holyroller Posted February 17, 2014 Posted February 17, 2014 Since theres a few for sale. What are these ? Are they along the lines of gison 336 ? Also so far as pricing they seem to be 2,000$ new? If buying a used one were should the price be at. Tone , feel, scale ? Would it be better to move up to a 335? I also see there is a , prospect ,prospect deluxe, prospect blues deluxe. Is this correct or am i getting them wrong.
MartyGrass Posted February 17, 2014 Posted February 17, 2014 Semi-hollow Prospect with Ed Roman's vibes in it. It's basically a small 535. Nothing wrong with it at all. Sounds good, plays good, feels good.
soybean Posted February 17, 2014 Posted February 17, 2014 The Prospect is/was like a H535 with 1 inch smaller body. Ed Roman (guitar dealer) ordered some with solid block construction instead of Heritage's floating block. His also had fancy cosmetic details. Those were called "Blues Deluxe". Ed was a funny guy. For a while on his website he was touting the Blues Deluxe as the best semi-hollow guitar made in America. Later, he was dissing the same guitar and Heritage in general. But there was no good reason. It is possible to order that same guitar from Heritage. It just won't be called a Blues Deluxe. I have a Prospect from the year 2000. It is not from Roman's store and just says Prospect inside on the label. Nothing written about the solid block or "Blues", but it is solid if you look inside.
soybean Posted February 17, 2014 Posted February 17, 2014 For your amusement; a statement made by Ed Roman: "Some Guitars that I have strongly recommended and then I rescinded completely. Taylor, Mermer, PRS, Heritage, McNaught, G&L, Kramer, and I am sure there will be more."
ledzef Posted February 17, 2014 Posted February 17, 2014 When he had a good relationship with Heritage they were great guitars, when things went bad with Heritage those same great guitars all of a sudden were made from laminate tops, inferior parts etc.etc. He did that just to tout his new guitars. For the most part he like to order them with the dual V.I.P.,bigsby, ebony boards and usually gold hardware. I got the odd ball, rosewood board, schaller tom and stopbar, and no vip system. I love my guitar and it's still my favorite I've ever owned. Now in the used range your probably looking at $1500.00 if they come up for sale. Kinda steep for used Heritage prices but Ed was probably charging around 3k when they were brand new and he stopped selling them in '05.
holyroller Posted February 17, 2014 Author Posted February 17, 2014 Thank you ! Thats really interesting.
H Posted February 17, 2014 Posted February 17, 2014 I think the newer Blues Deluxe models might be Eastman guitars.
bluwoodsman Posted February 17, 2014 Posted February 17, 2014 Last I knew he was hawking Eastman for his 335 clones now. http://www.edroman.com/detail_sheets/rvc-blues-deluxe-2g.html
soybean Posted June 19, 2014 Posted June 19, 2014 Last I knew he was hawking Eastman for his 335 clones now. http://www.edroman.com/detail_sheets/rvc-blues-deluxe-2g.html What a downgrade. A Chinese Blues Deluxe is supposed to be better than the previous Heritage built models? I don't think so. And they say the guitar has 24 frets when it clearly has 22. tsk tsk.
tbonesullivan Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 Well, just remember that Ed Roman hasn't been hawking anything since he passed away in 2011, which wasn't long after there was some big falling out with business partners in the Vegas store. For a while he'd been buying up names to slap on imports. His rants are funny though, even with all the newly inserted ads for his own store brand guitars.
kidsmoke Posted June 23, 2014 Posted June 23, 2014 What a downgrade. A Chinese Blues Deluxe is supposed to be better than the previous Heritage built models? I don't think so. And they say the guitar has 24 frets when it clearly has 22. tsk tsk. Eastman Guitars are excellent quality, hand built guitars. Associating them mass produced machine made Chinese imports of years past is a mistake. Not suggesting they are better than the Heritage Blues Deluxe, but they're not junk. I'd take one over a USA Gibson (not custom shop, mind you) in a heart beat. I've played their Jazz Boxes, small bodied electrics, and acoustics, and they easily held there own with my Heritages, Bourgeois and Larrivee's. Related to Roman being brought up in this thread, my 2002 535 was a Roman order, and it's a "standard" 535. Roman installed his "proprietary" Blackbacks in it, and sold it with a run o' the mill TKC case. No VIP or other bling on this one. I'm not at all sure about the harness though. That may have come from Heritage and Roman simply slapped his p'ups in it, or perhaps that was sourced at Roman as well. Anyone else that owns a early 2000's vintage Heritage...is this harness consistent with a Kalamazoo build from that time?
Hfan Posted June 23, 2014 Posted June 23, 2014 Well, just remember that Ed Roman hasn't been hawking anything since he passed away in 2011, which wasn't long after there was some big falling out with business partners in the Vegas store. For a while he'd been buying up names to slap on imports. His rants are funny though, even with all the newly inserted ads for his own store brand guitars. I saw a youtube of him or an employee shooting up a guitar (les paul maybe) with a tommy gun. Pretty entertaining. The Prospect is 339 size right? I have read people saying that a 339 sounds like a chambered LP Standard. Not sure if that is a reflection on the 339 or the LP. I have wished on occasion that my 535's body was a little smaller but it sure does sound sweet.
kidsmoke Posted June 23, 2014 Posted June 23, 2014 The Prospect is 339 size right? I have read people saying that a 339 sounds like a chambered LP Standard. Not sure if that is a reflection on the 339 or the LP. I have wished on occasion that my 535's body was a little smaller but it sure does sound sweet. Not quite, It's proportioned differently. The Prospect has similar "ears" then immediately plunges to a narrower waste and lower bout than the 535. The visual effect is that it looks longer than it is wide. The 336/339 manages to be narrower and squatter than the 535/335 archetype. They look very different to my eye.
soybean Posted June 24, 2014 Posted June 24, 2014 Not quite, It's proportioned differently. The Prospect has similar "ears" then immediately plunges to a narrower waste and lower bout than the 535.… That's right. Many players have problem reaching the higher frets on a 336 because the "ears" are too close to the body. The Prospect is much easier to play up there (easier to get your hand in).
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