Dick Rosmini

Who was Dick Rosmini?

Dick Rosmini was an American guitarist, at one time considered the best 12-string guitarist in the world. He was best known for his role in the American "folk revival" of the 1960s. He died September 9, 1995 of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis at the age of 59.

His album Adventures for 12 string, 6 string, and banjo, predates much of John Fahey and Leo Kottke and other American Primitivism guitarists, which Kottke cited as an early influence. Rosmini was also a noted banjo player. In 1978 he wrote a booklet on multitrack recording called TEAC Multitrack Primer.

Rosmini had already appeared as a sideman with Bob Gibson at Chicago's Gate of Horn; with Art Podell & Paul Potash at New York's Cafe Wha?; as soloist and singer at Los Angele's Ash Grove; with Barbara Dane in a concert tour with Bob Newhart; and in association with Pernell Roberts in Bonanza.

Rosmini continued his career in music as a sideman on numerous folk albums, including Bob Gibson, Eric Weissberg, Dave Van Ronk and others before leaving music to pursue a career in photography.

He subsequently taught recording for over a decade at the University of Southern California and had a hand in the evolution of motion picture sound into its present day form. His constant fight to make audio electronics accessible to musicians led to his development of many of Tascam's multitrack and portable multitrack recorders and mixers. He was a consultant to JBL on the monumental musical instrument transducer K-series 120 and 130, whose sound is the sound of popular music itself. He codesigned JBL studio monitors and participated in their integration into Hollywood's top studios.