Big Single
Fat, Round Single Coil Tone, No Hum
$165 – $330
A Lindy Fralin original design! The Big Single is a Humbucker that has a big, round single-coil sound with no hum. It’s beefier than our Twangmaster but cleaner and more articulate than our Hum-Cancelling P-90. We offer two versions: The Big Single 42, and the Big Single 43.
Note:
To ensure proper operation of your Big Single, install the pickup with the lead exiting the treble side of the pickup, not the bass side.
Quick Links
Jump to Sound Clips and more Info:
All Single Coil Tone, No Hum.
Want to learn more about our Big Single? Here's all the information you'll need:
Features:
The Big Single is one of Lindy Fralin’s original designs. Based on his desire to improve the tone of a Mini-Humbucker, Lindy’s innovation led to the Big Single. Lindy was pleased with this new design so much, that he worked it into a standard Humbucker cover. With this design, you’ll get a dynamic, round single-coil tone – with no hum. We pack all this fat tone by hand into a great looking No-Hole Humbucker Cover.
- Hum-Cancelling Thick Single Coil Tone, in a Humbucker Cover
- Very versatile – can cover a wide array of styles, outputs, and tones
- Lindy Fralin Original Design
- 2-Coil design with a bar magnet for silent, huge tone
- A dynamic, rich, warm tone
- Hand-carved bar magnet can accommodate up to 2 1/4 string spacing
- 10 Year Warranty against manufacturing defects
Sound
The Big Single is one of our best-selling guitar pickups – for a good reason. Clean, warm and vibrant, this unique design is directly in-between the tone of our Fralin P-92 and our Fralin Twangmaster. It has a beefier, bolder tone than our Twangmaster, but cleaner and more ‘Fender-like’ than our P-92. Treble strings sound warm and fat, and wound strings sound bright and clear, like all Fender-style pickups. This design comes in two models: the Big Single 42, and the Big Single 43.
The Big Single 42 will sound cleaner and brighter, and work well with 250K Pots. The Big Single 43 will seem thicker and darker and can work well with 500K pots. In either case, each model features a bouncy, rich, and full midrange and top-end. Great for either clean playing or distortion, this pickup will break up a little earlier than our Twangmaster, and is excellent for anyone looking for beefy, rich single-coil sound, with no hum.
Sound Samples for Big Single:
Compare Outputs
We have 2 outputs of our Big Single. Compare them below.
About these Sound Clips:
All sound samples are played from Neck Position First and Bridge Position Last.
Tonal Graph For Big Single:
The tonal graph below for our Big Single features Lows, Midrange, Highs, and general Output.
Big Single 42:
Attack: Bright & Sharp
Big Single 43:
Attack: Stiff & Percussive
Videos for Big Single:
Lead Color Codes:
See below for our Lead color codes. For help with matching to other manufacturers, check out this resource here.
Gibson Braided Lead:
Gibson-Style instruments
Phase Reversible
Coil Splitting
2-Conductor Lead:
Phase Reversible
Tech Specs:
See below for the estimated DCR and Polarity Information for our Big Single.
| SPECIFICATION | VALUE |
|---|---|
| Neck Ohm Reading: | 8.7K (42) | 12.2K (43)* 1 |
| Bridge Ohm Reading: | 10K (42) | 15.2K (43)* 1 |
| Neck Polarity: | Hum Cancelling - Use 2-Conductor Lead when Buying a Single |
| Bridge Polarity: | Hum Cancelling - Use 2-Conductor Lead when Buying a Single |
| Magnet: | Flexible Ferrite Magnet |
| Coil: | USA-Made 42 / 43 Gauge Single Poly Nylon |
| Recommended Pot Value: | 250K (42) | 500K(43) |
| Cover Material: | USA-Made Nickel Silver |
| Baseplate Material: | USA-Made Nickel Silver |
| Recommended Cap Value: | 0.02mfd 2 |
More Information:
1 Ohm Readings can vary due to a multitude of factors, including ambient temperature, multimeter calibration, different wire batches, and other factors. Due to this, ohm readings are approximate. Learn more about Ohm Readings here.
2 We recommend a 0.02mfd Cap Value on most guitar and bass pickups. The exception is a Magic Cap, which Lindy prefers on the Bridge Pickup of Fender® guitars only. Learn More about Caps Here.
Big Single Dimensions:
Big Single FAQ's
General FAQs
Here are quick answers to common questions we get:
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What Ohm Readings does your Big Single have?
Navigate to our Tech Specs Tab for complete Ohm Readings and more useful information.
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Will this pickup fit my instrument?
Check our "Sizing" tab for the size of the pickup. No Sizing tab? Check under the product image gallery for dimensions.
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Is your Lead Time of 3-4 Weeks accurate?
It really depends on the shop capacity at the moment, and the size of your order. Feel free to give us a call for an accurate lead time. We always try to underpromise and overdeliver.
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What pickup height do you recommend setting your Big Singles to?
Our recommended Pickup Height is 1/8" (3.175mm) on the Bass Side and 1/16"( 1.5875mm) on the Treble Side. Measure by holding the corresponding side down at its highest fret and measure from the bottom of the string to the top of the pole piece.
Pickup Pairing
Our Big Single pairs well with the following models:
Blues Special Tele - Bridge
Starting At: $ 110
The Big Single 42 Neck and the Blues Special Tele Bridge are a great combination
View Product
Blues Special Strat - Neck & Middle
Starting At: $ 99
Put the Big Single 42 in the Bridge of a HSS Strat, and the Blues Specials will pair nicely
View Product
Sunbucker Blues® - Bridge
Starting At: $ 160
Put a Big Single 43 in the Neck and a Sunbucker Blues in the Bridge - you'll thank us later
View ProductFeatured Reviews
Reviews We Worked Hard For, and Are Proud Of
Customer Reviews
41 Genuine Reviews for Big Single
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Incredible. I dropped the Big Single 42 into the neck position of my Epiphone Dot at the beginning of 2018 and it’s the only guitar I’ve used since(I also have a Tele, a Custom Les Paul, Standard Les Paul and a Fender Jaguar). I play it through a custom “LABAMBA” Verellen Amplifier. I generally grab the guitar that is best suited for the genre and now I just default to this combo as it sounds great everywhere. The combo of the humbucker and the Big Single is a dream come true. It has that bright tele, single coil tone but wipes away the noise. Which is tough with a semi-hollow body guitar. Can’t recommend this pick-up enough.
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I had these installed in my Music Man Albert Lee HH, which had very hot pickups that lacked tonal depth and clarity when using clean settings. I wanted pickups in my guitar that were closer to the spank and sparkle of my Fender Jaguar pickups but housed inside the awesome Music Man guitar design. The Big Singles delivered. They were better than I anticipated. My guitar finally has great tone that sounds like an overwound single coil but without the hum. These pickups are fat and colorful, they are not dull or sterile like my previous stock pickups. The Fralins also increased my guitar’s touch sensitivity. I bought the 42 gauge and use my guitar’s stock 500k pots and it sounds great and balanced. Not too dark and definitely not shrill or overly bright; PERFECT!
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Big Single, bridge – unique and versatile pickup.
Immediately after installing this bridge pickup and testing it out both clean and with numerous types of dirt, it was apparent that this was everything Lindy Fralin stated in his product description was true. Combined with 50s wiring it provided many pleasing and usable sweet spots and even blended well with the gold foil in the neck position. If it can put a smile on Joe Gore’s face ( see his YouTube review) then it must be something special. In short harmonically rich with plenty of output……..a tad sweeter than a P90.
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Absolutely incredible! I put the Big Single in the bridge of my 2014 Ernie Ball Silhouette Special (strat-style axe if you’re not familiar), and the sparkle and thickness is exactly as described. ULTRA sparkly but not harsh or too bright. Really sweet and thrilled to death with it. Get it.
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Pickups are great and exceed my expectations. I changed the SUHR pickup. BIG SINGLE is the perfect tone for TELE in my heart. I used a 500K POT and have not tried 250K. ? Used in conjunction with Split Steel Poled Tele, they match perfectly
thank you very much. I will keep it forever -
Great all rounder
I got the 42 bridge, to match a Strat Neck. I was pleasantly surprised at how great the match is, in every position. It is a colorful pickup with just enough bite and compression to sing, while staying snappy like a single coil. It is an inspiring little device that makes me want to play more.
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I replaced my Gibson Dickey Betts SG custom bucker to a Big Single humbucker. This pickup is the best.
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Success! Beautiful creamy sound. Paired very well with a PATB-3 in the bridge.
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I love the Big Single pickup, it seems to pair perfectly with my guitars. Lindy and Tyler worked with me to create a custom Big Single to fit a P90 route. All-around great pick up and customer service :-). Thanks guys!!
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Beautiful and Harmonically Rich
The Big Single is a huge improvement over my previous Wilkinson neck pickup. It’s very clear and clean sounding, with a warm and pleasant lower midrange. It sounds great with fuzz and tube OD as well. 10/10 -
As per my discussion with Lindy, I would like a mid-focused, slightly dark pickup which is capable of breaking up a bit. This is for an electric 12-string instrument.
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Perfection!
The perfect balance of clarity and power. Kinda reminds me of a gold-foil, but it’s really its own thing. I put this pickup in the bridge position of my PRS Vela and haven’t looked back… -
I bought my set of Big Singles probably 6 years ago. I ordered them for a PRS Starla. I think of the Starla as PRS’s take on an SG with a Bigsby, except the stock pickups were horrible. I don’t know what they were going for, but they sounded grainy harsh and just bad with any kind of overdrive. I was about to sell the guitar….. but then I talked to Lindy. I told him that I really wanted the guitar to be versatile, with a big round clean sound (not harsh or too edgy) and a smooth break-up. He recommended the Big Singles with 7k/8k turns. I believe this is the 43 gauge set. These pickups really delivered. They’re super smooth and round sounding and have a really sweet overdriven tone. I’ve owned 7 or 8 PRS guitars over the years. I always love the way they look, but never really dig the sound, and I always dis-like their pickups…. too overwound / hot / harsh sounding. The Starla has been the only PRS guitar that I have held on to, and it’s because these pickups brought it to life. It sounds great acoustically, but the stock pickups were really bad, in my opinion. If you’re looking for something that’s a little bit unique in that it doesn’t sound like a PAF or a Strat Pickup, but very versatile, try the Big Singles. I’m really glad I did and I think you will be too.
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I put this in the neck of my telecaster. It is combined with a blues special in the bridge which was already there. I talked to Lindy at length about what a good hum bucking pick up would be in the neck. I didn’t want to over power the bridge. We opted with the big single, 42 ga, 6000 winds. It is still slightly more output than the bridge but not massively so.
I absolutely love the sound of this pickup. It is fat and warm like a traditional humbucker but still has that single coil clarity. I love it for blues and jazzy chords. I still get all the tele twang and snap with by bridge pickup. Also, when I combine them in the middle position I get a nice warm, complex sound. Very nice. Also, dead quiet. (it is actually dead quiet in all positions. The bridge of the blues special has a base plate which really quiets it down. When I had the humbucker installed I also shielded the guitar. So that combination of shielding and pickups makes the guitar quiet in all pickup positions)
This combination gives the guitar a tremendous amount of versatility. I have two pretty nice Strats in addition to this guitar. A Jeff Beck with Kinman pickups and a Roadhouse with Texas Specials. Both are very wonderful sounding guitars. But I find myself reaching for this guitar first most of the time.
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Neck Big Single, Installed in my Tele. Very satisfied.
Better than expectations (were already high), clear, bold, round, warm, soft, not as conventional Gibson type humbucker nor shrill; would say a very personal and sophisticated sound. Have a solid state amp, so the impressions are basically in the clean mode. -
The right sound! I have a project guitar that just didn’t quite have the “right” sound. I had used the Big Single in another project a couple of years ago and was impressed with it. After listening to all the YouTube videos, I decided to give it a try in this project. It is the right sound. Think if it as clean with body. No mud, articulate and strong!
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Customer added no additional comments
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This pickup has become a standard on my guitars. Players looking for sensitivity, responsiveness, and expression fall in love with it.
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The guys worked with me to find a pickup that would help get my PRS S2 Starla in more of the Americana/country vibe. I got the 42 gauge standard 6800/6000 wind set with Raw Nickel covers. I’m completely satisfied with the results. Clarity & snap increased. I’ve used the guitar live & for recording since the change and it works great for Americana, blues & country. I put together a quick demo of the original sounds & then the big singles: https://youtu.be/buS3Z1RgTi8
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I put a set of Lindy Fralin Big Singles in my Ibanez AS73 Tobacco Burst guitar about 6 months ago. The stock pickups were ok, but not amazing. The Big Singles brought it to life. I’ve always liked single coils better than humbuckers, but single coil noise has always driven me crazy. It was always been worth dealing with the noise, but still annoying. Mr. Fralin had rewound a dead 1969 Telecaster neck pickup for me about 20 years ago and that has been my favorite all along. I have other Fralin’s in a Strat and like them as well. When I heard about the Big Singles I knew they would be worth a try.
I got the 42 gauge standard 6800/6000 wind set with Gibson braided shield and Raw Nickel covers. They look great and sound incredible!
I had previously modded the 500k pots in the Ibanez with a treble bleed cap and resistor to try to retain the highs as I rolled off the volume. I was going to remove these and put in 250k pots as recommended but, I figured there was no point changing something that may not need it. I’m glad I didn’t. I love the 500k with these pickups. For the first time ever, I have full control over my tone! Super bright to full mud if I want it and everything on between. Tonal possibilities are endless with just the three way switch, tone, and volume controls on the guitar. Forget about a bunch of pedals when all you need is a decent guitar good amp and these pickups.
USE YOUR TONE AND VOLUME CONTROLS!!!
Without a doubt, these are hands down my FAVORITE pickups.
All of the tone of single coils and NONE OF THE NOISE! Lindy Fralin is THE Best Pickup Winder on the planet!!!!For those who care, I’ve been playing for over 40 years. I have many guitars, amps, pedals, etc. from vintage to modern. Enjoy and play most types of music. And I RARELY write reviews, especially long ones. I have no affiliation with Fralin Pickups or any other company.
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