The Bill Lawrence L-500XL is a Bill Lawrence other. Close alternatives include the Seymour Duncan Screamin' Demon and the DiMarzio Dominion. It pairs well with the Gallien-Krueger Fusion 210 and the Ceriatone HRM 50.
Bill Lawrence L-500XL
Bill Lawrence · other
The Bill Lawrence L-500XL is a hot, high-output humbucker famous for combining humbucker low end with single-coil clarity and a stringy high end. Despite roughly 12.7k DCR it stays remarkably clear, loud, and mud-free, full of harmonics and sparkle with low compression and high dynamics. It is voiced as a lead pickup with cutting, ripping aggression rather than thick rhythm chunk, and it is most famous as Dimebag Darrell signature bridge pickup in his Dean and Washburn guitars. Players also coax screaming blues, jangly Beatles, and singing Santana tones from it depending on gain. Its clarity and bite suit metal, hard rock, and aggressive lead work, though the high output benefits from a noise gate.
- noise gate
- bite
- clear
- cutting
- hot
- compression
- hard rock
- dynamic
Genres the Bill Lawrence L-500XL is commonly used in
- Hard Rock
- Blues
- Metal
- Heavy Metal
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Rock
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Alternative
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Amps that pair well with the Bill Lawrence L-500XL
Gallien-Krueger Fusion 210
Gallien Krueger
tonal matchStack Gallien-Krueger Fusion 210 on top and a high gain tone tightens toward mid-forward
Ceriatone HRM 50
Ceriatone
tonal matchCeriatone HRM 50 pushes a high gain tone toward mid-forward
Ampeg V-4
Ampeg
tonal matchStack Ampeg V-4 on top and a high gain tone tightens toward mid-forward
Ceriatone Overtone Special HRM Bluesmaster 50
Ceriatone
tonal matchCeriatone Overtone Special HRM Bluesmaster 50 takes that high gain character and pushes it toward mid-forward
Gallien-Krueger Legacy 212
Gallien Krueger
tonal matchGallien-Krueger Legacy 212 pushes a high gain tone toward mid-forward
Harmony H650
Harmony
tonal matchHarmony H650 pushes a high gain tone toward mid-forward
Traynor BB115
Traynor
tonal matchTraynor BB115 takes that high gain character and pushes it toward tight
Ampeg Micro CL Stack
Ampeg
tonal matchAmpeg Micro CL Stack pushes a high gain tone toward mid-forward
Pedals that stack with the Bill Lawrence L-500XL
NuX SSD-10
Nux
tonal matchNuX SSD-10 is voiced for a clean amp's front end — Bill Lawrence L-500XL gives it exactly that
Behringer TO800 Vintage Tube Overdrive
Behringer
tonal matchBehringer TO800 Vintage Tube Overdrive's own voicing points at a clean amp's front end, and Bill Lawrence L-500XL delivers it
Laney TI-Boost
Laney
tonal matchLaney TI-Boost's own voicing points at a clean amp's front end, and Bill Lawrence L-500XL delivers it
Mooer Flex Boost
Mooer
tonal matchBill Lawrence L-500XL leans into a clean amp's front end, precisely the platform Mooer Flex Boost wants
Electro-Harmonix Nano Deluxe MM
Electro-Harmonix
tonal matchElectro-Harmonix Nano Deluxe MM's own voicing points at a clean amp's front end, and Bill Lawrence L-500XL delivers it — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Benson Amps Delay PT2399 Echo
Benson Amps
tonal matchBenson Amps Delay PT2399 Echo's own voicing points at a clean amp's front end, and Bill Lawrence L-500XL delivers it — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
MXR CAE Wah
MXR
tonal matchFeed a high gain signal into MXR CAE Wah and it comes out closer to mid-forward
Wampler Cory Wong
Wampler
tonal matchFeed a high gain signal into Wampler Cory Wong and it comes out closer to clean boost
Alternatives
See all alternatives to the Bill Lawrence L-500XL (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the Bill Lawrence L-500XL?+
The closest matches in character are the Seymour Duncan Screamin' Demon, the DiMarzio Dominion, the DiMarzio Super 3.
What pairs well with the Bill Lawrence L-500XL?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Gallien-Krueger Fusion 210, Ceriatone HRM 50, Ampeg V-4 — Stack Gallien-Krueger Fusion 210 on top and a high gain tone tightens toward mid-forward.