Abstract Custom Martini Bass

Abstract Custom Martini Bass

 This Is A Comparison Between The Fender Custom Shop & Ed Roman's Custom Shop

Read This Story !!!

Our Customer James Kasper Went To The Fender Custom Shop & Asked Them To Build Him A Special Guitar. Fender Accepted The Order & Quoted James $11,000.00 After His 30% Discount. 
Keep in mind this was a relatively simple easy guitar to build. All James wanted was a Jagstang style bass with martini glasses inlaid in the fingerboard. Personally I Feel The Price Should Have Been About $3,995.00.

I base this on the fact that the only custom work performed here was a semi simple graphic paintjob & the inlaid martini glasses. I also base this on the fact that Fender normally charges a real lot so $3.995.00 is a real Lot For This Job.

$11,000.00 For This Guitar Is Excessively Expensive To The Point Of Absolute Insanity.  To Add Insult To Injury James Had To Wait More Than Seven Years For This Guitar To Be Finished !!!!  This is excessively long in fact anything more than 1 year I would consider completely insane.

When The guitar was finished, the quality was good but soon after receiving it James realized that he was not even going to be able to play the guitar because the scale was too long... OUCH !!!!!

James didn't give up, instead he approached Ed Roman's Custom Shop. He requested another one but with a shorter scale and a neck thru body construction.
To make a long story short, The Ed Roman team built him a much nicer guitar in 15% of the time for about half of what he paid Fender.
Wait a minute, the differences between the Fender & Roman models were huge.
 

Here Is A Long List Of Upgraded Improvements On The Ed Roman Model.

Fender Version Ed Roman Version
Bolt On Neck Neck Thru Body
Rosewood Fingerboard Premium Ebony Fingerboard
Passive Stock Electronics Custom Active Electronics
Stock Low Cost Fender Bridge Upgraded Leo Quan Badass BRIDGE
Standard Neck Size Standard 22 Frets Custom Scale 24 Frets
Must Remove Neck To Adjust Truss Rod Truss Rod Fully Adjustable

Stock Fender Headstock

 Custom Headstock Picked By James

Headstock Atomic Symbol Painted

Headstock Atomic Symbol Inlaid
Neck Inlays Barely Visible Neck Inlays From Brighter Material
Large Uncomfortable Neck Heel Smooth Heelless Neck Design
Stock Fender Jazz Pickups Custom Duncan Active Pickups
Mostly Machine Made 100% Hand Made

 

 

Fender Custom Martini Bass

Abstract Hand Made Martini Bass

   

Fender Custom Martini Bass                 Abstract Hand Made Martini Bass

  

Fender Custom Martini Bass        Abstract Hand Made Martini Bass

Fender Custom Martini Bass Rosewood Barely Visible Inlays

Abstract Hand Made Martini Bass Ebony With Highly Visible Inlays

HEADSTOCK CLOSE-UP

            

Fender Custom Martini Bass

           

Abstract Hand Made Martini Bass

 

The Moral Of This Story Is On Custom Made Guitars

Ed Roman Is Better, Faster & Cheaper 

In all fairness to Fender, This story is not a common one. Now in the case of Gibson for example this type of thing is the normal everyday way they do business. Gibson has become persona non grata with almost everyone in our industry. The Dealers, Other manufacturers, NAMM, & lastly the players themselves.

Fender on the other hand makes great low cost guitars for beginners & working musicians. 
The only time they are overpriced is when you get involved in Custom Shop or masterbuilt guitars.
I have found numerous companies out there much more capable than Fender when building a high end custom guitar. As I have said before, The Fender Mexican Guitars are well worth the money, The Japanese made ones are probably the best Fenders ever made. The artist series American guitars are also quite good. 
The American Standard is their best selling guitar, I never recommend it myself.  I say spend a little more & get a Mark Knopfler or an Eric Johnson or a 62 reissue, perhaps a John Mayer or spend less and get a Mexican Strat & upgrade the pickups.  You will save hundreds and basically have the same thing that sounds better.

Ed Roman

 



This Custom Short scale Bass Was Also Built For Jim Kasper

 

All Abstract guitars are available with almost any custom modification you could think of. You can choose the wood you want, We carry 44 different types of wood on the premises. You can choose whatever pickups you like, We carry all the major brand names and many boutique brands like Tom Holmes. You can order most models with any headstock on our list or design something yourself. You can choose the hardware and you can design the electronics.  Most models are available in Basses, Doublenecks, Neck Through Body, Bolt On, Headless like a Steinberger, Baritones, Left Handed or whatever your heart desires. 

Abstract Guitars are only slightly more money than production made guitars from other companies, Abstract Guitars are thousands of dollars less than what other companies choose to call custom shop guitars. We Offer the Buzz Feiten Tuning System, Direct Coupling

All Abstract guitars are built in the USA and carefully & lovingly set up just before we sell them. All Abstract guitars come with a super stable very fast neck & neck heel.  We don't offer limited warranties like all the big companies Abstract Guitars come with  FULL warranty, parts & labor.

Ed Roman