Rosettes 101

[John429]

Hi Folks,

I'm wondering if someone in our group can help educate me on Taylor rosettes? As I contemplate a possible BTO for someday in the future, I wanted to better understand more on this subject. On my 612ce, I have an Abalone rosette that is the typical whitish/silvery color. However, I have seen some Taylors with extremely colorful rosettes, some green and also blue, (like this one, which I really, really like):

http://429mustangcougarinfo.50megs.com/bluerosette2.jpg

Is this blue rosette material also Abalone, except blue Abalone, or is it a different material entirely? Also, is rosette material color something you can specify when ordering a BTO guitar? If so, I would want a blue one like this.

Additionally, I would be very interested in a general overview of non-wood rosettes - are all of these Abalone, or are there different types of materials used to make these colorful rosettes besides Abalone? Thanks in advance for any info you all provide!

[Edward]

The name is "green-heart abalone" which is standard on R.Taylors, and optional on Taylors. 

This is why you see the regular "white-ish" abalone, even on upgraded standard models like the 900s, on Taylors.  One must "spec" the green heart in order to get the green (and multi-hued) abalone as you will not get it by chance.  I own a Custom DN that was "BTO'd" with said green-heart and it is quite stunning (if I do say so myself ).  Whether full-body binding or just the rosette, this abalone is a beautiful aesthetic difference, IMHO.

Edward

[DennisG]

When you go BTO, you can not only spec the abalone color for the rosette, you can spec it for the fretboard inlays, headstock & bridge inlays, and Taylor logo.  I used green-heart abalone on all.

[michaelw]

Hi Folks,

I'm wondering if someone in our group can help educate me on Taylor rosettes? As I contemplate a possible BTO for someday in the future, I wanted to better understand more on this subject. On my 612ce, I have an Abalone rosette that is the typical whitish/silvery color. However, I have seen some Taylors with extremely colorful rosettes, some green and also blue, (like this one, which I really, really like):

Is this blue rosette material also Abalone, except blue Abalone, or is it a different material entirely? Also, is rosette material color something you can specify when ordering a BTO guitar? If so, I would want a blue one like this.

Additionally, I would be very interested in a general overview of non-wood rosettes - are all of these Abalone, or are there different types of materials used to make these colorful rosettes besides Abalone? Thanks in advance for any info you all provide!

hi John,

Taylor's 'standard abalone' comes on the 500-800 series rosettes

the picture of the R Taylor rosette & purfling that you posted is likely green heart ab, but the material in
the pic appears to have a good bit more blue than i've seen on green heart ab used on some Taylor BTOs

here are a couple of pics of a blue paua rosette/purfling/inlay

this may be an option worth considering, imho, if you're looking for 'blue'

[Guitar Rodeo]

Good information from everyone. Taylor is not currently providing the Green Heart on the BTO program. In it's place is Paua shell. The first photograph in the thread is Paua. Pretty much like Green Heart, but much bluer. The Presentation Grade guitars and specific inlays that include Green Heart still have Green Heart, but the BTO options for top trim and rosettes are Paua. The Green Heart (and I think Paua too) are a result of selecting the highly colored abalone (or Paua) shell pieces to intensify the color and reduce the neutral or white colored pieces. There is a pretty wide color spectrum in the regular rosettes and I have seen many that are as intense as the Green Heart/Paua. I hope this helps. Jim

[Cindy]

Good information from everyone. Taylor is not currently providing the Green Heart on the BTO program. In it's place is Paua shell. The first photograph in the thread is Paua. Pretty much like Green Heart, but much bluer. The Presentation Grade guitars and specific inlays that include Green Heart still have Green Heart, but the BTO options for top trim and rosettes are Paua. The Green Heart (and I think Paua too) are a result of selecting the highly colored abalone (or Paua) shell pieces to intensify the color and reduce the neutral or white colored pieces. There is a pretty wide color spectrum in the regular rosettes and I have seen many that are as intense as the Green Heart/Paua. I hope this helps. Jim

Jim, are you serious?!! And how does the price compare (without mentioning specific dollar amounts)...is the blue Paua the same price as the green heart, or is it more? Last year when I was asking about the blue Paua shell, the cost was considerably more. Is that still the case?

If it's the same price as the Green Heart, then grrrrr. I really wanted the blue.

[jjrpilot-admin]

Good information from everyone. Taylor is not currently providing the Green Heart on the BTO program. In it's place is Paua shell. The first photograph in the thread is Paua. Pretty much like Green Heart, but much bluer. The Presentation Grade guitars and specific inlays that include Green Heart still have Green Heart, but the BTO options for top trim and rosettes are Paua. The Green Heart (and I think Paua too) are a result of selecting the highly colored abalone (or Paua) shell pieces to intensify the color and reduce the neutral or white colored pieces. There is a pretty wide color spectrum in the regular rosettes and I have seen many that are as intense as the Green Heart/Paua. I hope this helps. Jim

Jim, are you serious?!! And how does the price compare (without mentioning specific dollar amounts)...is the blue Paua the same price as the green heart, or is it more? Last year when I was asking about the blue Paua shell, the cost was considerably more. Is that still the case?

If it's the same price as the Green Heart, then grrrrr. I really wanted the blue.

Cindy, you now must mail me your guitar and start a new BTO with the blue paua shell.  It's the only solution.

[Guitar Rodeo]

Cindy,

I remember. You were ahead of the curve. No surprise there... When you were looking, Paua was barely on the horizon and doing individual guitars at that point was a problem because of the rarity of the order(s). It cost a lot more to do it that way and the extra cast was expressed in the cost to the dealer and the customer. As Green heart became scarcer this year, doing Paua became cost effective because they were now doing it in quantity. I do not have any inside knowledge. It is entirely possible that Taylor is taking a hit by substituting Paua and they may intend for it to be temporary. The BTO sheets show Paua now. That much I know. IMHO, both are beautiful.

[Cindy]

Cindy,

I remember. You were ahead of the curve. No surprise there... When you were looking, Paua was barely on the horizon and doing individual guitars at that point was a problem because of the rarity of the order(s). It cost a lot more to do it that way and the extra cast was expressed in the cost to the dealer and the customer. As Green heart became scarcer this year, doing Paua became cost effective because they were now doing it in quantity. I do not have any inside knowledge. It is entirely possible that Taylor is taking a hit by substituting Paua and they may intend for it to be temporary. The BTO sheets show Paua now. That much I know. IMHO, both are beautiful.

*Sigh* Since I'm not a fan of green, I opted for the regular abalone. The blue Paua would have been spectacular, but I must admit my guitar is quite gorgeous even without the blue!

[not darth]

I've got a question someone may be able to answer:
In the first picture, that John posted, the abalone also goes up around the fingerboard extension on the guitar top but I can't see if it is also full-top purfling. 
In the picture posted by michealw the guitar has abalone top purfling but not the 'border' around the fingerboard extension.

I guess the question is, does the first guitar have fulltop purfling, and, can one get that border around the extension without fulltop purfling?
-K

[michaelw]

I've got a question someone may be able to answer:
In the first picture, that John posted, the abalone also goes up around the fingerboard extension on the guitar top but I can't see if it is also full-top purfling. 
In the picture posted by michealw the guitar has abalone top purfling but not the 'border' around the fingerboard extension.

I guess the question is, does the first guitar have fulltop purfling, and, can one get that border around the extension without fulltop purfling?
-K

hi Kris,

i believe the pic of the R Taylor that John posted has the abalone top purfling with
fretboard extension, similar to the top on a PS or the XXX-BE 30th anniversary GC

if i recall correctly, Taylor did not offer the ab fretboard extension from 01-10 on their Custom Shop or
BTO models, unless it had the PS ab purfling (on either sides of the binding, top, sides & back) -
the ab fretboard extension has returned with the Cindy on the current 900s, with rosewood binding

i don't believe it is possible to spec an abalone fretboard extension without the abalone edged top,
but i can't say that with any certainty ... blue paua abalone as a BTO option (boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy)

[Edward]

OK, so I stand corrected.  Here are pics I copied over from my original "DN Custom BTO" Thread.  I referred to the inlays as "green heart" abalone:






But now that I look at the build sheet that Taylor had emailed me, I see that the abalone is, indeed, Paua abalone and not Green Heart.  Sorry about that!  I simply assumed (you know what they say about "assume" ) that it was green heart on this Custom DN because it is nearly identical to the green-heart (yes, green heart, in fact) on my R.Taylors.  Maybe the pics are not so great, but to the naked eye, my Paua inlays look pretty dang "green-heart" to me, as if they came straight out of RT-land.  But the build sheet says otherwise ...and worth mentioning is that this guitar was built in Nov 2008 as a 2009 NAMM showcase.  Go figure.  I guess it is as Jim describes ...far be it for me to contradict his expertise.  I hope this sheds some light on the matter.  Sorry for the goof! 

Edward

[jjrpilot-admin]

OK, so I stand corrected.  Here are pics I copied over from my original "DN Custom BTO" Thread.  I referred to the inlays as "green heart" abalone:






But now that I look at the build sheet that Taylor had emailed me, I see that the abalone is, indeed, Paua abalone and not Green Heart.  Sorry about that!  I simply assumed (you know what they say about "assume" ) that it was green heart on this Custom DN because it is nearly identical to the green-heart (yes, green heart, in fact) on my R.Taylors.  Maybe the pics are not so great, but to the naked eye, my Paua inlays look pretty dang "green-heart" to me, as if they came straight out of RT-land.  But the build sheet says otherwise ...and worth mentioning is that this guitar was built in Nov 2008 as a 2009 NAMM showcase.  Go figure.  I guess it is as Jim describes ...far be it for me to contradict his expertise.  I hope this sheds some light on the matter.  Sorry for the goof! 

Edward

Edward, we will forgive you for your "goof" but first you must post more great pics of your guitar...       

[michaelw]

OK, so I stand corrected.  Here are pics I copied over from my original "DN Custom BTO" Thread.  I referred to the inlays as "green heart" abalone:

But now that I look at the build sheet that Taylor had emailed me, I see that the abalone is, indeed, Paua abalone and not Green Heart.  Sorry about that!  I simply assumed (you know what they say about "assume" ) that it was green heart on this Custom DN because it is nearly identical to the green-heart (yes, green heart, in fact) on my R.Taylors.  Maybe the pics are not so great, but to the naked eye, my Paua inlays look pretty dang "green-heart" to me, as if they came straight out of RT-land.  But the build sheet says otherwise ...and worth mentioning is that this guitar was built in Nov 2008 as a 2009 NAMM showcase.  Go figure.  I guess it is as Jim describes ...far be it for me to contradict his expertise.  I hope this sheds some light on the matter.  Sorry for the goof! 

Edward

huh
what

thanks for coming clean

Edward, that is the 'greenest' paua ab that i've seen & the accents on the center of the 600 series
leaf fretboard inlays looks nothing like the ones on the 614cL2 that's sitting here next to me ...
maybe they put some R Taylor grade paua on that BTO

perhaps, paua is being used on the current 900 series as well ... hmm

[John429]

Wow - just getting on the forum now since I posted my question last night and am enjoying reading everyone's responses. Thank you all for the great information! I looked up the Blue Paua and found that it also is a species of Abalone shell, so this answers one of my questions - it looks like all of the non-wood rosettes (the standard white, the green heart as well as the Blue Paua) are made of Abalone, just different species. Also learned that the blue rosette could be either blue paua (most likely) or, possibly green heart as there can be color variation within the green heart that will also allow for blue sometimes. Also good to know that this can be spec'd on a BTO. I can certainly say that I will plan for this on mine someday! Thank you all again for your helpful responses. I learned a lot.

Kris - I looked in my file to see if I had additional photos of that guitar towards helping with your question about whether it had full top purfling (looks like Michael knew the answer though), but I just saved the one photo showing the rosette because I liked the blue version so much. I don't remember specificly where I saved those pix from, otherwise, I would try to go back for more pix for you.

I've attached one more photo - this one of a beautiful shell I bought in a gift shop while on vacation in Hawaii several years ago. I have always loved it's blue and green iridescent features. It occurred to me just now that it's likely a Blue Paua shell! It would sure make a nice rosette 
http://429mustangcougarinfo.50megs.com/bluepaua3.jpg