Heritage Ed Roman Blues Deluxe

it came w/scratches and dents, the VIP system just give you a loss of volume, it kills the tone of this guitar, the smaller size makes this guitar look like freak, but to be fair it does plays more comfortable. had to pay extra for a case, no paper work like the tags came with it. setup was bad, i didn't order extra buzzing but it came with

for rock & blues only, it does not have the tone for jazz, the VIP system sounds good in theory in practice it just lowers the volume. waste of $$$, it's a one trick pony but if you play well enought you get away with the limitations of the guitar, interesting that this guitar is not a standard model offered by heriatge(think about that)..played it for a week and decided it does not warrant the high cost of this guitar and send it back to you know who..can't mention his name he gets mad..boo, you folks know this cat is

scratches, dents, like did I puchase a floor model ?

sent it back before some bad happens

poor, I talk heritage directly and spoke a with a human being and they directed me to a better dealer and

this is going back a few years but it stuck in my memory of what an example of badly made, poor cistomer server and a total scam that exist in this business, bad people taking advantage of people who just want to make beautiful music

"Plus" model made in Kalamazoo supposedly exclusive to Ed Roman. Semi-hollow body, mahogany neck, ebony fretboard, Schaller pick-ups, Grover tuners with ebony buttons,mother of pearl inlays, VIP controls,multi-bindings everywhere, chrome harware, tunomatic bridge, amber colour, Buzz Feiten tuning done by Ed Roman's shop at extra charge, hard shell case (poor fit), wooden pickguard.

Sounds very good on a wide variety of blues and pop, which is not my main interest. Reasonable alternative to a "Country Gentleman" guitar I used to have many years ago. I bought it to get versatility not for a specific sound. This guitar delivers on that objective.

The guitar arrived in unplayable condition from Ed Roman's web store in Connecticut. The neck was warped so badly, it could not be adjusted using the truss rod. The pickguard was missing altogether. No evidence of a genuine Buzz Feiten tuning was on the guitar. The guitar was close to being a good fit for the case but could still slide around after all the bubble wrap was removed.

Aside from this, the body was in excellent condition and there were no loose parts. I am rating the guitar from the factory's point of view not from what Ed Roman did to it.(read on)

Has been reliable after being fixed.

I will never deal with Ed Roman again. He did nothing to help me out except for referring me to Bill Page at Heritage and to a local luthier, Scott Heatley, he happened to know. After reporting the problems to Ed by phone, he sent me a pickguard that did not fit or match the guitar. I got dinged for shipping on this too.

By contrast, Bill Page was so helpful that he promised to make me a new pickguard. He kept this promise and I got it without further shipping charges. First rate service from the company.

The luthier was able to salvage the guitar with a bit of clever repair work. It now plays beautifully. I liked Scott's work so much that I have since purchased a custom electric 12-string from him (heatleyguitars.com)

I then requested by mail and by email that Ed Roman reimburse me for part of the costs of the repairs. I only asked for less than $100US. He never even responded to me. Not even to say no.

I could say a lot of rotten things about Ed Roman but I am sure he could care less. He gives a bad name to the many people who run an honest and caring business over the web.

I would recommend Heritage guitars based on my experience with the company and the quality of the product.

I would strongly caution anyone not to deal with Ed Roman, especially if they don't live within easy distance of this place of business.

2002 model, Made in Kalamazoo by the original Gibson Luthiers now making the finest guitars that beat the hell out of crappy Gibsons. Semi hollow body, rosewood fretbd, REAL MOTHER OF PEARL INLAYS (BLOCK) not crappy mother of toilet seat like Gibson uses, this is a classy looker and it plays beautifully too. Grover tuners, Gibson stopbar and tunomatic bridge, Schaller Golden 50 pickups, chrome hardware, gorgeous blue burst finish, go to Ed Romans website to see the colors he offers, unbelievable. http://www.edroman.com/guitar/herjrb.htm
ES 335 body style but thinner and slightly smaller. Feels great, not that great big widebody. $1700 with a very nice case.

I play the blues, and a little classic rock, and this axe suits me fine. It wails and screams and sounds great clean or dirty. The Schaller pups were a pleasant surprise, they sound very soulful. A rich, full, bright sound, not muddy like some Gibson pickups. I love the sound of this guitar. I use it through a Marshal AVT 20 hybrid amp, and it ooozes the blues. It especially sounds great when on clean and cranked up. Very focused. Sends a chill through you.

Slight fret buzz at lower frets out of the box, not a problem, I emailed Heritage and the guy who made it (Rendell Wal) clued me in on adjusting the truss rod a tweak and it cured it. Nice action now. The construction of the guitar is flawless, it has a beautiful flamed finish that looks stunning with the blue burst finish, even the wooden pickguard is flamed and bursted. (Is that a word?) No flaws in construction and I like the nitrocellulose finish. Looks classy, like a million bucks. Turns heads whenever anyone sees it.

Built very solidly, I'm a bedroom jammer, but it seems like it would hold up fine to gigging, a very well built axe.

Ed Roman has been a great to deal with, his people treated me right, bent over backwards to make sure I was satisfied. His shop in Vegas is not to be believed, you make an appointment to go in, and you get a personal salesman who just deals with you only, he's not some snot nosed metalhead who's working at Guitar Center for minimum wage, he knows guitars. You're the only one in this whole store full of beautiful axes and you take your time and play what you want. It feels like you're buying a Rolls Royce or something. Heritage was quick to answer my questions as well and very helpful. This guitar purchase is the most satisfying music purchase I've ever been associated with. Beats the hell out of the stripmall superstores. Go see Ed Roman, you won't regret it.

I've played acoustic for 25 years, electric for just under a year, I play every day. I also own a Liberty Resonator, plus a Guild 12 string. If it were lost or stolen I'd definately get another one in a heartbeat, this is the best guitar going as far as hollowbodies, beats a 335 all to hell. Gibson has some balls asking 23-2800 bucks for a new 335 who are they kidding.

I thought I'd add my opinon on this guitar I have purchased. It is called a Blues Deluxe made especially for Ed Roman Guitars. Basically, it is a smaller 335 size, 15'' across, and thinner, 1-1/2". This makes the guitar much lighter and easier to hold. I have an old style sunburst which is darker with good shading. I picked this guitar out of 20 that were hanging on the wall. It has a very nice flame top and back. It has single creme binding on the top, back and fingerbrd. The contruction of this guitar is similar to 335, not carved out of a solid block like a PRS or ES-446. It has a solid maple block running through the center. On this Ed Roman guitar, the bridge and tailpiece are Gibson instead of the usual Shaller hardwear found on Heritage models.
The neck is mahogany as well as the fingerbrd. It has a slim, wide shape and is comfortable to play. The tuners are Grover Tunermatic and are built like a tank. Electronics are 2 Shaller humbucks, 2 volume and tone with a 3 way toggle. The pickups sound good to me, I thought about changing them but I won't. The knobs are amber colored and the 1/4" jack is on the side of the guitar. I like the thinner and smaller size of this model. You can choose between 20 colors.

I use it to play soft jazz and some country style rock. I use it with an Evans 150 watt combo. It can sound like anything I want it to be. There is 1 odd feature which I should mention. When you use the volume controls, past 9 the volume increases slightly. It may have been designed like this. I have gotten accustomed to using it this way. Maybe it's a boost control of sort. The guitar does have a full rhythm sound and has more than treble if you want.

The flame top is beautiful. I hand picked it out of 20 guitars so I really had a choice. I tightened up the trussrod for a straighter and lower action. It really plays very well and the frets seem to be medium jumbo. Only thing I had to do was to tighten the input jack which is not a big deal. I'm not gonna cry like a baby about it. The pickups are fine as they are. They have more treble and string separation than Gibsons. They claim that the Gibson bridge and stop tailpiece have more sustain. Maybe, but it really doesn't matter to a 57 old jazzer like me. To me it's the shape of the neck and the size and weight of the guitar.

Built like a tank and beautifully crafted. Those Gibsons are overpriced and not really that good. Heritage uses better woods and they play better off the rack. You just have to find a model and color that you like. I had the opportunity to actually see the different colors and play the guitars. Compare that to buying a new 335. Do you think that when buying it you will see the guitar in 20 colors with different custom features. I have used this guitar on 15 gigs and don't use a backup. Everything is top quality.

Heritage 10 yr warranty. I don't know how good it is cause I don't see any problems. Ed Roman? Well I saw him but didn't get the chance to meet him. I just walked into his store picked the guitar that I wanted then left. I wasn't there to talk story or make friends. I was there to buy a guitar, I don't like to waste my time or others. My salesman was friendly. I did my business in 20 minutes.

I've been playing for 40 yrs. I work regularly in a stage show on the strip. I've owned too many guitars to mention. I sold a Heritage 555 to buy this guitar. The 555, I bought used and I thought it was too fancy and gaudy for me. I hate gold hardware and ebony fingerbrds. I like chrome or nickel hardware and a rosewood fingerbrd.
I like the size of this smaller 335 with thin body. It's much lighter than the full size. If you have a chance try this Blues Deluxe before you even think of buying a Gibson 335. I used to own a 446 and a PRS thin hollow and thicker hollow. Believe it or not, this guitar is better. Later I might buy another with a goldtop and maple brn sides and back. Go Heritage. It a no hasstle guitar.

This is a new Heritage blues deluxe model made here in the old Gibson
plant in Michigan.All handmade like Gibson used to be.It is based on the 335 but smaller and thinner and with much nicer all solid woods. It has a double upgrade flame maple body that is finished in Burnt Amber,which is a exclusive from Ed Roman who helped design the guitar.
It also has a VIP system which is a coil tap and phase switch for each humbucker.Stop tailpiece and tuneomatic bridge,Grover tuners and Schaller humbuckers which to be honest surprised me on the top notch sound.Very nice neck and playability was awesome out of the case, which is a TKL that I payed extra for.Fretwork is top notch also.

The model is called Blues Deluxe but should be called anything you want deluxe.Sure it gets all the blues tones you could want but also very nice rock,jazz,country or anything in between.I play it through my Blues Pearl texas tornado and Fender Vibro King with amazing results.The VIP system gets all the sounds you could want.Humbucker and strat and tele tones abound.

Setup was perfect,pickups adjusted properly.The fit and finish is superb,better than anything I have seen lately.Like I mentioned the fretwork was awesome.The action was a bit lower than I like but no buzzes or noteing out.Once I raised it a bit it was perfect.Hardware is top quality.

I see no problem with the reiability or durability of this guitar.Being a semi hollow body a little extra care will be needed.
The hardware will last a lifetime.I already installed straplocks on this baby.

I hear customer support from Heritage is first class and Ed Roman even extends the warranty a extra 3 years.

Been playing for 30 years and one of my best purchases ever.You cant go wrong with this model.