Whitstable Guitars

A selection of good quality, used guitars and specialising in imports from Japan since 2008

Approx 1995  Bill Lawrence MB-68 "Chisato Moritaka" MIJ & new hard case





£529.00  





JAPAN IMPORT



I always like to have a couple of quirky Japanese made guitars on the website & this is the latest. Built to celebrate Moridaira instruments 30 year anniversary, this Japanese made "Chisato Moritaka" signature guitar has a body shape not unlike a Rickenbacker bass! It's a lightweight medium scale guitar about the same size & weight as a Mustang but loaded with a pair of humbuckers and a wrap around bridge. The pickups are unbranded so I can't identify them but they are nice and powerful & the guitar is great fun to play. The guitar is also very well made & in excellent condition, particularly bearing in mind its age.



Moridaira are a Japanese musical instrument distributors & Chisato Moritaka is a famous Japanese singer.

Bill Lawrence guitars, although unheard of over here, are well known in Japan. Bill Lawrence himself was an German born American guitarist & pickup designer. In the 1980's He entered into a contract with Moridaira and Morris made guitars were fitted with his pickups and then badged as "Bill Lawrence" guitars. I've seen a few of these and they're usually Strats & Teles. They have a good reputation as Morris made guitars were excellent. There's plenty of info on the web about them. I would think that Moridaira  may own that brand name as Bill Lawrence himself died in 2013. Wikipedia give a biography of Moritaka & this states that in 1993, Bill Lawrence designed the MB-68 for her and these guitars are signature models of that guitar. Unfortunately there is no detailed information about the guitars but I found several for sale in  Japan at £400-£600 but that didn't include UK shipping or duty costs. This one is an excellent example too.



The guitar plays well. Straight neck, low action and good pickups. Overall, for a Japanese built guitar at this price with a new hard case this is excellent value.



Bill Lawrence MB-68 "Chisato Moritaka" Specifications


Body Material: Unknown. Possibly Ash due to weight

Neck material: Possibly Maple

Fingerboard: Rosewood

22 medium frets with block inlays

Scale Length 24" 

Width at 1st fret 41mm

Width at 12th fret 51mm

Weight: 3100 grammes (6lb 10oz)

Enclosed tuners (GOTOH)

Chrome Wraparound bridge 


1 x Unbranded Humbucker (N) 8.1k

1 x Unbranded Humbucker (B) 8.1k

3 way switch

2 x Volume & 2 x Tone Controls


New Thomann/Gator fitted hard case


Hard Case

As said many times, all my guitars come shipped in a new black hard case which is included in the price. I find this is the safest way to avoid damage in transit.  Alternatively, if you are collecting the guitar and, like some buyers have cases coming out of their ears, that's no problem, I'll adjust the price (usually around a £30 discount) and I can usually find you an old gigbag to take the guitar away in. The only hard and fast rule I have is that I won't ship a guitar in a gigbag


If you are further interested in this guitar, you can either email me with any 
queries & I'll do my best to get back to you within 24 hours.


Or, you can buy easily and safely using the PayPal "buy now" button. Don't forget to select the right option using the drop down menu on price, i.e. Collection, UK shipping or EU shipping. If in doubt, please email me first as Highlands & Islands can sometimes be a little dearer for shipping