Ghostbuilds - The Replicas:

[Inspector #20]

Ghostbuilds are replicas of well known guitars. Probably the most famous is the Kris Derrig Les Paul Replica made famous by Slash...but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Both Charlie Daniels and Dicky Betts have Kris Derrig replicas, built during his stint at AGW in Atlanta.

Paul Reed Smith actually Ghostbuilt Ted Nugent a Gibson Byrdland back in 1974 because Ted wanted something a bit better than stock.

Jackson Guitars Ghostbuilt all the Neal Schon Guitars in the 80's.

Bruce Becvar Ghostbuilt Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones' Alembic Omega Bass.

All of the Kramer USA guitars that said "Made in USA" were actually manufactured in Canada by Godin Guitar Company. Just because a neckplate says "Kramer Neptune NJ" that does not mean that Kramer Guitars makes anything there. It simply means that is where it's corporate headquarters are.

Dommenget built many of the Scorpions early Gibson marked guitars.

Joe Despagne (AKA JEM) Ghostbuilt many of Steve Vai's original Ibanez brand name guitars.

Epiphone guitars are built in pieces by numerous Chinese companies under contract to Gibson.

Robert Godin (Robair Godan) Ghostbuilt almost all of the American Made Kramers during the mid to later 80's. We knew about the cheap ones being built by ESP but only recently we were made aware that Kramer never actually made any American Guitars themselves.

PRS outsources their Dragon Inlays. Nothing wrong with that, it's totally legal.... "The Dragon" is their main icon and trademark and It is completely CNC made by the very talented Larry Siffel of Pearlworks in Baltimore.

Ed Roman's Custom Shop Ghostbuilt the Van Halen Kramer Red 5150 style guitar after Kramer went out of business. Over 600 were made between 1984 and 2003

PBC Guitars, (Dave Bunker) Ghostbuilt all the USA Made Ibanez Custom Shop guitars - the most famous being Phil Collen's Kahler-equipped Destroyer II.

Tom Anderson built a lot of the Kramers for Kramer's artist roster back in the 80's.

John Suhr built the now defunct Terry Rogers "Mallie" from day one till the end.


- information obtained from Ed Roman's website - Not all data independently verified.

 

[gball]

A quote from Ed Roman? The guy was the ultimate Troll...I wouldn't put stock in a single word he ever said in his life without independent non-partisan verification. He was a well-known douchebag and creator of "alternate facts."

 

[Inspector #20]

A quote from Ed Roman? The guy was the ultimate Troll...I wouldn't put stock in a single word he ever said in his life without independent non-partisan verification. He was a well-known douchebag and creator of "alternate facts."

A lot of what he says here is true, as in who built what and for who, which can be substantiated from other sources. Some may be opinion and conjecture, I don't know, but I do know this...I have my own pickups made for me and in talking with the winder about raw material costs, Roman isn't far off the mark...

 

[gball]

Everything Roman did was to try to denigrate established manufacturers in order to try to convince people that he alone had the answers and sell more of his house-brand guitars. Not sure if you have had the "pleasure" of ever going to his shop but it is a treasure trove of everything wrong about the music instrument retail business. He was basically a shyster, and that pic above is a good case in point; it's not even a convincing fake.

The fact that he quoted some otherwise well-known and reliable sources doesn't give an iota of credence to his absurd insinuations about Gibson.

As to manufacturing, sure, we all know raw materials are only a small part of the equation, but it is extremely disingenuous for Roman (or anyone else) to make the implication that the relatively low cost of the raw materials is any benchmark for valuation of a product...what about r&d? overhead? marketing? packaging? distribution? labor? I'm sure even your winder wants to be compensated for these things.

Roman has basically been discredited for the last 20 years. He was no more an authority on these subjects than any random kid working at Guitar Center.

 

[Inspector #20]

Could be. I was particularly interested in all the ghostbuilding and who was making what and where.

 

[smitty_p]

As to manufacturing, sure, we all know raw materials are only a small part of the equation, but it is extremely disingenuous for Roman (or anyone else) to make the implication that the relatively low cost of the raw materials is any benchmark for valuation of a product...what about r&d? overhead? marketing? packaging? distribution? labor? I'm sure even your winder wants to be compensated for these things.

^^^This.

The number of costs that have to be covered in the sale of a product are dizzying.

Ed Roman can be entertaining to read, but his analysis of the real cost of producing a pickup based solely on the cost of raw materials is naively amateurish, to put it nicely.

 

[Inspector #20]

^^^This.

The number of costs that have to be covered in the sale of a product are dizzying.

Ed Roman can be entertaining to read, but his analysis of the real cost of producing a pickup based solely on the cost of raw materials is naively amateurish, to put it nicely.

I agree with you...there are many factors to consider in production costs, but I was very specific when I drew a comparison with 'raw material costs. '

 

[Inspector #20]

I made a modification to the original post in an effort to keep everyone with differing opinions happy...much in the same spirit that I was asked by some members herein not to post the problems I experienced with my 2016 Gibson SG T Series and my 2016 Gibson Les Paul 50's Tribute, because they do not believe that Gibson can make such mistakes.

At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter.

When I was a interim police chief, back in 2009-2010, I recall a conversation i had with my city attorney after a counsel meeting..."Bob, let people believe whatever they want. Don't waste your resources trying to prove anything to anyone....there's no money in it..."

While Dan's statement cannot be applicable in every situation, this one included, I am starting to see more and more that Dan was more right than he was wrong...

 

[Thatbastarddon]

I made a modification to the original post in an effort to keep everyone with differing opinions happy...much in the same spirit that I was asked by some members herein not to post the problems I experienced with my 2016 Gibson SG T Series and my 2016 Gibson Les Paul 50's Tribute, because they do not believe that Gibson can make such mistakes.

I know that I always used a descriptor like; endlessly, repeatedly, constantly etc...when it came to such posting of problems. Not a denial of existence. Quality control problems can plague the best of manufacturing entities.
If I purchase something defective, I return it, and very likely choose not to purchase again...lesson learned. I also understand that my experiences are mine, and not anyone else's. Since I am human, I may not be right constantly.

Everything Roman did was to try to denigrate established manufacturers in order to try to convince people that he alone had the answers and sell more of his house-brand guitars. Not sure if you have had the "pleasure" of ever going to his shop but it is a treasure trove of everything wrong about the music instrument retail business. He was basically a shyster, and that pic above is a good case in point; it's not even a convincing fake.

I'm feeling this gball, the above business practices are pretty distasteful. Well put. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Inspector #20]

All things happen for a reason. I can only blame myself for buying Gibson #3 after #1 and #2 caused me similar problems, but I am also very hard headed, and I have come to see this as both a strength and a weakness.

Some things are born out of frustration. Had I not have experienced all the trouble with my three new Gibson's, I would have never built my own 24.7" scale guitar, which would eventually turn into 8 copies, which eventually led to the creation of my own headstock and guitar line....and the involvement of my kids as well.

In the end, I think it was all worth it...