Another day, another Ishibashi mystery guitar!
Bill Lawrence is a renowned US pickup designer and musician. His custom pickups are highly regarded, and he worked for Fender, Peavey and others over the years - this I knew from my devoted geekery. Finding a guitar with his name on the headstock, however, was news to me.
This thing looks a little bit Ric-ish, and also a little bit like the Eko M24/Guild M80 guitars from the late 70s and early 80s which I love so much, but I’ve been able to located next to no information on it’s specs or quality. The Blue Book valuation guide says:
Bill Lawrence guitars feature designs based on American designs. The MB-120 features an offset cut body, three-per-side tuners, two humbucker pickups, and a stop tailpiece… These models are available primarily in Japan. Instruments may turn up in the western states in the U.S. market. Estimated prices may run from $250 to $450, depending on condition.
…which is magnificently unhelpful, really. It doesn’t even help in my determining if it has a thru-neck (like the M24/M80) or just a set-in. I’ve been able to find evidence of another model too - a certain M68 - for which i’ve included the ad above. They’re almost identical from the front, but the 68 appears to have a bolt on neck, which makes it significantly less awesome in my books.
This one is still for sale via Ishibashi’s U-Box - you should buy it before I have a chance to consider doing so.
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