EB-1 # 114
Joe Held, Hartford
Joe and his brother Tibor both own EB-1's, The one pictured below was
ordered in October 1998. Before we were branding our custom guitars. You
will notice no Ed Roman logo on the front of the instrument
These guys are both players and are not impressed by the fact
that so and so plays a Fender and so and so plays a Gibson. Joe & Tibor are
simply people who play their guitars and don't care what the general populace
plays. Today this is becoming rarer and rarer. The big companies spend millions
every year brainwashing and programming their customers to have loyalty to their
brand. Personally I think that's a joke. in any case there will always be people
who say they can tell the difference between Coke & Pepsi.
Today 9 years later there are 1750 of these finely made
LSR guitars out there. You never
see these pop up on ebay which is a huge testimonial to their
quality.
Of course the above paragraph doesn't mean I won't hype the fact that any
well known player is using one. I mean I can be just as shallow as any other
manufacturer. (maybe even more shallow) Because In the final analysis,
Rock Stars sell guitars more than a thousand salesman and a thousand magazine
ads and a thousand good reviews. Unfortunate but true.
Leslie West, Eddie Van Halen, Buck Dharma, Rick Derringer,
So there !!!!!
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 "The Damien 7"
1996
This 7 string guitar/weapon emanated from the mind of Damien Esmond. It
is a 24 fret neck through body instrument constructed entirely of premium
Australian Silky Oak (Lacewood). There are custom made Abalone inverted crosses
and a premium Gaboon Ebony neck. The electronics include a Dimarzio Blaze 7
Pickup and a custom made stutter switch.
The custom designed stand/blade is for setting the guitar down on stage
and for an assortment of other piercing possibilities.
The Damien 7 Model is a radical (to say the least)
departure from the norm.
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Evil Shouldn't Look This Good
Ed Roman
This Evil Bass was customized for Glenn Nichols of New Jersey
I think he may have been Jamming with Damien (Above) and
bumped into Damiens Guitar
1997
The finish Includes the pickups and the back of the guitar
We Installed a new fingerboard and did some custom inlay work
Custom Blood Red Bich for Stan Wilson
In case you didn't know we used to build BC
Rich guitars until Bernie started up again in 1999.
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Beautiful blood-red Rich
Bich specially constructed in my shop for Stan Wilson of Toronto.
Stan wanted African Black Korina back wings and a Quilted Maple 1/2" top.
Dark Brazilian Rosewood was used for the fingerboard and the traditional
original BC Rich diamond fingerboard inlays were elongated slightly to
modernize the original design. This Guitar is extremely light and very
resonant.
The dark blood red finish tends to photograph poorly. The
actual guitar has a deep quilt on the top. |
LSR EB-1 # 4
"Anthony Taroni"
This guitar was commissioned by Anthony Taroni of
California, It is the first "EB-1" ordered with an Ebony Neck. The photo of the
exquisitely figured deep blue stained maple top does not due justice to the
actual finish. This guitar features the Carousel Truss Rod Adjuster System.
These guitars start as low as $1,795.00. They come in 50
or more colors and they offer many innovations that were never available on
their distant cousin Steinbergers.
These guitars are totally built in the USA in my shop.
They have been built in over 100 different body styles. I would like to show some
of them on this website but that would only invite a bunch of hate mail and a
bag full of cease and desist letters from every major guitar manufacturer on
the planet.
Update 2007
This guitar was built in approximately 1997.
Today Ed Roman has sold over 1100 of these guitars. Ed has introduced
over 50 different original body styles. There are over 1700 LSR guitars out
there.
In 2006 Ed will be making the Floyd Rose
Speedloader Tremolo & Hardtail available on all models. These
bridges are superior to the original Steinberger bridges built in
80's & 90's.
The quality of the strings have improved also,
These new models are the best thing that will happen to the headless
style guitar for a long time to come
Ed Roman
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EB-1 Prototype #2
"Bob
Beckwith "
This Guitar was commissioned by Bob Beckwith of
Massachusetts. In the past 2 years I have sold Bob a number of Graphite based
guitars, Steinbergers and Brian Moore's. Bob opted for the more traditional EMG
pickup system instead of the beefy Duncan Pickups we have chosen for the usual
EB-1 . The Top of this guitar is highly figured Blister Quilt with a Strandular
Graphite neck and Birdseye Maple Diamond-Wood Fingerboard.
"Leslie West"
A couple of days before this beautiful EB-1 guitar was shipped out to Bob.
I happened to have a meeting with Leslie West of "Mountain". ( I was
setting up 2 of Leslie's Steinbergers). Leslie was so totally blown away
with the Look, Sound and Feel of the EB-1 that he said he "Had to Have one".
Coming from Leslie West this is a major compliment because anyone that knows
Leslie is keenly aware of his sharp wit and cynical hard to please attitude.
Leslie has played Steinbergers almost exclusively for 15 years. He cannot play
anything else because he uses the "Trans Trem" on many of his songs. I have
been a Major Leslie West fan for 30 years. Even before I saw him play
Mississippi Queen with "Mountain" at Woodstock in 1969.
Leslie recorded Respect (Before Aretha) with the Vagrants. Leslie has
played with everyone from Clapton to Hendrix to Van Halen, I have an old photo
of Leslie West and Jimi Hendrix where incredibly Jimi was playing bass (Wow)!!!
I once saw him play an incredible gig with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker!!!! My
own band in the 60's used to open up with (Blood of the Sun). Ok, so I'm a fan.
To make a long story short I have decided to release a secondary project
"The WB-1" These guitars will be Leslie's design and Leslie's Choice of woods,
Leslie's choice of electronics and shape. The first 100 will also be handsigned
by Leslie himself. Replaced by the Leslie West Rocketship Guitar.
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BC Rich "Bich"
Bob Bricker 1997
Originally Built
in Ed Roman's Custom Shop
This beautifully quilted 10 string Bich was commissioned by
Bob Bricker from Ohio.
I reshaped the heel to be sleeker than an original Bich. The wings are
made of figured Black African Limba (Korina Wood) . The top is highly figured
blister quilt. Unlike the usual BC Rich Bich, this top is book matched for
beauty.
An ebony fingerboard was installed, white binding, custom frets and the
original gorgeous Paua Abalone oversize clouds.
This guitar was made thinner by 3/16 which contributed to the look and overall
feel as well as it's greatly reduced weight. All the hardware was replaced and
the Dimarzio pickups were replaced with Seymour Duncan Black/Backs
TM . (Wait till you hear them)
Bob was concerned about tone, looks and weight. The Quilted Maple and Korina
Woods that were used were selected for natural color, tone quality, resonance
and weight. This guitar when finished was extremely light and played extremely
well.
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Jackson "Kelly"
Custom 1995
 This custom guitar started out as a stock Jackson
Kelly, It was baby blue with pink pin striping "yeeccchh"
It had a Kahler Tremolo
System. It was basically a dull un-interesting example of a great guitar.
The Guitar had a host of problems
including neck & fingerboard instability which made it a perfect guitar
to modify.
Owner
Tony Rizzo of Wisconsin commissioned me to redo the guitar, The challenge was
to make it look good and install a Floyd Rose Tremolo.
The top 1/2 layer of wood was replaced, All new electronics were
installed, a Floyd Rose Tremolo was installed and 2 rails were inlaid on the
face of the guitar (Thus simulating the BC Rich style.
If you have a poor old beat up guitar and you
want it to be built back up to something worth owning
Call Ed Roman in Las Vegas
702-875-4552
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Steinberger M Series
1997
This Steinberger M series was commissioned by Tom Bradley from Maryland.
It started out as a completely stock guitar (white with black binding). Tom
owned the guitar for about 7 years and used it live on stage all over the world.
A new body was fabricated from scratch, Tom picked a beautiful piece of
Australian Lacewood for the back and a gorgeous piece of Quilted Maple for the
top. I ran into several snags during construction of the body and it took longer
to complete than expected.
As you can see from the photo above it came out beautifully. Compare the
Quilted Maple on this guitar to the usual Steinberger wood. My tops are about
10 times as thick and look about 20 times better.
2005 Update
The pictured guitar was built back in 1997 or so.
Today Ed Roman's Custom Shop in Las Vegas makes over 100 different
body designs and can hand build them in less than 3 weeks time.
Check out LSR Guitars
click below for
Building & Binding A Custom LSR
Headless Guitar
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Gibson "Les Paul"
Retopped & Rebuilt
in Ed Roman's Custom Shop
This started out as a 1970's Gold top Les Paul. as you will
notice in the photo there were several extra toggles installed near the volume
and tone knobs. (presumably an attempt to upgrade the limited electronics of
a stock Les Paul).
The stock plastic "mother of toilet seat" neck inlays
were replaced with real Paua Abalone, I shaved the original top off the guitar
and replaced it with a beautiful piece of wide flame maple. It was completely
rebound and finished in a beautiful translucent amber.
Below I have dropped some photos of a bunch of the Les Paul retops
I have done.
Ed |
 
 
We are always retopping & lightening Les
Paul's
We have been doing these retop jobs for 17 years. We
really don't know of any other shops that offer this service. It's
actually cheaper to build a whole guitar from scratch than to do these jobs. We charge about half as much as it would be to build one
from scratch. So it doesn't make good sense for us !!!! We also replace the stock Gibson el cheapo plastic neck
inlays with real MOP or Abalone Many people can't be validated as human beings unless the
headstock says "Gibson"
A Real Pity For The Human Race!!! Oh Well
Various Les Paul Retop Jobs done at Ed Roman's Custom
Shop
BC Rich Mockingbird 1991
This Mockingbird is owned by Carl Bergen of New Jersey. It started out as
an original 1981 BC Rich NJ imported guitar.
As you can see by the photo a finer
piece of Quilted Maple doesn't exist. This Guitar is an excellent example of
what my custom shop capabilities are.
Carl has owned every type of high end
guitar imaginable. In fact he traded in a PRS Dragon III when acquired this gem.
This guitar is one of the first BC Rich guitars ever to be
converted to a Tun-a- Matic Bridge. In the old days all you could hope
for was the inferior Quadmatic bridge or worse the Leo Quan Badass
Bridge. It should just be called the BAD Bridge because basically it
sucked. This Guitar was built up in my custom shop around 1991 it featured
PRS pickups which were the best back then. The only mistake I made was to use a Brazilian Rosewood
fingerboard. Today I have learned that Ebony is the absolute best
way to go.
Ed |
Steinberger
Left handed M
Series
"Jeff Botting"
 This guitar was one of a pair I did for Jeff Botting of Tokyo Japan
in 1995 .
Steinberger never offered this model in a left handed version. I have created a
number of left handed Steinberger conversions like this one. Contact me, you
can specify the type of wood, pickups, bridge system 6 or 12 string. I have
never done a left-handed Steinberger double neck. Yours could be the first !!!
The above Steinberger left-handed custom conversion is made from solid
African Black Limba
(AKA Korina Wood). It is a relatively inexpensive
conversion, simply because all the parts are from an original right handed
model. The only customization is just the body. All the parts are ambidextrous.
Ed
Today Ed Roman offers over 35 headless left handed styles, In fact
Ed Roman is the leading builder specializing in left hand instruments.
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Virgin Double Neck
"Jeff Frohman"
Jeff Is the Store Manager for Murphy's
Music Long Island
 This Virgin double neck features Dimarzio Pickups on the 6 String and
Seymour Duncans on the 12 string side.
The 12 string octave tuning machines are
recessed into the base of the body. The paint was a replication of the old BC
Rich "Metal & Rivets" originally seen on the old 80's Ironbirds.
One of the
coolest things about this guitar is the simplicity of the electronics. Most
double neck guitars have too many controls and are confusing to use in a live
situation.
Jeff wanted his guitar to be practical and functional so there is
only one push pull pot for the volume controls on both necks.
There is a
concentric tone knob allowing for the tones to be set and left alone.
When Jeff
wants to switch necks all he has to do is tap or pull the volume knob. The coil
taps are set up so they work on which ever neck is activated. This
Guitar was totally Built in Our Custom Shop, The necks came from the
buyout of the BC Rich Factory in 1993. Today 2006 we still have
over 100 Original 80's made BC Rich necks. Call For Pricing &
Availability. |
Kramer
Candy Stripe Conversion
1987
 This was
probably my most popular Conversion . The first one I can remember was
commissioned by Eric Rudish of Pennsylvania in 1987 or so.
I have experimented with asymmetrical neck configurations ALA the Ernie
Ball.
I have dissected Dimarzio EVH pickups to determine number of pickup
windings. I have experimented with Neo Dimium Magnets known better as (N Dyms)
TM trademark name owned by electrovoice corp. After 3 years of research
I have finally come up with the ultimate Van Halen clone pickup design. Code
Named ND for non disclosure.
(Today Known as the Black/Backs)
I experimented with tilt back headstocks, drop headstocks, I refined the
shade of color 3 times over the past 12 years in an effort to be as true to the
original as possible. Eric has ordered an EB-1 in 1998 here it is 10 years later
and I'm building another custom guitar for him. (Thanks Eric)
Each and every one of these guitars were made under the strictest quality
control. They played and sounded like a hand built custom guitar because that is
precisely what they were.
Only original Floyd Rose tremolo systems were used,
Schaller tuners and premium Seymour Duncan pickups were used. These
Guitars were fretted under full neck tension and the final fret dressing was
done while the guitar was strung up to pitch. This process settles the neck and
gives the instrument a totally handmade feel.
We exhibited this guitar @ the 1987 NAMM show & we sold hundreds
and hundreds of them. Many do not bear our mark. We have a secret mark
that we use to be able to designate ones we made. There were lots
of copies made illegally by many small builders some good but mostly
they were made from those new import Kramers and the quality is pretty
bad. (Be careful of ebay)
If you happen upon one it might be a little pricey... but you will
immediately see why if you buy it and play it.
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The color is off in the picture
but in real life the color was pretty much dead on !!!!
"Trouble Walk-in"
'Cuz I'm Havin' Trouble Holdin' this thang up.
This guitar is the first radical guitar ever built by Ed Roman
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This radical hand carved Doubleneck was conceived from the sick minds of
Ed Roman & Bob Spatafore, Built back in 1989, Totally hand carved by Barry
Lipman. It features a
custom graphic.
This Monster features scalloped neck, EMG pickups, Floyd Rose
Tremolo and a very cool graphic depicting land, sea, mountains, icebergs, sky,
space, stars and planets. The picture above is slightly washed out and does not
do justice to the paint job. (Oh, well)
This Guitar was last seen in Texas somewhere, I am
interested in it's whereabouts
Please let me know if you see it anywhere.
I built it in 1989 and it is one of the first major
projects that I attempted.
I am hoping to get some better pictures of this
guitar !!!!
Ed Roman |
BC Rich Archtop Eagle
"This Guitar Built in 1992 Entirely in my Custom Shop"
This Guitar was constructed by Ed Roman for Roger Mecca. It features Seymour Duncan
pickups and electronics an Original Gibson Tune-o-Matic Bridge system, Honduras
Mahogany back, Beautiful Quilted Maple hand carved Arch Top, Ebony fingerboard,
Abalone Cloud inlays, & Gold hardware.
This is the very first
BC Rich Eagle to have an archtop, The first BC Rich Eagle to have a Tune-o-Matic
Bridge. The first one to be made in the PRS/Gibson tradition of maple over
mahogany.
I (*ahem*) borrowed some great ideas and came up with what may be one of
the most beautifully designed guitars ever conceived.
This one is pretty much the same except instead of a
bookmatched top it is
a one piece quilted maple.
(I'm sorry to say that the photo quality is not up to the guitar quality)
This one was built for Marty Yudkovitz Of NYC
Mark Hitt's Gibson ES355
This early 60's 355 has belonged to Mark Hitt of "Ratrace Choir" for
almost 35 years. If you lived In New York, New Jersey or Connecticut over the
past 30 years you probably remember seeing Mark playing this guitar. (it used to
be sunburst).
This Guitar was played VERY MEGA MUCHO EXTREMELY HARD!!!!!!! 7 days a
week for over 30 years and if you ever saw Ratrace play you know what I mean.
Ratrace was the Quintessential Cover Band. They were capable of emulating "Jethro
Tull" and "Led Zeppelin" better than the Original Band. When they played "The
Who" "Moody Blues" or "UK". You would swear you were listening to the original
album with the volume set to 50. They used a huge Quadraphonic PA System and a
bank of Eventide effects during the 70's that still makes my hair stand up 25
years later when I even think about it. Their Sound man Alan Ade was a true
Genius.
Some of the greatest music I ever heard in my life came out of this
guitar. In fact seeing Ratrace was one of my life's major inspirations and a
large reason for me getting into the music business in the first place. I
remember hearing Mark play Hammer-ons in the 70's long before I heard of Eddie
Van Halen. I'll bet this neck saw more beer bottle slides in it's life than most
people can drink. I can remember guitar players stacked 6 deep standing in
front of Mark with their Jaws on the ground staring at his fingers (I was one of
them). I swear to God!!! I once heard Mark make this guitar sound exactly like
the Hammond Organ solo on Deep Purple's "Hush".
So when Mark asked me to repair it I was flattered and honored. and a
little scared.
The condition of this guitar was nothing less than totally horribly
atrocious, The neck had been repaired twice from 2 separate breaks the repairs
were done well but they were 100% visible. There was literally no binding left
on the guitar, the wood on the top was worn almost through in several places.
The electronics were rusted out and a total mess the frets were played down to
the wood and the fingerboard was almost scalloped by Mark's fingers. Mark uses
very heavy strings. The body had major cracks in the wood and the seams. The
guitar was just about ready to literally come apart top, sides, back and neck
joint. Mark had resisted fixing the guitar for so long for the simple fact that
he used it daily and simply could not make a living without it.
Fixing this guitar required a new fingerboard, frets, totally rebinding
the body & neck and some serious surgery to the top, back, sides and neck. Mark
was not in the least concerned about originality he was not worried a bit about
resale value. What he was concerned about was reliability and functionality and
tone. I installed a Mike Christian Piezo System and reworked the pickups that
were custom wound for Mark by Larry Dimarzio In 1980. (Mark Hitt appeared on the
cover of Dimarzio's Pickup Catalog in 1979).
When the guitar was done I was very worried that Mark might be
displeased. I was quite nervous because I had been tampering with Black Magic.
You always hear about guitars getting redone or refretted and losing their tone
and or magic. When a man and an instrument are as close as Mark and this guitar
I knew I was seriously playing with fire. I'm sure that Mark knew every
centimeter of that guitar, I am sure he knew every dent in every fret and every
divot on the fingerboard well enough to give them all separate names. Here I
was making literally hundreds of changes to this guitar.
I delivered the guitar to Mark one rainy night at a gig in Mahopac New
York. I don't mind telling you I was a bit jittery. I asked him how it looked
and he seemed quite pleased. (I wasn't worried about how it looked I knew that
was cool) I also knew it would be at least a week before I would find out what
he really thought.
A year has since passed and to make a long story short Mark loves the
guitar and takes it with him everywhere he goes. Most guitar players carry
several picks in their wallet. Mark carries his guitar (this guitar) everywhere.
Mark was given several new Gibson 335's by the Gibson Factory, He doesn't use
them. He has tried to get a Heritage endorsement several times. Heritage just
doesn't give away guitars. They do very little advertising.
Currently Mark works here at Ed Roman's as a tech in the final
assembly dept. He also does excellent setups and rebuilds. If Anyone has a copy of The 1979 or 80 Dimarzio Catalog that Mark appeared on the
entire cover I would love a copy.
I am a Dyed in the Wool Hard-core Ratrace Choir Fan, If anyone has any old Ratrace
recordings I would kill for copies. |
Update 2003
Mark Hitt is using
Quicksilver Guitars Check em' Out
EB-1 Prototype # 1
"Steve Henning"
This is the Original prototype built for Steve Henning
There were 2 test prototypes built then Serial #1 was put into my
collection. his 7 String soft cutaway guitar has one of the most stunning
Quilted Maple back and sides I have ever seen.
Eddie Van Halen Has # 2
 Custom Made 7 String
Currently I am delivering less than 5 Acoustic guitars a year!
This 7 String soft cutaway guitar has one of the most stunning
Quilted maple backs I have seen
The surrounding body purfling is made
from real Abalone and the Sound hole Rosette is also the same highly figured
Abalone.
This guitar utilizes the Rick Turner designed Highlander Piezo Electric
Pickup system.
The premium Sitka Spruce top really pumps air.
The
satin finished Honduras Mahogany neck warms the solid maple somewhat. This
guitar has a big open sound unlike many other maple acoustics. The low B (7th
String) compensates for the usual overly bright all maple back and side
construction.
The customer of course specified that he wanted all Maple
construction. |
"LET YOUR FINGERS DO THE WALKING"
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