Also Known as the Diddley Bopper
Sometime back in the 60's or early 70's, I don't have an exact date or
even a point of reference. Elias McDaniel AKA Bo Diddley who was a real innovator, decided to design himself some cool,
distinctive looking, futuristic guitars.
He felt that playing the same guitar that everyone else played was
counterproductive to his career. As a former band manager & concert
promoter I concur whole heartedly with what Bo was thinking.
Bo approached a guitar builder in White Plains, New York, known only as
Giulliano (Pronounced Juliano) . Bo knew him from when he was the
production manager of Gretsch Guitars 60 Broadway NYC NY.
Giulliano constructed the three now famous guitars & Bo named them after
automobiles that he liked. These were never Gretsch guitars, These were custom
made creations that employed the use of Gretsch necks. Bo was seen using
the Jupiter Thunderbird, quite a bit however the Cadillac he used more in the
studio
Bo's Girlfriend "The Duchess" used the Cadillac quite often and it became
synonymous with her.
All Abstract guitars are available
with almost any custom modification you could think of. You can
choose the wood you want, We carry
44 different types of wood on the premises. You can choose
whatever pickups you like, We carry all the major brand names and
many boutique brands like Tom
Holmes. You can order most models with any headstock on
our list or design something yourself. You can choose the hardware
and you can design the electronics. Most models are available
in Basses, Doublenecks, Neck Through Body, Bolt On, Headless like a
Steinberger, Baritones, Left Handed or whatever your heart desires.
All Abstract guitars are built in the USA and
carefully & lovingly set up just before we sell them. All Abstract
guitars come with a super stable very fast neck & neck heel.
Ed Roman |
Abstract Guitars Come In over
150 Shapes
Custom Shapes
Abstract Guitars are the most custom radical guitars available from Ed Roman.
They are built entirely in the USA by the very talented builders who were
formerly with Jackson & BC Rich. The feel and quality of these fine guitars is on
par with anything ever built in Jackson's custom shop or BC Rich's El Monte or
Hesperia facility.
The talented woodworkers formerly with both of these organizations were with
these companies since their inceptions there are even 2 people from the Jackson/Charvel
San Dimas facility. Because of the relatively close proximity of the two
companies many employees over the years worked at both factories.
Among the talented workforce are the original people who hand carved and
built all the USA neck through guitars for Bernie Rico. The entire original
paint department is also involved in the hand making of the Abstract Guitar.
Centurion
Model
Available In A "Deep Set Neck Tenon"
Or "Neck Through Body"
Exclusively at Ed Roman
Guitars
Currently the "Centurion" has spun off to
it's own line
Rockingbird
All Abstract Guitars are custom made. You can order any headstock shape, any Inlay,
any type of bridge, or
fingerboard. You can even order custom shapes.
All Abstract Models are built
in the original classic neck through body tradition. They are built only from
the finest materials and great attention is paid to details like balance and
weight. All pickups are directly mounted into the wood to facilitate a
direct coupling & enhance tone &
sustain.
These guitars are currently available in over 150 body
shapes or styles, not all of them are pictured on the site, You may even submit
your own body design. If we decide to offer your body design you may qualify for
an up to $500.00 discount on your guitar.
These guitars are currently available with almost
60 different headstock designs. You can mix & match body shapes
& headstocks.
I have been building these guitars since 1991, I started
building them when I acquired several hundred original
BC Rich
Body Cores when
BC Rich went out of business the first time in the early 90's. I have produced a
total of 400 of these instruments over a period of 15 years. Many of the
originals were built up original BC Rich Bodyblanks. More Coming Stay Tuned...
I also have many
Abstract Body Cores for sale. Sometimes I get some cosmetic blems that
don't meet our criteria. You can save a lot of money on those models. There are
occasions when a customer will order something special and not have the money to
pay it off. The savings are really good on those deals. All bodycores can
be modified after the fact to meet any special needs you may have.
Available in Guitar or Bass
All Models Available Left Handed
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Construction Techniques
Construction Technique on most Abstract guitars are usually neck through
with solid wings, There are literally hundreds of wood combinations
(see my wood selection). The Abstract
guitars are built using the same tried & true techniques that Jackson & BC Rich
have employed for more than 25 years. The tooling & machinery is actually the
same machinery that BC Rich utilized during their USA years.
Abstract guitars also uses the Gibson, PRS methods of building where the
maple top is affixed to a mahogany back. The primary differences being the
ability of Abstract guitars to offer Neck through
bodies on all models and Deep set neck tenon
on all models.
Below you will see the steps that are required to build a Neck Through Body
1.)
Neck Blank & 2 Mahogany Wings
Using nothing but the absolute best materials the bodyblanks are single
craftsman built from beginning to end. excepting in cases of massive inlays.
2.) Bookmatched
Quilted Maple Top
It is harder to build a guitar like this when the top has been
precut to size but for aesthetic and cosmetic purposes each top is hand cut and
glued up later. Normally the guitar is built with wood that has been pre
laminated.
3.) Final Glue Up
This guitar is ready for truss rod installation,
Fingerboard and any custom routing that the customer may require. There is no
charge for such amenities as custom knob placement, Custom shaped
headstocks, special pickup routes or placement.
4.) Ready for
Paint
Up until this point the entire guitar is built by one person The next step
is to stain and clear the guitar. Abstract guitars uses an extremely thin but
very durable gloss finish. The paint shop has developed a new hybrid type of
finish that we are using on all of our guitars built after March of 2002.
Currently there are no restrictions on colors, you may order anything you like.
he paint shop will accommodate you, as long as you send some type of sample to
duplicate. Incidentally besides painting all the Abstract guitars the paint shop
is painting all of the Quicksilver,
Pearlcaster,
LSR &
J Frog guitars at this
time.
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Whiskey Pete Model
Pick Your Poison
We will graphically enhance this guitar to look like any bottle
of whiskey you would like
Or come up with your own brand
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Maximus Singlecut Model
Available in Guitar or Bass
All Models Available Left Handed
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