Telecaster® Pickups

In the last couple of years I had the privilege and pleasure to analyse and reconstruct tele-pickups of the 50s. You will find the attained knowledge of those reconstructions in various models of my Tele-Product line-up.

TL 50 set. Like they made it in Fullerton back in the 50´s – the bridge pickup has Flush Poles and roars with raw authority and punch! The TL50 set delivers the classic „Early Quack“ with a strong and glassy sounding neck pickup. You can find the legendary 50´s Telecaster sound in every kind of popular music. Country? Think Redd Volkaert, Arlen Roth or Vince Gill. Blues? What about players like Albert Collins or Roy Buchanan! Jazz or Crossover? Ever heard of Mike Stern, Danny Gatton, Jim Weider or G.E. Smith? Rock? Not to forget icons like Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen and Jeff Beck! All this incredible guitar heroes are true devotees of the 50´s Telly sound and the TL50 is the perfect replacement set for the most versatile guitar of music history.

TL 55 set. If you´re looking for the ultimative twang heaven, your search is over! Get yourself a TL55 set! The bridge pickup with it´s staggered polepieces sounds funky and spanky without the raw midgain structure of the TL50. The TL55 neck pickup is a good choice for those players who love a defined low end without fuzziness even at high overdrive settings. Great set!

TL 60 set. This set rocks. It spits, barks and bites! Like all Kloppmann sets it´s perfectly matched and balanced. The TL60 gives you full mids and strong treble that are edgy, nasty and raucous with great sustain, power and touch sensitive response. It´s an instant sound link to all those magical 60´s Telecaster sounds we´ve heard from great players on so many legendary rock albums: Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin I.), Rick Parfitt & Francis Rossi (Status Quo….all albums!) or Eric Clapton (Blind Faith). Muddy Waters loved his Candy Apple Red Tele for steamy, sharp slide runs as much as Steve Cropper his soulful Stax licks on his white 60´s Tele. The TL60 will take you from Heavy Rock to Motown, from Blues to Boogie! Just like Status Quo sang: Whatever you want………

BC 49 Set . When Leo Fender developed the legendary Broadcaster - which became the Telecaster after Gretsch prohibited Fender to use the name Broadcaster for an instrument - he adapted the design for the bridge pickup from one of his famous Lapsteel pickups. These pickups were partly wound with AWG 43 wire and were well known for their gritty midrange voice. Frank Deimel of Deimel Guitarworks asked me to reproduce this bridge pickup for his new Broadstar T-Guitar. An old star was reborn: the BCB49 delivers classic vintage performance. Compared to the other Kloppmann TL- pickups it has this special, fuller and highly sought after midrange voice. Not to forget that the BCB49 will sing with a sweet and silky “marshmellowy” top end! This pickup gives a Blackface Amp a raunchy tweedy approach. An instant classic! The BCN 49 neck pickup features the classic brass cover wich givers a nice tone, matching the tonal qualities of the BCB 49 bridge pickup.

The BCB 49 is also the Bridgepickup of the TL KR Set. It’s a true „must have“ for all you Keef Richards devotees out there! It has a special wound PAF neck Humbucker which adds the right amount of rich and fullrange tones for authentic Brown Sugar-riffing! If you expext a Neck Humbucker to be flubby or muddy, the TLKR-Neck stays tight and defined. Remove or simply clip off your low E-string, tune to Open-G and hit a chord on your Tele: the TLKR will give you the trademark sounds of the Human Riff!

TL 60 Tillcaster Bridge. When Till Hoheneder had his ST60- Tillcaster bridge pickup he asked Andreas Kloppmann to make a similar beast for his Toploader Esquire!

Till about his signature pickup:

„If the stock TL60 bridge pickup barks like a Doberman, the TL60 Tillcaster roars like a Rottweiler….. with a very fully and unbelievable solid punch on the E and A strings! Add the right amount of compression, raw mids and a typical Tele top end and you get a good impression of the Tillcaster! But although it sound totally contrarily – you´ll never miss the overall clarity within all the pickup´s nasty drive. The TL 60 Tillcaster bridge is the right weapon for your Tele if you want to scare a good Les Paul Junior………“

Tele™ Replacement Sets

Set	Pickups
TL 60	Bridge 1963, Neck 1960
TL 55	Bridge 1955, Neck 1956
TL 50	Bridge 1951, Neck 1952
TL 60 Tillcaster Bridge	Hot Bridge (Formvar)