Competetors for Bill Lawrence L500XL

[Spitfire]

Actually, I think you'll find Nuno's pickups have always been made by Bill, but now since their Bills parting from his company, Washbrun still uses the USA's, whilst Nuno's guitars are still using ones now made by Bill and Becky.

nope, they are Bill Lawrence USA

[HTH AMPS]

I've always thought the L500s in Nunos guitars were BL-USA ones.

The Bill & Becky ones I got weren't to my taste at all - low end was mushy and they sounded nothing like Dime or Nuno ever did (or any of the better youtube clips of Dime-fans showing their skills with their BL-USA-loaded Dean MLs).

I think Bill & Becky did a good job of smearing the BL-USA pickups on the net and everyone now accepts it as 'fact' that the Bill & Becky ones are the better pickups and anyone famous who used L500s used their version.  I think the reality is exactly the opposite from my experience.

[AngusYoung01]

On the Extreme forum I go on, they all rave about the B&B ones over the BL-USA, and say that Nuno's were made by Bill back in the day?

[ericsabbath]

On the Extreme forum I go on, they all rave about the B&B ones over the BL-USA, and say that Nuno's were made by Bill back in the day?

because that's been spread by becky lawrence for years

will stich (bill lawrence) left bill lawrence USA company in 1984 and didn't make any L-500xl till this decade
if nuno uses it NOW, then he at least used bill lawrence USA through all the 90's

[AngusYoung01]

This is interesting  :?

I'm more than a little confused now!  What are the chances Tim could make a custom for me, modelled to create Nuno's Pornograffitti tone?

It seems that BKP's will not only be made better, but I won't get a headache thinking about it  :lol:

[AngusYoung01]

I've sent an email to Tim regarding possibilities of a custom humbucker, seems the BKP bug has bitten again  :lol:

[ericsabbath]

i'd love to have a blade BKP :(
maybe if we send another pickup to get rewound by tim?  :idea:
like this: http://store.guitarfetish.com/gfscrraourho1.html  :lol:

[AngusYoung01]

:lol: Good thinking! We'll have to pester him  :P


Well, I think my search for a Bill Lawrence L500XL has come to its close in the form of an email from Tim  - the Cold Sweat "will nail that tone"... I almost feel guilty for considering anything else  :twisted:

[Fikealox]

Well, they claim 'handwound', but yeah, most of the time it means their hand pushed the button on an auto-shutoff winder.

its not like any pickup maker actually sits and winds a bobbin by hand - i challenge anyone to be able to do more than a few hundred winds without snapping the wire... let alone the 5000+ needed for a decent pickup

handwound to me means that a pickup maker sits at his pickup winding machine and makes sure that tension is kept constant and the wire is filling up the bobbin nicely.

Yeah, expecting a handmade pickup to be made without a bobbin winder is like expecting a handmade cabinet to be made without a saw, a hammer, and a chisel (or whatever cabinet-makers use).

[munkee]

I have a guitar with a original BL L500 in the bridge...I've had it since about 1983. I also got a BL USA for the bridge and it sounds great. My bridge position sounds very much like the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop EVH 78.

[cnotold]

I have been researching this topic for too long, i have come to some conclusions.

http://www.billlawrencereview.com/BillLawrence_Timeline?q=node/13

this website explains the differences between 2 pups well. from closely looking at nuno's N4, the pup is not filled with the epoxy which made me think that it was actually built by bill & becky, however, the blade is as thin as USA version, and bill never have produced pups with thin blades over the years. also nuno's pup does not have curved blades either. This led me to a conclusion that he uses an usa version. it is also confirmed that his paduck guitar has usa version.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/calmante/2408717058/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnywhite/625072080/sizes/o/

A/B test (washburn n4) from the nuno forum can be heard from the link below; 1st usa 2nd bill & becky (not the best sample but u get the idea)

http://www.box.net/shared/jmkefl5k4w

Finally, bill & becky pups stopped using ceramic magnet and it was substituted to alnico v magnet. bill claims that they have made some adjustment in their winding to produce the same sound as the previous ceramic pups did but I think it is total BS. think the sound is nowhere near nuno/dimebag territory.

I like how usa version sound. it may be a bit shrill for some but it sounds clear, dynamic, punchy.. it has character. it definitely fits guitars like N4s... it has downside also, like its build quality and weak bass etc etc... I wish Tim could make some adjustment and bring out better version of L500.  :)

on final note, I found coil tapped miracle man can sound very L500 alike (check out my youtube vid for the clip)

[ericsabbath]

I have been researching this topic for too long, i have come to some conclusions.

http://www.billlawrencereview.com/BillLawrence_Timeline?q=node/13

this website explains the differences between 2 pups well. from closely looking at nuno's N4, the pup is not filled with the epoxy which made me think that it was actually built by bill & becky, however, the blade is as thin as USA version, and bill never have produced pups with thin blades over the years. also nuno's pup does not have curved blades either. This led me to a conclusion that he uses an usa version. it is also confirmed that his paduck guitar has usa version.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/calmante/2408717058/sizes/o/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnywhite/625072080/sizes/o/

A/B test (washburn n4) from the nuno forum can be heard from the link below; 1st usa 2nd bill & becky (not the best sample but u get the idea)

http://www.box.net/shared/jmkefl5k4w

Finally, bill & becky pups stopped using ceramic magnet and it was substituted to alnico v magnet. bill claims that they have made some adjustment in their winding to produce the same sound as the previous ceramic pups did but I think it is total BS. think the sound is nowhere near nuno/dimebag territory.

I like how usa version sound. it may be a bit shrill for some but it sounds clear, dynamic, punchy.. it has character. it definitely fits guitars like N4s... it has downside also, like its build quality and weak bass etc etc... I wish Tim could make some adjustment and bring out better version of L500.  :)

on final note, I found coil tapped miracle man can sound very L500 alike (check out my youtube vid for the clip)

great post  :D
actually those pics look like epoxy sealed BL USA's

but if the rails were thick, it would not necessarily be a bill&becky, cause the washburn USA signature dimebags had bill lawrence USA's with thick rails (a friend of mine had two dime USA's and both had thick blade BLUSA's)

i've read about the alnico on the news b&b's too

the miracle man doesn't sound like the lawrence, but it definitely has a weird characteristic in common
both sound chunky and kidna dark on the lower strings and very bright on the first strings, but the miracle man goes more extreme on that

[Will]

Eric, I am just wondering, is your MM still the neck one you put in bridge position? or have you upgraded to the ceramic bridge yet?

[Transcend]

I watched a video of an interview with dime where he says that he uses the USA ones and he gets them from stewmac. Want me to see if i can find it?

[ericsabbath]

Eric, I am just wondering, is your MM still the neck one you put in bridge position? or have you upgraded to the ceramic bridge yet?

i didn't do that, my friend did it in a cort kx1 katana (all mahogany, but a thin body guitar)
i imagine it could mud up a bit in a les paul
i'm using his regular ceramic miracle man bridge in my les paul, but i'm taking my holy diver back on the next week