Set of Ernie Ball Regular Slinky electric guitar strings

Ernie Ball (1930 – September 9, 2004) was an American entrepreneur, musician, and innovator, widely acclaimed as a revolutionary in the development of guitar-related products. He began as a club and local television musician and small business entrepreneur, building an international business in guitars and accessories that would eventually gross US$40 million a year. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 579 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (625 × 647 pixel, file size: 822 KB, MIME type: image/png) Ernie Ball Regular Slinky Custom Gauge electric guitar strings. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 579 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (625 × 647 pixel, file size: 822 KB, MIME type: image/png) Ernie Ball Regular Slinky Custom Gauge electric guitar strings. ... An electric guitar An electric guitar is a type of guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into electrical current, which is then amplified. ... is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... An entrepreneur (a loanword from French introduced and first defined by the Irish economist Richard Cantillon) is a person who operates a new enterprise or venture and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... USD redirects here. ...

Early years

Born Sherwood Roland Ball in Santa Monica, California, USA, “Ernie” Ball grew up in a musical family. His grandfather wrote the standard, When Irish Eyes Are Smiling^[1] and his father was a car salesman who taught Hawaiian steel guitar on the side.^[2] Although Ball initially picked up the steel at age nine to please his father, he became bored and gave it up. In his early teens he began to take a renewed interest in the instrument, practicing as many as three hours a day. Within a year he was a member of the Musicians Union.^[3] For other uses, see Santa Monica (disambiguation). ... When Irish Eyes Are Smiling is a lighthearted song in tribute to Ireland. ... Hawaiian could refer to the Hawaiian language the native Hawaiian people within Hawaii. ... A Dobro style resonator guitar Steel guitar, strictly speaking, refers to a method of playing using a metal slide (or steel) on a guitar played horizontally, with the strings uppermost. ... There are several organizations calling themselves the Musicians Union: For the United Kingdom, see: Musicians Union (UK) For the United States of America, see listing by state: For Alabama, see Musicians Union (Alabama) Categories: Music stubs ...

Musician

While still in his early teens, Ball began playing professionally in South Central Los Angeles beer bars. By age 19 he joined the Tommy Duncan Band playing pedal steel guitar. Duncan, the former lead singer with Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, took the band on tour through the Southwestern United States. During the Korean War, he did a tour of duty in the United States Air Force Band, playing guitar and bass drum.^[4] After the military he returned to Los Angeles and continued playing in barrooms and lounges, until landing a job on the 1950s “Western Varieties” program at KTLA television.^[5] The position soon gained him wider recognition in the Los Angeles music scene and led to studio work and teaching jobs.^[6] South Los Angeles is the official name for a large geographic and cultural area lying to the south and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. ... Thomas Elmer (Tommy) Duncan (January 11, 1911 – July 25, 1967) was an American western swing vocalist and songwriter. ... Pedal steel guitar with two 10-string necks The pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal slide to stop the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. ... James Robert (Bob) Wills (March 6, 1905 _ May 13, 1975) was an American comedian and country musician. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ... Combatants United Nations:  Republic of Korea,  Australia,  Belgium,  Luxembourg,  Canada,  Colombia,  Ethiopia,  France,  Greece,  Luxembourg,  Netherlands,  New Zealand,  Philippines,  South Africa,  Thailand,  Turkey,  United Kingdom,  United States Medical staff:  Denmark,  Australia,  Italy,  Norway,  Sweden Communist states:  Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,  Peoples Republic of China,  Soviet Union Commanders... “The U.S. Air Force” redirects here. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... KTLA, channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ...

Entrepreneur

Sometime in 1957 or 1958, Ball opened what was arguably the first music store in the United States to sell guitars exclusively, in Tarzana, California.^[7] When music sales reps criticized him for refusing to sell drumsticks and other instruments equipment, Ball replied, “I just want to sell guitars.” He was repeatedly told that a guitar store would never be a success, but the words rang hollow as people began to come from miles around to visit the shop. ^[8] Eventually, the products spawned from his company would sell in over 5,500 hundred stores and be exported to more than 70 countries of the world.^[9] Tarzana is a community in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. ... A drum stick is an item used to hit percussion instruments to produce sound. ...

"Slinkys"

With the guitar-based rock revival of the 1960s, Ball noticed that beginning students were having difficulty playing the bestselling Fender #100 medium gauge strings, particularly in holding down the 29-gauge third string. He approached the Fender company with the problem, suggesting a lighter gauge but was rebuffed. Ball convinced a string manufacturer to make him custom sets with a 24-gauge third string which he sold in his store.^[10] It was the beginning of the Ernie Ball brand. Located not far from Hollywood, the store began to attract a large patronage of professional musicians, including The Beach Boys, Merle Travis, and The Ventures. Ball began to notice a trend with players who were increasingly discarding the sixth string and adding a banjo first string, resulting in an overall lighter gauge set. Again, he contacted Fender with a suggestion for a lighter set and was turned down. This time he continued the quest with Gibson who scoffed at the idea. So, once again he ordered from the manufacturer naming the product the Ernie Ball Slinky.^[11] Slinky strings traveled the country with the pro musicians who used them and before long, Ball was receiving mail orders from individuals and stores. Still not a string company, he ordered separate strings in various sizes and displayed them in a makeshift case allowing musicians to experiment in creating their own sets. It took off, and in 1967 he sold the store and moved his string business to Newport Beach, California.^[12] It has been suggested that Fender Amplifier History be merged into this article or section. ... ... The Beach Boys are an American rock and roll band. ... Merle Travis (November 29, 1917 - October 20, 1983) is an American country and western singer, songwriter, and musician. ... Walk Dont Run (1960) The Ventures are a rock instrumental band formed in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, two Seattle masonry workers. ... // Gibson may refer to: Gibson Amphitheatre Gibson Appliance Gibson Girl Gibson Guitar Corporation Gibson cocktail Alexander Gibson (conductor) (1926–1995), Scottish composer and music director Alexander Gibson (industrialist) (1819–1913), Canadian industrialist Alfred Gibson (?–1874), Australian explorer Althea Gibson (1927–2003), African-American tennis player Bob Gibson (born 1935), American...

Today, Ernie Ball Slinkys advertise the guitarists who use these strings on the packaging. A sampling of these guitarists includes: Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Slash, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Jeff Beck, Albert Lee, Buddy Guy, Angus Young, The Edge, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Brad Paisley, Mark Hoppus, John Fogerty and Dave Navarro. Eric Patrick Clapton CBE (born 30 March 1945), nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. ... James Patrick Jimmy Page, OBE (born 9 January 1944) is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. ... Saul Hudson (born July 23, 1965), more widely known as Slash, is an English/American guitarist best known as the former lead guitarist of Guns N Roses and as the current lead guitarist of Velvet Revolver. ... Steven Steve Siro Vai (born June 6, 1960 in Carle Place, New York) is a Grammy Award winning guitarist, composer, vocalist, and record producer. ... John Petrucci (born July 12, 1967, Kings Park, Long Island, New York) is an American guitarist best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. ... Geoffrey Arnold (Jeff) Beck (born June 24, 1944 to Arnold and Ethel Beck in Wallington, Greater London) is an English rock guitarist. ... Albert Lee (born December 21, 1943 in Leominster, Herefordshire) is an English guitarist known for his finger-style and Hybrid picking technique. ... George Buddy Guy (born July 30, 1936) is a five-time Grammy Award-winning American blues and rock guitarist and singer. ... Angus McKinnon Young, (born on 31 March 1955) is an Australian Guitarist and songwriter who has been the lead guitarist of Australian hard rock band AC/DC since the group was formed in November 1973. ... For other subjects called The Edge, see The Edge (disambiguation). ... James Alan Hetfield (born 3 August 1963, Downey, California[1]) is the main songwriter, lead vocalist, guitarist and a founding member of the American thrash/heavy metal band Metallica. ... Kirk Lee Hammett (born on November 18, 1962) is the lead guitarist in the band Metallica. ... Brad Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972 in Glen Dale, West Virginia) is an American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... Markus Allan Hoppus (born March 15, 1972 in Ridgecrest, California[1]) is an American musician, producer, and was one of the founding members of the pop-punk band Blink-182 and the pop-punk/alternative band +44. ... This article is about the musician. ... “David Navarro” redirects here. ...

Marketing innovation

Ernie Ball did not create anything new, he simply saw a demand and improved upon existing products and found ways to better fulfill market demands.^[13] By the early 1970s he took the company global establishing distributors in Europe and Asia.^[14] Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Pete Townsend and other rock icons were stringing up Slinkys, a trend that continues into the present, making Ernie Ball the second biggest string manufacturer in the country. He was unorthodox in his management methods, disregarding market surveys preferring to test products on in the marketplace to see if they would succeed.^[15] He regarded profit-and-loss as necessary evils and trusted his instincts. In the early eighties the company bought the Music Man Company expanding into the production of high quality guitars, basses and amplifiers with Leo Fender making the instruments and Tom Walker building amps.^[16] He along with former Fender employee, George Fullerton, was instrumental in the development of the first modern acoustic bass guitar, introduced under the Earthwood brand in 1972. Although unsuccessful, surviving models are highly collectable.^[17] In 1985, the company was moved to a new facility in San Luis Obispo and remained there with all of it operations until early 2003, when the company relocated its string manufacturing to Southern California’s Riverside County. Under his leadership it grossed more than $40 million per annum.^[18] The company established an annual Battle of the Bands contest and participated in other trade events nationwide.^[19] For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... Jimi Hendrix (November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American guitar virtuoso, singer and songwriter. ... Eric Patrick Clapton CBE (born 30 March 1945), nicknamed Slowhand, is a Grammy Award winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Music Man is an American guitar, bass guitar and amplifier manufacturer. ... The classical guitar typically has nylon strings. ... A sunburst-colored Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... For the British rock band of the same name, see Amplifier (band). ... Leonidas Fender (August 10, 1909 - March 21, 1991), also known as Leo Fender, was an American luthier who founded Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company, now known as Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, and later founded G&L Musical Products (G&L Guitars). ... The acoustic bass guitar (also called ABG or acoustic bass) is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually somewhat larger than a steel-string acoustic guitar. ... Earthwood is a brand of Ernie Ball. ... In telecommunication, the term facility has the following meanings: 1. ... The city of San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (also SLO) is the county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, USA. Luis is pronounced as Lewis. ... Riverside County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of California, stretching from Orange County to the Colorado River, which is the border with Arizona. ... Battle of the Bands is a generic term for a contest in which many bands, usually rock/guitar bands but often from a range of different styles, compete for the title of best band. The winner is determined by a panel of judges, the general response of the audience, or...

Personal life

Ball had diverse interests including collecting cars, surfing and flying airplanes. He also authored a series of books and manuals on guitar playing. He was married and had three sons, Sherwood, David, and Sterling Ball, and a daughter, Nova.^[20] For other uses, see Surfing (disambiguation). ... This article concerns the process of flying. ... This article refers to the tool of travel. ...

Death

Ball remained active in his company until his death forty-two years after its founding. He died from an ongoing, undisclosed illness on September 9, 2004, leaving the business to his sons and other family members. He was buried near his home in San Luis Obispo, California.^[21] is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... San Luis Obispo, San Luis, or SLO (Spanish for ) is a city in California. ...

See also

• Michael DeTemple

Michael DeTemple (born 1948) is an American musician and luthier known for his handmade solid-body guitars. ...

References

October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in Leap years). ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in Leap years). ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Ernie Ball/Music Man Company
• Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands
• Guitar Player story Captured 7 April 2007