The History of PUs and the Brands that Adorn Them
Bill Lawrence, a man who defies stereotypes
Bill Lawrence was a well-known guitarist.
Bill Lawrence, who was also a well-known guitaristBill Lawrenceis,Seymour Duncanis a musician-turned-pickup developer.
As a performer, he was known as "Hot Bill," an artist known for his high-speed guitar solos and his versatility as a headliner at U.S. military bases in Europe and elsewhere.
Embarking on pickup development and new endeavors
Bill Lawrence established "Lawrence Electro Sounds" in Germany in the mid-1960s and began developing pickups in earnest.
Later, he developed the "Lawrence True Sound Pickups (LTS)," which included models that followed the conventional pickup structure with six pole pieces and models with bar-type pole pieces like the L-500, which were mainly used by German guitar makers. The LTS pickups were mainly used by German guitar makers.
Although Bill Lawrence today may be associated with high-gain tones, the LTS was a pickup developed for jazz.
Later, Bill Lawrence moved to the U.S. and developed electric pianos and other instruments, which were used by Stevie Wonder and others, further increasing his fame.
Encounter with Dan Armstrong
There was another encounter with another person that made a big difference in Bill's life.
That person was Dan Armstrong.
Dan Armstrong is known for his "Orange Squeezer," "Blue Clipper," and other small-sizedEffectorand acrylic-bodied Ampeg lucite instruments.
Bill worked with Dan on a variety of developments, the most famous of which was the quick-change pickups on the aforementioned Ampeg Lucite. This was a revolutionary system that allowed the pickups to be changed without having to loosen the strings or remove the neck.
Later, when Dan moved to England, Bill took over his repair store. There, Dan's son Kent Armstrong and Larry DiMaggio, who would later become a renowned replacement pickup maker, worked there.
Gibson, Fender Joining Major Brands and the Evolution of Pickups
Bill Lawrence's name recognition steadily grew in New York City, and Gibson took notice.
Working for Gibson from 1968 to 1972, Bill brought to Gibson innovative ideas that had never been seen before, including the development of the L6-S and the HB-L and HB-R pickups, which featured a circuit board on the bottom of the pickup.
He also worked with Tom Holmes, who developed the "'57 Classic" at Gibson.
Bill later moved to Nashville at the urging of Chet Atkins, where he developed the L-90 humbucker with a bar-type polepiece that has become synonymous with him, the L-220 with two coils in a single coil-sized case, and the L-500, which is still popular today.
After many innovative developments, Bill was finally asked by Fender to be a consultant.
Fender then developed the SCN (Samarium Cobalt Noiseless) pickup in 2004.
This pickup was modeled after the L-220 and L-280, and by arranging the coils in a stacked configuration, a revolutionary mechanism was developed that achieved low noise despite its single size, while not deviating too much from a single coil in terms of power.
Like Seth Lover, Bill Lawrence was constantly striving for evolution while moving between the major brands of Gibson and Fender.
He is another indispensable figure in the world of electric guitars.