The Vintage 'Nocaster' Bridge Tone

My take on the vintage Telecaster (Nocaster) bridge pickup of the early '50s. Flat Alnico 3 polepieces pressed into handcut vulcanised flatwork. I scatterwind (hand feed) the 42AWG (46SWG) thin copper wire to build the coil to around 7.3k. A traditional Telecaster bridge pickup sound; crisp and clear with a bright tone yet warm & round tone due to the Alnico 3 poles.

Vintage cloth pushback hookup wire, wax potted with zinc coated steel baseplate and vintage style string coil protection make this my homage to the early Telecaster twang. A great Tele bridge pickup sound.

The Vintage 'Nocaster' Neck Tone

The traditional Telecaster neck pickup sound - A clear bright tone with smooth mid frequencies and warm, rounded lows. The soft attack of the Alnico 3 poles is ideal for a clean Telecaster sound.

Unpolished nickel plated cover, vintage style cloth covered lead wire and wax potted - match it with the vintage Telecaster bridge pickup for that 50s Telecaster sound.

You can buy a calibrated Bridge & Neck set of my Handwound Vintage 1 (Nocaster) Pickups here

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The Vintage 'Broadcaster' Bridge Tone

My 2nd take on the vintage Telecaster (Broadcaster) bridge pickup of the early '50s. Flat Alnico 2 polepieces pressed into vulcanised flatwork. I scatterwind (hand feed) the 43AWG thin copper wire to build the coil to around 9.7k giving this pickup a seemingly hotter output than the Vintage Telecaster bridge Pickup 1. Its a tighter take take on the traditional Telecaster sound; crisp and clear with a bright tone yet full & rounded due to the Alnico 2 poles.

Vintage cloth pushback hookup wire, wax potted with vintage un-coated steel baseplate and vintage style string coil protection make this our homage to the early Telecaster pickup twang.

The Vintage 'Nocaster' Neck Tone

A hotter wind but still the traditional Telecaster neck pickup sound - A clear bright tone with smooth mid frequencies and warm, rounded lows. The soft attack of the Alnico 2 poles is ideal for a clean tele sound.

Unpolished nickel cover, vintage style cloth covered lead wire and wax potted - match it with the vintage Telecaster bridge for that 50s Telecaster sound.

You can buy a calibrated Bridge & Neck set of my Handwound Vintage 2 (Broadcaster) Pickups here

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The Classic Early '60s Telecaster Bridge Tone

The Classic Telecaster Bridge pickup with staggered Alnico 5 poles and copper plated steel grounding plate to shift the resonances toward the lows, resulting in a fatter, more pleasant tone. This is a true scatterwound pickup. With the classic Telecaster snap and snarl, the pickup has a defined bottom-end with clarity through the upper mid-range to highs.

The tone from this pickup is just how you expect it to be. A great Telecaster bridge pickup.

The Classic Early '60s Telecaster Neck Tone

With more bite than the vintage Alnico 2 pickup, these Classic Alnico 5 Telecaster neck pickups are wound to drive your amp a little more. The clear bright tone of the traditional Telecaster neck pickup sound is given extra snap with a little more bite in the mids and growl in the lows. The snappier attack of the Alnico 5 poles is ideal for a clean Telecaster sound.

Nickel plated silver cover, vintage style cloth covered lead wire and wax potted - match it with the vintage Telecaster bridge for that 50s Telecaster pickup sound.

You can buy a calibrated Bridge & Neck set of my Handwound Classic '64 Telecaster Pickups here

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The Classic late '60s Telecaster Bridge Tone

The Classic Telecaster Bridge pickup with staggered Alnico 5 poles and copper plated steel grounding plate to shift the resonances toward the lows, resulting in a fatter, more pleasant tone. This is a true scatterwound pickup. With the classic Telecaster snap and snarl, the pickup has a defined bottom-end with clarity through the upper mid-range to highs.

The tone from this pickup is just how you expect it to be. A great Telecaster bridge pickup.

The Classic late '60s Telecaster Neck Tone

With more bite than the vintage Alnico 2 pickup, these Classic Alnico 5 Telecaster neck pickups are wound to drive your amp a little more. The clear bright tone of the traditional Telecaster neck pickup sound is given extra snap with a little more bite in the mids and growl in the lows. The snappier attack of the Alnico 5 poles is ideal for a clean Telecaster sound.

Nickel plated silver cover, vintage style cloth covered lead wire and wax potted - match it with the vintage Telecaster bridge for that 50s Telecaster pickup sound.

You can buy a calibrated Bridge & Neck set of my Handwound Classic '67 Telecaster Pickups here

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A modern, Tighter, Higher output Tele Bridge

A higher output version of the Classic Telecaster Bridge pickup with flat or staggered Alnico 5 poles to suit your fingerboard radius and copper plated steel grounding plate to shift the resonances toward the lows, resulting in a fatter, more pleasant tone. The higher output gives this pickup a more rounded tone than the classic series, still with telecaster clarity and twang but this is a pickup that can really drive your amp - a true, hot scatterwound pickup.

A great Hot Telecaster Bridge pickup.
 

A modern, Tighter, Higher output Tele Neck

Hotter wind than the Classic Alnico 5 Telecaster neck pickup, still with the snap and low growl but overwound to really drive your amp. A great take on the classic Telecaster neck pickup, updated for a modern driving sound.

My black "Wilko" Tele, fitted with a great set of (Hot Alnico 5) pickups from The Creamery - Neck pickup might just be the best I've ever heard. Bridge cuts like a knife!

Steve Robinson (Guitar Tech for over 20yrs)
 

You can buy a calibrated Bridge & Neck set of my Hot Alnico 5 Handwound Telecaster Pickups here

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A Modern, Much Higher Output Tele Bridge

Inspired by the alternative music scene of the mid-to-late '80s this is my overwound take on the vintage Telecaster bridge pickup. The flat Alnico 2 polepieces are slightly warmer sounding than Alnico 5 but with the taller, stronger magnets, I've managed to keep the traditional tele twang and mix this with an aggressive, biting output, great for really driving an amp or running effects.

They've been a real labour of love these pickups and have gone through numerous changes to get them right. A great Tele rhythm or lead pickup if you want more bite and a modern aggressive attack.

A Modern, Much Higher Output Tele Neck

Inspired by the alternative music scene of the mid-to-late '80s this is my overwound take on the vintage Telecaster bridge pickup. The flat Alnico 2 polepieces are slightly warmer sounding than Alnico 5 but with the taller, stronger magnets, I've managed to keep the traditional tele twang and mix this with an aggressive, biting output, great for really driving an amp or running effects.

They've been a real labour of love these pickups and have gone through numerous changes to get them right. A great Tele rhythm or lead pickup if you want more bite and a modern aggressive attack.

The Alt '88 Telecaster Neck comes without cover to let more of the attack come through. It can also be RW/RP if required.

You can buy a calibrated Bridge & Neck set of my Hot Alt '88 Handwound Telecaster Pickups here

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A Warmer, Richer telecaster Bridge Tone

Designed with a custom scatterwound pattern for richer harmonics wound directly around a custom Alnico 2 magnet, the Sonic '60 for Telecaster has a richer, fatter tone yet still keeping much of the classic Tele twang.

Available in two versions, a standard output 6.9k pickup and a hotter 9.4k version, its a great lead pickup if you're looking for something a little different in the Tele bridge position.

The coil is shorter than a standard tele pickup, a little wider and when coupled with the custom Alnico 2 magnet gives a unique warmer, fatter tone rich in harmonics.

Vintage cloth pushback hookup wire, wax potted with copper plated steel baseplate and vintage style string coil protection help make this a unique take on the classic tele sound.

You can buy a calibrated Bridge & Neck set of my Handwound Telecaster Pickups here

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Custom Telecaster Sized, P90 Design Bridge Pickup

A P90 pickup in a standard Telecaster Bridge size. The Creamery Telecaster sized P90 pickup houses two unpolished Alnico 5 magnets and a fat 43AWG coil wound around a custom, handcrafted P90 middle bobbin, hand shaped to fit a standard Telecaster Bridge. Huge, fat single-coil tones still with clarity, presence & a defined voice. Get the grit of a P90 in a standard Telecaster Bridge size. Great fat, rounded clean tones - turn up the gain and let the pickup scream.

The geometry of the standard Tele Bridge Pickup size as opposed to a standard P90 means there will always be a slight difference in tone between the two pickups as the coil will be slightly narower - Its for this reason I don't call it a "true" P90 although I've voiced this pickup to sound close, somewhat similar to my Humbucker sized P90 pickup. A higher output, fat single-coil tone in a standard Tele Bridge sized pickup that also keeps some of the classic Tele characteristics..

You can buy a calibrated Bridge & Neck set of my Handwound Telecaster Pickups here

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Biting, Attacking, Late '70s Tone

Inspired by the New Wave/Post Punk era of the late '70s & early '80s, the Red '79 Telecaster Bridge Pickup has that brittle, bright attack & scooped mids associated with much of the music of that era. The lower in output, 42AWG coil wrapped around Custom Alnico 5 magnets gives you that cutting tone great with effects (a little phase, a little chorus ;-). I settled on the final design (after many versions) to create a pickup that has that bright, brittle tone without the ice-pick shrillness of lower wound pickups. To achieve this the coil is wound slightly shorter with a looser scatterwound pattern to achieve the balance I was looking for.

With the staggered magnet the tone is concentrated more around the D & G strings for a spikier attack whereas with the flat pole version the tone is rounded a little more as the tone is spread evenly through all strings. There's also the option to have the pickup without the Telecaster baseplate for more of a cutting stratocaster bridge tone.

If you're looking for a set, the Red '79 can be matched up with my Classic Telecaster Neck and I can custom wind them to create a great calibrated set. Just get in touch.

NOTE: If Red really isn't your thing you can always order it in White or Black vintage String as well ;-)

You can buy a calibrated Bridge & Neck set of my Handwound Telecaster Pickups here

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A Strat tone Pickup for the Tele Neck Position

This is my own handwound take on the Fender® Twisted Tele Neck Pickup - A true direct drop-in replacement for the Telecaster neck position where a fatter, strat tone is required.

Like the Twisted Tele I make my handwound 'Extra Width' Tele neck pickup with taller magnets help me wind thicker 42AWG coil wire to around 6k giving a fatter, more Stratocaster sounding pickup for the Tele Neck position.

A warmer, fatter, strat tone for your Tele Neck position - a custom, handwound alternative to the hard-to-get Fender® Twisted Tele Pickup.

You can buy a calibrated Bridge & Neck set of my Handwound Telecaster Pickups here

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Replacement Pickups & Sets Designed for the '72 Custom Telecaster

*and 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981 & reissue Tele Custom Guitars

My Creamery handwound pickups & sets for the 1972 Custom Telecaster (Custom '72 Tele) are direct drop-in replacements. Featuring a choice of handwound Bridge Pickups and my Classic '71 True Design Wide Range Humbuckers, I make them as a custom calibrated set so there's no real sudden volume jump or drop when switching positions.

Calibrated Replacement Tele Custom Pickup Set - Balanced for Volume across the positions

With the original pickups & reissue pickup sets often unbalanced, there can be sudden volume drops & jumps when switching between Bridge & Neck positions. I often make Tele Custom '72 Pickup Sets to offer much more even volume levels for much more even switching.

True Design Wide Range Humbucker for the Neck Position

Unlike the modern reissue pickups, my replacement '72 Tele Custom neck position Wide Range Humbucker is true to the original '70s Seth Lover design with individual threaded magnets and internal ferrous reflector pates using special parts I have had custom made. Such a versatile pickup, it balances the warmth of a humbucker with the clarity & definition of a single-coil. The original design was more of a 'Doubled'Up' single coil rather than a humbucker; you can read about my true replica Classic '71 Wide Range Humbuckers here.

Available with covers in custom yellowed bare nickel, nickel, chrome and my hand-aged chrome or nickel covers, you can order a single neck position here - Neck Position Wide Range Humbucker for a '72 Custom Tele.

Balanced Bridge Position Pickup

With the bridge pickup of the '72 Custom Telecaster & Tele Custom reissue guitars often much lower in output, there can be somewhat of a sudden volume jump when switching through the positions. I often custom make a '72 Tele custom bridge position to counter this and be more balanced volume-wise. Whether it be a variation on my Vintage 1 Nocaster, Vintage 2 Broadcaster, Hot Alnico 5 or Alt-88 Tele Bridge Pickup I make the set calibrated to be more even, whilst still keeping to the characteristics of the classic Tele bridge.

You can buy a calibrated Bridge & Neck set of my Handwound '72 Custom Telecaster Pickups here

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Reviews of Handwound Telecaster Pickups