Ernie Ball

Roland Sherwood "Ernie" Ball (1930? - September 9, 2004 in San Luis Obispo, California) was a pioneer maker of guitar strings used over the past 40 years by such guitarists as Daron Malakian of System of a Down and James Hetfield of Metallica.

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According to British music writer Mo Foster, in the 1950s Ball was the first industry figure to notice and exploit the trend for electric guitarists to buy lighter gauge banjo strings to replace the heavier gauge guitar strings which were then the standard, to improve playability. This led to his development of the so-called 'slinky' string sets which became his trademark. He died in September 9, 2004 after a long battle with emphysema in a hospital in Canada.

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September 9: September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). There are 113 days remaining....

2004: 2004(MMIV) is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. It was designated the:...

San Luis Obispo, California: San Luis Obispo (also SLO) is the county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, USA. "Luis" is pronounced locally as the more anglophone "Lewis." As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 44,174....

Ernie Ball related Images and Photos (experimental)

Ball I	Ball IV	Ball II	Ball III
Ball Four: Soccer	Ball Four: Football	Ball Four: Baseball	Ball Miniland
The Ball	The Ball	Hard Ball	Play Ball