Ernie Ball Music Man reveals Ball Family Reserve March 2021 collection

10 Mar 2021 by Jef | Approximate reading time: 4 Minutes

Ernie Ball Music Man Ball Family Reserve collection · Source: Ernie Ball Music Man

Previous Next

The March 2021 Ernie Ball Music Man Ball Family Reserve collection has been revealed. These include the limited edition John Petrucci, Albert Lee and Steve Lukather models. Plus an all-new Coral Blue Burst finish Sabre model.

Ernie Ball Music Man Ball Family Reserve

As ever, these highly limited releases feature some stunning finishes and the usual high attention to detail that we have come to expect from the Ernie Ball Music Man Family Reserve. For this month’s collection, the company has unveiled three artist guitars and a Sabre model with a new Coral Blue Burst finish.

Ernie Ball Music Man BFR March 2021 JP15 Rosewood

The John Petrucci signature model has a lightweight okoume body with a micro-thin maple veneer and a rosewood top. This is then paired with a bolt-on rosewood neck and fingerboard. In my opinion the new Ernie Ball Music Man BFR March 2021 JP15 Rosewood is really understated and I quite like this look on a modern S-style instrument. This model has a pair of DiMarzio Illuminator pickups with an added piezo pickup, with separate outs for each system.

You get that high quality Ernie Ball trem system, with the piezo saddles imbedded in it, and a set of locking Schaller M6-IND tuners. I have owned a couple of JP signature models and find this system to be super smooth and very, very stable tuning-wise.

This run is limited to 89 guitars, each signed by John Petrucci. I can see them selling out pretty quickly.

RRP – USD 3599

Ernie Ball Music Man BFR March 2021 JP15 Rosewood · Source: Ernie Ball Music Man

Ernie Ball Music Man BFR March 2021 Luke III Black Sparkle

To my eye, this one has a touch of the ’70s with its big black block inlays, and I really like it. The Ernie Ball Music Man BFR March 2021 Luke III Black Sparkle has a stripped back look, but with flourishes of flash. Especially with that sparkle finish and that great looking bolt-on roasted maple neck and fingerboard. Once again, you have an okoume body, which means it is obviously being seen as a serious tone wood by these players and the Ball family Reserve.

Elsewhere you get a locking Floyd Rose trem system in black and a pair of custom wound Music Man humbuckers, with a ceramic model in the neck and an Alnico in the bridge position. Each one is signed by Lukather. I think this guitar will really appeal to many of his fans. And with only 69 models being made, you won’t want to hang around if you fancy one of these, as they look ace and I reckon will be gone fast.

RRP – USD 2999

Ernie Ball Music Man BFR March 2021 Luke III Black Sparkle · Source: Ernie Ball Music Man

Ernie Ball Music Man BFR March 2021 Albert Lee Seafoam Sparkle

This one is a real eye catcher. I love the finish, as that Seafoam Sparkle really suits this guitar in my opinion. The Ernie Ball Music Man BFR March 2021 Albert Lee Seafoam Sparkle again has an okoume body. The neck and fingerboard are a very nice looking roasted and figured maple.

It comes with a DiMarzio humbucker paired with two EBMM single-coil pickups in a typical HSS layout, giving players a lot of tonal options. You get a vintage-style vibrato on this model, which should appeal to players looking for a more traditional style instrument. Each guitar is also hand signed by Albert Lee, a nice touch for fans. Only 59 models will be made available worldwide.

RRP – USD 2799

Ernie Ball Music Man BFR March 2021 Albert Lee Seafoam Sparkle · Source: Ernie Ball Music Man

Ernie Ball Music Man BFR March 2021 Sabre Coral Blue Burst

The Ernie Ball Music Man BFR March 2021 Sabre Coral Blue Burst has a new exclusive finish, which is pretty bright and certainly stands out from the crowd. Just like the others, this one has an okoume body, but this time it is topped with a highly-figured maple cap. The bolt-on neck and fingerboard is made of rosewood. The guitar comes loaded with a pair of custom-wound Music Man HH-2 humbuckers which are then wired via a 5-way pickup selector switch and volume and tone control.

Only 60 examples of this model will be produced worldwide.

RRP – USD 3499