We’ve all heard of Ernie Ball, the legendary manufacturer of guitar strings. But it’s the Music Man division of Ernie Ball that we will be looking at today, which has been manufacturing their line of guitars for about 30 years now. Music Man is probably most well known for manufacturing signature guitar models for some of the worlds greatest guitar players, which include Steve Morse, John Petrucci and many more.
Unlike most guitar (or music) companies in general, Ernie Ball is still a family-run business. Sterling Ball is the owner today, and his father was the great Ernie Ball. Sterling said that he got the job at the company after his father challenged him to increase company sales over a 1-year period. If he were successful, he would have a job for the proceeding year.
According to Sterling, the company’s number one goal is to deliver great tools to artists at a great perceived price. It’s all about quality, which is why none of their artists have ever signed an endorsement deal. Sterling expressed the level of effort that goes into their production, stating that the recent John Petrucci Majesty release had 46 prototypes.
But it’s the fact that Sterling is a musician himself (bassist), which allows him to truly understand the needs of his customers. Sterling said that his ultimate experience is playing live on stage, having control over everything, feeling free to give in to the music and playing for your audience.
I’ve owned a Music Man Luke for many years now, and there are 2 things I really like about this guitar, which also applies to all other MM models.
Firstly, the truss road can be adjusted quickly and easily by turning the small wheel located next to the neck pickup. Sterling said, “I don’t believe musicians should be trusted with wrenches”, exclaiming that it’s rather difficult to make this adjustment on other guitars. You would normally have to take all the strings off, remove the pickguard or perform other time consuming tasks.
The locking tuners at the back of the headstock is another of my favorite features. It allows for a great tremolo system with none of the drawbacks of a Floyd Rose. It also makes string changing a lot easier.
Take a look at some of the Music Man models listed below.
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