FAQ: Some frequently asked questions about "Bill Lawrence" electric guitar pickups
See the Timeline for more answers...
- Question:Which Bill Lawrence pickups are fakes?
- Question:What year was the L-500 introduced?
- Question:...the L-90?
- Question:...the L-500XL?
- Question:My pickup is apparently made by Jzchak 'EZ' Wajcman, who is this?
- Question:Who is Willi Stich?
- Question:Wasn't Bill Lawrence the same guy who worked at Gibson in the 70's, designing and making pickups for the Marauder and L6-S guitars?
- Question: Do you know which guitar manufacturers have shipped instruments with pickups made by "Bill Lawrence" or a "Bill Lawrence" company?
- Question: Which companies sell (or have sold) guitars with pickups designed by Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich)?
- Question:There seems to be allot of Bill Lawrence company names floating around, can you make any sense of it?
- Question: How do I tell who manufactured the pickup I am reading a review about?
- Question:Which Bill Lawrence pickups are fakes?
Answer: It is my stance in an effort to keep this site impartial that there are no fakes, only pickups with similar features and/or characteristics made by different people: Jzchak 'EZ' Wajcman (dba 'Bill Lawrence Products' and 'Bill Lawrence Guitar Pickups') and Willi Lorenz Stich (aka 'Bill Lawrence'). Please see the Glossary page for more info on this. - Question:What year was the L-500 introduced?
Answer: The original the L-500 was created by Bill Lawrence (aka Willi Lorenz Stich) and introduced in 1979 by his company Lawrence Sound Research. - Question:What year was the L-90 introduced?
Answer: The L-90 was created by Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich) and introduced in 1976 by his company Lawrence Sound Research. - Question:What year was the L-500XL introduced??
Answer: The original L-500L was renamed the L-500XL in 1981. The L-500L was still offered as a renamed L-510L, a less powerful and cleaner pickup. more info on the Timeline and Compare pages. - Question:Who is Willi Stich?
Answer: Willi Lorenz Stich is the birth name of the man known by many as Bill Lawrence. Please see the Glossary page. - Question:My pickup is apparently made by Jzchak 'EZ' Wajcman, who is this?
Answer: Jzchak 'EZ' Wajcman is a former partner of Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich) and a manufacturer of electric guitar pickups. Please see the Glossary page. - Question:Wasn't Bill Lawrence the same guy who worked at Gibson in the 70's, designing and making pickups for the Marauder, S-1, and L6-S guitars?
Answer: Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich) worked at Gibson in the 70's designing several guitars/basses and pickups for these instruments. Bill eventually left to focus on his new company Lawrence Sound Research (~1975). He worked there again in the late 80's. - Question: Do you know which guitar manufacturers have shipped instruments with pickups made by "Bill Lawrence" or a "Bill Lawrence" company?
Answers: The following verndors have at one time, on specific models, shipped instruments with pickups made by Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich) or a "Bill Lawrence" company as a standard feature.
Some of these vendors may have used either or both vendors at any given time. I'm not getting into who provided or made the "Bill Lawrence" pickups in the guitars made by the following, you'll have to identify the pickups themselves.- Washburn
- Dean
- BC Rich
- Hamer used OBL pickups in some of thier guitars iduring the mid to late 80's By Bill Lawrence (WS)
- Gibson used OBL pickups in some of thier guitars iduring the mid to late 80's By Bill Lawrence (WS)
- Question:Which companies sell (or have sold) guitars with pickups designed by Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich)?
Answer:Ampeg, Cobra. Epiphone*, Fender, Framus, Gibson, Peavey***, Warwick** have all sold or sell guitars with pickups that Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich) designed. incomplete list... Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich) has worked with these companies (and/or the designers employed by said companies) during specific periods and on specific models of guitars and pickups. - Question:There seems to be allot of 'Bill Lawrence' company names floating around, can you make any sense of it?
Answer: Lets see what we can do...
NOTE: The best way to identify a pickup is by markings and features, please see the Compare page for more.- Lawrence Electro-sound
The company started in 1965 by Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich) and Jzchak 'EZ' Wajcman.
It is my understanding at this time that this company closed in 1970, shortly after Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich)'s departure in the late 60's. - Lawrence Sound Research
This is the company, started around 1975 by Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich) (see the Timeline page), that made the first notable "Bill Lawrence" pickups, identified on this site as Bill Lawrence Pickups (Classic), including the L-500, L-90, and L-250. It is the pickups designed by Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich) at this company that are highly sought after, and still being manufactured by both By Bill Lawrence (WS) and Bill Lawrence Products (EZ).Pickups made by Lawrence Sound Research were marketed under various names including Bill Lawrence Products, Bill Lawrence Pickups, Lawrence, Lawrence Sound Research and possibly other variations as well. Despite the confusing branding and marketing, pickups from Lawrence Sound Research can all be identified and dated by their features and markings as Bill Lawrence Pickups (Classic) using this site.
- Bill Lawrence Products
Jzchak Wajcman is currently doing business as "Bill Lawrence Products", as well as though not limited to "Bill Lawrence Guitar Pickups".This name or combination of words is used throughout billlawrenceusa.com Bill Lawrence Products (EZ) and billlawrence.com By Bill Lawrence (WS) and appears most notably on packaging from the Bill Lawrence Pickups (Classic) period and current Bill Lawrence Products (EZ) products. At this time I cannot say for sure who you are dealing with by this term/name alone.
- Bill Lawrence Designs
This term/name appears to be only in use, at least on the web, by By Bill Lawrence (WS) at billlawrence.com - OBL
OBL was a company started by Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich) in West Germany in 1986. These pickups were designed and built by Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich) in West Germany and were featured in some Gibson and Hamer guitars from that period, most notably. Some pickups from this company were of similar design as Lawrence Sound Research era pickups, some where of completely new design.
The name OBL was later licensed to Gibson guitars, who in turn, manufactured pickups overseas for use in their Epiphone import guitars.
Not to be confused with any "Bill Lawrence" labeled guitar pickup made in the USA.
Not to be confused with pickups found in Gibson guitars which may have been designed by or with Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich) during that same period.
- Lawrence Electro-sound
if you know of any other guitar companies that may have shipped guitars with Bill Lawrence and/or Bill Lawrence designed pickups factory installed, please contact me.
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- Question:How do I tell who manufactured the pickup I am reading a review about?
Answer:There are many reviews for "Bill Lawrence" pickups on the web, unfortunately, it is sometimes difficult to tell where or who the pickup came from. Hopefully I will be able to provide some clues to help you figure this out.I'd like to point out also that I am describing statements which I have read in reviews online, and I do not endorse or condemn them. I am not responsible for what other people say, I am only trying to help determine which pickups are being talked about.
Oh, and if you are going to write a review about your own Bill Lawrence pickup, tell us about the pickup- skip the drama, skip the history lesson. Thank you.
Process of elimination
The first thing you should look for in a review, is any mention of a web site. If the pickup is from billlawrence.com, you're likely looking at a review of a by Bill Lawrence (WS) pickup review. Also any mention of Bill and Becky will also denote a by Bill Lawrence (WS) pickup review. If you find a review for a Bill Lawrence pickup which states the manufacturer as OBL, this is also a by Bill Lawrence (WS) pickup review.
Any mention of "stew mac" or "EZ" selling "counterfeits" or "fakes" should also be a tip that this is a pro-By Bill Lawrence (WS) review.
Currently, to my knowledge, billlawrence.com only sells their pickups over the phone, thru email inquiries, and stock in some Dean (and possibly Washburn) guitars.
If the review states the pickup is from billlawrenceusa.com, Stewart Mcdonald, stew-mac, or torresengineering.com, the review is most likely for a Bill Lawrence Pickups (EZ) pickup.
Any statements to the points that "Willi and Becky" are trying to confuse people and/or that there is no real person named "Bill Lawrence" or no one really known as "Bill Lawrence" or any downplaying of Will Stich using "Bill Lawrence" as a name for personal use would indicate that you are reading something from a Bill Lawrence Pickups (EZ) fan.
At this time I do not have any tips for identifying a review as being for a Bill Lawrence Pickups (Classic) pickup, unless of course the reviewer states a date of purchase/installation, and or provides details that you can use to identify the pickup on the Glossary page.
Confusion breeds confusion
Unfortunately, many people are confused about the pickup they are talking about and may mention many of the above points in one review, for example 'I love my Bill & Becky pickup purchased from billlawrenceusa.com, Willi Stich sells fakes!!', so watch out.
The best place that I have found so far for Bill Lawrence pickup reviews is Harmony Central - Bill Lawrence Pickups Reviews. I've found another review at guitarists.net, although it reads like a 'sales pitch' and/or another 'history lesson'...groan.
These images have not been verified by anyone as being authentic representations. Hopefully we can change that soon.
Comments and notes appear in grey. These comments may only be relevant for use in this site.
Definitions of the terms and names used on this page and others explained on the Glossary page
* These pickups may not be true to his design, and his name being attached to them was part of a misunderstanding.(source billlawrence.com)
** subject to change and correction. not confirmed as of this writing.
*** source wikipedia.org
Assume that the source, if not noted, is either billlawrenceusa.com, billlawrence.com, otherwise these points have been mentioned without a listed source may be found on multiple sites/sources listed throughout this site.
