Bill Lawrence A-300

Submitted at: 4:50, 9/17/2001

Product Info

Pickup features: Soundhole Mic
Impedence or other specs:
Price Paid: N/A
Purchased from: It was a gift

Instrument

Model of guitar or bass: Martin D 18
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Bluegrass, Folk
Reason for pickup change:

Sound

Perceived output level:
Tone:
Sonic evaluation: For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Overall Rating

Comments: This Soundhole Mic was given to me many years ago. And I have now been trying to locate it at the internet but can't find a single word about it! So if somebody out there could tell me where to buy one I'd be grateful. Maybe it's an old Bill Lawrence product, but nothing on his site. The company: Lawrence sound Research, Inc. Industrial Park, Mt. Juliet, Tennesse 37122 USA. The sound is rich, warm and natural. Lots of wood in the sound. It simply sounds as my old Martin D 18. Add an equalizer to it and you have all the control you want. Played recently with a folk band. They had Martins and built in mices, but they were just stunned by the sound I had from this probably cheap soundhole mic. Playing in a bluegrass band often tends to give feed-back troubles for the guitar player when using a normal mic. I still prefer to use an old fashioned mic but this Lawrence soundhole mic solves the feed-back problem, and you (and the audience!) can hear what you play! So to me it's a great alternative when sound problems occur.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this pickup a: 10 Fantastic value

Submitted by: Jan thing <jan_thing.yahoo.com>

              Bill Lawrence FT-145 

Submitted at: 5:35, 2/17/98

Product Info

Pickup features: humbucking sound-hole
Impedence or other specs: medium impedence
Price Paid: US $approx. $70 used
Purchased from: Have bought them new and used (used $25-30)

Instrument

Model of guitar or bass: Guild JF-4,212 XII,Gibson J-200(2),Gianinni Craviola 12,Oahu Hawaiian
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Barcus-Berry,FRAP,others
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: The Edge,Leo Kottke(prev.),Terry Allan Hall,Doc Watson(p),Michael Hedges(p)
You musical style(s): Acoustic Folk/Country/Rock
Reason for pickup change: Kept looking for an amplified acoustic sound that I could relate to.This pickup gets me as close as I've gotten so far.

Sound

Perceived output level: Good balance of volume with very rare feedback.
Tone: Somewhat muddy without an EQ, very well balanced with a bit of EQ tweaking
Sonic evaluation: I mostly play directly into the PA,either mine (Carvin 1244P) or the venues(many different configurations). When I use an amp,I prefer solid-state(Kustom,Lab,Crate).Plan to try the Carvin AG-100 ASAP.I use the guitars mentioned above.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play Contemporary Acoustic styles

Overall Rating

Comments: I've used the FT-145 for about 13 years,and nowdays use nothing else.They're hard to find,so I buy 'em as I find them.I host "open mike" programs, and always carry a couple for people who haven't yet gotten a pick-up or have a poor sounding one.My only wish is that it sounded better w/o EQing,but I've never found ANY acoustic P/U that didn't need EQing.I won't use any piezo or saddle P/U's at all, due to their unreliability and "quackiness"

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this pickup a: 9

                      Bill Lawrenc A-345