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  #1  
Old 10-05-2013, 05:27 AM
mehendiz mehendiz is offline
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Default Can we change our acoustic guitar's rosette?

if buy new guitar can i change that rosette at home?
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  #2  
Old 10-05-2013, 05:41 AM
HHP HHP is offline
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Sure, good chance to ruin the guitar but you can do it or at least try it.
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  #3  
Old 10-05-2013, 05:59 AM
CyberFerret CyberFerret is offline
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I believe there are stores that sell rosette decals. Might be better than trying to replace an existing one, which I would assume is quite a chore.

I should say though, that the aesthetics of the rosette are one of the things that can sway me to buy/not buy a guitar...
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  #4  
Old 10-05-2013, 06:21 AM
chitz chitz is offline
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How ugly is the candidate? Pix?
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  #5  
Old 10-05-2013, 06:37 AM
PeteD PeteD is offline
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I'd never try it, but I'm sure you could if you really wanted to. You would probably have to take a really sharp exacto knife, slowly make cuts at exactly the edges to separate it at the glue lines on both the inside and outside diameter, then carefully chisel it out. If it is a solid wood rosette, it will probably be much harder to chisel out. if your chisel slips, you are screwed (especially near the inside diameter which will likely take a chunk out of the soundboard wood right at the soundhole). Then, you'd need an EXACTLY fitting substitude in terms of width (which you will not likely ever get since most rosettes are imperfect to some degree), re-glue it in, and then level it down. When you level it, you will mess up the finish around the soundhole and will have to re-finish. Re-finishing the top will not look good unless you sand down the whole top and refinish it uniformly. That will require you to remove the neck and the bridge.

Or, you could sell it and buy one that you like better.
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  #6  
Old 10-05-2013, 06:53 AM
Guest316
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Put on a new rosette with a decal. A great company some of us have done business with, Inlay Stickers/Jockomo, sells "inlays" for fret markers, rosettes, pickguard decoration, etc. Great quality. I've gotten a set of fret decals from them in the past, and right now I have some Hummingbird pick guard decor ordered from them for my Gibson.

EDIT This is the decal I'm getting for my Gibson
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Old 10-05-2013, 07:16 AM
DaveKell DaveKell is offline
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As a veteran of 40 years in the sign business, 30 of those producing vinyl decals, I DO NOT think this is a good idea. Super thin vinyl is called high performance. It has an annoying characteristic of shrinking some in from the edges. When that happens, you have dirt accumulation around the decal that now has exposed adhesive. Also, the thin lines of vines, etc., in these pics does not have enough surface area to grip adequately with adhesive and will begin to lift as it is brushed with fingers or picks. The idea of vinyl on the neck is plain ludicrous. Strings being pressed into them will very quickly wear through the 2 mil thickness. Perfect example of just because something can be made, doesn't mean it should be!
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Old 10-05-2013, 07:36 AM
Guest316
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveKell View Post
As a veteran of 40 years in the sign business, 30 of those producing vinyl decals, I DO NOT think this is a good idea. Super thin vinyl is called high performance. It has an annoying characteristic of shrinking some in from the edges. When that happens, you have dirt accumulation around the decal that now has exposed adhesive. Also, the thin lines of vines, etc., in these pics does not have enough surface area to grip adequately with adhesive and will begin to lift as it is brushed with fingers or picks. The idea of vinyl on the neck is plain ludicrous. Strings being pressed into them will very quickly wear through the 2 mil thickness. Perfect example of just because something can be made, doesn't mean it should be!
What you say makes sense, but my experience with this particular supplier/company is opposite. ymmv. Perhaps there's a range of quality . . .
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  #9  
Old 10-05-2013, 09:04 AM
handers handers is offline
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Default Can we change our acoustic guitar's rosette?

Perhaps it is time to begin looking for a replacement guitar. Unless you have years of serious experience with fine woodworking, you will certainly make it look worse than it looks now. But looking for a new guitar open sip all sorts of possibilities.
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  #10  
Old 10-05-2013, 10:03 AM
RoseAdi RoseAdi is offline
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Just don't play in front of the mirror and you'll be fine.
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  #11  
Old 10-05-2013, 10:44 AM
andrewbenw andrewbenw is offline
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I don't think any inlaid rosette under finish is even worth attempting any sort of modification.

It's it's a decal, sure.
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Old 10-05-2013, 12:16 PM
Tahitijack Tahitijack is offline
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Bob Taylor answered this question years ago in Wood and Steel. His answer was no, and Taylor does not even offer a change rosette out at any price.
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  #13  
Old 10-05-2013, 12:27 PM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mehendiz View Post
if buy new guitar can i change that rosette at home?
A guitar's rosette is not designed to be replaced, as it's permanently inlaid into the wood of the top itself. Yes, if you want to laboriously do the handwork that Pete described in his post, you can painstakingly remove the glued-in purfling that makes up the rosette. But it would be far, FAR easier to completely botch this operation than it would be to get it right, and even then you'd still be left with a gaping circular hole where the purfling used to be, with no easy way to refill it.

To inlay another rosette in the original one's place, you'd have to glue it and then sand it flush, which would be extremely difficult to do while the top is still in place on the guitar. In the normal guitar construction process, the rosettes get glued into the tops long before the tops get glued onto the sides of the guitar body.

Presuming, though, that you somehow managed to glue in a rosette and sand it flush without boogering up the rest of the top or the bottom of the fingerboard, you'd still be left with replacing all the finish that removing the old rosette and gluing in the new one and then sanding the new one flush would have obliterated.

If you had years of experience doing this sort of exacting work on guitars, you might pull it off, but even then it wouldn't be worth the effort.

My suggestion is that you find a rosette decal that you like from one of the online sellers that carries them, and perhaps buy two or three of the same style. If after a few years the first decal starts to shrink, as Dave suggested as a likely occurrence, remove the first one, clean the area of any adhesive residue with a swipe of a clean cloth moistened with lighter fluid, then put another one in its place.

But is it possible to actually physically replace a guitar rosette once it's on a guitar? Yes, but it would be a complete and utter pain in the butt, and it would be impossible to do without causing significant damage to the finish.

My suggestion is that you either get used to the rosette that's on there, or cover it with a rosette decal that you like. If this is going to be a long term guitar for you, get several of the same rosette decals for future use in case they eventually shrink.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller
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  #14  
Old 10-05-2013, 01:14 PM
rsfanforever rsfanforever is offline
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You may have some great skills for such. Me, I'm mostly interested in tone. If I were unhappy with the rosette or looks of the guitar, for the time it would take to change it and make it look better you could sell it, buy one with better rosette or bling and great tone.
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  #15  
Old 10-05-2013, 05:01 PM
zabdart zabdart is offline
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This is a headache.
If you want to do it right, first of all you've got to sand the top down to the bare wood. Then you've got to sand out or somehow remove the old rosette. Then you've got to carve a space with a circle-saw for the new one. Then you've got to inlay the new one. Then you've got to refinish the top. All very labor-intensive and time consuming... and not to be attempted if you don't have the proper tools and the workshop space.
What another poster said about buying a new rosette decal makes a heck of a lot more sense than going through all that.
Why can't you just leave well enough alone? It's not going to improve the sound of your instrument in any way.
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