PRS Guitar Re-Topping

PRS Guitar Re-Topping

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It's a Pity

It's a pity no one will ever know the wizards at Ed Roman Guitars are the magicians who transform these plain looking guitars into the beautiful masterpieces they are today.
The PRS company will benefit greatly from this work.

Over the years thousands of people will see these guitars and wrongfully assume that PRS did this beautiful work. Many of Ed's customers request that we do not show their guitars on these pages because they feel that it might in some way decrease the resale value of their guitars. The next time you are looking at a particularly beautiful PRS you might stop and wonder if it's real or is it one that Ed Roman retopped.

PRS traditionally won't do a 10 top on a bolt on model.  Ed Roman has done over 200 retops on PRS bolt on models.  Ed has always felt the bolt on ones sound so much better than the glued in ones. Click Here For Explanation.

Many people feel the need to belong to a group of people who own the same brand name item. Corvette Clubs, PRS Forum, Harley Owners Group  etc etc. Ed feels that is because today the dumbing down of Americans is rampant in our schools & on our Boob Tubes etc etc. 
No one wants to be innovative anymore. People all want what other people have. In some strange way it makes them feel safe!!
Sadly these people are why our country is fast becoming a third world.  
When we were innovators and free thinkers our country was strong economically and everyone was prosperous. It hurts me to see the younger generation today struggling so hard to even be able to pay their rent.

You might say to yourself, I could just buy a Quicksilver or a JET or an Abstract, The tops on those guitars are always so beautiful that no one in his right mind would want to redo the top. But then their are no worldwide user groups on these brands. People won't envy me if I own one of those. This is all part of the advertising agencies and corporate master plan to dumb us all down so we will spend our money on cookie cutter products that can be made cheaply and sold for a very high profit.

Incidentally Ed Roman has retopped 14 Dragons, Approximately 20 Signatures, and a number of first editions. Paul Reed Smith in their ultimate wisdom has made many good numbered limited edition guitars with very plain tops. The sunburst top that came on PRS Artist Ltd #001 was almost disgraceful looking. In fact Ed has not retopped it. whoever has it these days is the proud owner of a very plain looking yet expensive guitar. at this re writing the number of PRS retops surpasses the 500 mark.

For some more interesting Information look at Ed's rant entitled Ghostbuilders.

Typical Example of one of our PRS Retop Jobs

We can make a PRS look as good as a Quicksilver or a Viking

This guitar is bound in abalone all around the body & headstock.


 

This is a PRS that we retopped and refinished. We also inlaid purfling around the entire body. I would have liked to redo the fingerboard with ebony and do some really nice inlay work to it.
Rosewood is such a blah wood, it doesn't do much for the inlay. In fact rosewood tends to camouflage the abalone and tends to make even the prettiest abalone look blah....

We also inlaid an eagle on the headstock of this one. This particular guitar was the 100th PRS we retopped. It was done for Winn Wilson of Connecticut in 2001.

Ed Roman retops about 35 PRS guitars a year. in 2003 there were actually more PRS retops than Gibsons.  Which traditionally is still our most common retop.


 

PRS Custom Retop

This guitar was a particularly plain looking PRS with a real nothing top.
When we finished with it it looked as nice as one of our lower cost Quicksilvers


1990 PRS Retop

We retopped this back in 1997

Back in the 80's and early 90's nothing even came close to PRS guitars. PRS was the undisputed King and no body except the diehard Gibson heads would argue about that fact.

Ed Roman learned more from Paul Reed Smith than any other builder in the world. Ed Roman strives to build a better guitar, "The student must always strive to beat the teacher"

Look at the Quicksilver & Centurion Models 
 "You be the Judge"


Whale Blue Flame PRS Retops
THIS GUITAR STARTED LIFE AS AN ALL MAHOGANY MODEL
The Flametop really made this guitar come alive, cosmetically & tonally!!

Another one of the many we have done. There is absolutely no way anyone could tell this guitar wasn't 100% stock. Ed Roman guarantees that no one will be able to tell this retop has been done.

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