Ed Roman Pearlcaster

Seymour Duncan Hotrails, Alder body, quilted maple top, maple neck ebony fretboard...

This thing sounds like garbage. It is literaly one of the worst guitars I have ever heard in my life. Specifically, it was very thin sounding, terrible tone, and if you tried to do an arpegio the notes would drop off horendously. I know a guy who just bought a $100 chinese strat knock-off and it sounds 10 times better than this Roman Pearlcaster. Once I changed the crapy Duncan hotrails for a set of Dimarzios, Fast Track bridge, Cruiser neck and area 61 middle, it sounded pretty good.

To be fair, it is a nice looking guitar, but for what they are charging it should look and sound great. One out of two is not ok. Clearly they really only concetrate on the looks. Ed Roman is a very ignorant and arrogant man who thinks he knows everything, but he knows very little of sound, and suprisingly little about guitars. As another reveiwer said, he is a swindler, and thats about it. I will say that some of the luthiers who have worked for him are actually very good. For example, David Thomas Mcnaught used to work for Ed, and McNaught makes some of the finest guitars you will see.
If only Ed could just disapear and stop infecting his own custom shop with his arrogance and ignorance, they would probobly do very well.

I had inteded to keep this short, but I feel I should explain how I know what I know. I had a problem with another guitar I custom order from him, and without listening to me he explained that it was the humidity in San Diego, and that's why Taylor has to have dehumidifiers in their shop. Actually they have humidifiers, because its to dry here. Point is that he would not listen to me and only wanted to explain and explain, without even actually knowing. He is the most anoying person I have ever had the misfortune of doing business with, and if not for the fact that he is the only specialist around who builds headless guitars, I would have avoided him. But even that, I realized is not worth it. I Could go on and on about specific instances where he told me something that a knew for a fact to be wrong. Mostly I let it slide, because I don't want to get into an argument with the guy, but the reviewer who said he knows his stuff, was probobly a nice guy that was just blown over by Ed's mighty wind.

Wouldn't know, haven't used it much.

Terrible. If you are ready for a war it is possible to get him to do something right, but be prepaired.

I am giving an overall rating based on the price it cost new, and how it sounds unmodified. If I were rating it based on the price I paid for it used and how it sounds after modification, I would probobly give it a 7 or 8.

I have been playing for about 20 years, about 5 of that professionaly. I play mostly Steinberger electrics and Taylor acoustics. I have had a bunch of guitars, Ibanez, Guild, Martin, etc. I still have a DTM Les Paul mockup (She's a real beauty!).

The features are listed on reviews here already. What I want you to know is the review posted 10/31/2004 at 10:55am by Anonymous is done by Ed Roman himself.

The guitar is junk. Ed is a hustler of the lowest caliber. You have been warned.

You are better off with a MIM Fender Strat.

Any Schecter will blow this away. Do not think you are going to get your guitar from Ed Roman fixed. It will come back worse than when you sent it the first time! You can be the quality of this Ed Roman guitar by spending less than half on any of several Made in Korea or Japan or USA guitars from Schecter, ESP, Carvin, Fender, Ibanez and Gibson to name a few.

Ed Roman is bad news. You have been warned.

Using it as non functional wall art. Does that tell you?

Once Ed Roman has your money, he considers his work done. Ed Roman sells the Sizzle, not the Steak. You have been warned. At this point if you do business with him you get what you deserve.

Other than buying your guitars a WalMart, you can beat everything about Ed Roman at any neighborhood mom and pop to Guitar Center in any city you wish to name.

Ed Roman is in business to hustle you out of your money. Period. You have been warned.

Quilted Top, Alder body, Seymours

Sound was a little on the thin side. Didn't sustain or spank like a real Strat. A little lifeless sounding even with new strings (10's)

A beautiful flawless finish throughout guitar!! A killer feeling neck with unbelievable flames on back.

Again it was dead sounding. And like I've seen on some other reviews I could not get this guitar to stay in tune EVEN with locking tuners. The first fret was extremely sharp. 2nd and third got better and past that it finally was in tune with itself. I had the guitar set up and gone over by a luthier with 40 years behind him and he could not correct any of the problems.

Dealing with ED can be an adventure. He knows his stuff but can be rather pushy. Be firm.

40 years playing, I'm a studio guitarist with about 17 different working instruments. I use a Diezel VH4S amp. This guitars beauty was second only to my Johnny Smith. That's what attracted me to it. I jumped too fast at it in Vegas. Please completely check out these guitars before purchase. Take a tuner with you and check it out up and down the fretboard especially the first three frets. Once satisfied put new strings on it, stretch them out and then make sure it stays in tune.

One thing I can definately give this guitar over any strat i've ever played is the features. I mean you've got a set of duckbuckers hardmounted in the guitar. The hardmounting makes for an excellent sustain and the duckbuckers give it a real beefy humbucker tone, but if you like the sort of jangly single coil sound that most strats have to offer, the guitar also comes with push/pull pots for coil tapping. The necks are all unfinished and oil treated which not only makes for a smoother/faster feel, but having a laminant on the neck can really inhibit the guitars true tone. Most of the pearlcaster fretboards i've seen were gaboon ebony, which is an excellent wood for a fingerboard. It's not only smooth but it will hold up a lot longer than rosewood. It comes with nickel silver frets which yes, alot of fenders have but it is an excellent feature none the less.

Let me start by saying, I don't know who the jackass was who decided to go off on a tear about the Seymore Duncan blackbacks when unless ordered otherwise, these guitars come stocked with duckbuckers which are something totally seperate from the blackbacks. Blackbacks come in the Quicksilvers. I play anything from Jazz to Metal, and this guitar can do it all. The duckbuckers and the push/pull coil taps make it an incredibly versital guitar.

The all access neck joint makes this guitar a lot more comfortable when playing on some of the higher frets. This is one issue i've always had with Fender guitars. Unless it was something neck-thru like the showmasters or the custom tele HH, It has a ridiculously large neck heel. Upon purchasing my pearlcaster the set up tech @ Ed Roman's lowered the action as low as you could get without getting a buzz. It feels great.

Durability is the only one thing about this guitar that didn't really blow my skirt up. When using the push/pull pots frequently I found myself pulling the knob clear off. Which is suprising to me because these guitars are all handmade, so you think they would excersise a little more quality control.

I've heard bad things about Ed Romans store for years. I've actually been in his store and yes, they do have an abundance of cheapo foreign made off brands. But every guitar store has to have at least a few of those for the parents who come in that are just buying their kid a guitar to shut them up and could really give a shit that the kid wants to be a musician. However Ed has a pleathura of vintage and boutique guitars. So much so that they are opening a rock and roll museum at their new location in Las Vegas. As far as their staff goes, I have a guy on the inside who says that they are having a pretty impressive turnover. They are not only hiring lots of new people to tend to every customer, but they are screening them better for experience and product knowledge. They sure as hell took care of me.

I think the pearlcaster is a great product, and I hope i'm just as impressed with the Quicksilver I have in progress.

a Strat Copy with a couple of different curves... please read the other sections. I am so disgusted and upset I'm not gonna go into details on these features...

I Cannot understand WTF this Ass is about on these BlackBack PUPs. They are nothing great. I can think of a half of dozen boutique PUPs that sound better and if I don't like them, they exchange them or rewind to my liking. An ABsolutely Civilized on the phone. A one because they were real bad but when I called, I waited and waited, and dealt with a couple of drone worker bees that were afraid to help or afraid to say something. Then the Royal Ass got on the phone and basically called me tone deaf. This old man needs to go in a retirement home, he's old and miserable!

What the hell, since I had to pay like almost 50% more than what I was originally quoted. it better be prefect. Nope, I found flaws, in the paint that standard products cheapos wouldn't let pass. Like the Nut is off!!!


still nice looking

It will last forever... because I won't be playing it much...

Hah, R U Kidding me? Pissing Razor Blades would be better service and easier to deal with. The only Service I can think of is those guys (ED & his minor league lineup) writing their own reviews here on Harmony Central. Ed has such a bad reputation now that I read all the reviews and comments from others. Only if I knew before I gave them money. Can I give a -10 and take away more customer points?

There are now plenty of Boutique guitar manufacturers out there that will help, build, and back a guitar you will enjoy for hopefully, a lifetime. Also there are good shops specializing in pickguards, pickups, etc GO There! I found them to be outstanding and helpful.

Do Not buy or deal from this Guitar Regime (World Class) Don't be fooled by the BS pictures and relic Ads on the Website. Take your money and Dreams to a Local Trustworthy Luthier.

It's a Strat copy.

Nothing to write home about for the price. My American DeLuxe Strat sounds far better. I was hoping it could compete in tone with the Custom Shop Models, but either the Time Machine 69 or 56 puts this supposedly custom guitar to shame.

The action was too high. The guitar had not been set up properly. The finish and feel of this instrument is nothing special. It pales next to the finish of my '54 Masterbuilt Strat 50th Anniversary.

I am not going to find out. It's up for sale.

I bought this mail order BEFORE I went on a Las Vegas vacation and had the chance to check up Ed Roman's shop. I am kicking myself for not cancelling the order then. Ed Roman's shop is like a big garage and he sure has a lot of guitars, but on close inspection you see that 90% of them are of little known brands, the made-in-Korea type. He has relatively few guitars from top brands. I wanted to try a $7000 Alembic but the sales attendant was to lethargic to get it together. It needed a new battery and the lead he was using was bad. He just apologized and walked away -- unbelievable, he passed on a potential $7000 sale.

Most of the guitars I touched had a bad case of fret sprout, including the $7000 Alembic. Ed Roman has a few cheap humidifiers going in the accousting section but the rest of his stock gets the dry desert air. It's quite incredible. I only have a couple dozen guitars and keep them in a room at a steady 70 degrees and 45% relative humidity.

My visit confirmed the image of being an industry cowboy one gets by visiting his website.

I tried to return the guitar, but I realized will put a man on Mars before Ed Roman issues a refund to an unsatisfied customer.

Talk about potential regrets realized...

Skip it.

Strat-like, as described in other reviews.

Nothing special. But illustrates well the enormous distance often found between the manufacturer's claims and reality. I have a few standard test to test sustain, growl, and dynamic range in a guitar and my Fender Strat American DeLuxe beat the Pearlcaster in all of them hands down at less than half the price.

When you hold a PRS or a Custom Shop Fender you sort of feel the quality in your hands. Cheaper guitars may sound good but how they feel to the hand is where the top models score big. But not the Pearlcaster. The craftmanship and finish is average and nothing to write home about. It has the feel of an unfinished product, with rough edges as it arrived with a severe case of fret sprout and the action was way too high. More on that below.

I am not going to find out because I put it on the market and hope to get rid of it soon.

I called Ed Roman back and asked for my money back, since I was quite disappointed overall. He began his well rehearsed, "it's-not-the-guitar's-fault-but-your-inability-to-appreciate-a-good-thing" line and I realized that I would sooner get a refund from the Mafia that from Ed Roman, and all I could do is add wasted time to the already substantial loss.

I should have cancelled the order after my visit to his shop, but silly me I didn't.

After I ordered my Pearlcaster I took a trip to Las Vegas last Christmas and decided to visit Ed Roman Guitars shop. It's no Caesar's Palace. It's like a big garage with all the warmth of a fish market. Ed certainly has lots of guitars on display, but I'd say that 90% are low market brands made in Korea. It's a true K-Mart of the electric guitar. He has relative few Fenders, Gibsons, and PRS, and other quality guitars. The shop stock is not representative of the market.

With virtually thousands of guitars on the walls, you would expect Ed would have some kind of climate control to humidify the dry desert air, but no. He has a few cheap humidifiers going full blast in the accoustic guitar section lest his accoustics crack to ruin but that's it. It means that most of the electric guitars have a severe case of fret sprout you wouldn't believe.

I asked to try an Alembic guitar. The guitar was priced at $7000 and the shop attendant couldn't make it work. He changed the battery, a new lead, but the guitar would not emit a sound. He apologized and stopped trying, amazingly saying no to a potential $7000 sale.

It was heart-breaking seeing great guitars so poorly kept. All solid bodies I touched has fret sprout, and god knows how the hollow-body models are holding out. I keep my guitar room at a steady 20 degrees and 47% humidity and I only have a couple dozen guitars.

Ed Roman is the cowboy of guitar retailers. If you have enough money to get ripped off by Ed Roman, do yourself a favor and deal instead with the class acts of guitar manufacturers, and have not only a dream guitar made to your taste but also the pleasant experience of dealing with a guitar maker who cares for the instruments and his customers. Many names come to mind but Roger Giffin is a one-man guitar factory who is simply the antithesis of Ed Roman.

This is purportedly a Strat copy that's supposed to be better. Read on.

Glad you asked. I play blues, rock, and funk. I have some of the best amps that make Strats sound divine, Dr. Z. Marshall, Fender, Supro, and POD XT. The POD is the most versatile and I haven't found a voice in it yet that makes this guitar sound anywhere near the cheapest Made-in-Mexico Fender Strat. The Strat sound is clear, steely, and vibrant, and somewhat thin compared to humbuckers. This Ed Roman abomination is sonic death. It has no harmonics and no matter how you change your attack it remains dull. What a rip-off at the price. If you went out of your way to make a guitar sound uninteresting it would be hard to get the sound of my Pearcaster, but Ed Roman did it. The cleans are ill-defined and distorted is pure mud.

The set up was to high and the intonation was off, and the nut was gripping the G-string and making tuning it difficult until I widened it. The guitar is is very pretty; it has that at least going for it. It would look great hanging at the Hard Rock Cafe behind glass. It's made to look at it, not to play it, it seems.

It seems sturdy enough, but it's going on the auction block as soon as I get around taking pictures so I'll never really test its reliability and durability

Ed Roman turned out to be the proverbial car saleman of guitars. It not only fits the cliche but it outdoes it with panache. I don't know what drove me to buy from him, but I deeply regret it. Fortunatly, I am not strapped for cash, but I feel for the poor people who have saved up for months or years and end up with one of his expensive, no-good instruments. The man turns rude the moment he's cashed your check. Up to that point he'll talk a Niagara mostly about himself and his great guitar making prowess and how little his interlocutor knows about guitars. On the phone with him one gets simply astonished at the man's conceit. His gaudy web site replete with bold claims and putdowns for his competitors is but a fraction of the spin this man is capable of. I called to complain about the remarkable lack of tone of my guitar and I got a mouthful about my ears. Costumer service? What customer service. Now if you dig torture and squadering the little time you've got to walk this earth go in to get your 'warranty' service.

Ed Roman is not an enigmatic man; the impression is clear and simple, and his style is easy to recognize in most of the positive reviews of his gear in Harmony Central. That's him folks, when he fakes a review he can't help write a few lines about himself, "he is no bullshitter." and dealing with him is like "getting honey from the hive." I've never seen a guitar maker in more dire need of positive reviews.

Steer clear from Ed Roman guitars, I will. Once was enough. It's almost too bad to be true, but it is.

Unlike the 70s and 80s today there are many excellent guitars to be had. Fender and Gibson custom shops make great guitars. The 56 Time Machine Strat is to die for. PRS is consistently of excellent quality, and if you can afford it try a top Brian Moore or an Alembic, where they will treat you like royalty and they will craft you an instrument to treasure for life.

2004 Pearlcaster, Alder body, Bird's eye neck and fretboard, duckbuckers in the neck and middle, lil' 59 in the bridge with coil tap, Sperzel locking tuners, trem . . ...

Three Features that set it apart from the rest:

PUPS: My pickup combination is a growing modification among Strat fans and is one I have wanted, to have it available on a new guitar is a great feature and was the first sign that someone is paying attention to players as customers, not wannabe collectors, parents, and adolecents (both young and old). To have a PUP choice as a feature is unheard of.

HEEL: The All Access Neck Joint is another feature you just can't get anywhere and it makes BIG difference in the comfort and playability at the neck joint.

NECK: The 1500 G Neck Mod is another feature you won't find on the production line -- the neck is very smooth and is the kind of thing you send your axe out for when you realize the finish on it keeps your hand from sliding smoothly. Too bad Gibby paints their necks, this makes me want to sand them (ick, I know, but this neck is fast because it is so damn smooth).

Sound is very subjective, one person's "hot" is another persons "nasty" -- so I'll say this much -- If I want to sound like I'm playing a 59 LP I'd save up and buy a 59 LP. If I want to sound like SRV, I'll buy an SRV Strat and put 13s on it. EVERY guitar has a unique sound, that's what makes it such a pain in the @$$ to shop for one. THIS axe is well built and has an outstanding sound regardless of what I have played it through. The Duckbuckers are a clean single coil sound and the 'lil 59er has a great vintage humbucker sound. I have a friend who's been playing a lifetime who can make my kid's Affinity Strat sing like a vintage -- practice harder, play better, sound better, don't blame the guitar.

Exceptional -- Barre chords up and down the neck are clear, crisp, and lacking any flat spots. The resonance through the neck and body is akin to a quality sports car transmiting every nuance of the road to the driver. The neck is fast and smooth, action low . . . an extreemly playable guitar.

I haven't commented on the finish because as flawless as it is it is still secondary to a guitar playing well. It's a stunning guitar, and like all Roman's, unique, I doubt I'll see another.

Only time will tell, but it isn't the kind of thing I worry about.

Although I called a few times and spoke with more than one person, let me tell you that Ed Roman does indeed answer his own phone. That is what we call accountability. Ed clearly takes pride in his work and if you have read a review that suggests he's a pain, remember this -- he is the boss and like I do with my business, I don't care to please everyone -- I kiss no ones @$$ for a buck, or ten thousand (well, sometimes), because I take pride in what I do and it shows in my product. The Ed Roman I spoke to would sooner buy back a bad product than deal with some of the BS I've seen posted here.

This is an outstanding guitar, but I bought more than a guitar. Ed Roman is a an individual with the courage to go out on his own, start his own business, be his own boss, and compete with his product against the biggest and most established manufacturers in the business. He?s not alone, lots of us do it ? I do it. He answer?s his own phone, regardless of what that makes you think, he gets his ass out of bed and goes to work. He is not a faceless, unaccountable, big name producer. He is accessible, just try.

I bought my Pearlcaster because I can show up on Ed Roman?s doorstep. I bought my Pearlcaster because I won?t see it mass produced. I bought my Pearlcaster because I know more about it (i.e. my actual serial number) than any Gibby, Fender, Gretsch I could buy for the same. I bought my Pearlcaster because I heard Ed Roman?s pride and conviction on the phone with him (and yes, there?s clearly a gruff side to Mr. Roman).

If you ever thought it sucks and there is something wrong with America when Wal-Mart moves in and puts Ma and Pa out of business and replaces their jobs with minimum wage cashiering positions, you?ll be flying the big fat flag of hypocrisy off the headstock of your ax that wasn?t handmade in America. I've done it, I?m guilty, very much so.

Everyone seems to talk about the ?investment potential? of guitars, okay, where is the potential in a mass produced instrument? There isn?t, whether you like it or not. A collectable is valuable because it is unique or rare.

You know what? I can pass this Pearlcaster down my family line and say ?I bought that from the man who put his name on it.? That?s worth something in time. That adds value. Even if you are a die- hard Gibson player, don?t you wish you had an ax you bought from Leo Fender? Ed Roman may not achieve that status among the masses, but among players . . . that?s another story.

made in 2004
22 fretts
solid top
h/h/h passive
duncans 2 59s and aj.b in the bridge.
locking tuners
trem pealcaster. Strat copy. Body they told me was ask but it is alder! Ed was the sales person also.

Does not have a great start sound at all. Impaid $2000.00 and it sounds like a typical Ibanez $300.00. No noise i'll give it that credit.I had to put a single coil stock fender pick up in the neck and center position to get the strat sound I was looking for.

buzz buzz buzz. nut was too low.Had to shim it myself.
pick ups needed adjusting a bit. No biggie though.
Big gaps in the neck pocket. It does not fit well. feels ok.
But I am worried about stability and dependability.
Came with a stripped tuner sperzel.

This guitar I will not gig with.
Hardware / tuners poor.
cannot depend on this only for a display guitar on the wall.

I sent it to them to fix . They took it back and sent it back.
now the neck was misaligned,and the high e falls off the board easy when playing it.
Winter is coming up it will go in the fire place and I can have the satisfaction of watching it burn.

I have been playing 30 years. I wanted a strat with a kick and confort.Well I trusted Ed as far as the quality goes and sound.
But it did not have either.
I wish I was closer to Vegas do I could of played and heard and felt it first.