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Does Ernie Ball Company own Mark Bass?

M

ManWick

Jan 14, 2011
4
0
#1
I used to post frequently on the Ernie Ball Forum. I noticed that there appeared to be an unusally strong support for Mark Bass. It was defended as strongly as Music Man. BTW, I love Music Man basses, owning three of them.

I would never ask this on that forum because I would quickly get censored out. Does the Ernie Ball Company, or the owners, have some type of financial interest in the Mark Bass Company?

I suspect yes, but we'll probably never know.
 
#5
ManWick said:
I used to post frequently on the Ernie Ball Forum. I noticed that there appeared to be an unusally strong support for Mark Bass. It was defended as strongly as Music Man. BTW, I love Music Man basses, owning three of them.

I would never ask this on that forum because I would quickly get censored out. Does the Ernie Ball Company, or the owners, have some type of financial interest in the Mark Bass Company?

I suspect yes, but we'll probably never know.
Click to expand...

It wouldn't get censored.

Marco, the owner of Markbass, used to design some of the older Musicman amps, like the HD500 (you can see some similarities in ideas with that and some of the Markbass stuff). Him and Sterling are friends so there is some mutual back scratching. You might notice that there is always Musicman stuff in the Markbass NAMM booth or used in product pictures on the Markbass website as well.
 
#6
Both companies seem to be closely connected. Perhaps it's just a joint marketing thing. You see that in other industries. Music Man makes great basses. Mark Bass stuff is pretty good too.

FYI, the Ernie Ball Forum frequently sensors. I've never had anything censored myself but I've seen it done when someone doesn't tow the party line. It's their right since they pay the bills, but it's not the place to secure unbiased information.
 
#9
ManWick said:
Both companies seem to be closely connected. Perhaps it's just a joint marketing thing. You see that in other industries. Music Man makes great basses. Mark Bass stuff is pretty good too.

FYI, the Ernie Ball Forum frequently sensors. I've never had anything censored myself but I've seen it done when someone doesn't tow the party line. It's their right since they pay the bills, but it's not the place to secure unbiased information.
Click to expand...

I've been on that forum for years. I know the deal. Questions about Markbass never get Censored there.
 
#10
ManWick said:
Both companies seem to be closely connected. Perhaps it's just a joint marketing thing. You see that in other industries. Music Man makes great basses. Mark Bass stuff is pretty good too.

FYI, the Ernie Ball Forum frequently sensors. I've never had anything censored myself but I've seen it done when someone doesn't tow the party line. It's their right since they pay the bills, but it's not the place to secure unbiased information.
Click to expand...

Sure they pay the bills, but I don't think that that kind of heavy-handed moderation (and the tirades from other forumites) is particularly helpful for their credibility. Hey, I live in China, I know about these things ;)
 
#11
Smallequestrian said:
Marco, the owner of Markbass, used to design some of the older Musicman amps, like the HD500 (you can see some similarities in ideas with that and some of the Markbass stuff). Him and Sterling are friends so there is some mutual back scratching. You might notice that there is always Musicman stuff in the Markbass NAMM booth or used in product pictures on the Markbass website as well.
Click to expand...

Those Ernie Ball heads (HD-500) also sport Made in Italy on the back sticker. I think Ernie Ball had Marco MAKE these amps for them, they were the precursor to the MarkBass you see today in the US. If you look at the Ernie Ball cabs however I *think* they are made in the US.

Friendship ties I don't know about, but they have business ties.
 
#14
Stirling Ball once mentioned that he was instrumental in getting Mark Bass picked up by GC.
In this day and age, it's often times very good business for non-competing companies in the same industry, to build alliances and/or offer cross support for each others' products.
 
#15
Jim C said:
Sterling Ball once mentioned that he was instrumental in getting Mark Bass picked up by GC.
Click to expand...
This makes sense; EB is close with Guitar Center. GC is EBMM's biggest retailer.

As for Markbass making barbecue/smoker grills, we probably don't have to worry. For the curious, Sterling ("Big Poppa") Ball's side business is http://www.bigpoppasmokers.com!
 

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