Thread: Ask Roman ?
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Old 05-09-2008, 04:12 PM   #252 (permalink)
Roman Rist
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Re: Ask Roman ?

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Originally Posted by ??? View Post
Woah sounds like you have an interesting career..... thats so cool...that you had a hendrix guitar.

Roman, what was your first guitar that you built?
Oh, and Roman.. why does a Gibson Les Paul feel so great??? What makes it so great?
I built lots of "kit style stuff" I'd buy yard sale junk and have at it, mixing and matching parts.

When boogie bodies came out, I was in heaven. I could now buy quality stuff and go to town!


My first completely handbuilt instrument was a beauty! ( to me anyway.)

I made a strat out of walnut with one humbucker and one volume with an old dimarzio double creme pickup.

The neck was one solid piece of rosewood, finished in oil.

There was NO truss rod in the neck ' cause I couldn't figure out how to install one.

Luckily, Rosewood is very strong and a set of .09s or tens pulled the neck into the perfect relief.

I loved that guitar, and so did everyone that played it.

Some years later, I ended up meeting Trevor Rabin from Yes, and he wanted to commission me for a build.

I brought this guitar and a few others to his house, for him to try out different neck feels.

He said he wanted the rosewood neck, I said you want me to make a neck like this one? He said no, I want THIS one.

So I cannibalized my favorite guitar for Yes...........It turned out ok.

I got quite a few orders for solid rosewood with out truss rod necks


Ah, let's touch on the Les Paul.

Why is it a good guitar?

It just is. It is beautiful, the combination of a mahogany body with a thick maple top and a mahogany neck just works.

Older ones were built by people that gave a crap, in a day where the work ethic and pride was much more than today.

Materials were good as well.

Why do they feel good??

I'll be a little cocky here

They don't..........not until I get a hold of them and do my magic.

Up till then they feel OK



later,
Roman
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