|
|
Print-friendly version
Ernie Ball Guitar Shops
Whilst it may seem unusual to list Ernie Ball on our website the man is so famous for his accessories that the Ernie Ball brand has become a staple for guitarists worldwide and the company grosses over $40 million every year without actually producing or selling any actual guitars. Ernie Ball was born in Santa Monica and grew up in a musical family, his father was a Hawaiian steel guitar teacher. Whilst he showed some early interest in the guitar he gave it up in his youth and only showed a renewed interest when he became a teenager. Within a very short period the naturally talented Ernie Ball was a member of the Musicians Union. 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. 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. The position soon gained Ernie wider recognition in the Los Angeles music scene and led to studio work and teaching jobs.
Ernie Ball opened the first music store that only sold guitars exclusively in Tarzana, CA in 1957. He was heavily criticised, in fact many went so far to argue that as a concept it would never work and Ernie Ball would fail miserably. These words rang hollow as people flocked from miles around to visit the Ernie Ball shop and the products spawned from his company would eventually be sold in 5,500 stores across 70 countries. With the guitar-based rock revival of the 1960s, Ernie Ball noticed that
beginning students were having difficulty playing the bestselling Fender It was the beginning of the Ernie Ball brand.
#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. Ernie Ball convinced a string
manufacturer to make him custom sets with a 24-gauge third string which
he sold in his store. Today, Ernie Ball Slinkys advertise the guitarists who use these
strings on the packaging. A very small sampling of these guitarists
includes: Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Slash, Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Jeff Beck, Albert Lee, Buddy Guy, Angus Young, The Edge, Synyster Gates, John Mayer, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Brad Paisley, John Fogerty and Dave Navarro.
|
|
