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KENNETH LAWRENCE INSTRUMENTS 1. Ken Lawrence in his workshop is in the back of Wildwood Manufacturing. He holds a five-string fretless chamberbass he built for himself eight years ago.
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2. Headstock for a Kenneth Lawrence Instruments guitar
3. The ancient Norse design aegishlajmur decorates a custom guitar Lawrence is building for a heavy metal musician in Norway. Known as “the helm of awe,” the symbol magically induces fear and protects its bearer. Lawrence picked up a lot of new orders when he started building guitars for Metalica guitarist James Hetfield.
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4. Stacks of guitar and bass bodies show Lawrence’s backlog of orders. At this point he tells new customers to expect a two-to-three-year wait on new orders.
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14 NORTH COAST JOURNAL • THURSDAY, FEB. 7, 2013 • northcoastjournal.com
5. Lawrence sets a fret on a custom blue guitar he’s building for Bruce Hamilton, owner of Wildwood Manufacturing since 2008.
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