Here's another one of my politically incorrect, too little too late, pain
in the ass articles reminding you that you are screwing the entire American way
of life by buying expensive high end products made in Asia. After all it's already probably too
late. The next generation of kids are already tuned in to the Japanese guitars
culturally.
I am not a racist and I have nothing against the Asian race. However I do
hate large corporations whether they be American, German or Asian. I hate how
they use brainwashing techniques to sell their products.
"Bayer Aspirin" (Nazi's)
"Mitsubishi" (Bombers from Pearl Harbor)
For example I hate the fact that Pepsi uses mind association psychological
tactics to link Michael Jackson to their product. (I don't like Pepsi
or Coke I think it's carbonated dyed sugar water for rip-off prices I also don't like their advertising tactics). I
realize that Pepsi could give a $hit whether Ed Roman buys their product or not.
I realize that my lousy few bucks means nothing to them. I just take comfort in
the fact that I am doing my part as minuscule as it may be.
It bothers me that people like Michael Jordan can sell 500 million dollars
worth of cheap Chinese made sneakers simply by being in a TV commercial.
Peavey product is a decent affordable product & Hartley Peavey is
a great man that I admire a lot. It's a shame that to achieve success he has to
pay people like Eddie or Joe Satriani etc etc. to play his products.
I despise Beer commercials... Oh yeah drink beer and your life will be
good, just like the brainless morons in the commercial.
Nothing makes me madder than having to look for a restaurant that isn't a
chain. Sometimes I have to go a long way to find a family owned Greek diner or
a real Pizza House. I refuse to eat at Burger King and Pizza Hut and almost all
the other fast food chains that are taking over the USA.
OK, OK, but what does that have to do with buying an
American made guitar?
If you really want to know,Read On
This country is quickly losing it's credibility and stature in the world,
Soon we will no longer be at the top of the food chain.
(Soon has Arrived) We are now almost a
Third World Nation !!!!
Consider these facts...
1. Today kids grow up and instead of going to work in an airplane factory
or a television factory or an appliance factory they go to work as low paid carbon
blobs
for McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, & Burger King.
Buy American !!!!
2. There are still a good many guitar factories but we have to do our best
to keep it that way.
Buy American !!!!
3. Today in this age of memorabilia and Icons, The USA is chock full of
intrinsic value because the rest of the world wants to buy our Star Wars Models,
our Motorcycles, Automobiles & Guitars. If we start giving credibility to
Asian guitars etc. we will be shooting ourselves in the foot. 10 years
from now everyone will want Tomagachi's and old Yamahaha Guitars. Our children
will be working in factories mass producing teen age ninja mutant turtle
lunchboxes. Our children will be eating rice & raw fish heads....
Buy American !!!!
When I say buy American, that means buy handmade high quality low
production products. Just because a factory is located on the American side of
the Mexican border does not mean it's an American company. In fact Japanese
corporations are trying to buy even more of the larger guitar companies.
Yamaha the #1 company a Japanese corporation does almost 5 Billion Dollars a
year. That's 10 times more than the #2 company, also a Japanese Company that
does approximately 500 Million a year. That is the Roland company.
Buy American !!!!
Remember just because Honda has a factory in Kentucky and Ohio it does not
mean that they are an American Company. Just because a company has an office in
New York or LA does not mean that they are an American company. Just because
ESP inspects their guitars in the USA it doesn't mean that ALL of
their product 100% is still made in Asian countries. These companies will do
just about anything to try to get you to believe that they are American owned.
(Don't you believe it).
Look for the words "Made in the USA"
Don't buy Corporate Guitars !!!
Just because a company has an office in Neptune, New Jersey, or Nashville
Tennessee, It definitely does not mean they are owned
by Americans and the product isn't necessarily made in the USA.
Kramer had neck plates made that said Neptune New Jersey. (They omitted
the operative word) The operative word here is "Made"
Buyer Beware
IMPORTANT NOTE
There is nothing wrong with buying an Imported lower cost
item. In fact I believe that's what we should be doing. I have issues with the
fact that the American public is buying expensive overpriced ESP, Epiphone,
Lexus & Infiniti. I believe that Italia or Fernandes build a decent guitar
for a decent price. Even Ibanez has now lowered their prices so incredibly much
that they actually make good sense.
If you insist on buying a Japanese car then at least buy a
Subaru or another inexpensive brand. Don't go out and spend $90,000.00 on a
Lexus. These companies are using the American gullibility to sell. Many
Americans still believe that you get what you pay for. BS to that.
Epiphone guitars come out of the same Indonesian & Vietnamese factories as most other cheapo
guitars and yet they sell for much more. Again Ed Roman says BS to that. If you
are incredibly stupid you might fall for that scam. Remember large corporations
get large by selling thin air, Innuendo, Hype and various other BS so be
one of the smart ones and don't fall for it.
You won't read this in any magazines and here's why
Click Here
Ed Roman
01/12/1999
More reason's
Ed Roman refuses to buy expensive products made by large corporations
|
Brussels, 16 July 2003 Commission fines Yamaha
millions for restrictions of trade and resale price maintenance in
Europe
|
The European
Commission has decided to impose a fine of € 2.56 million on musical
instruments manufacturer Yamaha for restricting trade within the
European single market and fixing resale prices in certain EU
countries for such products as pianos, guitars and oboes. Although
the restrictions were of a serious nature, they seemed to be limited
to certain dealers, products and countries rather than the result of
a deliberate strategy, and appear not to have been implemented in
full. Furthermore, as soon as the Commission intervened, Yamaha took
steps to end the restrictions and to redesign its European
distribution system.
Yamaha sells under a selective
distribution system a whole range of traditional and electronic
musical instruments and equipment in Europe, such as pianos,
electronic organs, guitars, saxophones and violins. The company is
the European market leader for most musical instruments.
After an investigation, the
Commission has concluded that Yamaha has violated European Union
competition rules by entering into agreements or concerted practices
aimed at partitioning the market and fixing resale prices.
Such practices had the object of
restricting competition, within the meaning of Article 81(1) of the
EU treaty and Article 53(1) of the European Economic Agreement, in
Germany, Italy, France, Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark &
Iceland.
The restrictions took different
forms at different times and in different countries. They included
obligations on official dealers to sell only to final customers;
obligations on official dealers to purchase exclusively from the
Yamaha subsidiaries; obligations on official dealers to contact
Yamaha before exporting via the Internet; and the fixing of resale
prices.
Agreements and/or restrictive practices
partitioning the European market and fixing resale prices constitute
a violation of EU rules, according to an extensive case law.
Although the infringement was qualified as
serious, some of the contractual provisions were applied to only a
limited number of dealers and products, were not systematically
included in all Yamaha agreements throughout the EEA and have not
been simultaneously implemented.
The fact that Yamaha terminated a majority of
the restrictions as soon as the commission intervened was also
considered a mitigating circumstance.
More Deceptive Trade Practices - Click Here
A Letter From A Gentleman That Does Not Agree
With Me
Hi Sir,
I'm a 20 year old French guitar player in Paris.
I just read your article about Japanese and Asian guitars and I must say
that what you say is scandalous. You say that you are you are not racist but
you must admit that you are a bit offensive about the supremacy and the
prestige that some Asian instruments makers appropriated themselves.
Repeating Buy American !!!! four times like a huge protester demonstration,
saying that "Just because ESP inspects their guitars in the USA it doesn't
mean that ALL of their product 100% is still made in Asian countries" , is a
bit nationalist. I know that the American pride about their ability to
innovate, create, overpower the stock exchange markets is important but your
nationalist attitude is against the democrat values that are your country's.
The workers in the Fender factory are all Mexicans! Dopeyra brothers were
Slovak!
The way you repeat (and the color of the letters) Buy American !!!! looks
like and old 1960's KKK demo banner...
"Our children will be eating rice & raw fish heads...." Do you realize the
width of such a sentence?!! That is RACIST sir.
"In 1694, a Dutch brig from Madagascar, was taken into a huge storm and
stranded in Charleston Bay, South Carolina. The boat was really damaged and
they had to repair it on the US country. The local people were very very
welcoming with the crew. Ready to leave again, the captain thanked the
governor for his hospitality and offered him a "Golden Seed Rice" bag as a
"goodbye" gift. A nice gesture that created very good results!
In 1850, the Arkansas was already planting rice, sir. And, with the slow but
inexorable fall of the cotton price (cotton was still predominant at this
time), American rice won some magnitude. The Arkansas lost many men during
the Secession War. The USA were looking for some workforce in Europe,
Germany and Switzerland, with success. Swiss emigrants really worked hard
for the Country and the Arkansas is one of the biggest rice producer
nowadays". And the USA too, Sir, just take a look at the classment. What's
wrong with eating rice and raw fish heads? You say that because it is a
cliché of the Asian culture. Clichés are for idiots. Because of sentences
like the ones you use, don't be afraid if your country is quickly losing
it's credibility and stature in the world.
Now, let's talk about guitars.
There are still a good many guitar factories in the USA? Yes, of course. But
Fender and Gibson lost a big part of the ability to build good instruments.
I own a Les Paul Supreme, which is a 3500$ or 4000$. It is a good guitar but
for such a high price, the binding is bad, the finish was sticky, the
electronic was really bad... I bought it at Guitar Center. I owned a Les
Paul standard that had so much horrible finishes!! The same for Fender
guitars. We are talking about 2000 to 5000$ guitars! I had a Fender Custom
Classic strat that was made in bad woods, the pickups were weak, my luthier
was outraged. A 800$ Made In Japan Fender is really comparable to a standard
american one.
It is true that Greco, Peerless, Navigator, ESP and Tokai copied Gibson,
Fender and Gretsch. They have a lot of legal cases now. But some of their
guitars are just wonderful!! I own a 1200$ Tokai Les Paul which is simply
the equivalent of a 6000$ Gibson one. Everything is perfect, the woods are
extraordinary, the pickups are japanese and they sound so good, the guitar
vibrates with me when I play a chord. I also own a History guitar. Made in
Japan too. It is the copy of an ES-295 model. 1600$. Handmade in the
prestigious FujiGen factory in Japan. It is the best hollow body guitar I've
ever played... My 1700$ Blade California Custom is the same than my friend's
Pearlcaster. Hand made too, small production model.
old Yamahaha Guitars are really nice!! Have you ever played an old 1970's
SG2000 (Santana's first guitar, heard on Europa)? I own one too! Have you
ever felt the wonderful response of this guitar? A 1970's les paul custom is
good for the trash compared to the SG2000.
handmade high quality low production products are very very good in Asia. Do
you know Kraken guitars, handmade in Corea? 1000$ strats, serious
competitors to the Fender Custom Shop. In France, one of our most famous
guitarist was endorsed by Kraken. His sound with those guitars is terribly
good! Gretsch guitars, (that you sell!!) are in the Fender Group. Fender is
a large corporation. And Gretsch guitars are made in Japan! I own a very
nice Brian Setzer model. Just take a look to a GB2000 Ibanez model.
Wow....look at the woods, the binding, the pickups, the inlays...And it is
not a copy!
A 3000$ Gibson costs around 300$ to Gibson before they sell them. You only
pay the brand and the (nice) cases! A 1600$ Tokai costs approx. 500, 600$ to
Tokai. You pay some of the finest woods in the world, finishes and quality.
Hound Dog Taylor, Ry Cooder (American) have such gound sounds thanks to
cheap japanese guitars: Teisco. I own a 60's Teisco, bad finishes, cheap
pickups but it has so much personality and response compared to a 1960
jaguar! It snorts, squeezes so nicely!
The culture of making nice piece of furnitures, instruments is thousands
years old in Asia. Orville Gibson was just born in 1856! American wood
manufacture history is just 200years old.
Most of american custom guitars are full of cosmetics... Flame, quilted
maple doesn't make a better sounding guitar. Everything is gold (you pay the
gold hardware in the price of the guitar! Take a look at the price of a
silver Bigsby or Floyd and golden ones...). Fine asian makers prefer to
focus on the neck/body joint, wood response etc...
PRS, Pearlcaster, Collings are very good but we pay too much for their real
value, sincerly. Buying an american guitar, you make an investment because
its value can increase! My grandfather's Serie L Strat proves it. But,
buying a fine asian instrument, every buck is for the quality first, not the
brand.
We are now almost a Third World Nation !!!! Does it mean that we must buy
Collings, Gibson, Baker, Pearlcaster to save your country?!!
Do you know how a japanese worker lives? He is less paid compared to an
american one but he works the same or even better.
Mister Ed Roman,
The American Nation invented a the symbols of the 20th Century:
The Ford T, the buildings, a way of life, the Dollar bill and... the
solidbody!! The guitars you sell are really nice, I am not saying the
contrary. But, you should admit that asian brands work good. Not ALL of them
but some of them are going to be part of the finest guitar makers in the
World.
Your chauvinist and nationalist view is odious. It can be compared to a
today standard Fender. It is a member of the Fender family (you, Ed, are
proud of your american identity), we think that it is gonna be a good guitar
but is less well made compared to the 50's, 60's standard models (you lost
the primordial values that founded your Nation).
The 21st Century began. Please admit that today society is gonna be more
various, cosmopolitan. Don't always think american sir, think worldwide. Use
the asian high quality level of guitar crafting as a lesson for the american
luthiers. We have to stop paying the brands and to start paying the quality.
I don't know you so I'm not criticizing your person but your ideas. I
respect the entire american person you are but not your point of view.
Best regards,
Maxime,
Paris, FRANCE
Hello Maxime
I simply had to print this letter because you are one of the few people in
disagreement with me who ever wrote to me that didn't make 200 spelling
mistakes. You are obviously well spoken and I am surprised at your level of
perception & intelligence for a person aged only 20. I am saddened
that the kids that are 20 years old in the USA for the most part couldn't
spell the words you wrote, never mind comprehending what you are saying. The
Government in the USA is dumbing down our population.
I agree with you many of the
Japanese made guitars are excellent... But you have missed my point.
My point is I am telling people not to pay a premium price for an imported
guitar. And if they want to save their own homeland they should refrain
from buying all imported products. It really doesn't make too much
difference anyway because even the people who agree wholeheartedly with me
still buy at Walmart etc.
The USA has severe economic problems that started back 20 years ago. These
problems could have been averted if we did what other countries do and put a
very high tax on imported products.
Problem 1,
American Liberals all started buying imported cars.
A huge blow to our economy !!!!! It started in the 60's with the hippies and
their Volkswagen buses then when these hippies grew up they became corduroy
wearing, bearded, balding yuppies that drove Subaru's Volvo's & BMW's. I'm
not saying these cars were not made well, I am saying that the reason people
have no money to spend in the USA is precisely because of liberals buying
foreign products.
Problem 2,
Everyone is spending entirely too much money at
Wal-Mart, Home-Depot, Sears & Roebuck, Office Depot, Guitar Center, Mc
Donald's, Costco, Best Buy, Sam's Club and Many assorted other big box
stores.
Stores like Banana Republic, Old Navy, The Gap make me want to retch &
vomit. All of these corporate businesses are the second major reason our
country is systematically being drained economically.
These stores & businesses mostly carry imported products which just sucks us
drier than we already are.
Today in the USA you can barely find a decent restaurant to eat in because
the fast food hogwash has destroyed the family restaurants. There must be 60
McDonalds in Las Vegas that is simply 55 too many. When I was in Memphis a
couple of years ago for the Elvis Birthday Celebration I could see 3
McDonalds from 1 vantage point. Near my home in Vegas I can drive to 4
different Walgreens in less than 4 minutes. That is completely insane!!!
Have Americans gotten so lazy that can't drive more than 4 minutes. The
insane profits these stores make are not fair for the American people.
What I can't understand is have we been dumbed down so low that we fail to
see what is happening too us.
All this could have easily been solved the same as problem 1.
Tax the imported items high enough so that they compete fairly with American
made products,
If we still had American products
which we barely do at this time. Then we would still have factories to make
them and stores to sell them. Today it is impossible for a young person to
go into business because he has to compete with the big box store. When I
was young you could still rent a storefront for $200.00 and get into
business with basically no money. You could specialize and offer goods
& services that no one else could.
Problem 3
Ebay
put the last nail in the coffin for American businesses, Oh sure, in the old
days of Ebay you could save dollars on some items when you bought them. But
because of gross stupidity the market has now come full circle and
everything that was once special and cool is now commonplace and worthless.
Ebay knocked the Vintage guitar market on it's ass and it cost legitimate
collectors thousands of lost dollars. The same people who bought & sold
guitars on Ebay 5 years ago are now complaining that their guitars are
un-saleable today.
These things affected me as much as
the next guy but remember I predicted this situation many years ago. I was
careful, I decided to get into products that no one else dealt in and to
specialize in high end higher quality products. By dealing in the higher
quality products I built a strong customer base of people who wanted real
quality instead of what everyone else doled out.
I know you disagree with me but you
are in France & life as you know it is vastly different than in the USA.
When you guys had your revolution you chopped of the heads of your ruling
class. The politicians running our country are in fear being treated the
same way. Many of them deserve the Guillotine
!!!!!!!!!
Off With Their Heads !!!!!!
