SOLD! Bill Lawrence Fretless £550 Sofia

[bgmttt]

Here is my Bill Lawrence Fretless Bass.

I bought this bass from Japan. This is the original description from the site I bought it

This auction is for a Bill Lawrence Frertless Jazz Bass Made in Japan by Morris.

 

Please do not confuse Japanese made Bill Lawrence guitars with later Korean made ones. Japanese made Bill Lawrence guitars were made by skilled craftsmen and I think the quality of the guitars, wood materials & build accuracy are even better than early Fender Japan guitars with JV serial numbers. 

Japanese made Bill Lawrence guitars were manufactured by Moridaira from early 80s to mid 90s in the factory of Morris (Moridaira Gakki). Moridaira is a Japanese musical instrument company that introduced Gibson & Fender to Japan in 60s and the current importers/distributors of Moog, Paiste, Orange, and so on. 
Moridaira's house brand of guitars is Morris. Morris is the best well-known acoustic guitar manufacturer here in Japan. Morris has been manufacturing acoustic guitars since 1967 and they also made electric guitars in the 70's and early 80'sunder the following brands; Bill Lawrence Guitars, Hurricane, HS Anderson and so on. The famous Mad Cat guitar played by Price was also made in the factory. 

Like Bill Lawrence guitars, in 80's and 90's, in Japan there are other guitar brands of pickup manufactures, such as Van Zandt, Seymour Duncan and so on, but only Van Zandt guitars survive. Of course their guitars were sold only in Japan and not exported. 


Here in Japan, Japanese made Bill Lawrence guitars has been re valuated in recent years, so the prices has been increasing. In my experience, the quality (woods and building) of the Bill Lawrence guitars, especially of the early ones is much better than that of Fender JV serials. If you didn't mind the headstock and the brand name, I would recommend their guitars. 


The neck shape of Japanese made Bill Lawrence guitars is very unique and comfortable. It is one of the reason that Bill Lawrence guitars were began to be re valuated. Near the head stock the neck shape is v shape and toward the body, it gradually becomes U shape. The neck is not slim but not chunky. The thickness seems to me ideal for the playability and for the rich deep tone in low to middle range. (In my experience, the slim neck is not good for the fatness in low and middle range.) 

Moridaura/Morris made so many models over the course of a decade, so the body parts and the neck parts were shared for the efficiency of inventory of the parts, so the model name on the neck pocket of the body and also on the neck end do not always show the real model name. 

 

Japanese made Bill Lawrence basses are super rare because only a very small number were build.

 

The last two digits of the serial number in the pictures is hidden for the sake of the next owner. 

 

Specs

Body: Alder
Neck: Maple 

Fretboard: Unknown

Neck profile: not too slim, not too fat

Neck width at nut: approx. 39.5 mm / 1.56 in 
Weight: approx. 4.10 kg

**The specs above are extracted from the catalog or are based on my research, so they could be misinformed or mistaken. The weight and the neck width are based on actual measurement.
**I am not the original owner so I cannot say whether this item has all original parts

 

 

Edited April 9, 2021 by bgmttt

[Oldman]

Do you have the pick guard for this bass?

[bgmttt]

14 hours ago, Oldman said:

Do you have the pick guard for this bass?

Yes, the last pic shows the original pickguard

[Oldman]

Thank you, I must have missed that.

[bgmttt]

Last chance before Brexit....

Edited April 9, 2021 by bgmttt

[derklump]

Hello, What would be your price in euros delivered to germany?

[bgmttt]

Here you can hear it: click

Both pickups, then bridge, then neck. Tone is always 100% open. Strings are old LaBella Flats.

[bgmttt]

Sold!