• Ernie Ball
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Ernie Ball Music Man Custom Design Experience

Is it true ?!?

plato

plato

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 13, 2006
Messages
81
bassmonkeee said:
Dude!

You do know that the word "question" isn't plural, right? It's not like "deer." :D
Click to expand...

Yeah.. I know man... I'll be lucky to get a single answer after this bomb run.
Just couldn't help it... it just blew out of me :D
 
Big Poppa

Big Poppa

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Feb 9, 2005
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18,598
Location
Coachella & SLO, California
Plato
If IU anwered al lof these i would be at the keybouard for months.

Freq response and people complainig about hitting the mags

Leo Liked ash too and naturals were really popular.
Leo was stubborn I was involed in the arguments..Leo lost

Searchgrover jackson. When you are left with no factory because the last one made 2500 with intentionally sraight truss rods and yo have a demand you go looking for a solution. The solution usually ends up using their techniques not yours.

THe truss rod was that stupid bullett and didnt work the whole neck. our design does.

Tommy walker developed the ceramic pickup and we went with it.


Dudley changed the string tree because the shortened g did not need one as much as the A

Leo was crazy about the micro tilt we werent. If you make them consistantly enough you enjoy the benefit of a tight neck joint and sacrifice a limited amount of adjustability

Personal (there arent any personal questions except for #1,thank god)

I have always been a bass player that played a little guitar

I was offered a Job at Music Man but turned it down. I was a volunteer and endorsee.
I have only ever wanted one job since I csn remember and that was Ernie Ball. Although at 15-17 i managed Island guitars on Balboa Island and from 17-18 I worked and ran the retail for Quilter Sound Company now known as QSC.

The internals was leo didnt play and was hard of hearing and stubborn but a genius. You had to prove your point to exhaustion but it was worth it. I think that Leo liked my passion and enthusiasm. (and some of the players I brought down to CLF)

Leo was great but since I knew soo long it was like a distant uncle. I enjoyed everything about the guitar and still do. WE werent really close but I think that he liked me.

Ernie was never involved in Music Man even after we bought the company oher than supporting the purchase and giving the resourses to make it happen.

The Market Reaction was of the charts for the bass and terrible for the guitar

The tensions werer caused by the failure of the guitar coupled with dissention between old time employes

Some one knew that the were intentionally made defective you be the judge

Grover made what he could and it was valuable to him but his first responsibility was to his line. Grover was always a stand up guy

THe reason they had to sell was that they had the infrastructure and overhead for amps and instruments and couldnt afford to tool up for the instruments to the level that they needed for business velocity.

I bought Music Man because I felt a connection to it and at that time graphics and fashion were more important that funtion and evolution. It was going to be sold to the japanese and I thought that we coulddo it and wnet for it..I was 29 and didnt know how hard it would be. Thank god for Slinkies! My goal was the same as it is today. Produce quality tools for artists.


out initial goal was to never rapidly do anthng. My motto is when we can make one right then we ship it when we could make two just as good then se tried to make three....its funy when I landed the EVH deal we werre makng about 12-14 a day and that was after 6 years....

In manufacturing we developed our own tooling as we didnt get to buy any of that as it was still at clf. We had to re draw (befor computers)everthing and figure out how to make it.


First roles at eb was in the retail store where I drove my dad crazy. I packaged strings, counted picks, drove everyone crazy some more and changed strings on customers guitars...at my dads store if you bought a set we would install then NC..I did many rock stars guitars at 9 years old including the Byrds rickys. I ended up also running the cash register while standin on a stool.

Ok now someone can try to tie theses together and Plato you get three questions aweek until you kill me!
 
plato

plato

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Joined
Sep 13, 2006
Messages
81
Big Poppa said:
Plato
If IU anwered al lof these i would be at the keybouard for months.
............
Ok now someone can try to tie theses together and Plato you get three questions aweek until you kill me!
Click to expand...

BIG LOVING THANKS GOING YOUR WAY HERE BP!!!
We don't want you at the keyboard because we want you to make more basses for us but I'll take the three q's a week until I kill you or ran out of q's, whichever comes first :D

It's better to come up with 3 good ones a week than 24 quick ones a minute - and that is true for many other things except bass guitars.
 
P

punkrock

Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2006
Messages
17
Tom Walker did in fact design the initial circuit. There is a thread on this forum where a gentleman who used to work at the plant describes Leo as being the one who did put the final touches tweaks on the design (and thus giving the final Ok for the tone of which we all love). It was also by his insistence that the preamp be designed around the LM4250 chip. It would be my guess that his insistence for its use was its low current specs. They did not yet have the jacks that disconnected the battery when not in use and I would bet Leo thought that bass players would think having to put batteries in a bass to begin with would be a hassle let alone constantly change them out.
 
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