1987 Bill Lawrence Esquire BTOR55B

This is a very very rare Yoshino built 1987 Bill Lawrence Esquire with a Seymour Duncan STL-1 Vintage '54 pick-up and single volume control. The contoured and sculpted body is a nice surprising boost for comfort - aching ribs from a regular Tele/Esquire won't be a thing here. At 3.6kg precisely, it is a nice comfortable weight and feels very balanced hung high or low on a strap. The original black hardware is all high quality Gotoh and in fine working order. Having a tremolo on an Esquire is a very unusual prospect but a very welcome one.

This was a short-lived range of guitars only available in Japan which was the result of a feisty relationship between Moridaira and Bill Lawrence.

The tone from the Seymour Duncan is as you'd expect - powerful and capable of vintage twang and thick overdriven aggression. With such minimal controls, it really is you and your playing style; but that is what this type of guitar is about.

This one has had a busy life - it comes complete with plenty of scratches and a couple of dents in the lacquer. The little chip in the paint by the string tree was repaired and a new string tree was installed since earlier photos were taken. Nothing that detracts from its functionality. It is a good sounding, good playing and interesting guitar.

Demo video below was filmed before the new string tree was installed.