| Author |
Message |
paulman
Junior
Username: paulman
Post Number: 14
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 6:44 am: |  |
I made it out to Ed Roman's place Wed. What a huge store, full of a wide range of guitars for every guitar players need it seemed!
I tried both Furthers they had, it was really great to have a comparison. If you'll notice, 13457 is no longer lsited on thier site, and I am awaiting delivery as we speak. I got the "Rock Star" shipping and setup program...their terminology not mine :P.
Couple of notes on the experience. The sales manager (the salesman I was dealing with was out that day) was totally helpful, no pressure. "What would you like to try them through? You want a loop cable? Sure no problem. A Envelope filter pedal? Let me go get one. OK, here is your stuff, hook it up how you like 'cos I can tell you've researched what you want to do" etc etc. Then he left me alone to goof around with the guitars. Very very relaxed setting.
Ok on to the guitars. There were some minor differences in the construction, which I found to be surprising. On one guitar the tail piece was about 3/8 to 1/2 inch closer to the bridge than the other guitar. This caused the strings to lay on and touch the bridge (which I was not hip to). The bridge was looking a little worn, perhaps because of the tailpiece proximity, I don't know. The "factory setup" action on this guitar was also really high. Upon fret check, I also noticed there was a buzz in the 2nd string 21st fret. It all didn't make me feel great about this one and I realize it's all adjustable, but still it did sound real nice just like I expected.
The one I picked, was a later serial number (44 later), so it struck me as being newer. None of the factors above were present, and it felt natural in my hand. It sounded even better than the first (and the first sounded better than my Skylark). It was not too hard to decide which one I wanted. Thank GAWD I had the opportunity to go look at these and see the difference.
Ok..on to the deal. They told me the price, same as on the site. Ok. Then the case was extra...ooook *hmm*. Then the tax was outrageous, but I wanted to take it with me. So I gave them the price I was willing to pay, the guy disappered for while, then came back and said "Ok we will do it at that price, out the door" tax, case everything included. That wowed me a little. Now the fun. Stupid card didn't work for the whole amount (argh). So I put a deposit on 1/2, and would do the rest the next day, which I did. Then I asked about the shipping (no tax if it's shipped out of state). This is when he mentioned the "Rock Star" treatment. I said ok, lets do it. Cleaned, set up, shipped next day air. Then he says "BTW we will include this in the original purchase price" so AGAIN I am out no extra money over what my original offer was. Friggin' Sweet!
I found Ed's place to be extremely easy to deal with. I was ready for battle when I walked in, becuase of some of the stories I read, but it was for naught. Totally helpful, and I feel I got an amazing deal to boot!!! Not that I don't believe other people had issues, I could tell it could go that way at any point.
Ok now the question that's been bugging me (if you've made it this far). Why is the tailpiece on the 13413 Further so much closer to the bridge than 13457? It suprised me to see such a noticble difference in that aspect, and I wonder if it's just the varience on construction, or if there was a design change between the two.
So...I will post some pics when it arrives. Thanks for reading this long-ass post!! |
tom_z
Advanced Member
Username: tom_z
Post Number: 378
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 7:50 am: | |
Congratulations Roger. Glad you had a good experience at Ed Romans - and scored a great guitar. I'm looking forward to your pix.
Peace
Tom |
the_8_string_king
Intermediate Member
Username: the_8_string_king
Post Number: 163
Registered: 9-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 8:37 am: | |
Congratulations, Paulman! |
paulman
Junior
Username: paulman
Post Number: 16
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 10:36 am: | |
Received, cleaned of drool (ha ha) and posted pics. Thanks again for the advice I recieved on a earlier post re: Ed Roman guitars. |
honkylips
Junior
Username: honkylips
Post Number: 15
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 10:46 am: | |
Congrats on your purchase, Roger. If you have watched Ed Roman's site closely, you will see that the Tribute he had for sale (05T13431) is now gone. I added it to my collection about 2 weeks ago for what I considered to be a very reasonable price. I had the same issue with Roman regarding the case, but in the end I got a deal nobody else could come close to.
My experience with Ed Roman Guitars was extremely positive as well. The entire transaction was done over the phone in a matter of minutes (yes, I took the plunge sight unseen). I dealt with a guy named Jason who was really cool, answered every question I had, and did everything he said he would do in regards to shipping, etc. When I first talked to him, I started asking general questions about price, options, and a few other things. He was very helpful and immediately offered to grab the guitar off the wall so he could give me a better "in-hand" description.
I am glad to hear you also had a positive experience with them and I hope you enjoy your new guitar.
By the way, did the 2 Further guitars have basically identical tops, or did Ed Roman put the same pic on his website for both guitars? They looked the same to me. |
bsee
Senior Member
Username: bsee
Post Number: 1149
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 11:16 am: | |
Guys, as much as people like taking shots at Ed, cases are always priced as extra from Alembic. Some dealers may bundle it in the in-store price, but it isn't built into the base list price of the instrument. No need to make an issue where there isn't one.
Paulman, congrats on the new guitar! The quality, feel and versatility of a Further are hard to match.
So, will we be seeing your "obsolete"  Skylark for sale soon? There are always a few people looking for one on the used market.
-Bob |
honkylips
Junior
Username: honkylips
Post Number: 16
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 11:31 am: | |
Thanks for pointing that out Bob. |
paulman
Junior
Username: paulman
Post Number: 18
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 11:34 am: | |
Oh I certainly wasn't taking a shot at Ed over the case. But for the amount of money that was being discussed made me feel a case should be included, but that became a moot point after the deal went down. I certainly understand why the case was "extra".
So, the Skylark will be in the arsenal for a while still (sorry Skylark wanters). It's an excellent guitar, and it's nice to have another Alembic that I can take when I don't feel comfortable taking the Further. I still love it, but want to go *pun* Further!
Now I just gotta get it home, set up the stage rig, and play with it before a gig tommorrow. The band doesn't know I was even looking at this guitar, and they LOVE the Skylark (put that away, play the Skylark pleeeeze). So I'm going to set up with the Skylark, and whip out the Further at playtime to see if/when they notice this working Art Tool! Shock value and all that > |
paulman
Junior
Username: paulman
Post Number: 19
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 11:37 am: | |
Oh and yes, the Pictures on the site were duplicate, and did not show each respective guitar. I did let them know. |
lidon2001
Intermediate Member
Username: lidon2001
Post Number: 148
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 11:43 am: | |
Hi Roger,
Again, great purchase. With regard to the tailpiece, when I was looking at Skylarks, I noticed that the tailpiece placement varied for each guitar. So much so, that I specifically requested that the tailpiece be placed farther rather than closer to the bridge. I believe it's the hand built nature of the instruments.
T |
honkylips
Junior
Username: honkylips
Post Number: 17
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 11:52 am: | |
Yeah, I didn't mean to sound like I was taking a shot at Ed over the case, either. I was like you, Roger, just a little surprised at first that I was spending $5k on a guitar and not getting a case unless I paid more. Like a moron, I had spent all of my time researching the guitar just assuming a case would be included. You all know what happens when we "assume" things. Bob is right, though, and the reason is that Alembic offers so many case options (leather bag, standard case, road case).
By the way, I checked out the pics of your Further and it is a beauty. If I am not mistaken, your guitar was the one pictured on his website.
Now if only I could figure out how the heck to get pics of my Tribute uploaded. I've tried several times and no matter what I do it tells me the pictures exceed the maximum size allowed. Anyone have a suggestion? |
paulman
Junior
Username: paulman
Post Number: 20
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 12:25 pm: | |
Yep, I had the same problem with the pics. I had to set my camera to VGA/Fine settings then all the pics came out at 120k and below. Try that if you can, it worked for me.
But, all my pics were vertical in the preview, but when I look at the post it put them all horzontally with each other. You may want to put a line break in between (hit return so the HTML goes to the next line down) so the pics aren't stretched out to the side.
Good to hear about your Tribute, and you had the same thoughts as me about the case. But, with such a sweet deal it didn't matter one bit, did it? |
honkylips
Junior
Username: honkylips
Post Number: 19
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 1:08 pm: | |
Thanks for the tip, Roger. After changing the camera settings, I was able to post a couple of pics of my Tribute in the showcase. I had about 5 pics, but for some reason it stripped all but two.
Hope you enjoy your Further as much as I'm enjoying my Tribute. Take care. |
olieoliver
Advanced Member
Username: olieoliver
Post Number: 313
Registered: 2-2006
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 1:09 pm: | |
If you have a PC, Windows comes with Paintshop. You can resize and rotate the photos with it and then upload them. Just be sure when you save them after editing them save them as a JPEG, or GIF file. |
lbpesq
Senior Member
Username: lbpesq
Post Number: 1267
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 1:16 pm: | |
Roger:
Congrats on the Further. I'm jealous as mine is still in construction. I visited Ed Roman's last summer while in LV. Spent some time talking guitars with Ed. He's quite a trip. Very nice experience, though when I mentioned the Bond Elecraglide guitar he pretended to be very knowledgable about them and told me Mick Jagger's brother financed the company. Total B.S. As for cases, I was once looking at a Taylor at a Guitar Center. When we started talking price, they wanted to charge me extra for the case. That attempt blew the sale for them as I knew that Taylor ships all guitars with case included (or at least did at the time).
Bill, tgo |
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