know of a nice guide or photo gallery (maybe with commentary) on rosettes? I know that my guitar's rosette was not made by the luthier. I guess he buys them in bulk like nuts, saddles, bridges and tuners. Essentially, he's too busy to bother with making his own rosettes, and he disclosed this before selling it, which I think is only proper. Maybe it would be different if he was busy enough to have a helper or apprentice, rosettes could qualify as "make busy" work that could also help someone grow skills with materials and tools. Maybe if I had commissioned my guitar, I would have preferred something special, like Anders does. In the future, if I ever buy another guitar, I wouldn't mind paying extra, or if I used a luthier who didn't make his own, I'd source out something to my liking. But, as long as the rosette matches the aesthetic of the guitar, does it really make a difference? I've only ever bought two guitars. One factory built and one luthier built. So I'm not very experienced. As mine was built on spec for someone else, I had no say in its fabrication. I did, however, ask every question I could think of as to its materials and construction and I expect that most people would discuss these details while commissioning their guitar or purchasing it. Would many luthiers be honest? Would/do many luthiers pass them off as their own, simply not mention it intentionally, or just not think it worth mentioning? Would anyone agree that this seems to fall under caveat emptor os it there more to it? Any seasoned professional builder can make his own rosettes, and this is to say that many builders now, don't bother with it since they order their own designs and such from Japan, Korea, or China. It's done all the time. I make guitar copies in the styles of several Spanish masters and I don't have the time to sit and make rosettes of their style. Japan does a very good job where this is concerned. RE Brune has done the same thing. We don't care to spend the time when we can get excellent copies of any style we build. Even Brune ordered his own personal from Japan. This is a highly accepted way of doing business, and for any of you on this list to say different, is to display your ignorance. But if a person desires to have his own personalized rosette, then think about it for a moment. It would not be the builder's idea but the customers. The builder would be in the arena but not solely creating his own idea. So, it stands to reason that there are several ways to handle it. Now, if the player says to the builder, "Make me something different but to your own ideal," then it would be the builder's ideal. But we have to ask ourselves, is it worth the extra time and price to do it this way or should the builder spend the additional time fine-tuning his instrument. I think this thread is not too in touch with the market-place since the majority of players today don't care if it is hand made or a copy of a famous builder. What IS important is that the rosette be esthetically pleasing to the eyes and fit the over-all continuity of the guitar's design. But to clarify it a little further, I would say that many of todays rosette designs are in extremely bad taste; even some of the modern styles coming out of Spain. What's the answer? The answer is in the buyer's taste.
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