Broad Caster Pickups

Hi, my name is Michael, from Germany. I have now your Kinmann Telecaster Set in my Amercian Standard Tele. I sounds so great now. After trying moore than 150 Pickups accross all my guitars I didn't expect that a pickup alone could make such a difference.

I've recently put the Broadcasters through the paces, both live and in the studio, and, I must say, they have more than exceeded my expectations. Both p'ups are strong! I love the sweet mids in the bridge, and the neck p'up has the perfect amount of bell-tone mixed with a nice top end. Every position on the 4-way solderless control panel is nice. I even used the "in-series" position on a song for an album yesterday. Such versatility! And NO hum!!! I'll be back for more, I promise. I have a Gibson LP Special that could use some good P-90s. I'll be hittin' you up soon. Regards, John Carroll

My bother built me a tele with Kinman broadcasters and it changed my world!

Hi Chris! I bought some Tele and Strat pickups from you back in '05 when I was touring with Jesse McCartney. Anywho, I'm working on Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark on Broadway and I was able to get a Telecaster sent to the theater from Fender so the show could have a permanent guitar. Bono and Edge wrote the music so tone is really specific for the show and I wrote all of my parts using my Tele with your pickups! Thanks so much for all you've done - my Tele is ALL over Carney's music and in most things I do...I've switched out pickups a few times to try different things but I always come back to my Blue JD Tele with your pickups :-)

Mr. Kinman, I have had several other brands of pickups and you are the first I have ever felt the need to personally say thank you. THANK YOU!! I must apologize as I did not purchase my pickups directly from you but found a used set. I will say this, having played them, I would not hesitate to pay full price for your pickups. I originally purchased the Tele Broadcasters for a G&L ASAT Classic and fell in love with the tone. The guitar itself had too many issues so I purchased an American Deluxe tele and put your pickups before ever playing it! I was so impressed, that I bought a set of your strat Blues for my American Deluxe V-neck. I thought Fender did a good job on the SCNs as I A/B'd them to a strat with Custom 54's in it and they were very close. After putting in the Blues set, I realize I didn't know what I had been missing, they are over the top! They have a great tasty bite and snarl, not to mention the clarity. Now both my guitars sing! Thank you so much!!

OK, I finally got my Broadcaster pickups. After my rig was set up, I slung the Tele over my shoulder, turned on my Boogie, played a few notes and chords, and crapped in my pants. Suddenly I'm convinced you are from another planet. The guitar was breathing, it just wanted me to help it along, hold on and let it do it's thing. Now if you don't know, this is my third set of Kinman’s. The 69's, the 56's and now these Broadcasters. I want ask you what you eat or drink, are you on a special diet? Do you have Asian women catering to your every need? OK, I'm finished. There was a reason I stumbled upon your web site two years a go. Oh I know, so I could have guitars that sound ridiculously REAL. Well, I finally figured out what I liked about the Fralins that I took off, the name! Great name. LINDY FRALIN..........but that's it. No offense to the big guy, but he missed the boat, unless you like guitars that hurt your teeth. There are some guitarists out there that do. Boy, it's a good thing you don't live in New York, I'd be over your house every morning with coffee and donuts. I figured it was the guitar that didn't have the capability of sounding really good, but was so wrong. I realize now, any Strat or Tele can be made to sound unbelievable with a set of Kinman Pick ups. Thank You,Phil Antonucci, Your largest fan

When I got my Tele Chris was still inventing his Tele pickups and I lived with the noise till this past Christmas when I decided to order a set of his Broadcasters. As a rule, I don't like 'hot' pickups, but my Thinline sounded so thin and brittle that I figured the extra punch wouldn't hurt. I am knocked out every time I plug in. They sound nothing like those Fender vintage noiseless p-ups. If that's what your average noiseless pickups sound like, I've saved myself a lot of time & money. A buddy I play with swears by his DiMarzio virtual vintage IIs, but he features modern hi gain amps and I'm still stuck on my old blackfaces and Voxes. Tried Bardens once and realized then that while I love Danny's playing, that tone is not for me. Up here you just can't get most of the exotic pickups that everyone's raving about elsewhere and you know what? I don't care. These AVn-48s are staying in my Tele. This Telecaster is now the best sounding electric guitar I own. BTW, you’re right about the strings. they do last longer. I guess I could have employed all those ambiguous superlative adjectives so many use when trying to describe "tone", but Kinman pickups speak volumes for themselves. eastsidedave commenting on The Fender Forum [http://www.thefenderforum.com/] April 2005

Subject: What happened when I fitted my Kinman broadcaster pickups.................... You can’t polish a turd????? I recently ordered a set of Kinman Broadcaster pickups. After trying just about every single boutique manufacturer I thought 'what the hell'. I collect Telecasters and they are pretty much all I play. I have got some good gear but the one Guitar that had always got the better of me was a 1973 telecaster standard. I tried and tried to get a decent sound out of it (just about every pickup known to man) but all to no avail. We have a saying in Bradford (YORKSHIRE-UK)-"You can't polish a turd". This basically means that what is inherently bad can't be made good- no matter what you do to it. This 1973 Telecaster was basically the turd that could not be polished- Untill I gave it a set of Kinman broadcaster pups. After fitting them everything changed. I literally played for 7 hours solid. The sound from the neck pickup is now staggering. I have never been a strat player because I just cant afford the sort of money you need for a good one (I am talking pre CBS). New strats sound (to my ears, anyway) like soul-less nonsense- a total waste of money, anyway, to the point. In the neck position my 1973 telecaster sounds like a superb strat. SRV, Hendrix - the sound you search for- there it was- On a Telecaster! I cannot recommend this particular pickup enough (AVN 48n). Well done Chris- You have triumphed where all others have failed by proving that you can in fact, polish a turd!

Hi Chris, just a short note to let you know that I installed your Broadcasters in Muddy. Absolutely beautiful sound and I couldn't be happier. I have another tele which has a set of Dimarzio Twang Kings installed. Comparing the two guitars amplified (through a stock standard Fender HR Deluxe) is a revelation. One word comes to mind with your Broadcasters - BALLS. Pure grunt and muscle and deadly silent. When I become a bit more financial the Twang Kings (as sweet sounding as they are) will be ripped out and substituted with a set of your 60's Custom. Many thanks for your time and my best wishes for the future. Cheers, Craig. PS: I also love your Woodstock Plus p/u's

Mr. K, I just want to drop a note to you concerning your pups and customer service. The pups sound fantastic!!!!! Weather it was through my Blues Jr. or my 2-Rock these things just sing. Articulate, sweet, and warm at all 3 switch positions. Even my sound guy said that they sit better in the mix, and have a much sweeter tone clean or dirty. (My sound man!) And they are absolutely QUIET! You have a new convert to the Kinman Church of Tone! Many Thanks

My Broadcasters are installed in a '94 Tele that is supposed to be some kind of Japanese Custom Shop 50th Anniversary model. The tone on your pickups is quite a bit more "brassy" than the stock Fender. I played the guitar for about a month with no pickguard so I could make height adjustments now here’s the things that I notice most: 1. These pickups do not squeal. I have a Mesa Mark III that I play through most of the time (LOTS of gain) and all I get is tube rush through the speaker while I'm not playing. VERY quiet. 2. The pickups are both very articulate and pure-sounding. When you play a chord, you hear the individual notes blending together - not a mush of notes - almost like a piano chord. Strings are very even in output, no dominant strings. 3. Now the Tele doesn't have the "Ice Pick Treble" syndrome. The stock pickups went way beyond "Tele twang"....almost like a characture of what you are really looking for with this guitar. Now, the guitar is more manageable and easier to control. You might wish for just a smidge more bite in the upper midrange, but I was able to get where I wanted to go with a couple of tweaks to the Mesa's Mid and Treble controls. No sweat. Overall, I'm a happy camper. It was worth the investment and things are good.

Had your Broadcaster Pickups installed. The tone is so good I can't put the guitar down. These pickups replaced Anderson pickups that came with the guitar. I consider this purchase a major upgrade to an already wonderful guitar. Thank you!!

Hello Kinman, I have your Broadcaster set, words cannot describe the tone of this guitar now. It is seriously like playing a new tele. I did not think the improvement would be so wonderfully drastic. The tone I get with your 48s is so much fatter and thicker - the best way I can describe it is before it was a little slap-tone and now it's seriously a punch in the face! I even feel like the guitar body is resonating with satisfaction - I can hear every nuance of my playing and it's fantastic. When I hit overdrive/distortion, it totally takes you to another world - so much punch and clarity and it just oozes with tone. Your re-creation of the broadcaster tone has so much relevance for a modern rock guitar player - so much so that your pickups are essential to that tone. Very versatile - thank you so much for working so hard and dedicating so much passion into your work - it definitely shows through craft and sonics!!! Thanks again for all your help and these amazing pickups!

Hi to all the Kinman staff. What can I say! After hearing so much about Kinman pickups on-line and reading the Total Guitar review, I ordered a set of Broadcaster pickups and was pleasantly surprised with the service and speedy delivery. It was with some trepidation that I pulled my beloved Telecaster to bits and attacked it with a soldering iron, there being no “guitar techs” here to speak of, and again I was pleasantly surprised with the clear and concise instructions and the quality of the Broadcasters. Anyway, about two hours later I plugged her in and was just blown away by the difference the pickups made! Warm, full bodied……..kinda like my wife…….and NO hum!!! I cannot give these a big enough rap because where the Telecaster had been brittle and icy at times particularly on the bridge pickup, the Broadcaster gave even my clumsy playing a completely new dimension. Even my mate with a PRS humbucker setup was impressed with the difference! I can’t thank you enough for producing such a quality piece of gear and I urge any Tele owners out there who are looking to upgrade to do themselves a big favour and check out Kinman pickups. Warmest Regards, Neil Wise