Oh Ed....

[verhoevenc]

Why Bent Tops Are The Devil

Lol... I love how he tells you that they should be avoided at all costs, and will never sound good, but gives no reasons as to why, any fact, and then shamelessly spends more webpage real-estate with pictures of his guitars with carved tops than the actual rant about bent tops took up hahahaha. I also like how he's like "don't let me take advantage of you with this" as if they're hiding it, yet the first picture is FROM the Brian Moore website TELLING buyers about their use of bent-tops and why hahahaha. And lastly, HOWEVER does a bent top NEVER sound better? lol, if it's a bent drop top, well then it's got the same ratio, essentially, as a normal laminated drop top guitar of top-to-back wood, and thus, would have essentially the same tonal affects coming from the woods. ALSO, if it IS just a veneer, then how does THIS make it sound bad either!? Then it's just like a solid body guitar made of the same wood, be it mahogany, ash, alder, etc. No matter what way you put it, the fact that the top is bent in no way affects it's quality, it's just a different LOOK.

Chris

PS: He also sells veneered top guitars... solid single wood guitars..... and laminate top guitars.... so what's wrong with the Brian Moore again?

[Jon]

I doubt he has Brian's permission for having his pictures on his site, either.

[fryovanni]

not really worth debating. he is Fussing abOut Something that makes no real sense. he cAN't even keep his archtop/carveD top thing strAight. DoUbt iM really going to put much faith in anything he hAS to Say.

Peace,Rich

[thegarehanman]

Rich, relax and very slowly move your pinky away from the shift button(or is "FOS AND A DUM AS" code?). . So chris, I'll take it that you've got the curved top bug now too? I think what our delightful friend ed has to say is that if you're looking for the sound associated with a thick maple top on top of X wood, don't expect to get it from a bent topped guitar, because that flamed maple is just a veneer. Of course, he says it in his good 'ol roman way, not mine.

peace,

russ

Edited December 7, 2006 by thegarehanman

[verhoevenc]

Yeah, but if he says "you won't get an archtop sound out of it" that's one thing, but to say "it'll never be better/good" is rediculous! I'd rather play a Brian Moore than an LP!

Chris

[thegarehanman]

Well, my Roman to Unbiased translation is a bit rusty, afterall.

[Setch]

Careful examination will reveal that what Ed is saying here (in fact, what Ed is *always saying*) is "I'll say *anything*, no matter how illogical, unprovable, contradictary and dishonest, if I think it'll help me make a sale."

And on that, if nothing else, he's being perfectly honest.

[thegarehanman]

I don't think you have to carefully examine it to see that, you just have to read more than the first line of the page...which is just a tad more than what I originally read. :

[Mickguard]

I don't think you have to carefully examine it to see that, you just have to read more than the first line of the page...which is just a tad more than what I originally read. :

I got all the way to the skanky babe in the fishnets.

But then, I love to read.

[westhemann]

i count four laminations of one wood and three laminations of ebony veneer in that guitar in the bottom picture he claims is laminated three times.for a total of 7 laminations

anyway.i think that "skank" is dee schnieder's twin sister

[unklmickey]

i agree with rich, in matters regarding ed roman.

i tHink thE use of someone else’s pIctureS in An aDvertisement against them OUght to be seen as a CHEap and Bogus Act. a Grievous affront to all concerned.

[Drak]

[Drak]

Ebony on a Les Paul style guitar is not the preferred fingerboard. The guitar just does not sound like a Les Paul when there is an Ebony fingerboard. Zack Wylde, Peter Frampton, & Ace Frehley to name a few use Ebony fretboards on Les Paul's but their sound is not the true Les Paul sound.

Ebony sounds great on a guitar with a long neck, it's more percussive, as long as you don't have a real hard wood body like solid Maple or solid Bubinga it makes for a great tonal combination.

Good tone is derived from combining different woods. We hang up fingerboards, & body woods and tap them for resonance and pitch. Most small hand builders will at least attempt to marry the different woods together sometimes in thirds, fifths or in unison pitch. I am sure Paul Reed Smith was doing that in the first 2 to 3 years they were building their guitars. I am positive they are not doing it today.

[westhemann]

idid not realize my use of ebony was so wrong.and that cat is making me dizzy

[fryovanni]

Ebony sounds great on a guitar with a long neck, it's more percussive, as long as you don't have a real hard wood body like solid Maple or solid Bubinga it makes for a great tonal combination.

He must just be mis-understood. Because I have no idea what he is talking about. Ebony of course sucks as we all know.

Good tone is derived from combining different woods. We hang up fingerboards, & body woods and tap them for resonance and pitch. Most small hand builders will at least attempt to marry the different woods together sometimes in thirds, fifths or in unison pitch. I am sure Paul Reed Smith was doing that in the first 2 to 3 years they were building their guitars. I am positive they are not doing it today.

What a crock on so many levels.

The cat is cracking my daughter up

[Ben]

hahaha

that cat is amazing!!

That made my day!

(well... its been a pretty crappy day to be fair)

Edited December 8, 2006 by Ben

[MidnightLamp]

Just a few questions to those who know...

-How does one adjust the pickups on any of his quicksilver guitars?

-Isn't a veneer a nice way to add a decorative touch to a guitar without changing the tonal qualities of the instrument?

-Wouldn't adding solid maple billets on the top and bottom of a guitar and carving as per a "true archtop" (according to him), need a lot of careful planning to help prevent the guitar from sounding way too snappy and twangy?

-Isn't an "arch top" normally a jazz box style guitar that's either fully hollow, or at least hollow with a solid mid bar, that has a thin bent spruce or other wood top? I always thought that a guitar with a curved top was just called a carved top guitar.

[westhemann]

you don't

not according to er

not according to er

not according to er

i think the main thing you can draw from that is twofold

1)ed loves the sound of maple

2)ed talks out of his ass on that site.

3)controversy is a good way to get people to visit his site

4) i don't really know what "twofold" means.

[fryovanni]

Just a few questions to those who know...

-How does one adjust the pickups on any of his quicksilver guitars?

-Isn't a veneer a nice way to add a decorative touch to a guitar without changing the tonal qualities of the instrument?

-Wouldn't adding solid maple billets on the top and bottom of a guitar and carving as per a "true archtop" (according to him), need a lot of careful planning to help prevent the guitar from sounding way too snappy and twangy?

-Isn't an "arch top" normally a jazz box style guitar that's either fully hollow, or at least hollow with a solid mid bar, that has a thin bent spruce or other wood top? I always thought that a guitar with a curved top was just called a carved top guitar.

1.-Don't and Won't ever own one. Couldn't tell ya

2.-you would think.

3.-If you mean are they archtops built totally different from a solid body with a carved top.Yes

4.-An Arch top is an Arch top, A jazz box is a jazz box, and a semi-hollow is a semi-hollow(these probably vary more than most). But a carved top is a solid body with a shaped top.

So to review... ? ?,Yes,Yes,Yes

To quote myself.

not really worth debating. he is Fussing abOut Something that makes no real sense. he cAN't even keep his archtop/carveD top thing strAight. DoUbt iM really going to put much faith in anything he hAS to Say.

Peace,Rich

To quote Russ.

(or is "FOS AND A DUM AS" code?).

Russ just missed "Say"

Peace,Rich

[thegarehanman]

I did miss that S, I figured it was a typo. And only just now did I figure out what FOS meant. Were you in the army, rich? Because I'm not used to all of these dirty acronyms.

Edited December 8, 2006 by thegarehanman

[MidnightLamp]

Yay, I'm not a total idiot.

As a side note though, what is an archtop actually, and how does it differ from a jazzbox (aside from stereotypically being used in a different style of music?)

[fookgub]

Ya know... I'd like to check out those Quicksilver guitars in person. Not that I expect much in the way of quality... I've read the horror stories, but Ed does have a a couple of neat ideas going on. I like the little cutaway on the back of the lower horn. The no-heel neck is great, as long as the neck remains stable. And I like the clean look of the pickup routs. Making the pickups non-adjustable seems dumb to me (I don't buy all the hype about solid coupling increasing sustain, etc.), but I do intend to start use Parker or P-90 sized pickups when I get around to building a PRS-style because I don't like the look of the ears (nor I do I see any purpose in having them... except they allow you to use rings, which can hide small routing mistakes).

[verhoevenc]

All remember that guy that was here not too long ago yelling about how his quicksilver is a lemon?

Chris

[crafty]

All I gotta say is that ER has figured out that there's a sucker born every minute and if you show them something shiny AND skanky on the same webpage, you'll make a little money for your effort. Personally, I don't see anyone playing Quicksilvers live in concert, but I haven't been to the county fair in years...

[unklmickey]

a bit of trivia:

quicksilver is an archaic term for mercury.

mercury is toxic.