I bought a "real" vintage players Jaguar

UlricvonCatalyst · Post by **UlricvonCatalyst** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 1:45 am

SKC Willie wrote:
Doug wrote:Those knobs work with the pups. Keep em. Tort guard. Awesome.
do not listen to a word this guy says. wrong. dead wrong.

I'm not usually a fan of yer gold guards, but this guitar might be the exception where it would actually look pretty cool. A black or minty guard is the real no-brainer, though.

goldengurls · Post by **goldengurls** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 7:16 pm

I wondered who bought that, I hate those bill lawrence type of pickups so i steered way clear of it.

Doug · Post by **Doug** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 12:25 am

SKC Willie wrote:
Doug wrote:Those knobs work with the pups. Keep em. Tort guard. Awesome.
do not listen to a word this guy says. wrong. dead wrong.

Yeah, I said that a bit too strongly. When it comes to aesthetics, to each his or her own...enjoy it whatever you do, Red.

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 8:02 pm

UlricvonCatalyst wrote:
SKC Willie wrote:
Doug wrote:Those knobs work with the pups. Keep em. Tort guard. Awesome.
do not listen to a word this guy says. wrong. dead wrong.
I'm not usually a fan of yer gold guards, but this guitar might be the exception where it would actually look pretty cool. A black or minty guard is the real no-brainer, though.

The seller I bought the Jag from also had a '63 Jazzmaster with a black anodized aluminum guard.

theshadowofseattle · Post by **theshadowofseattle** » Mon Apr 02, 2012 9:17 pm

That pickup routing looks horrid, but I guess you'd never see it. Overall, I like it!

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 9:09 pm

Thanks! my guitar came to day. The Bill Lawrence pickups are awesome.

SGJarrod · Post by **SGJarrod** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 9:22 pm

westtexasred wrote:
► Show Spoiler

WHAAAA?..No Les Paul?..this is a first since I have been on this board....

Doug · Post by **Doug** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 9:24 pm

Very exciting, Red, getting a new axe. Never played it, took a chance, and ya love the way it sounds! Sweet.

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Tue Apr 03, 2012 10:32 pm

SGJarrod wrote:
westtexasred wrote:
► Show Spoiler
WHAAAA?..No Les Paul?..this is a first since I have been on this board....

Thanks guys! I still have a Les Paul Special.

Auriemma · Post by **Auriemma** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:42 pm

Nice. I kinda like that look. I would just strip and respray that pickguard all black (but thats just me).

The bigger question is... how does it sound and play? or did I miss that?

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 7:12 pm

Well,the neck is wonderful! The action is so low and 7.5" braz board with clay dots feels so good,its like a pre-embargo Partagas Corona, you can taste with your fingers.

Then there are the pickups. I don't know what to make of them yet because I never had a guitar with pickups this powerful.These are the original Bill Lawrence L-500L's from the 70's so they have the same specs as the L-500LX pickups that Dimebag Darrell used. They are crazy loud and dirty. Pretty bright sounding distortion too.Have to turn the treble way down to get a clean sound.

What are these Grover Tuners? I never saw any that looke like this.

chemistforhire · Post by **chemistforhire** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 8:44 pm

What is that line running across the back of the neck around where the nut meets the headstock? Is that a crack or some weird grain?

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:02 pm

chemistforhire wrote:What is that line running across the back of the neck around where the nut meets the headstock? Is that a crack or some weird grain?

It's from weather checking.

Doug · Post by **Doug** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:45 pm

westtexasred wrote:
chemistforhire wrote:What is that line running across the back of the neck around where the nut meets the headstock? Is that a crack or some weird grain?
It's from weather checking.

That's the crack I asked about in an early post to this thread. Glad it's just checking. I'm gonna remember those pups...sounds like exactly what I like...

Doug · Post by **Doug** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 11:32 pm

Hi, Red. You seem to have the real Bill Lawrence L 550L pups made by Willi Lorenz Stich. But to make sure can be complicated. I'm interested in these pickups and here's what I learned from the Bill Lawrence website:

Bill Lawrence (Willi Lorenz Stich)

Willi Lorenz Stich, a.k.a. Bill Lawrence, is the birth and legal name of the guitar and guitar pickup designer known as Bill Lawrence, referred hereafter throughout this site as "Bill Lawrence (Willi Lorenz Stich)" or "designer Bill Lawrence".

Lawrence Electro-sound

Started In 1965 in Germany by Jzchak 'EZ' Wajcman and Bill Lawrence (Willi Lorenz Stich). There is some info here http://www.billlawrenceusa.com/swampkaster/history.htm though, it seems to me to make suspiciously little mention of Bill (Mr.Stich) aside from the disclaimer at the bottom of that page
Lawrence Electro-sound Closed in 1970 (? After Bill-Willi left for New York ? Poor sales ?)

The L-90XL and L-100, both produced in the late seventies by Lawrence Sound Research and marketed/advertised/branded as "Bill Lawrence Products" (see lower right of ad): originally Lawrence Electro-sound offerings?

Note the caption under the second pickup "L-100 Reissue of the 1965 Bill Lawrence two sound pickup-- the first hot replacement pickup ever made"

"Bill Lawrence Products"

currently used by Jzchak 'EZ' Wajcman, dba "Bill Lawrence Products", since 1984, originally used as a marketing/packaging name by Lawrence Sound Research.

Lawrence Sound Research

"Lawrence Sound Research" or "LSR"
-Started business in 1975-76 by Bill Lawrence (Willi Lorenz Stich)
-It was in this time period that Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich) created the L-90,L-500, L-510, L-250 and others.
-Jzchak 'EZ' Wajcman became involved with LSR in 1982, having previously partnered with Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich) at Lawrence Electro-sound in the sixties.
-closed its doors in 1984

See the http://billlawrencereview.com/BillLawrence_Timeline page for more details.

OBL Pickups

In 1986 Bill Lawrence (Willi Lorenz Stich) started making and selling the L-500 and other guitar pickups under his new company name OBL, located in West Germany. These pickups would also feature flat blades although wider and longer. The original L-500s were made with only Gibson guitar string spacing in mind. These new 2.225 inch blades would allow the L-500's to be used effectively in guitars with Fender string spacing as well.

Jzchak 'EZ' Wajcman

Mr. Wajcman started Lawrence Electro-sound with Bill Lawrence (Willi Lorenz Stich) in Germany during the mid sixties. This company would close its doors in 1970. In 1982 Mr. Wajcman re-entered the guitar pickup business, again teaming up with up with Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich).

Since 1984, he has been making and selling pickups doing business as Bill Lawrence Products, Bill Lawrence Guitar Pickups, and Bill Lawrence USA without the involvement of Bill Lawrence (Willi Lorenz Stich).

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 5:59 pm

Thanks for post this info. I think the pickups in my Jag are from the 1st generation Bill Lawrence pickups(1979-1981) The reason I believe these are the early hot L-500L and L-500R pickups is that that they they are crazy loud.It almost sounds like the guitar has a built-in pre-amp. The bridge pickup seems to have way more output than the Dimarzio Dual Sound pickup I have in the bridge of my Rick 480.

They match the description of the early versions I found on the Bill Lawrence Website.They have chrome housings, 2.150 inch long curved blades and there is no imprint on the back like the post 1981 pickups

According to the Bill Lawrence Review website (Link) :

"The L-500 magnetic electric guitar pickup was released by Lawrence Sound Research (LSR) in 1979. Inheritor to the L-90XL throne, the L-500 was the next stage in the evolution of the ultimate guitar pickup by Bill Lawrence(Willi Lorenz Stich). Initially available as Lead/bridge (L-500L) with 9.6 Henry and Rhythm/neck (L-500R) with 4.8 Henry.

The L-500 line would grow in 1981 with the creation and annexing of the cleaner sounding L-510L pickup. Some renaming ensued and by the end of 1981 the hot original L-500L was renamed the L-500XL, with the cleaner L-510L becoming the new L-500L. The L-500R did not change in name or design and the L-510R was dropped for the time being."

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 6:07 pm

As far as the pickguard,Do you think I could remove the white that has been painted around the edge without stripping the black? Then I wouldn't have to make a new guard.

Post by **dots** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 6:10 pm

aen wrote:NOthing unfixable!

word.

cur · Post by **cur** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 6:52 pm

westtexasred wrote:As far as the pickguard,Do you think I could remove the white that has been painted around the edge without stripping the black? Then I wouldn't have to make a new guard.

You might be able to, but if all else fails strip it and shoot new paint on it. I did not realize it was white paint until you said so. I thought it was a hack job at making a 45 degree bevel.

Doug · Post by **Doug** » Mon Apr 09, 2012 7:53 pm

I wonder what's under that paint? I'd kinda wanna strip it just to see. If it's nothing you'd keep, then you have a clean start re-painting it.

I bought a "real" vintage players Jaguar

Congratulations!

Bill Lawrence L 550L pups