Mankato Guitars by Rosie Interview
Mankato Guitars by Rosie Interview
ID
NAME: Rosanne Machado
NICK NAME : Rosie Mankato
LIVING IN : Curitiba, State of Paraná, Brazil
TRAINING & BACKGROUND: UFPR, Leandro Mombach Lutherie Center at Parana’s Federal University (Class of 2016)
PLAYING: Acoustic and Electric guitar and bass and a bit of everything! (I’m a music producer)
LUTHIER YOU ADMIRE THE MOST: Christoph Noe, from On Guitars
INSTRUMENT YOU DREAM TO HAVE ONE DAY: A “baby” acoustic guitar
LAST ALBUM YOU BOUGHT : The Weepies, Sirens
LAST MUSIC SONG YOU PUT IN YOUR CAR: So We Won’t Forget by Khruangbin
LAST SHOW YOU WENT TO : @banda_patada
MOST IMPRESSIVE INSTRUMENT YOU EVER HAD IN HAND: An old-time “Deering” banjo. They’re are incredible.
MOST STRANGE RESTORATION OR REPAIR YOU HAD TO DO : I had to repair multiple holes in the back of a cello that looked like a coffin. It didn’t look like a coffin on purpose though.
Mankato Guitars by Rosie Interview – Can you tell us what you consider to be the most important thing when you design a guitar ? What is your process of creation and how does it often start?
Master luthier Leandro Mombach taught me how to design instruments using the Golden Ratio, I always start with a couple of golden ratio blocks.
I take inspiration from indie guitars from the 50s and 60s like the Italian “Eko” and the Japanese “Teisco”.
My goal is to build guitars that look like they’re from another era but have a tough modern structure.
Mankato Guitars by Rosie Interview – Can you present us your flagship models ? and your company philosophy ?
I’d say the “Scout” model. Named after “Scout” from the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” in honor of all tomboy girls out there.
To me, this guitar represents women occupying spaces that were not traditionally inclusive.
I’m a strong believer that if someone cooks in a bad mood, the food will taste wrong, that said, our company philosophy is basically: never touch an instrument in a bad mood.
Mankato Guitars by Rosie Interview – According to you, what is the most impactful thing in the instument sound ? The woods ? the building technique ? what should a buyer ask for when he want to order an instrument when he was to be sure he is ordering the right instrument for him?
Definitely the technique, I’ve learned that if you mess up 1 millimeter, a demanding guitar player WILL notice. There’s no way around this fact, so you got to have your technique sharp.
Some buyers know exactly what they want, some think they do but actually don’t, and some are confused by internet forums. I always try to interview everyone and ask questions like: “what guitar players do you enjoy”, “treble = good or treble = trouble?”, “crunchy or smooth?”, the questions just get weirder and weirder until we’ve extracted every piece of useful information.
Mankato Guitars by Rosie Interview – For a custom instrument, can you explain your process? What are your average delays? And how do you advise your customer? What questions do you ask him so that his instrument is perfectly adapted to his expectations?
For custom instruments, we have a special interview process, so we can understand every specific need.
We have custom templates made and even prototypes sometimes. The build of all of our instruments take up to 5 months.
Mankato Guitars by Rosie Interview – Do you have famous musicians playing on your models ? If so, can you tell us who ??
Monica Agena has her own signature guitar line with us, we’re so proud to be working with and supporting women in this space.
There’s Erica Silva and Naira Debertolis from “Mulamba”.
We also have Latin Grammy Winner Jr. Tostoi playing a custom “Scout”.
Luthiers.com brings together luthiers from all over the world. According to you, how is the brazilian lutherie different?
We have access to such beautiful and rich wood here in Brazil, that’s why our logo says “tropical guitars”.
I have to take this opportunity to bring awareness that the Amazon has lost more than 10 million football fields of forest in a decade. Many international companies import this illegal product for easy profit, and Brazilian laws are highly ineffective right now.
We take pride in using these resources respectfully. We urge people to support instruments that use local woods or/and are committed to preserving the environment.
There are many types of wood that aren’t traditional in lutherie but produce beautiful tones, we need to demystify this urgently.
Where can we buy your instruments? Can we try them somewhere? Will you participate to some guitar shows ?
We are a relatively new company, so we’re still preparing for guitar shows and making prototypes available for people to try out.
People can order our instruments on our official website mankatoguitars.com and directly from Luthiers.com by sending us a message when we’ll be making more instruments available.
You can contact Mankato Guitars
using the contact form on his personal page on Luthiers.com here :
https://luthiers.com/listing/mankato-guitars/
We also invite you to follow him on his various social networks:
- Facebook: No account
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mankatoguitars
- Website: https://mankatoguitars.com
Mankato Guitars by Rosie Interview
In the coming weeks, as for others luthiers for plucked string instruments, luthiers for bowed string instruments, amps & effects makers, wood & supplies dealers, lutherie events, jobs, schools & teachers subscribers on our site, you will be able to follow our series of mini-interviews dedicated to the fascinating world of luthiers.
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