Ed Roman Abstract Claw Bass 5 String

Custom made 5 string bass, 35" scale fretted neck through design. Unique "claw" upper and lower horns on the body, asymmetric body shape at the bridge end to improve overall weight and balance. Neck and body are made of matched Korina wood, body is capped in Macassar ebony, headstock has a walnut overlay with a Roman coin inlay. Fretboard is ebony (no inlay) with side markers. Gold open-gear tuners (Schaller?) with an individual rail bridge. EMG P-bass neck pickup and EMG jazz bridge pickup. Active 18-volt pre-amp system with a master volume, pickup blend, bass, mid-range, and stacked treble control with a variable frequency sweep.

I play just about everything under the sun. Primary bass amps include Ampeg, Trace Elliot, Warwick, Ernie Ball and Galien-Kreuger depending on the room/style of music I'm playing at the given moment. Very little effects other than a bit of octave to thicken the sub-bass frequency and usually a bit of reverb ambiance to add a bit of studio lushness. Very balanced sound throughout. Rich, full, throaty, bass with crystal clear highs. Applicable for all styles of music -- rock, jazz, blues, country, reggae, metal -- I don't think there is anything this bass can't do. Quiet as a mouse, even with the treble and mids "dimed", high-end hiss is very manageable. This bass is a stellar instrument.

I purchased this bass second-hand in mint condition. I can's speak of the factory set-up, but I have made no adjustments to the instrument since I have had it. The neck is straight as an arrow with a comfortable radius. Fretwork is some of the best I have ever encountered. Custom woodworking craftsmanship is exemplary. Headstock tuning peg design causes the A-string to pass a bit close to the E-string tuning peg between the nut and the A-string tuning peg. 18-volt battery compartment could use a bit of cleaning at the contacts or it may have a loose solder joint. I haven't bothered to work on this minor glitch as it is only apparent when I really get aggressive with the instrument. Bottom line -- a musical work of art that stands out from the crowd of Jazz/P-bass variants. The bass itself is a 10, however, the case it came with doesn't do justice to the quality of the instrument. It would have been nice if they had invested in a better case (having gotten it second-hand, I would like to believe the case was switched somewhere along the way -- but I don't think it was).

The bass will easily withstand live playing. Hardware is rock solid. I installed strap-locks as a personal preference. No worries with the finish or components -- I could easily gig without a back-up as this bass could cover any style of music at the drop of a hat (although it's always fun to take a spare along!).

Called Ed Roman's custom shop and had a 30 to 40 minute conversation with Ed Roman himself. Very knowledgeable and enthusiastic regarding the quality of his custom instruments. His craftsmen are willing to produce a custom instrument to the buyer's personal specifications, no matter how extreme -- the only limitations at this point might be the availability of certain exotic tone woods which seem to be getting more and more scarce. While not cheap, it comes down to the old saying, "you get what you pay for."

I've been playing for about 30 years. I currently own Warwicks, Fenders, Yamaha, Spector, Heartfield, Carvin, Modulus, Kawai, Matt Pulcinella, Peavey, Ovation, Guild, to name a few. I know and recognize the difference between a $300 dollar and an $3000 dollar instrument. This bass had a list price of around $4700 bucks. Definitely rot cheap, however, the exotic woods used, weight, balance, tone, and playability made this bass stand out. I do appreciate quality in an instrument and having something unique is a plus when it comes to collecting. For the price I paid (far below list -- Thanks to Randal at TripleRGuitars!!!), it was a fantastic value.