Ed Roman + Hamer original Sustain Block bridges

[specialk]

This is a lie on Ed's part, isn't it? The dude lies stretches the truth about so much I have trouble believing this:

http://www.edroman.com/guitars/hamer_for_sale.html

[zenmindbeginner]

Ha Ha Ha! I bought one of those like an idiot! it doesn't have the string notches cut into the saddles and the brass is plated. If the bridge was solid brass, it wouldn't matter, but the chrome or whatever would be removed. The plates that he is selling are not from Hamer, they are poor fabrications. Worse yet, they are the older kind of sustainblock bridge which has the wider spacing. I needed the newer kind post 1980. BCR Greg has the real deal... Hamerhead got them made or made them himself. Those two guys are brilliant!

Ed Roman told me to just file the saddles a bit. I told him that better yet, "Why don't I just send them back to you?" I've got no use for it and the parts guy on the phone assured me that it was the later style of bridge.

Cmatthes and Serial know a bit more about ol' Ed as do many members here, I have only dealt with him about the sustainblock bridge. I told him that he should replace the picture that he has on the web with one of the actual bridge that he is selling, and it looks like that is what he did.

I wonder what Paul Hamer thinks of Ed Roman?

[serial]

You'd be correct-he's full of something. The bridges may be old Hamer stock, but they're the 1989/90 with saddle grooves. They are not the same bridge Hamer used for most sustain block stuff. The Blades Bass is legit-I used to own it. The flag Blitz Bass too-the others? I suspect at least one never saw the inside of a Hamer facility.

[hamerhead]

I like the 'original 80s' blue Special made in 1997.

[cmatthes]

I have spoken to at least one guy who knows of some Ed Faked Hamers that came out of the old East Coast Music Mall in CT.

He's also done plenty of "reworked" guitars that have turned up on eBay and elsewhere, being sold as the real thing.

Avoid...

[serial]

Four digits were made from 1974-1985 and numbered close to 750. His info comes from a faulty understanding of Hamer's records from whomever gave him that info(or is it "whoever"?).

The incorrect or completely made up serial numbers are a giveaway as to the legitimacy of the guitars. That blue Special is a heavily modded 80s Special most likely.

[bubs_42]

I've heard plenty of bad things about Mr. Roman but before his site was redone that blue Special was noted that it was one of Ed's personal guitars and he refinished it. He has had the same Hamers for sale for a long time.

[mc2]

You'd be correct-he's full of something. The bridges may be old Hamer stock, but they're the 1989/90 with saddle grooves. They are not the same bridge Hamer used for most sustain block stuff. The Blades Bass is legit-I used to own it. The flag Blitz Bass too-the others? I suspect at least one never saw the inside of a Hamer facility.

Yeah....Serial's Blades and the Flag Blitz I traded to Ed after my first deal with him wnet pretty well. But on deal #2, the "like new" bass I traded for was "not as represented," to be polite and the other piece I was supposed to get I was told was "gone."

[murkat]

You'd be correct-he's full of something.

yup.

maggots

[Boomerang~Junkie]

I had two interactions with that bloated, douchebag know--it-all. He may have been knowledgeable and had some game, but his slimy car salesman vibe overshadowed any of that.

I would not take something from them for free.

[Studio Custom]

You do realize Ed is dead for years now.

[Boomerang~Junkie]

Yes I do.

Edited to add: Its when he stopped being a douchebag.

[kizanski]

Still don't trust him.

[mc2]

As I've described Ed before......the " P.T. Barnum of the Guitar World."

A number of the Hamer photos on his site, he lifted from me. A lot of his website photos seem to be lifted from the Internet, which didn't seem to bother him.

He had a black 4-digit Hamer B8S on his site for a long time that had a number of modifications to it.

It was listed as "all original" and "probably the first Hamer 8-string bass."

Ed would sometimes email me or call me about something he had or for info on some brand I was knowledgable about.

Several times I corrected his "misinformation." I specifically emailed him about that B8S and told him it was "closer to the 25th one made and NOT THE FIRST. I also pointed out the mods. He never changed the listing and eventually sold it.

Despite his shortcomings, I always found Ed interesting to talk to. He'd been in the business a long time and knew virtually everyone.

Like P.T. Barnum, he could tell a good tale and often stretch the facts. And like Donald Trump or Hartley Peavy, Ed would never hesitate to candidly say what he thought -- like a foul-mouthed and blunt Brooklyn truck driver.

I was sad to hear he had passed. He was old-school and a colorful character. If you knew to approach him with caution, he could often find you some very hard to find item -- as long as you could authenticate it.

IMO, the industry needs all types or it would be bland and boring. Ironically, the biggest screwing I ever got in the guitar biz was buy George Gruhn's store...which is supposed to have a stellar reputation. So, it takes all types.

[Michael_B]

Ed was a customer of mine; he had started a gun business. He was great to deal with, in that respect. Like half my customers, he'd talk your ear off, but he was always extremely amusing. At the time, I wasn't into guitars- I had one and it was just fine. When I joined HFC, I was disappointed to learn of his reputation in the guitar industry because he had always been very likable.

[Sugartune]

Ed Romans site was the first place that I regularly frequented when my house first got the Internet when I was a teen. I loved his rants, well most of them. It was my first source for guitar info, for better or worse. Though I didn't ever meet him or visit the stores, I liked his internet persona and was sad to learn he was a big scammer (how did his business survive?).

[Never2Late]

Ed Romans site was the first place that I regularly frequented when my house first got the Internet when I was a teen. I loved his rants, well most of them. It was my first source for guitar info, for better or worse. Though I didn't ever meet him or visit the stores, I liked his internet persona and was sad to learn he was a big scammer (how did his business survive?).

Same here - his photo gallery was a 'who's who' of Sunset Strip gunslingers and his line of clones/repros told me that he wasn't so much a caretaker of luthier history so much as he was a seller of rockstar dreams and a scavenger of six-string boneyards. I was cool with that.....SOMEbody has to sell the world Kramer partscasters and day-glo-painted, whammy-bar equipped Japanese firewood at vintage Fender prices. Oh wait, that's ebay now - every day. I miss the website pictures of strippers holding some hottt rockstar guitar for-sale. Reminds me of better times.

[Hfan]

Ed was a customer of mine; he had started a gun business. He was great to deal with, in that respect. Like half my customers, he'd talk your ear off, but he was always extremely amusing. At the time, I wasn't into guitars- I had one and it was just fine. When I joined HFC, I was disappointed to learn of his reputation in the guitar industry because he had always been very likable.

He had a you tube up at some point (maybe still) where he or one of his employees took a Thompson submachine gun and shot a Les Paul full of holes..very entertaining. Found it..towards the end:

http://youtu.be/mdChXIO0WtM

[a.bandini]

Good golly. I think we now know how Ed died. A ricochet.

[sonic1974]

I was scammed by Ed as well , bought what I thought was an original sustainblock for a 78 Sunburst. Turns out it wasn't the real deal.

[cmatthes]

I'm not 100% sure, but I've been told by two reliable sources that Ed had those made and that they aren't Hamer stock, which makes perfect sense as to why they don't exactly match up to anything Hamer did.

Hamer wouldn't have sold Ed "a few dozen" Sustainblocks - they were very familiar with his shenanigans.

[Hfan]

He had it in for you guys..heard he was nice to the Heritage owners..

[hamersandstrats]

Wasn't he a trust fund kid or something like that who inherited a lot of money to buy all that stock? Thats what he acted like, a spoiled brat who thought he could help himself to anything he wanted. That video taking an axe to a perfectly good Les Paul is ridiculous. I saved money for about a year to buy my first Les Paul Studio. Some kid would have loved that guitar.

[cmatthes]

I don't know about the trust fund kid thing - he had a reputation for doing things in unconventional ways. He wasn't always the most honest guy, that's for sure, but I can easily name a dozen or more guitar dealers who are as bad or worse and play/played fast and loose with the truth.

Some people just live off of the attention and drama. Hacking up a LP Studio with a battleaxe is certainly polarizing.

[Steve Haynie]

Ed or his family had a patent on some kind of part for motorcycle engines if my information is correct.