Ed Roman...

[Tag]

I also bought a nice, legit Veillette from Ed. That’s how he had my email address to begin with. Also, logic dictates that since my my username is just as fake as yours, your anecdote must be as fake as mine.

I’ve recounted the tale here before. Obviously not under this account. I bet the search function could suss it out though.

My username is not fake, and my account is just one of many in the thread.

 

[IIIBOOMERIII]

I called them once for kicks when Ed was still around. I asked them what it would cost to "retop" a PRS Custom 24. They wanted $3000 and they would "mark it a 10" so it would look like a legit 10 top. I think that kind of says it all.

 

[Ghost Of A Legend]

My username is not fake, and my account is just one of many in the thread.

I was here for a very long time and participated enough to rack up the inevitable ban-points. I’m tryna be a good boy now. I’m sure you can relate.

TGP is full of lore and anecdotes. Pranks on Dumble lovers, compass eaters, magic PRS tops, epic departure stories, frog salads. I’ve been here for all of it. Hell, I had a huge assist on that first one.

It’s not as incredulous as it seems. I was looking for a very specific guitar. One of maybe 5 (?) in existence. Ed was fishing in an extremely shallow pond. I imagine he was setting up the old bait-n-switch. Get me in his showroom again after casually dropping $3k on that Veillette. Show me something else while I’m in the joint after telling me some story about why the Ric wasn’t available anymore.

What he didn’t count on was me already having scored what I had been looking for by the time his email came some 6 months later. I was actually kind of flattered.

 

[apalazzolo]

I called them once for kicks when Ed was still around. I asked them what it would cost to "retop" a PRS Custom 24. They wanted $3000 and they would "mark it a 10" so it would look like a legit 10 top. I think that kind of says it all.

Exhibit B!

@chrisr777 what say you? Can you definitively state that ER only marked his PRS retops as "11"s?

 

[OJT1212]

I watched that pilot episode of a Guitar King. Parts were cheesy, and some just flat out stupid (shooting and blowing up a LP Custom) but damned if I didn’t find myself wanting another episode

 

[Mngwa]

People say it's not nice to speak ill of the dead so I guess I'll just leave it at that.

Sometimes, the dead hadn't spoke nicely to some of the living; and at times may not have made good choices, as to what path to take. That can become part of their legacy. That's on them.

 

[DustyRhodesJr]

My dad was watching one of those cable TV mystery murder shows,
and I noticed one segment was about a lady named something like
"Star Roman".

The name sounded familiar, and it turned out it was his stepdaughter
who was murdered.

Seems like she was killed in the desert and at that point the murder
was unsolved.

Never heard any followup on what happened, or if it was solved.

 

[LTE]

My dad was watching one of those cable TV mystery murder shows,
and I noticed one segment was about a lady named something like
"Star Roman".

The name sounded familiar, and it turned out it was his stepdaughter
who was murdered.

Seems like she was killed in the desert and at that point the murder
was unsolved.

Never heard any followup on what happened, or if it was solved.

It still remains unsolved to this day. Sad for the family that needs closure

 

[Hap Hazzard]

I watched that pilot episode of a Guitar King. Parts were cheesy, and some just flat out stupid (shooting and blowing up a LP Custom) but damned if I didn’t find myself wanting another episode

I don't know if it would have made it in the 2000's reality genre. With self aggrandizing lead character, folded arm poses, scowling and over the top screaming and gesturing and all

 

[lbenf]

I dealt with Ed in the late 90's and feel fortunate that I generally had a good experience with the guy. For what it's worth, he had a different demeanor in person vs on the phone (he would get a lot of calls from tire kickers that he had little patience for). I live in WC NY and went to his to his house /workshop in CT several times and he seemed to enjoy showing me the work of smaller lesser known builders (to me) at that the time that included - JET, McNaught, Melancon, Turner, Parker and J. Frogg as well as his own creations, Rist, Pearlcaster, etc. He would let me play whatever I wanted to check out for hours and to be fair played many great guitars and others not so great. He also loved his firearms and saw some tricked out AR's there as well - an added bonus. I ended up getting a low serial number McNaught and Melancon from him as well as letting his shop do a refret on an old SG and pick up swaps on some guitars - all work came out great. I also introduced him to some contacts in the RE biz in Vegas that helped him find his Vegas location. I know the guy got very mixed reviews and wanted to share my experiences dealing with him.

 

[RockDebris]

I've never known what I think about ER; taking all accounts in, he appeared to be a Jekyll and Hyde sort of character. One thing seemed pretty clear though reading his own words years ago: the rumors and controversy surrounding him was of his own making. And for whatever reason, seemed to be exactly what he wanted.

 

[Mr Fingers]

Never met him. Have read loads of his posts and those of others about him. IMO it is never worthwhile to make summary judgments of people, as most of us have both good qualities and bad tendencies. I do get impatient when people crap on someone's business practices when we are all free to walk away from one seller and go to another. I also feel sorry for people who rely on what others say ratrher than informing themselves, or shopping with somone who knows their stuff. In any high-end sales situation, counting on a salesperson to somehow serve as a buyer's rep is both silly and a bad mistake. A seller sells. I've made good deals with difficult people. Othewr than when I was a kid, I don't think I've ever expected a seller to work for me. Like others on this thread, I don't like hearing junk about anyone, period, legit or not, period. The guy's not even in business any more.

 

[ned7flat5]

One thing I recall from reading all those Ed Roman threads years back was his emerging impatience with tourists and tire kickers treating his bountiful shop as just another Las Vegas Strip attraction like a Ripley’s or something.

People were complaining that, having made the effort to visit the LV store, they were encountering locked front doors through which they were only permitted to pass upon forking over a not insignificant entry fee.

I’d suspect that there’d be a lot of folks who would go to the shop with the hope of being insulted.

 

[E2942]

I'd be willing to bet he wasn't even born in Italy.

 

[Eddie-Applegate]

Ed was definitely a character and a real slice-O-life. He had great stories and a vivid imagination. I visited his shop in Vegas several years before he died. We got into a conversation about Bond Electraglide guitars. (I used to collect Bonds and have done some fairly extensive research on them - if you’ve never heard of them, google it. Arguably the most innovative guitar ever mass produced). Anyway, Ed went on and on “educating” me about the “history” of Bonds, even explaining to me how Mick Jagger’s brother ran the company (not true). A great story, and Ed told it wonderfuly, but it was obvious he really knew little about Bonds. But that didn’t even slow him down!

Bill, tgo

^^ re: Bond Electraglide: these are what Mick Jones played in Big Audio Dynamite, correct?

 

[sahhas]

i liked the info on his webpage, there is some interesting information, i always thought his LSR guitars looked interesting.

honestly i was always shocked he never tried to buy the steinberger forms and stuff from gibson when they shut down steinberger production, i figured he would try to make steinberger stuff on his own

 

[Technicolor Wizard]

I met Ed Roman in 1995 when he was in Danbury, CT with East Coast Sound. At the time he was running radio ads saying they will make any guitar you want from whatever materials you want and you could spec out your own guitar soup to nuts.

At the time I was going through a fairly unpleasant divorce and really needed to elevate my mood so I decided that as a lifelong VH fan I would have them construct a Frankie (they weren't called that then and this was years and years before EVH company existed)

So one Saturday I drove up to the store I lm in Weschester so it wasn't that far. Ed was there behind the counter holding court and making many of the claims you see in the video. Barry Lipman was still there and I had met him years prior when he was working out f his house in Scarsdale.

Anyway, I told Ed my story and I only knew him from the radio ads and had no real idea who he was. For whatever, reason, maybe my personal situation, who knows, he was incredibly friendly to me and sat me down with this complete spec sheet and I ended up getting a Frankie with a Korina body and Maple neck with just a thin layer of satin which was nothing I had ever seen or played before. I had an original Floyd and chose a '59 Duncan PU because Ed explained that EVH's original guitar had a '59 Gibson ES-335 pickup in it. I did not want the candy cane look so went with black with white stripes.

They told me up front the guitar would take 6-8 months to complete which was fine by me because I needed that time to put together all the money---this was not cheap but honestly I didn't care there was no other market for what I wanted and Barry Lipman is and was a serious luthier imho and he told me the price up front; 5k.

Over time I would stop up to the shop to make payments usually on a saturday afternoon and Ed was also friendly polite and armed with entertaining stories. Were they true? Who knows but again, I didn't care and found the whole process of having a guitar made that you could buy elsewhere pretty exciting.

When it came time to pick the neck, I remember Ed took me into some back room where there were literally 500 guitar necks just hanging in a row. he told me to take my time and keep checking them out until I found the one most comfortable (Ended up being a BC Rich model neck, forget which one). Again, no pressure and really terrific customer service--yes, I understand I had a check with me evefrytrime I showed up but still it made for a really fun experience.

Meanwhile...my friends were blasting me relentlessly for spending soo much money on a guitar that would never have any value to anyone but me. The fun game back then was to list all the things I could have bought with the money.

However...when it was finished and I picked it up ALL that flew right out the window---the guitar was and still is an absolute joy to play. It played incredibly from day one and sounded fantastic, actually warmer than Ed's guitar which I put down to the koruna, which incidentally makes it very light and comfortable. My favorite comment was my buddy who played it for a while, looked up and said "A guitar is not supposed to be this easy to play".

I have never successfully posted photos on here and the last time I tried was a semi-maddening experience so I apologize but I just wanted to provide at least some balance for someone no longer here to defend himself and while he may not have treated everyone so great, he was absolutely terrific to me start to finish and 27 years later I still love that guitar.

Sorry for the length, my .02, RIP Ed.

I've never met Ed Roman a day in my life, but I'm under the impression that this story could have gone sideways rather effortlessly..

 

[sahhas]

i didnt know about this, thats really sad!!!!

My dad was watching one of those cable TV mystery murder shows,
and I noticed one segment was about a lady named something like
"Star Roman".

The name sounded familiar, and it turned out it was his stepdaughter
who was murdered.

Seems like she was killed in the desert and at that point the murder
was unsolved.

Never heard any followup on what happened, or if it was solved.

 

[OctalSocket]

One thing I recall from reading all those Ed Roman threads years back was his emerging impatience with tourists and tire kickers treating his bountiful shop as just another Las Vegas Strip attraction like a Ripley’s or something.

People were complaining that, having made the effort to visit the LV store, they were encountering locked front doors through which they were only permitted to pass upon forking over a not insignificant entry fee.

I’d suspect that there’d be a lot of folks who would go to the shop with the hope of being insulted.

That was the experience I had - visited the big LV store on a work trip, and was just looking around when I passed him talking to a group of guys, complaining about people coming in to look around, and how they made him mad and wasted his time. I got out of there pretty quickly, and felt stupid for going there.

 

[lbpesq]

^^ re: Bond Electraglide: these are what Mick Jones played in Big Audio Dynamite, correct?

Yes, you are correct. A Bond was also used extensively by the Edge on U2’s Joshua Tree album.

Bill, tgo