Bill Lawrence HBR/HBL Circuit Board Pickups

I hate, hate, hate the Bill Lawrence circuit board pickups.

rays44 said:

Big mistake based on how you just described these p/u's. Don't chase the PAF ghost or cave to forum peer pressure. Everyone is an expert and has their own opinion. In the end, your's is the only one that matters.

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Well, it's been a year now and this ES-347 has become my main GO-TO guitar for both recording and performing. The set of Classic 57's never made it into this guitar, they did end up in my ES-333 which I now have up for sale.

Most of my work these days is recording. I find that going direct into Pro Tools using a modeling program like Amplitude gives me a great range of sound to work with. For live shows, I now use a new Fender Champ 15 watt Tube amp with modeling. I dial in the Bassman amp sound, pretty much crank it and send the output to a 50 watt Marshall. No more tube screamer, no more pedals.

In hindsight, i was chasing a PAF sound but the ES-347 is a unique bird and needs to be celebrated on her own terms. I don't know how the Bill Lawrence pups stack up against the earlier models that had the Dirty Finger pups but I am truly in love with the guitar, the way it sounds, the way it feels, the way it plays, it's weight, it's balance, etc. Honestly, I have this guitar in my lap even when I am watching TV. Of note, I tried the coil splitting once or twice and it really doesn't do Fender very well so I have not used that switch since. If I have anything done to the guitar in the future it will be to remove the coil splitting and I will probably put a period correct stop tail on instead of the TP-6 which works perfectly but my arm leans on it occasionally and it bothers me. I wouldn't change it for sound or sustain as the guitar has plenty of great sound and sustain with it's original parts.

Thanks everyone for your interest and great comments...Ricky

While I don't hate them, I am not a huge fan of the Lawrence "circuit board" pickups. To my ears they sound better than Dirty Fingers, so IMHO they are a step up. :hank

At the end of the day, if the guitar sounds good to your ears with those pickups and inspires you to play, that's all that really matters! :dude:

rlan52 said:

Well, it's been a year now and this ES-347 has become my main GO-TO guitar for both recording and performing....

In hindsight, i was chasing a PAF sound but the ES-347 is a unique bird and needs to be celebrated on her own terms. I don't know how the Bill Lawrence pups stack up against the earlier models that had the Dirty Finger pups but I am truly in love with the guitar, the way it sounds, the way it feels, the way it plays, it's weight, it's balance, etc....

I wouldn't change it for sound or sustain as the guitar has plenty of great sound and sustain with it's original parts.

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That really is what it's all about. Sometimes we find our #1 guitar is right there in the corner waiting for us to get done chasing something else.

Loving them is a very good financial decision...they're dirt cheap.

My favorite pickup of all time is the HB-L!!! Hands down. It has this angry growl that I LOVE!

Resurrecting this zombie thread from 2012-2014. Any new thoughts or opinions on Bill Lawrence HBR/HBL pickups? I am experimenting with a set and am trying to hear what people who hate them hate about them. There are a few strong opinions for and against, but not many opinions overall. Maybe because they were used for such a short time?

I really like these pickups. They aren't vintage flavored but they are far superior to 490R/498T sets and even 57 Classics IMO.

TM1 said:

I had the Bill Lawerence's in a `89 `61 SG I bought new. Hated them. I ended up putting a set of Pearly Gates in the SG. Much better!

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Do you still have the Bill Lawrence pickups, would you sell them, Cheers

papersoul said:

The HB Circuit board pickups are my favorite Gibsons along with the Burstbucker Pros.

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Hi, have you compared the two, do they sound similar, struggling to find a good condition HB-L, so was thinking to go Burstbucker Pro.

rlan52 said:

I finally got a chance to plug it in and let it rip. Over the last year I have been used to Burstbucker 2's and the 490/498T combo in my ES-333. These Bill Lawrence pickups are a very nice upgrade in that they are very defined in the mids and highs. In fact, when I plugged in my ES-333 right after an hour of playing the ES-347 the ES-333 seemed almost muddy and bassy.

Clearly the HBR/HBL combo is higher output but they are extremely clear and well balanced. With the coil tapping there a wide variety of sounds. Not exactly Tele/Strat but in that vein. When the toggle witch is in the middle and the coil tap is engaged it almost sounds like a Gretsch.

Overall, the Bill Lawrence pickups are very nice. That said, they don't have that vintage PAF sound that the Classic 57's has or the Classic 57+. I also have a SD 59 in one of my LP's and that has more of a PAF sound than the Bill Lawrence pickups.

The ES-347 plays like a dream. It is spectacular. The neck feels perfect. A bit on the heavy side but the guitar is solid. Extremely well built. Stays in tune perfectly.

For now, I will keep the pickups as they are but I think I will seriously consider getting a pair of Classic 57's...

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Hi, let me know if you ever want to sell the Bill Laurence pickups. Cheers

Mr. Papa said:

Resurrecting this zombie thread from 2012-2014. Any new thoughts or opinions on Bill Lawrence HBR/HBL pickups? I am experimenting with a set and am trying to hear what people who hate them hate about them. There are a few strong opinions for and against, but not many opinions overall. Maybe because they were used for such a short time?

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Hi, if you ever want to sell them please let me know. Cheers

mrfett said:

I really like these pickups. They aren't vintage flavored but they are far superior to 490R/498T sets and even 57 Classics IMO.

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Hi, if you have a spare set, please let me know. Cheers

Old School said:

Hi, if you have a spare set, please let me know. Cheers

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I have two brand-new, never-used, pairs.