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