System of a Down and Ernie Ball to Auction a Custom Guitar!

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA (November 23, 2005) - Ernie Ball and System of A Down have teamed up to raise money for The Casey Lee Ball Foundation with a custom Music Man Axis Super Sport guitar signed by band members. The guitar will be auctioned through eBay starting Thanksgiving Day, November 24 and culminating Sunday December 4. All proceeds will be donated to the Casey Lee Ball Foundation for pediatric kidney research at the UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital.
 
            Featuring an exotic custom veneer top, Di-marzio pickups and Music Man vintage tremolo, this special model is one of only five on the planet. In addition to the guitar, the winning bidder will receive an autographed copy of System of A Down's brand new  release "Hypnotize" and twelve sets of Ernie Ball Skinny-Top Heavy Bottom guitar  strings, Daron Malakian's favorite gauge.  AC/DC, Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Slash have also signed guitars in this exclusive series up for bid on eBay throughout the year.

            Currently the world's largest private pediatric kidney foundation, the Casey Lee Ball Foundation is a non-profit organization working for the advancement of pediatric kidney research. Casey Lee Ball, third son of Sterling Ball, was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease at age two. At age five, while Casey and Sterling were recuperating from kidney transplant surgery, they decided to create the Casey Lee Ball Foundation. As a result of their tireless efforts over the last eleven years, several new medicines have made it to the market in record time and are helping to reduce the side effects of kidney transplant medications.

Ernie Ball was the first to offer rock strings with the creation of Slinkys, and further revolutionized the market by offering guitarists Custom-Gauge single strings. The Ernie Ball Company also produces Music Man guitars and basses, volume pedals, and other accessories. The company's strings and accessories are available in more than 6,000 music stores throughout the U.S. The company also exports to 82 countries. For more information, contact the Ernie Ball company at (800) 543-2255, or visit their website at www.ernieball.com.

These products are Ernie Ball trademarks registered in the USA and many foreign countries:

ERNIE BALL®     CUSTOM GAUGE®     SLINKY®     EARTHWOOD®
MUSICMAN®
STINGRAY®     SILHOUETTE®     AXIS®
STERLING®     4+2®     3+1®

Trademark ownership is indicated by the symbol ®, however, for the sake of brevity it is omitted during the story.

Contact:
Brian Ball
Ernie Ball, Inc.
(800) 543-2255

Media Contact:
Keith Negrin
MORSEKODE
(952) 853-9555