DiMarzio Twang King Neck & The Chopper T Bridge Pickups for Richie Kotzen

Extraordinary musician Richie Kotzen of The Winery Dogs plays and talks about his Twang King and Chopper T pickups, his signature Fender Telecaster, and The Winery Dogs' new record and tour.
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[@droliver]

Why this guy isn’t a household name is beyond me. Just so ridiculously talented

[@jonrocker1983]

he's even beyond being a ridicuously talented guitar player (and singer, and bass player, and drummer, and piano player ecc ecc)

[@addicted2tone349]

rob oliver I don't think he wanted to be a household name. He wanted to make the music that was important to him. He took the cash he made from his time in Poison and was able to do that. He's an amazing musician.

[@castanonw]

Kotzen has so much soul and has outstanding skill great taste for a signature tele

[@TMoody]

The Chopper is the best pickup out there.

[@chriss2452]

This guitar is $3000 in my country. I find that extremely overpriced, good thing you can get the twang king and copper t pups and put in your existing guitar.

[@thomasgraben123]

Your right hand technique is amazing - I play without a pick too and , if you have the time Richie, a video on that would be brilliant. Great video. Thanks.

[@lfader]

This dude's just fxxking ridiculous with his playing ......⚡🌟⚡

[@mhollandtag]

Very cool ! RK's The Master ! Love that tone.

[@digitalchris6681]

Ah, now I see why my Tele sounds crap: it doesn’t have a small white plastic disc under the volume control.

[@michaelmaier7262]

That's a tuner gizmo.

[@MyFirstGen]

That’s called a “ Round to it “ I’ll do something about the sound when I get a round to it.

[@shreddievanhalen1]

@@michaelmaier7262 someone doesn’t know what a joke is 🤯

[@gtrpimp76]

I can listen to him play for days and it wouldn't get boring at all. He keeps it interesting and soulful.

[@ManosRK]

His right hand is KILLER!!!!!

[@bon086]

OK thanks for the tip Sir LarryDiMarzio

[@jonathananthony1901]

I just installed these pickups into my MIM Fender Player Tele, HOLY WOW!! They are absolutely incredible. Coming from being a Les Paul and PRS player normally, the stock pickups just felt lifeless. These are perfect for me! Maybe they don't have that "purist" Telecaster sound, but I love them!

[@SteveKaynan]

Thanks for writing this, I'm considering doing the same to my Telecaster. Did it also widen the sound a bit as well?

[@elektrodenio]

Richie is a really talented performer!And his sound is awesome(specially his marshally,plexi kind of sound).Seeing him play makes me want to get a telecaster and twang away!

[@DeadGlassEyes]

His legato is so goddamn good he doesn't even need a pick anymore. He runs through all his lines like it's nothing, crazy talented dude, always has been.

[@michelleholland9916]

Very cool ... RK's The Master !!

[@jameswoynilko7962]

The most underrated guitarist/singer/songwriter ever!

[@adrianmoore8840]

james woynilko fuckin hell yes m8 the best guitarist ove ever seen live an thats a fact an ive seen some awesome bands

[@jameswoynilko7962]

Adrian Moore yes!..I'm sure you have seen the vids of him,Gilbert and Lynch jamming together...Kotzen owns it AND he has that voice!

[@AceFrehleyLesPaul]

I just bought a Richie Kotzen Tele (my first and only Tele). The first selling feature for me was that it comes loaded with DiMarzio pickups (which I put into all my guitars) and 'mens' frets (they're Dunlop 6000s). The pickups are KILLER and so is the guitar. DiMarzios are the best pickups on the planet ... the end !!

[@LarryDiMarzio]

Hi, Thanks for the kind words. All the best, Larry DiMarzio

[@iandavidson4852]

Richie is the freakin master isn't he? Both hands are amazing...amazing funk and soul feel then boom! Ferocious, fiery leads. Killer.

[@JoshFazzz]

I built my own tele and put both of these pickups in it. They sound soooo good.

[@viperBSG]

Theres nothing you can't do with a telecaster!

[@AaronNGBnTech]

No limits on a Telecaster! You can play from blues/country/ Jaz to death metal

[@Madchris8828]

Absolutely. I actually even love hard rock and even some metal on teles. Keeps its twang too!

[@theultimaterockr]

Larry DiMarzio You should release these as a set

[@mr.e8432]

I got his signature Tele last year, man that’s a great guitar. Those pickups sound amazing and the entire guitar is so well made. Like it so much I wound up selling my American standard Tele.

[@ChaserHUN]

With short hair he looks a lot like Ian somenhalder, or Ian looks like a lot like him Great sounding pickups btw :)

[@eeeejcicjn]

Chopper T or Super Distortion? Twang King or Area T?

[@diegorodguitar]

Chopper T if you want to keep the tele sound, Super distortion if you want a full humbucker sound. I haven't tried the neck pickups but i guess the twang king is more traditional

[@SixStringControl]

He should be playing “The Eye of the Tiger”!

[@pauloamw]

His tele is great and his non-pick technique is very fluent and cool, he's always been very good with legatos and hammer-ons and stuff, so I guess he does not miss using a pick that much.

[@tomaburque]

When the Winery Dogs album came out I was knocked out by Richie's playing and tone. So I put these pickups in my 10 year old Roadworn Tele and they are still there today. The Chopper is what really turns a Tele into a Rock and Roll machine.

[@andresantel2137]

The Saturation of his crunch channel is an eargasm, he's the only guitar player that inspired me to play Tele's

[@SteveKaynan]

Thanks for writing this I'm probably going to put these in my Telecaster. Did it also make it sound fuller?

[@mattchurchill]

Absolute KILLER guitar player. Been a big fan of Richie's playing for 20+ years. Tone for days.

[@scottperrin9655]

Damn, who knew Rocky Balboa was such a bad ass guitar player?

[@freebyrdwins]

You mean who'd knew Richie Kotzen was such a badass boxer, right?

[@jasonkerr931]

I have this guitar and I replaced the Chopper T with. Tone Zone T. Unreal power!!! Chopper T was great, but tone zone t blew me away. Also added push pull on it for splitting.

[@gwenaeldupont5384]

Chopper T is amazing, best pickup ever tried I have his guitar and sound is impressive

[@klepetar]

i have installed a twang king neck on my telecaster and it's better than what i expected.. it's even better than the other 'boutique' models i tried.. surprising how well it sounds and it makes my playing sound better...Dimarzio got it right on this one.. 10.10 larry

[@klepetar]

250 k pots.. can't go wrong

[@oceanastronaut]

Im using a Squier Tele like this and im playing post rock ambient kinda songs. Should i go for DiMarzio Chopper T or Super Distortion T? Please anyone help me i really dont know which one ia better and suits me.

[@sEaNoYeAh]

Hope you went for the Chopper. Super Distortion is a bit much for ambient, but if you want full on Russian Circles distortion something like the Super Distortion would work.

[@Stevewatson3]

Got the chopper in my tele it’s grand!

[@istvandejesus]

Hi. Are you using 250k or 500k pots?

[@orugamanagement4993]

The best band ever it’s like 3god monsters playing around grooves with soul rock blues R&B etc three virtuosos one of a kind guys just amazing and they can play a ballad as well some crazy shred

[@1985burock]

Richie this is best perfect style with dress-hat combine and your perfect vintage guitar... i think that all this is your signature style.. =)

[@tattooedsailor8666]

Chopper T is fantastic pup for hybrid Tele. I'm building Telemaster with one in the bridge.

[@MetalBuffalos]

what pickups did he have in his tele before 1996?

[@pb12661]

i think he played a stratocaster before that...

[@Emilee_is_slay]

@@pb12661 yep with dimarzio HS2s across

[@stefanseidler4731]

I put these in my 2017 Chapman ML3 Pro, and they make me smile every time I plug the guitar in. Such great pickups :)

[@mike1967sam]

Personally if i was plugging my album, I swear that I would say the following: "Yeah me and Gus and Joe recorded the album in my studio and I mean it really sucks. My playing is sooo fucking bad and Gus and Joe too, I mean I've never seen and heard them play such total and utter shit...I mean the album really sucks, it's probably impossible to buy a shittier album than mine, but hey go buy it and check it out."

[@addicted2tone349]

I have the Tone Zone S in my Strat and it is awesome! I may put this Chopper T in my Tele. Ritchie is my favorite guitarist of all time. Such an amazing musician!

[@Funkymojo75]

Hi Larry, I plan on getting a Twang King neck pup and Chopper T bridge pup. What pots would you recommend to get the best out of both the pups? The chopper T would work well with a 500k pot but the Twang King, 250k. What volume and tone pots would work best and with what capacitors? .022 or .047? Thanks

[@LarryDiMarzio]

Hi, I'm a fan of 500K, they're brighter and regarding the cap, I'd start with a .047, it's darker. and very Tele. However, this is a good starting point ... experiment. Hope that helps, Larry

[@Funkymojo75]

Thanks for the reply Larry. If I use 500k for both volume and tone. Will it affect the tone of the Twang King since it's single coil? I also saw on the Dimarzio website recommending 250k volume pot and 1 Meg tone pot. As for caps, I'll start with .047, if it's too dark, I'll switch to .022. Thanks

[@MilesMeakin]

Hi Larry, I am purchasing a strat with a floyd rose and want to give it pickups very very similar to what Jun Senoue uses (Seymour Duncan TB-4 in the bridge and the Seymour Duncan SSL-4 in the neck). Which pickups would you recommend? I Strictly use Dimarzio pickups and do not wish to use any other brand.

[@5150show]

The king.

[@muriloninja]

He makes me sick, so goddamn talented its ridiculous

[@Kdog-hw6ri]

One of my Fav Guitarists..Used to watch him Play in Reading , PA.

[@LucaMontana7]

Great video - tone sounds clean and different.

[@coffeewaldo]

Nice Richie. From philly :)

[@Quimerateck]

how much sustain has that pickup compared to a stock tele

[@sebastiaan.visser]

much

[@Pug_and_rock]

0:00~ which song is he playing?

[@SimonGuendling]

His song "24 hours"

[@AlbertGilmour]

24 hours

[@fivedaysinjune]

Dear Richie Please come to New Zealand. My friends and I would definitely come to your show. For sure!

[@GeddyLeesNoseHair]

Hey, Larry. What pots with these 250k or 500k??

[@JoshFazzz]

GeddyLeesNoseHair I did this exact setup in my tele. They're 500k

[@Belou240]

Wow I can really hear the tone of the wood 😑

[@cmeimgee]

lmao me too! amazingggg

[@telecaster9988]

Hi larry, i need some insight here. I want to get paul gilbert shred kind of tone like in fuzz universe album or fuzz universe song especialy. Could i get that tone with chopper t on my bridge? Or do you have any other recommendation for my bridge tele pickup? Im using fender tele amstrad 2009 with stock pickup right now Thanks in advance

[@myysticranger]

I have a parts caster tele with a pine body. trying to get more bite out of the bridge pickup. would this pickup, a Super distortion T or a SD hot rails be best. I'm a rock/metal player.

[@TheMichaelseymour]

best guitar i ever heard was a partscaster - it was just a grinding beast

[@KevinSmithdc]

Hotrails

[@earlspearl2933]

@@KevinSmithdc You are stupid ! the Duncan Hot rails are toneless . hotter but toneless . The DiMarzio rail pickups come in about ten versions . all of them KICK DUNCANS ASS !

[@Ratso_DeLynch]

Montana ranger did you end up getting the answer you were looking for?? I'm in the same boat as you pretty much - 100 year old pine - full rosewood Warmoth neck I like the fralin neck pup BUT like you I need something stronger in the bridge my goal is superstrat characteristics on a tele so I'm not against a mini hum but it would have to be a perfect one as even a stacked single coil still sounds too twangy /rip your ears off when playing on the high strings. Anything helps Thanks! -Adam

[@SandeepSingh-zc5sh]

The Chopper T in the bridge and a PAF Pro in the neck is quite a good combo, especially with a 5 way switch for the inner and outer coil tones

[@mabbatic]

What value Pots are on Richie's Guitar?

[@bayuda3924]

its more louder and thinner (dont know to explain) if you played with guitar pick.

[@Paregoric]

+bayu dwi aryoseno If you check out his solo music you can get a good idea of what it sounds like with a pick, everything up to his last 2 albums "the essential kotzen" and "cannibals" uses a pick

[@zulfitrisnanugraha]

is this guitar use treble bleed ?

[@KevinMillard68]

Awesome stuff man

[@davidvarela8739]

I was sure he used to play with a pick in his early famous years

[@wfdix1]

Trying out the Wilko Johnson style.

[@Emilee_is_slay]

He did, he takes about dropping the pick because he used to forget them, or lose them, and didn't want to borrow other people's because they were always in their mouth. He also had always been a legato player so it was an easy transition for him.

[@benjacksonuk]

Very nice sounding pickup's.

[@OlegVoronin]

Dear Larry, i have a set of the same pickups in my tele. I have only one problem that the twang king is much weaker volume wise than the chopper t. Does Richie set the pickup height in a special way to compensate the volume difference? Thank you.

[@LarryDiMarzio]

Hi, You might try backing the Chopper away from the strings. It is pretty sensitive, and a small difference in distance should make an obvious difference in output. Hope that helps, Larry DiMarzio

[@OlegVoronin]

thank you. will try that.

[@jimbob7332]

what are the extra switches for on that tele? and does it have the push pull knob on the tone pot?

[@tudobem12]

his volume knob has a tuner, the switch in the middle of the knobs turn on the tuner

[@wea69420]

Also no tone pot, the second knob is a 2 way rotary series/parallel switch.

[@LEUNN_]

Are the pickups that bassy?

[@romeou4965]

Playing without pick lowers the higher frequencies

[@rockhouse90]

Such dynamic pups on that beast!

[@wonjulee92]

I have them and they are very nice

[@leddreamzeppelin1]

Richie is the MAN!!!

[@jeffhunter9311]

I Have the Richie kotzen Signature Telecaster absolutely love It. I had to change out the Twang King ( Noise!!!) Not a good Combination a single coil Neck pickup with a stacked Bridge pickup with the Dimarzio Area T stacked pickup No-Noise beautiful tones

[@1truechamp46]

Most under rated player ever! He's the guy that should be in all the guitar mags

[@Holden-C.]

He is

[@bigjoeisgood]

Really cool !

[@evangelion045]

What volume pot do you think he is using?

[@robertsparks7244]

I really like 👍 the pick up upgrade

[@harleykingman]

ME WANT !!

[@alexiscallan3116]

hypercool playing

[@drksw56]

hey. larry !! I'd like to buy richie kotzen custom strat pickup set and could you recommend seller's internet site? plz....

[@LarryDiMarzio]

Hi, Richie's Strat is setup with 3 DiMarzio HS-2s but he only wires the top coil .... so it's not humbucking. We currently aren't making that pickguard so I suggest buying the HS2s at Musician's Friend and having them wired top coil only. Hope that helps, Larry

[@earlspearl2933]

don't try this with Duncan Hotrails !!! the DiMarzio pickups are the only way to get this character and articulation !!! my Telecasters all have this basic setup . I have a Tone Zone T combined with a Noiseless Neck Fender . perferct .

[@jasonc1899]

Do you have the tone zone set up with a split switch or do you keep it straight humbucker? I want to he able to split the coils but not if it's gonna sound like garbage.

[@addicted2tone349]

@@jasonc1899 I have a Tone Zone S in my Strat and I haven't split it yet but I'm planning on adding a switch when I take it back apart and change my middle and neck pickups. The Tone Zone S is fantastic! It really gives a Strat and a Tele some serious balls.

[@jimmessina]

Great setup

[@therealdavidleong]

hey y'all! y'all twangking and spanking?

[@bon086]

hi Sir LarryDimarzio can I install it in a telecaster with only a 3 way switch configuration without any coil taps or any additional switches?

[@LarryDiMarzio]

+Bjorn Villafuerte Hi, Sure, all DiMarzio pickups can be wired into standard mode (no coil tapping) check out the wiring diagrams in the support section of the DiMarzio website. Hope that helps, Larry DiMarzio

[@ashtonkoh6548]

How did he do the high pitch overtone at 1:10? It’s really amazing. I tried to set high gain drive and hold a note using the same model guitar but couldn’t get it. That makes me wonder what drive is he using.. could it be his signature OMG? :)

[@icedcoffeetones]

He's using a tube amp set just dirty, has volume up on the guitar and amp, stomps his overdrive hitting the front of the amp, the feedback it creates and his vibrato keep the note going indefinitely. Most overdrives will do this with a tube amp and mid to high output pickup. Get your guitar close to your speaker and give it a try. Then film it and do the Nigel Tufnel gag only amplified. ; )

[@jubjub905]

He has enough volume to make it feedback

[@maotemplar]

telecaster with this kind of pickups IS NOT A TELECASTER.

[@-thirteen]

Get off my lawn

[@ethanancona8236]

I diagnose you with small brain

[@R3dNordXLY]

It's Teleblaster

[@MikeAndersonvinyloldies]

Get off your high horse dude. Some people like the look of the tele and the feel of the neck, but they don't want twang city. Let people do what they want.

[@troll1441]

Fender has made Telecasters with humbuckers for many decades, sorry, but Fender gets to decide what is a Telecaster and what isn't, not you. If you prefer one with single coils they make plenty of models with them. Having options isn't a negative thing.

[@edwardcullenhotass]

LOL @ his "aggressive" style.

[@cebolla1987]

"agressive" is also how you attack the strings not only overdriven your signal