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.

I gig every weekend in cover bands, and do originals. Played for 25 years. I saw Ed's web site, was impressed with his knowledge and his (apparent) commitment to quality. But I'm about 60% happy with the guitar I custom ordered, and would not have him build one for me again.

Mine is actually a "Scepter", but it's basically a Pearlcaster without a pickguard: control cavity access is from the back, so there's more wood on the front to look at.

A picture of my guitar appears on his webpage:
http://www.edromanguitars.com/guitar/pearlcaster/sce_rpc.htm

It's the natural maple topped guitar, down the page a bit, with the selector switch on the left side of the knobs (odd location, but I asked for that mod). French polish finish - looks like tongue oil, feels like wood to the touch; it's soft though, and will scratch easily (I picked it though, no complaint about quality). Considering a urethane treatment to make it tougher.

Bird's-eye neck and fret board, quilt maple over alder. Looks really very beautiful in person. SD pickups: JB Jr and 2 59's.

It has a tension-free neck. Check his web page for a description of what that means. Sperzel tuners. Pearlcaster tremolo. I asked for coil splits on all pickups, no problems here.

One of the best feeling, most responsive necks I've ever played. String tension feels like a Gibson, but the notes are very responsive, very expressive, hard to describe, but it never feels like work to play. Neck is satin-like, no heavy lacquer to get sticky, even at a sweaty gig, feels nice. In the playability aspect, the guitar really shines.

Bridge PUP sounds great; a nice, crunchy dual coil tone, great for EVH tones, maybe a little brighter than a full size HB, but enough mids to make the sound very usable.

Other tones are not very ussable, and this is disappointing. Even with the coil splits, it fails to get good Strat tones. Considering replacements for neck and mid; may Kinmans (which work great on another guitar) or Pete Biltoft singles.

I told them what I wanted, they suggested this setup, and I am somewhat unimpressed with their knowledge here.

The wood itself is beautiful; the bird's eye neck and fretboard are spectacular to look at, and so is the body's quilt maple. So the guitar looks fantastic, but has several significant flaws.

After reading about how his guitars pay so much attention to quality fit, I was disappointed in the neck pocket fit; more gap than I've seen on some factory Strats.

Setup was a nightmare, the neck was visibly bowed, and buzzed badly on many frets. The pickups were screwed directly into the wood of the body with tiny, cheap screws in such a way that the pickups could NOT be adjusted toward or away from the strings (they either fell out since they were so small, or they stripped the wood and wouldn't tighten).

The body routing beneath the pickups was rough and splintered; I could have done a better job. The control cavity routing looked home-made, rough and uneven, and the cavity had paint splattered around, even on the trem springs, like it was done it 10 seconds at the last minute.

The trem arm would just FALL out, nothing to hold it in, and the guitar would NOT stay in tune.

Ed says his guitars use graphtech saddles and nuts - why weren't these included? I also am yet to be convinced that his tremolo bridge is any better than a stock strat; I own both, and his does not out perform the Fender.

After reading so much about quality finish, I really did not expect to find so much to fault.

Necks plays great, wiring and soldering all look solid. Finish is not very durable, but that's what I ordered. No real issues here.
But it won't stay in tune, so it doesn't stay on me for a whole gig, I get too frustrated, can't play through my setlist without pausing between songs.

Most disappointing of all was the response during my service call. Rod, who had been very friendly, helpful, and seemed quite experienced in person, gave me this line of what seemed like total BS, like the climate change was causing the problems (hey I don't live in the tropics, man). Took the guitar to a local tech, who said the neck is so whacked it can't be fixed - I was shocked. Called Rod again, he said he could fix anything, no worries, so I shipped the guitar back (at my cost). Months went by, no word. WTF? So I start emailing them, finally call, Rod tells me the neck issues have been "resolved" (hold this thought) and what else did I want fixed...
what else? I had sent emails, I even sent a printed list of 7 things that need fixing, and you ask me that again? So I go over the TUNING problem, the fit and finish issues, the trem arm, etc, and he says check, I'll get all that taken care of... couple weeks, I call back again, now he says the neck COULD NOT be tweaked, and they had to put a NEW neck on... WTF?

Bottom line: the guitar had arrived in an unacceptable condition, I had to ship it back, and it took over three months to have it in my hands again. The neck is now perfect, the trem arm sticks where it should, the finish is better but far from perfect... BUT IT STILL WON'T STAY IN TUNE !!!

Now I'm really done with these guys. I'm taking it to another luthier in SF and basically going to ask "can you make a stable guitar out of this?" I still don't know if the problem is the neck, the tremolo, the nut (I later had a graphite nut installed; some improvement but still not satisfied), or the design of the neck, or ... ? But there's no way I'm shipping it back to Las Vegas.

I think the other reviewer is right; Ed sells guitars built by somebody else, because they really didn't seem like they knew the product they had sold me.

A $2200 guitar that I can't play reliably... I'm a genius ... if this very guitar had cost me $1000, I'd be happy, and I'd take it on myself to solve it's issues. So I'm feeling about half screwed on this whole deal. Not completely screwed, really that's the best I can say.

Play through Mesa Mark IV, hand made effects from Analog Man, Keeley, et al. Other guitars: Les Paul; hand made Michael Spalt guitar; Schecter Strat (from 1989, back when they were still decent quality) with Kinman PU's; a Strat that I built from parts purchased at shows with Pete Biltoft (Vintagevibeguitars.com) P-90 pickups; Ibanez s540 w/EMG's (like a Big Mac, always consistent, just not gourmet); others ...

If lost, I would not buy another. If I had my $2k back, I'd get a Baker or an Andersen, or I'd fix my patio door...

The thing looks great, and it plays and feels like a top quality axe. I just wish it sounded better, stayed in tune, had a tougher finish, hadn't been so difficult to get right, and cost less.

Ed's shop is worth a trip to Vegas, he really has an amazing collection of great guitars. But I should have bought something else from the shop, off the shelf, like a Heritage or a hand made guitar from some other builder. It just seemed so cool to be able to specify the wood, the neck, the placement of the controls, have a guitar custom built for ME. And this was delivered, so I won't rate it a zero. But after all the hype about quality, it was hard to accept that I really was not happy (and still am not) with the product.

Described in previous reviews. Fairly basic looking Strat style guitar. Ugly gold hardware and an ugly looking pickguard (my personal feeling). Comfortable feeling neck.

Sounded like a strat should sound.

No apparent flaws.

I asked a salesman a simple question about how much it would cost getting the Buzz Fieten system installed on my Les Paul DC, and he walked off to a computer to find out, but never came back with an answer even though I was in the store another 10 minutes or so. That seemed a little unusual. Especially considering the store was fairly empty.

I saw the website and after seeing the store, I have realized what is really happening here. Ed Roman is not what most critics have claimed here in these other posts. Ed Roman is simply a guy who hires guitar builders to build guitars for his company. He then sells them under a variety of brand names, Pearlcaster, Quicksilver, Baker, etc. Nothing wrong with his guitars, but I question the way he slams the competition, thinking it makes his guitars seem better. He is the main distribution outlet for a lot of small builders that he seems to find at NAMM shows. And so his store is different because there are all these brands. The whole notion that the custom made is better than machine made is debatable. An example of this is the way he used to talk about the quality of Baker guitars before Gene Baker went out of business. After buying the Baker label, he found out the entire operation was CNC. He couldn't even tell the difference between those machine made Baker guitars and other hand made guitars and he is in the business. His guitars don't seem to match the hype on the website, but in his world he must have learned that hype at this level sells. The truth about custom building is that when a company is small human labor is less costly than investing in CNC machines, but a human can't consistently work at the level or speed of a machine. Is one better than the other? There is a market for custom made products, but they are not necessarily better? Maybe if you are just going to hang them on a wall and stare at them. But when you put the pedal to the metal do you want to worry about scratching that finish? My Les Paul, Strat, and Taylor Acoustic have never let me down. And they are all around $1200 each. I can't see paying more for a guitar that is not in my opinion better. As for Ed Roman as a person...I don't understand why he would openly attack other peoples religious beliefs as he had in one of his rants against organized religion which was really an attack on the Catholic church specifically. But he is not unique in this respect. A lot of people are prejudice and maybe because there are people that are critical of his beliefs, he feels the need to strike back and uses his business as the forum to do so. That is sad. I just don't see what it has to do with selling guitars. Despite his guitar shop having some nice gear, I don't think I would feel comfortable doing business with someone who will insult me and then hand me a bill for $2500 or more on a new guitar with no warranty.

Made at Ed Roman Guitars in the USA,Solid alder body,22frets,Seymour Duncan single coil pickups,ebony fingerboard.Price $1400.

This is a mail order from ED Romans Co, upon opening the guitar it looked very good,so I plugged It in my Mesa Heartbreaker and It was apparent very quickly that something was amiss! Their was a large amount of hiss and noise in the movement of the five way switch I then proceded to make the first of many unsatisified calls to my salesman Mr /Rich Klein and also ED Roman.

This guitar is a copy of the Fender Strat, the neck was set up good,but then I looked again at the body and counted 5 inperfections in the finish! To be fair I was told before It was shipped that their was one and they did take off 100 dollors but five? plus the pickup selector was noisy.

when I first talked to Ed on the phone he said that these guitars were like high end cars sometimes they needed a little tuning up,he even said that maybe I could work on it! That maybe a wire had come loose in shiping? Then he told that this guitar was (3)years old(I had payed a new price for what I thought was a new guitar! When I told this to my salesman he asked if I would be happy getting a few hundred dollors back and fixing the switch and I said maybe since by this time I had had the switch cleaned and the guitar was playing pretty good,so he said he would call me back and I never heard from him,this went on for days,I would all him and though he was nice and frendly he said he would talk to Ed and get back to me,he never called back! I finally had enough and got Ed on the phone and it was like talking to fifty bad car salesmen at one time all I heard is he could't do this, or that and he didn't make that much money on these guitars and blah blah blah, I never knew their were so many excuses in the English Lan.I heard Ed Roman was bad news before and in my openion it is one hundred percent true! ED Roman also makes a lot of different high end guitars like the Jet and Quicksilver and Im sure if everything goes alright things are fine,but when they don't LOOK OUT FOR THIS GUY!

Ed said he would give me a couple hundred dollors off on a quick silver model that cost $2400, so I could get it for $2200 ,so I said I would think about it,and an hour later I called my salesmen back and asked unknowingly to Ed what the price on the same guitar was and he said $1850! I then told him that Ed said I could get $200 off of that,he said he would check, after several minutes,he came back on the phone sounding real shaken up, and started back pedeling! (oh! I didn't figure this in and that in and Ed will call you back? After about an hour Ed calls and says his man was tired and made a mistake and blah,blah,blah , as far as I am concerned I was lied to,too many times to keep track of! oh yes their's one more, a mister Rod Miller, who is the service man their,told me he inspected this guitar before it was mailed,and whatever happened to it happened in the mail,right Rod, switches get dirty in the mail! In my openion Ed Roman is a cheap two bit hustler!

Made in April 2003 in the USA. 22 frets, one volume and two tone controls with a 5-way selector. Three Kinman passive pickups in Strat configuration. Solid korina body. Solid birdseye maple neck. Candy apple red finish. Pearlcaster tremelo bridge. Tuners are Sperzel locking tuners. Thin neck with jumbo frets, fingerboard is birds eye maple. Case was included.

Great professional clean sound. I am using the guitar with Soldano Decatones and Boogie MKIIB or C+. The guitar is extremely clean. It can get classic strat sounds. It sounds like a Strat. The tremelo is pretty much useless. I Had the Buzz Feiten system installed.

The guitar was set up by Rod over at Ed Roman's, and is first rate. I had to change a capcitor in the tone controls, the on stalled didn't work. The finish is gorgeous and the neck wood is stunning. The korina body is a bit heavy but sounds great.

The guitar appears to be very durable in all areas. I cannot foresee any problems with this guitar.

Rod, the guitar tech at Ed Roman's was helpful and friendly. I have had no problems with the guitar. Rod sent me the capcitor the same day I called him. It took four months for the guitar to arrive after ordering it.

I have been playing the guitar for 35 years and I own vintage strats. I had this guitar pretty much loaded with top quality wood and parts and it shows. This is a beautiful sounding and looking intrument. The guitar plays like a dream. My only regret is getting the tremolo bridge. I should have gotten a fixed bridge or a Kahler tremelo with a locking nut.

2002 made in the USA, by Ed Romans World Class Guitars. The body is tele shaped, but has Roman pearlcaster on the headstock. 3 color gloss sunburst with no pickguard. Controls are 1 volume 1 tone with a 3 way switch. The pickups are Seymore Duncan. ! humbucker in the neck position 1 single coil in the bridge. It has the tele style bridge, but with strat style string saddles. Swamp ash body, Flamed maple neck, African Gaboon Ebony fingerboard. Has the Ed Roman trademarked neck modifications: 1500G and the all access neck joint. 22 frets, dot inlays. Chrome hardware.

I have been playing for 23 years and I play everything from grunge to 80's shred. I have a Carvin Legacy and a rack setup the heart of which is an ADA MP-1. This is definitely NOT an "all purpose" guitar. This guitar shines best in the clean channel. The great wood selection contribute greatly to this, and the you can get a wide range of different clean tones from it when you play with the pickup switch and the tone knob. Fat warm & jazzy to country chickin pickin tones. Heavy distortion doesnt really suit this guitar, but just a little through the neck humbucker you can get a decent blues Eric Johnson like tone.

Everything was adjusted perfectly. It came with 10 gauge strings with the action set high, like they should be for this type of guitar. Keep in mind this is not a shredders setup, but I could set it up to be. Without a doubt the neck is the best feature of this guitar, what I expected from custom handmade instrument. The fretwork is flawless. Easy access to the 22nd fret thanks to the "All access neck joint". The back of the neck has a very natural feel to it (1500G mod).
The finish of the body is also flawless. Glossy 3 tone sunburst with the grain showing through. I noticed I could see part of the route for the bridge pickup extending past the metal plate of the bridge(Barely 1/16th of an inch). It looks like it was routed to be able to fit some kind of humbucking pickup if the coustomer ordered it that way.

I have no doubt that it could withstand years of live playing, and with the transferable lifetime warranty and free annual inspections(according to the website) I'm sure it will.

I have never had to use their customer support reguarding this guitar.

I have a Carvin 7 string, a 78 Fender stratocaster, and a Carvin DC127, which is may Floyd Rose equiped guitar. I also will have a Quicksilver from the Ed Roman custom shop soon. If my pearlcaster was stolen I would get another one without a doubt. These guitars are only $1000 new and the surpass all other "Fender" like guitars in value and craftsmanship.

Made by Roman. 22 frets, basic Strat copy with better aesthetic appointments, Duncan pickups, ash body with maple neck, special design tremolo, Schaller tuners. Overall, nothing special or unique when you get down to the bare basics (I'll rate looks in a different category).

First, the negatives: It's not bad, but it doesn't blow me away. I own a Strat and several other Fenders (telecasters) and this guitar doesn't particularly stand out from the pack. I've relegated it to back-up status. I wouldn't say that it's excessivley bright, but I find myself dialing in more lows and mids with this guitar, and I even like twangy sounds. It's too brittle to be nice and twangy though. Maybe it doesn't balance very well tonally, I dunno. But for what I paid (a significant amount more than most of my guitars), it shouldn't be a back-up guitar. The lack of tonal versatility is a big negative with me, though it will get the job done.

The positives: It's an extremely attractive guitar. It feels good and broken in for a new guitar. Fairly decent imitation of that classic Strat "quack".

Set-up was perfect, I haven't had to touch a thing. The pick-ups were also adjusted very nicely. One of the major benefits of having a guitar that is pretty much a custom job. The color, a deep metallic blue, is stunning and finished very well. The pickup selector is a little noisy, but tolerable (I still think that this should not occur on a guitar of this price). One of the knobs doesn't quite rotate on it's pot straight. One of the strap pins seemed loose, but a quick turn of a screwdriver fixed that, and I've had no problems since. The nut was also pinching the G and B strings, but I graphited them up and have had no problems.

This thing will last, I have little doubt. It's given me no indications of being easily destructable, even with some of the niggles I've had. I would use it as a main guitar in a pinch. I've not used it live, though plan to cart it to gigs a a backup.

I have been playing for about 20 years, and own a myriad of Fenders and I have owned a few Gibsons at one point. Looking back, I'm satisfied with the guitar, but I could've gotten something just the same in a Fender (which sometimes I think I should've done anyway). Face it, I'm stuck on Fenders, and in trying to find something different, realized I'm just attached to that good ol' design. I wouldn't not recommend this guitar, I just feel rather indifferent to it. I would be ticked if it were stolen, but only because I paid what I did for it. It seems to be more about looks than anything, and if I were concerned about looks, I would've traded my old banged-up (well, it was made in 1993...but looks old and banged up) Strat a long time ago. However, some like aesthetically-pleasing guitars. This would fill that bill.