When I first heard about the Twang King, I assumed based on the name, that it would be good for country but not much else, but I was wrong. After doing a lot of reading online and watching lots of reviews, I saw that the neck pickup in particular was receiving lots of praise, so I decided to give it a go. -
This neck pickup sounds rich, warm and full and is very responsive to dynamics. It has a great clarity and chime to it, that cuts through in a mix, or live band setting, without being too bright. It sounds fantastic played clean, and has a certain smoothness and 'sweetness' with crunch tones. (I am aware that I am using words to describe a sound, but they are the closest descriptions I can give via a written review).
They definitely retain a true telecaster tone, and they really nail that 'quack' in the middle position that we all know and love, whilst adopting some slight Strat-like character in their beefiness when played in the neck position. They really brought my Squier Classic Vibe 50's Telecaster to life! Whilst it is a fantastic guitar and many leave it completely stock, I felt the neck pickup, despite being brilliant in it's own right, to be slightly lacking for my tastes.
Replacing the stock neck pickup with a Dimarzio Twang King instantly brought out all the amazing qualities of this guitar and I dare say, it rivals many Tele's I've played that cost 3 times as much! I can't put it down! Since installing this pickup, I'm really loving the clean sounds I am able to dial in, but I also often play with some crunch, and more higher-gain tones. For context, I play Rock, Jazz, Blues, Funk, RnB and various different genres of music, and this pickup handles them all tremendously well, even heavier rock! (just maybe not stuff like death metal, haha). But it responds very well to gain, and in my opinion, this may just be one of the best neck pickups you could install in a Telecaster, especially considering the price. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a little more out of their Telecasters' neck position, as this is a high quality, fantastic sounding pickup that is very versatile too!
