Ed Roman Custom 7-String

I ordered this guitar from Ed Roman about a year and a half ago. First i want to say this: ** I sent him my Ibanez Prestige 7 string that was already modified With EMG 707's, an Ibanez Floyd Rose Double Edge bridge with piezos (only came on this one model they have built so far a ltd run of 5000) and an internal Roland Gk2a midi pickup with 13 pin out for guitar synth. I sent him this guitar to have my own custom body and neck built using these parts. I asked for the original neck and midi pickup back but it was already being used in another guitar to be built. I didn't ask for these parts back until about 2 weeks after i sent it though, so it was my bad planning. I made a deal with ED to get $300 offmy guitar for it? ouch! i was planning on reselling and making more than that. The point is: *** IF you want anything back that you send make sure this is clear before you send it, otherwise you may not get it back.

************* NOW TO MY GUITAR ! ! *******************************

This guitar is a full custom Ibanez RG-7620 style body and neck....The body is an ARCHTOP with FLAME MAPLE dyed dark green with a Korina back. It has EMG 707's and an Double Edge Floyd Rose bridge with piezo pickups in the saddles. These are all switchable and blendable which will give you any tone you will ever need.

The neck is 3 pc maple with a 5 pc headstock and ebony fret board and ebony laminated headstock with full binding, 24 frets and a custom ebony truss cover, gotoh tuners and the original ibanez locking nut. The necks nicest cosmetic feature is an original tribal sun inlay i drew,inlayed between the 11th and 13the fret made of abalone shell. This neck plays awesome! i asked for the neck unfinished as glossy necks feel like crap. THE Quality of the woods used are The best. Its one thing to say ebony fretboard and another to see cheap porus ebony compared to high quality dense grain ebony.

Another cool thing is the strap buttons, Allen (the guy that actually built my guitar) pays incredible attention to the little things (and isn't that whats important?) the strap buttons are recessed into the body so it will be a long time before the screw rips out of the body! a kick ass little detail! thanks man! .

This guitar sounds awesome! The korina body makes a huge differnce.KORINA IS THE BEST, it has such better tone than mohogany. Ed Convinced me ,of all people, to try this, as i was always a mohogany person. Korina is simialar to mohogany in tone but more clear and "airy" is the only way i can describe it, ED says its lighter, but mine seems heavier (my guitar is at least 12 lbs, one heavy M.F. the way i like um!) . . .If you get a guitar built, get korina. asED says on his site it is " THE HOLY GRAIL OF TONE WOOD " you won't be dissapointed. With the EMG's piezos and the switching and blending between them, i can get any tone i want from acoustic to strat or les paul type sound to ibanez ect. Tone wood is the key. thanks for convincing me to get the Korina ED!

My guitar came to me perfectly setup, it was sent across the country and hadrly went out of tune. Everything was adjusted and immaculate! There where a couple small flaws on the finish where dirt must have landed on it and the binding had a small chip out of it on the neck, but not enough to make me go ape-shit. ************* BUT IT DID GO APE-SHIT ! originally i had asked for an ESP headstock and no binding around the headstock, it really pissed me off when i got my guitar and discovered it wasn't what i had ordered, especially after many phone discussions with ED. What i got was an ibanez headstock and a bound headstock with french polished ebony laminated on top! I was fucking pissed! also it had this abalone shell truss cover that made it look a little to fancy. After calling ED he apologized and offered to make me the neck i wanted originally. I actually ended up liking this neck better though in the long run and kept it, and i don't mean kept it reluctantly because i didn't want to wait another 6 months, it actually looks better in my opinion and is worth more! (about $400 more) I had actually thought about doing this before i ordered but couldn't risk how it might look, a lucky good mistake! I had a non french polished ebony truss cover made and the contrast is very nice almost invisible on the truss cover,and of couse there was no charge for this. over all i was extremely happy with everything.

I treat all my gear with extreme care and can't stand even dust on it. With proper care this guitar will last forever. the only thing it should need is very ocassional fret work which is normal when you play almost every day for years on end. The hardware is from Ibanez and i think it will last for years if i treat it right. The finish will last forever. My only worry is with the Ibanez piezo Bridge as there are no replacements.

Customer support is very good If you talk to Allen. He is very patient and helpful. If you talk to Ed you better be ready to order and not ask about prices again. Order it and wait for it to come to you. thats it. thats good solid business, but Ed has way to much work and needs to hire some help for the phones, as long as they are knowledgable people it should be ok. Its a difficult task to ask basic questions. Even after you order the guitar and want to ask about a price quote if you change something, this seems to really be a hassle. Sometimes i felt i was treated a little rudely because i didn't know everything about guitars. ******* The one thing that really pissed me off in customer support category was..I WAS TOLD it would take 4-6 months for completion and It took 9 1/2 months to actually get it in my hands. I called about once a month after 4 months to ask about the status and was told differnt things each time i called. after about 7 months i called about once every 1-1/2 -2 weeks because it was past time i was told i would get it. After 8 months i called twice a week and started getting a little pushy. ** I was told at one point if i call again i would be charged $25 for each call to check on the status, thats just bullshit. I was begining to wonder if i was ever going to get my guitar. I would call and ask for Allen, if ED answered i would hang up. This just isn't right. I believe if your told 4-6 months it should take that long. small delays are understandable, but this is not the way to handle. them.

Also, initially when i was placing the order i was told we would communicate mainly through email to go over options for paint prices ect. This never happened. i got one email confirming my deposit was recieved and thats it. This category needs some serious help.

I've been playing for about 12 years and have owned and played many guitars. This is literally the best sounding and playing guitar i have ever played in a 7 string bolt on model (parker Fly delux for 6 string). Ifit were stolen i couldn't afford another one, but if it were ever seen it is one of a kind. I won't say what i would do to the person that stole it. The quality of wood, the fine by-hand details you can't find on any ibanez make this guitar amazing. If i were to get another custom made by Ed Roman I would if i could get a guarantee ready by date, but this 3 1/2 month past schedule stuff can't happen again.

IF your going to get a guitar made and your sending anything to them and want it back make sure this is perfectly clear. Also make sure of prices and how long it will take. Also make sure from day 1 you know exactly what you want and don't make any changes. when you get yourguitar you'll be happy. Quality is not an issue here. The only issues are geting your guitar on time and getting what you want. and getting treated with courtesy on the phone. The only thing bringing this overall rating down is the Customer support category.

This guitar is worth every penny.