Glossary

Updated July 26 (added notes on trademark)

For the purpose of clarity, I will refer to three different categories of "Bill Lawrence" pickups. You may have already noticed pickups or pickup companies on this site being referred to as one of the following: ...

• billlawrence.com/
• billlawrenceusa.com/
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Lawrence_(guitar_maker)
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_Marauder
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Armstrong
• gibson.com/allaccessfeatures.aspx?aliaspath=/AllAccess/Know%20Your%20Gibson_%20Marauder%20and
• gibson.com/allaccessfeatures.aspx?aliaspath=/AllAccess/Know%20Your%20Gibson_%20The%20L-6S
• vintageguitar.com/brands/details.asp?ID=52
• kentarmstrong.com/KentPage2.html
• neelyguitars.com/Bio.html
• http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?qt=adv&pno=92

"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.
   

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.

• 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 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"

 Advertisement/photos as they appeared in Guitar Player magazine, July 1979.

Photo of Aerosmiths Joe Perry and Brad Whitford credited to Ron Pownall Boston

"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.

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).

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". March 24 1931 to November 2 2013.