Ed Roman Guitars Past & Present Players and Endorsers

Ted Nugent Leslie West Marie Osmond Mark Kendall Mark Hitt Paul Crook Kerry Livgren Buck Dharma Rick Springfield Keith Urban Rick Derringer Hughie Thomason Tony Montana

Artist - Band

Guitar

Artist - Band

Guitar

Leslie West - Mountain, Solo Artist LSR, Quicksilver
Paul Crook - Meatloaf, Anthrax Quicksilver Ted Nugent - Solo Artist, Damn Yankees Quicksilver
Johnny Ramone - The Ramone's Mosrite Lita Ford - Solo Artist, Runaways  
Hughie Thomasson - The Outlaws Pearlcaster Brad Gillis - Night Ranger Pearlcaster
Mark Slaughter - Slaughter, V. Vincent Invasion Abstract, LSR, Quicksilver Mark Hitt - Ratrace Choir, Torque Quicksilver
Ronny North - Solo Artist Quicksilver Rick Derringer - Edgar Winter, The McCoy's LSR Headless
John Mayer - Solo Artist LSR Headless Billy Gibbons - ZZ TOP Quicksilver Excelero
Mark Kendall - Great White Quicksilver Eric Braun - Iron Butterfly Mosrite
Keith Urban - Solo Artist Quicksilver The Enigma Abstract Pagan
Sinbad - Comedian Quicksilver George Lynch - Dokken, Lynch Mob J. Frog
Meatloaf   Tony Montana - Great White, Slash
Buck Dharma - Blue Oyster Cult LSR, Quicksilver Ray DeTone Quicksilver
Matt Curran - Matt Curran Band Quicksilver Peter Kupershmid - Joan Jett, Steel Horse Quicksilver
Jamie King Colton - Dion Baker Michelle Blanchard - Solo Artist Quicksilver
Elliot Easton - The Cars RVC, Mosrite Rick Springfield - Solo Artist Pearlcaster
Randy Pratt - Cactus Steve Lee - Donny & Marie Quicksilver
Matt Reviere   Kerry Livgren - Kansas RVC, Pearlcaster
Dean Restum - Eric Burdon & The Animals Pearlcaster Bob Driscoll - Solo Artist Quicksilver
Marie Osmond - Donny & Marie LSR Custom One Of A Kind Lefty Garreri  
Lenny Hayden   John Mayall  
Dave Ellefson - Megadeth Dave Meros - Eric Burdon & The Animals

 

Marie Osmond Actually Designed This Guitar.
She Is Incredibly Artistic, She Involved Herself Fully In The Project From Beginning To End !!!
Mike Risinger Did All The Body Carving & Re-Carving & Marilyn Simms (Left) Did All The Jewelling.
I Met With Marie Myself  7 or 8 Times During The Design & Prototype Phases.
This Guitar Holds The Record For Design Changes !!!! 
Under The 3000 Swarovski Crystals The Body Has Sawblade Battlescars & Many Spliced On Pieces
The Signature Marie "M Logo" Is Raised 1/4" And Is Covered With Hematite Crystals
We Drove The Guys In The Shop Crazy But We Had A Lot Of Fun !!!
During The Designing Process I Got To Know Marie Quite Well.
She Is A Wonderful & Caring Person, I Hope To Work With Her Again On Her Next Guitar Project.
It Was A Real Privilege To Get To Know Donny & Marie I Can Really See Why They Are Icons.
Currently Their Show Which Has Been Running In Vegas For 2 Years Is Packed Every Night.
The Show Is Currently The Best Musical Revue On The Strip,  I Really Recommend It !!!
I Don't Care If You Are A Metalhead Or A Rocker Or Just A Budding Musician,  You Will Like It !!
I Have Seen The Show 10 Times, I Think It Gets Better Every Time.
Marie's Voice Is Amazing !!!!  I Have Taken A Number Of Doubters To This Show !
And They Always Leave Shaking Their Heads In Amazement !!!
Ed Roman Predicts, This Show Will Be Running For A Long Time In Vegas !!!


Buck Dharma, Blue Oyster Cult 
 If these guys come to your town make absolutely certain you go see them
They are incredible !!!!!!!!! 


 

Rick Derringer with his LSR Custom before it was finished being built.
These photos were before we did the electronics.

 

Rick Derringer Rockin' American Album Cover
Rick is shown here holding his LSR Rick n' Berger


John Mayall, The Father Of British Blues,  Ed Roman

Ed Roman Guitar Builder To The Stars With John Mayall
The Father Of British Blues
This Headless Custom 12 string eventually went to Steve Morse.
I was still working for Steinberger when this photo was taken.


Custom Built For Randy Pratt From "Cactus"

LSR Custom Bass With Korina Back & Figured Bubinga Top


Leslie West

Leslie's Album Cover Shot
"As Phat As It Gets"

 

Leslie has his own model, This one is actually an exact copy of the first one that we built for Eddie Van Halen.

Eddie's model is Amber and is serial # 002

Leslie uses this one as much as he uses his own model. He also has a Blue one & a Black one.

"Eddie Van Halen endorses Charvel Guitars"
So I cannot use his picture on my website

                               

Choice of Graphite Neck or Wooden Neck
Wooden Necks come in Solid Rosewood, Maple, Macassar Ebony, Koa, Mahogany & More.

 

Leslie Richie & Corky
Nantucket Sleigh Ride Video

Leslie Using His LSR EB-1

Leslie Has Quite A Few Different  LSR Guitars
Different Guitars, Different Pickups & Different woods.


Leslie West
The Man, The Myth, The Legend


Leslie West Album Cover
We Have Built Leslie West 7 or 8 Different Headless Models


 
Built For Leslie West In 2001
100% hand made in USA. Graphite Neck, Duncan Pickups Top Quality
  Available in many colors !!!!
 

This is the latest Leslie West model, Leslie calls it the Rocket !!!!

It is very light and easy to play


 

Paul Harvel with one of the original Edbergers from 1997
When we made the original run of LSR guitars we made them very fancy.
Heavily Quilted,  Wild Paint,  Fancy Inlays, etc etc.
This one was made from solid Korina and was built to a very tasteful minimalist standard.


 

 

 

Hughie has a Fender Endorsement but he is using his Pearlcasters most of the time !!!!

 
Hughie Thomasson

Hughle Thomasson Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Outlaws with one of his black translucent Pearlcasters!!

Kerry Livgren
Original Founding Member of Kansas
With his Ed Roman "Pearlcaster"

Meatloaf Live, with an Ed Roman Pearlcaster

Hughie Thomasson of "The Outlaws" & "Lynyrd Skynyrd"
with his Pearlcaster.

Hughie stopped by to pick up one of his two custom made Pearlcaster's.
Both of these guitars looked alike except we used two completely different necks on each one.
He was originally going to set up one as a slide guitar but he never did.

Paul Crook Of Meatloaf

With His Ed Roman Pearlcaster



Brads red Fender guitar has a very rare original Floyd with no fine tuners.  It has a special wireless unit routed under the pick guard  with the antenna wire routed in the back of the body.

The on/off switch is a real air craft switch located on a flat plate with an led light were the out put jack normally is. the output jack has been relocated on the side of the body. The neck is a specially made slightly fat on the back side per Brad's instructions.

Brad has 3 custom wound Seymour Duncan pickups, He has a mini switch between the volume and 5 way switch actually splits the bridge pick up.

He has played this guitar since the original Nightranger train ride, and it appears that this guitar is ready for that grave yard in the sky.

Ed Roman is currently building him a one of a kind Pearlcaster with a beautiful Hawaiian ice blue quilt top Brad has chosen our standard system of 3 lil Seymour Humbuckers which will be coil tapped.

Brad has specified another original Floyd Rose tremolo with no fine tuners.

As usual he requires a built in camouflaged wireless unit installed better than the last one, same air craft switch w/led. out put jack moved to the side and a birds eye maple neck with an ebony fret board

Ed Roman is proud to welcome Brad Gillis to the growing number of professionals who are currently playing Ed Roman Pearlcaster Guitars.


Eric Burdon, Dean Restum & Ed Roman
Dean has one of the very first Pearlcaster's serial #002

Dean is the featured guitarist with The legendary Eric Burdon & The Animals for 13 years
An amazing player in an amazing show.


Joe Gareri  Vibe Tribe
Built Back In 1989

Hey Ed,
It was great talking to you last week.  I was hoping I’d get to see you when I stopped by the store but no such luck.  I’m going back out to Vegas in October so hopefully I can hook up with you then.  The store and the website absolutely blew me away! You’re still the man bro!  The custom guitars are awesome!  I still love my Roman custom guitars and they’re the only guitars I play to this day.

I’m playing in a corporate band called Downstream Signal.  We play at corporate functions at some pretty cool places throughout the country.  We’ll be playing at the Venetian Hotel in October.  Here are some pictures from a recent gig in Arizona where we opened up for The Goo Goo Dolls.  As you can see, I look a lot different than I did back in 89, but one thing that hasn’t changed is that I’m still playing my Ed Roman “Lefty” guitars!

Stay in touch Ed.  I really hope I get to see you in October.  I’ll send you an e-mail when I get the exact dates but right now it looks like I’ll be out there the first week in October.

Joe "Lefty" Gareri

 

 

 


 

Rick Springfield

Rick Springfield

  Rick is currently using his Pearlcaster in the long running  Vegas show,  EFX.
Rick Springfield, Songwriter, Producer, Actor & Performer Extraordinaire
Pearlcaster Player


Rick Derringer

The M'Coys, Hang on Sloopy age 14. Played with Johnny Winter & Edgar Winter,
Produced Cindy Lauper, Weird Al, Played on numerous Studio Sessions, Rock & Roll Hootchiecoo

Guitarist, Producer, Writer, Performer
Currently I am building Rick Derringer a special headless LSR Guitar


Leslie West, one of my favorite guitarists ever.
Leslie only uses his Pearlcasters on one or two songs.
 I have seen him use it on "Theme from an Imaginary Western" several times,
Usually he prefers the LSR WB-1 or EB-1 that I built him in 1997.


 

Todd Rundgren/Utopia fans know Kasim Sulton for his bass, guitar, piano, and singing skills on albums from "Ra" through "Redux '92: Live In Japan." He has been very busy since those days. Somewhat overlapping the latter Utopia years and continuing into the present,

 Kasim has played on albums and/or toured with Todd Rundgren, Cheap Trick, The Indigo Girls, Patti Smith, and Hall & Oates, as well as extensive work with Joan Jett and Meat Loaf.

Recently, Kasim was the bass player on Todd Rundgren's power trio tour in support of Todd's album "One Long Year."

Kasim is an accomplished singer performer and all around musician in his own right.  We were very pleased and honored that he came to us to have a Pearlcaster made.

We also felt very honored because Kasim could very easily have gotten 2 or 3 free Fenders just by calling and asking for them.

 

 

For 35 years singer / songwriter Kasim Sulton has worked with artists as diverse as Todd Rundgren, The New Cars, Meat Loaf, Joan Jett, Utopia, Celine Dion, Bon Jovi and Hall & Oates, plus he played a series of appearances in the musical Movin' Out on Broadway as well as having his own solo career.
In 2006 Kasim toured as part of The New Cars on The Road Rage Tour.

3 years ago he toured the US and Europe with Meat Loaf to promote his latest album Bat Out Of Hell III from February until the tour was cut short in October due to Meat Loaf developing a cyst on a vocal chord.

Kasim's own CD, Quid Pro Quo, was released in 2002 on Sphere Sound Records and won the 2003 Kweevak.com 2003 People's Choice Award. To the delight of his fans, Kasim released a compilation solo album called All Sides in March'07! Kasim played 3 solo gigs last summer plus he played more in March this year.

Kasim has just completed touring the both Japan and US as part of Todd Rundgren's following successful tours of the West Coast in September and the East Coast in December. In the early summer Kasim will be with Meat Loaf in Europe. Kasim has booked a solo gig in Woodstock, NY on 17th May and another in Boston on 27th May.

Kasim Sulton another satisfied Ed Roman Guitars customer !!!.

 


 

 Hi Ed,

    I wanted to take a moment to thank you for my recent Pearlcaster purchase. I have only had it for a few days and it has already exceeded my expectations! I have owned a couple of Fenders in the past and I got rid of both of them. They just were not all that great. But my Pearlcaster is a keeper!

   The fit and finish is excellent. Jeff Terwilliger's Caribbean Burst Finish is nothing short of a work of art. The bird's eye maple neck and fretboard are also eye catchers. I have left it sitting in a stand several times so that I could sit and look at all the cosmetic touches. Wow!

   But let's not forget the most important part: How does it play and sound? "Wow" again. I was thinking about switching to mini humbuckers until I heard the Duncan single coils; I'm glad I stuck with the single coils. My Pearlcaster has, by far, the broadest tonal palate of any of the guitars I own. Regardless of which position the 5 way blade is in, or where the volume and tone knobs are; the tonal palate stays extremely well balanced. I have read a few reviews online of Pearlcasters. They alleged that Pearlcasters had a thin sound and fell short of the classic Stratocaster sound. Well, there is nothing thin about sound of my Pearlcaster! It certainly does not fall short of the Strat sound; it meets and exceeds what a Fender is capable of delivering. I would describe a Pearlcaster as a 'Stratocaster on Steroids'!! (And that's without active circuitry.) Your method of direct coupling the neck to body makes a huge difference. Your bolt on neck method is probably much of the reason Pearlcasters sound the way they do.

   The Pearlcaster's playability is fantastic! The action is light, quick and responsive. The worth or value of the raw, 2200g neck cannot be overstated. One really needs to play a guitar with one of your custom necks to fully appreciate the difference between your necks and the cookie cutter necks on most other guitars. The fretboard is also excellent. All things considered, my Pearlcaster has quickest action of any guitar I own. (I think it has improved my playing. It has definitely has made me faster guitar player.)

   I really enjoyed my tour of your facility on my recent visit to Las Vegas. After seeing your small, private showroom Guitar Center and other Music stores are laughable! (The small office downstairs has more variety in stock than Guitar Center.) I would also like to thank Bob for showing me how to fine tune the setup on my guitar (learning how to fine finish fretwires was invaluable). Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're supposed come that way! My guitar was not completely set up and I like to do my own work as much as I can. The result being: A custom fit!

 

Thanks Again,

E. Richard Bowen

 

Charles Smith

"Kool & The Gang" "RIP"

One of the founding members
Charles wrote most of the bands hits.

Christy McBride

Caught on film with a Pearlcaster
 


 

Hi Ed,

I appreciate you must get a zillion emails a day so don't concern yourself to reply but I felt I must drop you a quick note about your guitars.

I became aware of your website/store a couple of years ago and found your views on guitars very interesting and entertaining (i love the rants!) and decided one day I must get one of your guitars.

However, I live in England and have had no opportunity to visit Vegas and I didn't fancy just ordering one over the phone, spending a load of money and crossing my fingers to see what the hell arrived (especially as a number of other websites are quite critical of your guitars).

Anyway... I occasionally look on evil bay on the off chance a Quicksilver or Pearlcaster might turn up at a price worth 'taking a risk' and a few weeks ago one did.

I am the proud owner of a lovely Pearlcaster (Serial # 403).

What a great piece!

It looks gorgeous, it's a pleasure to play and it sounds fantastic.

I am really blown away by how versatile it is, the different sounds you can get from this beast with the different pickup combinations are awesome.

I have a pile of 'quality' guitars but this is now my weapon of choice. In the past I'd switch between different guitars on stage to get the sounds I wanted, now I can get everything out of this one guitar.

On the strength of this, when I get some spare cash I will be seriously thinking about getting a Quicksilver to join it.

Thanks for making a great guitar!

Cheers!

Stu. Davison

(Solihull, England)


Greetings Ed,

First off I would like to say that I have purchased two Pearlcasters from you in the past months....  One from John and the other from Scott.  Both had Buzz Feiten setups and Duncan Vintage Rails, both sound and play just absolutely amazing!  The second purchase I made was for a good friend of mine, Jerry Jennings, who has been playing for 35 years. He is extremely picky and often disappointed with the guitars he checks out.  Recently he was giving serious consideration to an Anderson guitar he checked out.  However, when he played my Pearlcaster he fell in love with it, much more so than the Anderson.  Subsequently, I purchased one for him and he is loving it!  Thank you for your tenaciousness and your drive to make a great guitar.  The industry giants may not like you, but there are plenty of us out here in the real world who are playing and loving your guitars.  Thanks again.

Now, onto the question of the day....

I have a PRS Custom 24 with a 5 position rotary switch that I am considering sending to your shop for some modifications.  The modifications I am considering are as follows:

Buzz Feiten Set Up

Swap out for Seymour Duncan Black Backs that you are using in your Quicksilver's

Swap out for Push/Pull Pots and the 3 way toggle that you are using in your Quicksilver's

I guess I should ask this question first; Is it possible to change out the 5 way rotary for the 3 way toggle with the way the holes are drilled and the contour of the body?  Depending on the cost, maybe I should just trade it in for one of your Quicksilver's??  The PRS is basically a never played guitar, so I don't know what it would be worth to you?

Your thoughts and recommendations are sincerely appreciated.

Kind Regards,
Mark A. Koher, Controller
Midstate Specialties, Inc.



Ed Roman has built many custom guitars for numerous other Guitarists.
Many of them are bound by contracts to say they play other brands.

Click here for explanation

Leslie West The Best Vibrato in the Universe   15 guitars Brad Gillis  1 guitar Rick Derringer  5 guitars
Mountain, West Bruce & Laing Night Ranger & Ozzy McCoys, Johnny Winter, Weird Al, Cyndi Lauper.
     
Rick Springfield  1 guitar Charles Smith.  4 guitars Dean Restum     3 Guitars
Solo Artist, Actor Kool & The Gang (Original  Member Main Songwriter) (Eric Burdon & The Animals)
     
Huey Thomasson   4 guitars
"The Ghostrider"
Kerry Livgren  3 Guitars Paul Crook  15 guitars
The Outlaws, Lynyrd Skynyrd (Kansas) Anthrax,  Meatloaf, Sebastian Bach,
     
Elliot Easton   3 Guitars    
The Cars, Creedence Clearwater    

 
Ed
I love my new Pearlcaster Serial #05358
It's everything I was hoping for and looking for in a "strat" guitar... and then some.
And thanks for working with me on the price.
There are some questions I have though?
Firstly, there was no warranty info or description included with product.  I was hoping to read up about the tech specs of the neck.

So, I was hoping you could send me the description and photo you had on your computer of my guitar, Ed?
Also, do you have instructions on the Sperzel locking tuners?
I've never owned a guitar with these before and want to ensure I work them properly.
Last question?
What weight and brand of strings do you guys use...?
I really like the strings that are on this thing.
Are they 10's?
Again, I really appreciate the help your sales guy, Jason, showed me and his patience.
Buying a guitar at Ed Romans is exactly the kind of experience that every player/perspective guitar buyer should experience firsthand.
And too think? I might have settled for a Fender.
 
Best regards
Mark Feingold

 

Baker Guitars

Mike Sarro  Music Industry Veteran Pro
Has Owned Many Different Guitars
His Main Guitar For Stage Use An Ed Roman  "Baker Bushwacker"


 

Jamie King Colton
Veteran Hired Gun With Major Recording Acts

Jamie did 11 world tours with Dion over a 10 year period, He plays Guitar
Bass, Keyboards, Saxophone & More.
I met him at one of the Dion Shows  (Incredible Show)
Dion is also a really great guitarist, which I had not been expecting !!!!

Jamie was Little Eva's musical director, He has played world tours with the Temptations,
The Four Tops, The Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis. Little Richard
3 Dog Night, Bob Seger,  & too many more for me to remember.
He is a consummate pro and I am proud that he plays an Ed Roman Baker B-1


 


Bruce Conte Tower Of Power On The Baker Guitar
Billy F Gibbons On The Ed Roman RVC Guitar


 

Gabe Blizman  

Dear Ed,

I just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know how much I'm enjoying the beautiful Baker guitar that I bought from you last month. Although I've been a long-time fan of guitar music, I am just a novice student who has decided to try his hand as a retirement project. My new guitar is a pleasure to look at, listen to, and handle, so I guess it's no surprise that I look forward to picking it up each day for practice. Even if my late start (and modest native ability) mean that I never quite master the instrument in the way that my favorite players have, I am having a blast trying to get there.

Thanks again.
Marty Klapper

PS I don't know how you feel about karma, but check this out: My recently increased interest in the electric guitar came about partly as a result of some research I've been doing for a novel that I'm working on. One of my characters is (not so) loosely based on Lindsey Buckingham (one of the aforementioned "favorite players"). At one point, my story calls for this character to lose a rare, irreplaceable guitar in a fire. Needing some info on such an instrument, I thought I'd try your web site. I clicked on the "obscure manufacturer" tab, and up pops a photo of you and Lindsey Buckingham! I guess it was meant to be.

 

 Steel Horse Band
 Long Island  NY
Pete Kuperschmid on Quicksilver Custom Omega Body
Industry Pro World Class Recording Studio Owner
Joan Jett's Producer
His Wife Kim on Baker Bushwacker
Pete & Kim have purchased more than 10 guitars from Ed Roman

Baker Main Page | Baker Comparisons | Baker Prices

"The Enigma"  Uses Abstract Pagan Guitars

Hi,

I received my ABSTRACT PAGAN for Xmas and am really thrilled with it!
Apparently Ed Roman is the EPITOME of all things guitar because I've never played such an incredible instrument before! The ebony neck, the harmonics, etc., it plays like a dream and the look is just fantastic! Tons of compliments on it and it sounds like the apocalypse through my Mesa Boogie stack!
My name is Danie Powers I'm a in the rock band (POWERS COURT) that is signed to the European label Dragonheart. It would be such an incredible honor to grace your site!

Danie

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