John Petrucci, Albert Lee, and Steve Lukather signature models await final testing at the Ernie Ball Music Man factory in San Luis Obispo, California. Ernie Ball strings are made at the company’s facility in Coachella, California.
Inside Ernie Ball Music Man
Click here to see a factory tour photo gallery.
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What comes to mind when you hear the names
“Ernie Ball” and “Ernie Ball Music Man”? I asked
a bunch of guitar players and here’s what I got: Slinkys,
StingRays, four-and-two headstocks, Battle of the Band
competitions, and “solid accessories.” They kept going:
Silhouettes, Reflexes, “really well-made necks,” Steve
Lukather, Albert Lee, John Petrucci, Steve Morse, and
Eddie Van Halen. Putting the same question to people
in the industry yielded many of the same answers, along
with a few items that the greater public is becoming
increasingly aware of: crazy costumes, the Ernie Ball
Music Man family itself, and an attitude that is sometimes
referred to as “maverick.” Looking back on where
the company came from, it’s easy to see how these elements
fit into the larger picture.
Wardrobe Function
Roll up to the Ernie Ball Music Man display at
the annual Winter NAMM show in Anaheim,
and there’s no telling what you’ll find. No,
really—who you’ll find waiting to show you the
company’s latest products is always a complete
surprise. Last year, visitors were greeted by astronauts
and cosmonauts. The year before, NAMM
attendees ran into a slick-suited Sonny Crockett
(Don Johnson’s character in the Miami Vice TV
show) and a curly-haired, cape-wearing Ralph (aka
The Greatest American Hero). You see, Ernie Ball
employees are known for donning theme-related
costumes at the big industry trade show. (Keep
an eye out for our on-the-floor video demos and
product walkthroughs from NAMM on premierguitar.com and you’ll see what we mean.)
In an industry where you’re just as likely to
have a guy in a suit walk you through the design
appointments of a piece of gear at NAMM (not
that there’s anything wrong that), EBMM’s
annual costume themes are a reminder to dealers,
distributors, and journalists that musical instruments
are indeed designed to bring pleasure to
people’s lives. If you can’t have a little fun with
the things you love, what’s the point? Their reps
are dead serious when it comes to talking about
product design decisions and quality-control
tolerances, but the spirit of fun is inescapable.
Company founder Sherwood Roland “Ernie”
Ball—a talented musician who was known as
quite the character until his passing in 2004 at
the age of 74—started dressing up and showing
off cool cars at his NAMM booth in the ’70s to
bring a little levity to the show. And the tradition
continues to this day, with planned out themes
having been in place since the late ’90s.
Freshly painted guitar and bass bodies dry in a temperature-controlled room. Some models receive up
to 27 layers of base, color, and clear coats, which
are then buffed by automation and by hand.
All in the Family
There is no one else quite like Sterling Ball,
Ernie’s son and the current head of the company.
He has ridiculous chops on both guitar and bass.
He tenaciously pursues great tone, while simultaneously
being amused at the concept of desiring
something so nebulous and subjective. He is a
tinkerer. He likes to question why things are
done a certain way and whether the process can
be improved. He loves a good, raunchy joke. His
life has also intersected with much of the history
of the electric guitar.
Ernie Ball beta-tested instruments for Leo Fender in the early ’50s. This is Ernie Ball’s official Fender
endorsee photo. Photo courtesy of Ernie Ball Music Man |
This mid-’70s NAMM photo shows some familiar faces at the Music Man NAMM booth (left to right):
Ron Taylor, Leo Fender, Sterling Ball, George Fullerton, unknown, and Jody Carver. |
Sterling was surrounded by gear from the
day he was born. Father Ernie sought out a guy
named Leo Fender to learn everything he could
about the steel guitars and the newfangled electric
guitars he was making. He also beta-tested
Leo’s instruments and became an endorsee.
Sterling, now 55, was putzing around Leo’s
workshop at the age of 4, and he really knew
his way around that workshop by the time he
finished high school. By then, his father had
made a run at teaching music lessons for a living
and had opened what many believe to be the
country’s first electric guitar music store. Shortly
afterwards, Ernie pioneered custom-gauge strings
as the world of rock ’n’ roll guitar accessories was
taking shape.
Sterling’s childhood involved packaging
strings and helping musicians find what they
were looking for in the family store. Before long,
he was going to NAMM shows, gigging around
Los Angeles, representing Ernie Ball on the road,
managing sales, and beta-testing Leo Fender’s
new StingRay bass for the Music Man company—which Ernie bought in 1984. A few months
later, a fellow named Dudley Gimpel would land
at Music Man after sending over a 6-stringed
resume—a Tele-style guitar that showcased his
abilities as a luthier. Sterling and Gimpel have
been working together ever since.