Look at the J-35 available at zZounds
 

Zoom in on the rosette.
Seam gap very obvious.
I don't think this would pass a Chinese QC
yet here it appears.
Been thinking about a Bozeman Gibson for a while now.
Prices are outrageous. J-35 is reasonably priced but by no
means inexpensive. This should not happen.

I guess they already really miss Ren Ferguson.
BTW zZounds offers six different guitars from which to choose.
The jacked rosette appears in every image.
They must have used the same photo for each offering.

J-35
 

Hey, I looked at the pics and didn't see what you're seeing...I just bought a J-35 locally and it's perfect, best one I ever played...

I see it, just below the fingerboard. Not too big of a deal, but yeah, one would expect to see no seam. Even my GS mini shows no seam :)

Wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me.

Especially if it played well; I doubt I'd even notice.

A link would be nice.
Dan

I think your being a bit harsh. That is pretty minor IMO. Zzounds does a fine job of displaying their guitars. Each front image is clearly different in each of the 6 they detail. Gibson has ways of building their guitars. You'll likely notice things like that as well as the back binding not meeting perfectly in the center of the neck , or a bit of glue smudge at the nut, or even polishing compound on the fretboard and bridge. In my opinion, Gibson builds with the same methods they always have in a more traditional way. You'll likely find imperfections in them that show they were built by hand. You could enjoy these imperfections or you could do what your doing and be miserable. ;) I love Gibsons, but much prefer their sunburst models because they show age much betta!

Photography is a funny thing, lights and shadows can really play tricks on you. I looked at the J-35 and all I could find was what looked like the shadow of the bass strings. I think your crazy if you think you could find faults on those pictures. Crazy blurry when you zoom in

Here's the link. http://www.zzounds.com/item--GIBJ35

Zoomed in, the image was VERY clear on my 24" graphics monitor and I see exactly what the OP is referring to and has nothing to do with lights and shadows. There is a very slight gap between the rosette ends but actually, compared to some J-35s I've seen, it's pretty good and not something I'd complain about. I've seen larger gaps and more misaligned rosette ends on J-35s. The rosette ends on mine aren't perfectly aligned but not bad, and nothing that's really bothered me. It's such a fantastic guitar I just don't worry about it.

DC

Who cares?

How's it sound?

Can we agree that if it were a stellar copy, this minor flaw would be meaningless?

I'm starting to consider Gibsons to be "folk art" instruments that have a ton of soul and mojo but many "rough edges" and "uniqueness." This is a good example.

A hundred years from now, these will be endearing "flaws" when examined on Antiques Roadshow :)

J-35
 

Hey, I took a look at the pics again, and now I see it...maybe I didn't understand what I was supposed to be looking for...to me it looks like a misalignment rather than a gap....and so I went to check out my j-35...took my glasses off so I could see closer...there really isn't a gap, but the black line in the rosette doesn't align perfectly at the top of the soundhole...can't see that with a casual look...I'm not going to cry about that...guitar plays great, without a setup, and sounds wonderful...

I zoomed in. The resolution of the photo wasn't good enough to reveal what you're talking about on my iPad, but if it's there, at $500 less than a D 18, well, I believe I'd be listening, not looking at a tiny gap in the rosette.

That kind of money in a Martin will get you into a 17 series...A frame bracing, "select hardwood" neck, morado fingerboard, satin finished back and sides...I'll take that tiny little gap, thanks. YMMV.

P

Wow. It ain't perfect, but it's hardly worth starting a thread about...

I see what the OP is talking about.

More importantly to me, take note of the string slots at the nut with what my eye sees as perfectly spaced strings-that's very important to me, I've found issues with that on many other brands guitar.

That is a very nice looking slope to me.

d

Yes, there's a vertical seam visible at the top of the rosette. You'd see a similar seam or even worse on practically any guitar if the vast majority didn't have the fretboard extending over the top of the rosette. I'll have to admit that short fretboard is one aspect of the J35's style I don't like.

fasteddie199...find a Chinese guitar or 2 with the full rosette uncovered without a visible seam and I might allow your criticism rates a minor sniff.

But I'd be paying more attention to how the instrument sounds and plays.

not a big deal ?
 

You pay almost two grand for a guitar, it should be perfect.
While it seems like a minor imperfection, the person doing the rosette
had the opportunity to fix it but let it go.
That person doesn't care. The person performing the final inspection
did not care.

"One of the most difficult mindsets for Ren to adopt came from a meeting with Henry. Henry told Ren, “Don’t over-romanticize the making of these guitars – they are just boxes, for crying out loud.”"

-Henry Juszkiewicz to Ren Ferguson

I'd rather not own a box that someone doesn't care about no matter how
good it sounds.