Ernie Ball Music Man unveils its Ball Family Reserve instruments for September

Ernie Ball Music Man – one of the partners at the upcoming Guitar.com Live – has unveiled its Ball Family Reserve instruments for September. The instruments include four electric guitar models and a bass.

Cutlass HSS in Lime and Lemon

The Cutlass comes in two bright varieties: Lime and Lemon. These electrics combine a light basswood body with a highly figured maple neck and fingerboard. For electronics, there are two custom wound Music Man single coils in the neck and middle position, while a DiMarzio Axis humbucker occupies the bridge position.

To combat single-coil hum, these Cutlasses adopt an active wide-spectrum Silent Circuit, which last up to 500 hours on a single battery. As for hardware, there are Schaller tuners and a Music Man Floyd Rose locking vibrato bridge with fine tuners.

These models go for $2,799 and are limited to 40 models in Lime and 35 in Lemon.

JP6 in Cinnamon Shift

This sleek variant of John Petrucci’s signature model sports a Cinnamon Metallic Colour Shift finish which changes colour under light. In its construction, there’s a basswood body with a maple neck and an ebony fretboard with 24 high wide frets.

Electronics on this model offer much tonal variety, there’s a DiMarzio Liquifire humbucker in the neck, a DiMarzio Crunch Lab humbucker in the bridge, as well as a piezo pickup. To toggle between these, there are two three-way switches. Hardware wise, you’ll find a Music Man custom floating tremolo, Schaller locking tuners and a synthetic bone nut.

This model is available at $2,999, limited to just 50 pieces worldwide.

Mariposa in Trans Black

The Mariposa is the signature axe of Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López, and this Ball Family Reserve edition features an Okoume body, a maple top and a Trans Black finish. Paired to its body is a roasted maple neck with an ebony fingerboard and 22 medium wide frets. In the electronics department, there’s a duo of Ernie Ball Music Man humbuckers, two volume knobs and a three-way pickup selector. It also has a Music Man Modern Tremolo and Schaller locking tuners.

The Mariposa is available at $3,599, and is limited to only 25 pieces worldwide.

Bongo 5 HH in Satin Honey Burst

The last Ball Family Reserve instrument for this September is a five-string Bongo Bass in a Satin Honey Burst finish. It features Honduran mahogany in both its body and neck, as well as an ebony fingerboard with 24 high wide frets. In the electronics realm, you’ll find two neodymium humbuckers, controlled via a master volume pot, a balance knobl and a four-band stacked active EQ. Its other hardware appointments include a Music Man bridge, custom tuners and a bone nut.

This model is available for $2,899, limited to 60 pieces globally.

Learn more about these instruments at music-man.com

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