These are cool! BL 550 mini hums

[Stevo57]

I was looking for something quieter and more balanced (less mids) and I came across these on Ebay. I replaced a pair of Lollar P90's which are a great sounding pickup, but not a great match with my other gear.
I like Bill Lawrence singles in my Strat and now I like these mini hums too. They are Bill Lawrence Rhythm and Lead 550's. I snagged them off of ebay as NOS from the 70's. They were brand new never installed. They feel and sound good!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v63/stevo57/IMG_0025.jpg

[carltonh]

Ok, so they sound great and have less mids than P90s, but how exactly do they sound? More like a L500 or mini-bucker? Neither?

[erksin]

Those are so cool - I had a XL-500 in the '70s and it was a killer pickup. Bill should make those minis again - I bet he'd find a niche...

[big mike]

And they look great too! Can't wait to hear them.

[Stevo57]

CarltonH, I've never owned an L500 or a mini bucker for that matter. They are a notch or two higher in overall frequency range. Much clearer in the upper mid and high frequencies. Still plenty of lows too though. They increased the overall sustain of the guitar.
I mainly played the Lollars together and I'm mainly liking these with just one or the other on. I really, really love the bridge sounds. Oh Yeah! I have to check with Saul to make sure the pots, and such are just right for these pus.

[cvansickle]

I had an L500 in my Les Paul for a couple years back in the 80s. It was LOUD and had a lot of headroom, maybe too clean. I ended up replacing it with a Duncan Distortion.

[CitizenCain]

Hahah! I grabbed a set of L-560s from that same guy on eBay I'll bet. Sounds like the same setup, NOS from late '70s. Thought they'd work perfect in my late '70s ('78) LP. I agree, very cool pickups. The neck pickup sounds clean and clear, but in no way syerile. Very full-bodied sound, not muddy by a long shot. The bridge is really cool. It's thick, but wiry sounding at the same time. Hard to describe, but it's what I wanted this LP to sound like for a long time. I've been through a lot of P90s, and these L-560s are not coming out anytime soon, I can tell you that!

http://www.visi.com/~sstolle/lawrence.jpg

http://www.visi.com/~sstolle/lawrence2.jpg

[erksin]

Originally posted by CitizenCain
Hahah! I grabbed a set of L-560s from that same guy on eBay I'll bet. Sounds like the same setup, NOS from late '70s. Thought they'd work perfect in my late '70s ('78) LP. I agree, very cool pickups. The neck pickup sounds clean and clear, but in no way syerile. Very full-bodied sound, not muddy by a long shot. The bridge is really cool. It's thick, but wiry sounding at the same time. Hard to describe, but it's what I wanted this LP to sound like for a long time. I've been through a lot of P90s, and these L-560s are not coming out anytime soon, I can tell you that!

http://www.visi.com/~sstolle/lawrence.jpg

http://www.visi.com/~sstolle/lawrence2.jpg

Oh man - does he have any more? Those would look killer in my '78 Deluxe...

[erksin]

Found 'em - thanks!

Quick question - how would you compare them to the stock Gibson minis? I love mine, but of course would like more from the bridge pup. The neck is near perfect except for the microphonics - I'm guessing that isn't an issue with the BLs...

[CitizenCain]

Yeah, he has several sets left, in either cream or black. Search eBay guitar pickup section for Lawrence. He sells them for about $94 a set.

[CitizenCain]

Haven't had any microphonics issues with mine yet and I've played them through a cranked 100w Sundown head into that 2x10 cab in the pics. Sound great!

I can't compare to the minihums, this is a LP Pro Deluxe and came stock with P90s. Never had a set of minis in it.

The best way I can describe this bridge sound is like a huge Tele. I'm likn' it bigtime :D

[erksin]

Originally posted by CitizenCain
The best way I can describe this bridge sound is like a huge Tele. I'm likn' it bigtime :D

Funny, that's how I'd describe my stock minis on certain things...

From the looks of your Deluxe, the neck pup sits pretty low in the cavity - does yours not have much neck angle or do you have it set up with really low action? Mine stick out a lot further, but I play with med/high action...

[Stevo57]

Heres a link to gtr4you auctions. I have no connection to this seller. I see he has the Nick Greer pedals I've been hearing about too.

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZgtr4you

[big mike]

Nick Greer Rocks!!!

[Mike Dresch]

Originally posted by CitizenCain
Haven't had any microphonics issues with mine yet and I've played them through a cranked 100w Sundown head into that 2x10 cab in the pics. Sound great!

I can't compare to the minihums, this is a LP Pro Deluxe and came stock with P90s. Never had a set of minis in it.

The best way I can describe this bridge sound is like a huge Tele. I'm likn' it bigtime :D

How would you say they compare to actual P90's? I love the tone of P90's but would like to get rid of the buzz. Any chance these would do that? I've only had one Bill Lawrence pickup, a L500XL and it seemed like it lacked a bit of low end. Otherwise it was cool. I definitely want the low end so if these sound like P90's without the noise and a decent amount of low end, I might have to try a set!

[carltonh]

L500XL and it seemed like it lacked a bit of low end.
The fake Bill Lawrence L500XL pickups from www.billlawrenceusa.com were notoriously lacking in low end. Bill Lawrence tested these and confirmed everyone's ears that the fakes had a 26% shift up in frequency, and didn't even have the right output either. Real ones are famous for having a great and powerful bass response.

[Mike Dresch]

Originally posted by carltonh
The fake Bill Lawrence L500XL pickups from www.billlawrenceusa.com were notoriously lacking in low end. Bill Lawrence tested these and confirmed everyone's ears that the fakes had a 26% shift up in frequency, and didn't even have the right output either. Real ones are famous for having a great and powerful bass response.

The thing is, I got mine straight from Bill and Becky. So that wasn't it. Maybe I'm used to more low end out of pickups.

[carltonh]

Originally posted by Mike Dresch
The thing is, I got mine straight from Bill and Becky. So that wasn't it. Maybe I'm used to more low end out of pickups.
I guess so, I guess you probably like the Dimarzio Tone Zone then. That's about as bass heavy as I know short of active EMGs

[Mike Dresch]

Prior to the Lawrence, I was using JB's and Tone Zones. Now I use WCR Shredders and Fillmores. The Lawrence had a good tone but didn't have the depth I wanted. Ironically, I just got a PRS SE Soapbar singlecut that has tons of low end but buzzes due to the P90's I love the tone, I just want to reduce or eliminate the buzz.

[CitizenCain]

erskin, I have the action on my Pro set right about 4/64" on both sides, maybe just a touch higher. I screwed the neck p'up down as far as it would go when I installed them just to get the guitar up and running. I was used to having to do this with the P90s, the neck was always bigger and louder than the bridge.

When I got it together and fiddled about a bit, I ended up raising the neck pickup only very slighty from where I had it. The sound turned out to be wonderful, very full and clear sounding and balanced perfectly with the volume from the bridge.

Mike, compared to P90s, these are much clearer, but I'd say they still have a good snarl, snap and dynamics to them. They sound absolutely great under OD, they have the P90-style kick but are still clearer sounding, if that makes any sense. The neck is most like a P90 of the pair, very full and rich sound, but much clearer. The bridge is miles ahead of any P90 I've put in there, it's much fuller sounding, has a great wiry sound (hence my giant Tele comparison), doesn't lack in any frequency range. It's thinner than the neck, but not as thin as a P90 in that spot.

I've run the Gibson p'up, A Duncan Custom and a Duncan Antiquity in the bridge spot. None of these compare to the Lawrence L-560.

[AshlandBump]

I just grabbed a set of 560s from the ebay site. I hope these work -- I was this close to having my LP Dx routed for full size humbuckers. I have a set of Fralin P-90s in it now and while they're great pickups for clean playing, I use that guitar for most of our more overdriven stuff so the noise from the pickups and from the ancient wiring in our practice space has been frustrating, to say the least.

Citizen Cain -- did you set yours up for coil tapping or are they wired for full time humbucker use? What resistence pots are you using in your LP?

[CitizenCain]

I don't really get into all the fancy switching options. If I need a different type of sound, that's a good reason to get another guitar! I have them wired as straight humbuckers.

During previous tonequests, I had upgraded the electronics to the RS kit. 500k CTS pots and Hovland .022 caps. I don't use the treble bleed circuit RS supplied, and I rewired it 50s style. It works for me!

[Mike Dresch]

Well, you talked me into it. I bought a set of 560's from that same guy. Any idea how long it took to get the pickups after payment? Should be cool :)

[Barefoot]

Emailed B. Lawrence and Becky. Said these are legit....very cool.

[AshlandBump]

Originally posted by Mike Dresch
Well, you talked me into it. I bought a set of 560's from that same guy. Any idea how long it took to get the pickups after payment? Should be cool :)

You probably already have them. I ordered mine on Friday afternoon and they arrived on Tuesday by priority mail. Can't wait to test them out on Friday.

[Mike Dresch]

Originally posted by mainstreetexile
You probably already have them. I ordered mine on Friday afternoon and they arrived on Tuesday by priority mail. Can't wait to test them out on Friday.

Nope, not yet. Just got a notice yesterday that they were sent out. Hopefully sometime this week though :)

[CitizenCain]

I got to jam with my LP Pro last night. These pickups are very cool. I played through a vintage Ampeg Gemini II, 15" speaker. Man, classic rock tones out the wazoo! ZZ Top's "Just Got Paid" had the greatest juicy sound on the main riff that I've heard in a long time.

And absolutely no hum. How can you beat that?!

[AshlandBump]

I used the L560s in my 2001 Deluxe for the first time on Friday night at practice. A huge step up from the original mini-humbuckers. I actually replaced a pair of Fralin P-90s with the Lawrences. The neck is very clear and the bridge has less treble than the Fralin -- a fuller tone. I wanted to get rid of the P-90 hum but didn't fully accomplish that, thanks to the ancient wiring in our practice studio. They're still quieter than P-90s though and have a lot of spank. I'd put them some where between a P-90 and a full size humbucker in terms of tone.

[Mike Dresch]

I put my set in my PRS Soapbar SE and they sound great! Too bad Bill doesn't still make these any more. I dig 'em!

[esoteric pete]

i just bought a cream set last night....a drunk impulse buy....the just looked soooo cool....especially un der the influence of 5-7 guiness's....lol...but none the less...., i may put them in a daphne blue strat im building, but i wanna build a chambered mahog. tele w/ an f-hole from warmoth so.......what do ya'll think?!

[Mike Dresch]

Here's my guitar with the L-560's installed:
http://www.elbo.net/cathouse/about/guitars/soapse2.jpg

Me likey lots!
:D

[Jack Walker]

Me likey yur guitar! Purdy! Purdy! Purdy! I put a set of BL L550's in my Les Paul in 1977. They stayed there until I sold it in 1988. I loved those pickups.

[CitizenCain]

Mike, it looks like that guitar was made for those pickups. Nice!! :dude

[Brazilian]

i'm not 100% sure these pickups are originals, i bought some from the same guy online, they look too new, and also he is been saying these are the last one for almost 2 years, and he sold a lot of them, and still saying these are the last ones, they sound good, but i'm not sure they are NOS from 1979, does anyone knows for sure?.
Thanx!