705 vs 710â€¦.where to buy?

Charley Paul · From: California, USA

I am intrigued with the idea of putting a set of humbucking pickups into my guitar. I am considering a Bill Lawrence 705 or 710. Whatâ€™s the difference? Differences in tone and output?

Where do I buy them? It seems like the 705 is available at big box stores, and the 710 is made by someone else and is available direct only. Whatâ€™s the story?

Thanks for the help.[/list]

Jon Light (deceased) · From: Saugerties, NY

A too long and not necessarily interesting story -- the 705 is made by a guy who won the company name "Bill Lawrence". The 710 is made by the wife of Bill Lawrence who has continued the company after his death. Although some people consider the first guy a 'bad guy' because....it just sounds wrong....hell, for all I know Bill lost the rights in a poker game. I've never heard anything bad about the product.
The cosmetic differences are that the 705 has blades and the 710 has pole pieces. Old, real Lawrence 705's had chrome surrounds vs. the new black plastic models (just so you can tell them apart--the old ones get some big dollars).

Some steels have a hard time fitting the Lawrence pickups and when they fit the cavity, they bottom out so that you cannot get enough distance from the strings and you overdrive the amp input. So be sure to inquire (here) about specific steel, specific pickup before taking the plunge.

Jon Light (deceased) · From: Saugerties, NY

And just to muddy the waters and make you stop and be even more uncertain what you want to do, I'd have Telonics among my top considerations. A great product line and a very solid customer relations experience.

Charley Paul · From: California, USA

Jon, are you talking about the Telonics 409? Iâ€™ve read some good things about that oneâ€¦

Jon Light (deceased) · From: Saugerties, NY

Can't tell you anything about the 409. My experience is with the (12 string) 183 (twin blade) and the 128 (adjustable pole pieces).
And btw, if they will fit your guitar, Bruce Zumsteg is selling some wide mount 710's. I've read mixed reports about timely order fulfillment from Wilde pickups (mixed as in "quick, no problem" and "long wait") so I'd buy one from Bruce right now if I needed one.

Marco Schouten · From: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Jon Light (deceased) · From: Saugerties, NY

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

I have ordered from Wilde twice. First was a 12 string XR16. There was a few weeks lead time as there were none in stock and their next run of XR16's was in a couple of weeks. The second was for a 10 string XR16 and was shipped in a couple of days because they had them in stock. They are not a large company with huge inventories.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112,Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open D slide guitar) . Playing for 55 years and still counting.

Bruce Derr · From: Lee, New Hampshire, USA

The original 705 was available with either a black surround or a chrome one. If it's chrome, it's probably an original. If it's black, it's probably a reissue but it might be an original. Another way to tell them apart is by looking at the bottom at the location where the cable comes out. Originals have the cable exiting at the corner. On the reissues it exits at the middle of one of the long edges. All the reissue 705s I've seen have a red cable.

I ordered a 710 from Wilde recently and delivery time was very reasonable.

Forum Index > Electronics		Next oldest topic :: Next newest topic

All times are GMT - 8 Hours	Jump to: