Blues Special Tele
Love playing your Telecaster again and know it finally has the voice it was always meant to with our Blues Specials. Wound with a 5% overwind from our Stock Teles, Blues Specials feature a punchy, warm tone that tames the harsh top-end from most Telecasters and helps you hear every nuance in your playing. Lastly, customize your appearance with our neck options and make your Telecaster a real eye-catcher with a look that suits you.
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100% Tele, Just a Bit Meaner.
Want to learn more about our Blues Special Tele? Here's all the information you'll need:
Blues Special Tele FEATURES:
Discover what you’ve been missing with our best-selling Telecaster pickups. Blues Specials feature a 5% overwind that emphasizes the midrange while taming the high-end for a warmer, thicker Telecaster tone that still sounds like a Tele. Built with all USA-Made parts, you can take pride knowing Lindy designed his Blues Specials with the highest quality materials available.
It starts here: Our manufacturing process allows us to achieve unparalleled quality control. Blues Specials consist of local fiberboard and USA-Made Alnico 5 Magnets. We wind each pickup by hand, one at a time, using our proprietary “Sectioning” technique for a sweet, unique tone. You can feel great knowing that we wound your pickups specifically for you. Finally, we wax-pot the pickup to prevent microphonics and preserve the pickup for years to come.
Features:
- 5% more coil than our Stock Tele set for a warmer, thicker tone
- Modified Fender specifications, optimized for output
- High output, but still has Fender sparkle
- Compensated Bridge for even volume across all pickups
- USA-made Alnico 5 Magnets for optimal tonal balance and output
- Two different magnet staggers for optimizing pickups for your instrument
- Hand-wound with our “Sectioning” technique for unique, dynamic tone
- Hand-built fiberboard Bobbins for unrivaled quality control
- Backed by our 10-Year Warranty on manufacturing defects
Sound
If you’re looking for balance – not too bright, not too dark, this set is for you. While playing clean, Blues Specials sound thick and creamy with open and clear highs and a thicker midrange. The overwound coil tames your highs and bumps your midrange – more than the Stock Tele Pickups, while you can expect more of a traditional Tele Tone than our Steel Pole 42s.
With distortion, you can expect a light compression, low-end growl, and a medium attack. Single notes sound thick and round, while chords have a full tone with an early breakup. Finally, Blues Special Pickups are for you if you’re looking for more output from your current pickups, but still want to keep that traditional Tele tone.
You’ll wonder why you didn’t make the switch earlier.
Are you looking for a Hum Cancelling Tele pickup that actually sounds like a Tele? Check out the Blues Output of our Split Blade Tele Pickups
Tonal Graph for Blues Special Tele:
The tone graph below for our Blues Special Tele features Lows, Midrange, Highs, and general Output.
Attack: Dynamic & Full
Tech Specs
See below for the estimated DCR and Polarity Information for our Blues Special Tele.
| SPECIFICATION | VALUE |
|---|---|
| Neck Ohm Reading: | 7.8K* |
| Bridge Ohm Reading: | 7.3K |
| Neck Polarity: | Counter Clockwise Coil Direction, North To Strings |
| Bridge Polarity: | Clockwise Coil Direction, South To Strings |
| Wire: | USA-Made 42 / 43-Gauge Single Poly Nylon |
| Magnet: | USA-Made Alnico 5 |
| Recommended Pot Value: | 250K |
| Recommended Cap Value**: | 0.02mfd |
**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.
*The Neck reads higher due to the use of 43 Gauge Wire, outputs are compensated
Sizing
Blues Special Tele Questions And Answers:
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Have a question about our Blues Special Tele? Ask it here. Your Question will be publically visible. If you want to ask a Private Question, please contact us through our Contact Us Form.
If you have multiple questions, please call us at (804) 358-2699.
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I have a Nashville deluxe, what do you recommend putting in the center pick up with the Blues Tele pick-ups?
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Q I have a Nashville deluxe, what do you recommend putting in the center pick up with the Blues Tel...... Read moreA
Hey Rick, our Blues Special Strat would be the perfect compliment to the set.
Can I add a cover to a Blues Special Tele neck and, if so, can I buy a cover from you ? Also, I just wanted to say that I have several guitars with your pickups and they are remarkable. Thanks for what you do
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Q Can I add a cover to a Blues Special Tele neck and, if so, can I buy a cover from you ? Also, I j...... Read moreA
Hey Pat, if you have the staggered magnets out of the top, you'll need to go with an Open Top cover. We don't sell our covers separately, but you can get them all at Philadelphia Luthier Tools
Hi I'm interested in a Blues special telecaster set of pickups. I want the neck pickup with no cover at all. Is the 4 way switching option not possible now since wire cant be soldered to cover. Thanks for your help
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Q Hi I'm interested in a Blues special telecaster set of pickups. I want the neck pickup with no co...... Read moreA
Hey Phil, we can still do that - you'll get two wires, White and Black. The magnets will be taped so you can achieve the modification still.
Hi, I have an Ultra tele. It has the “series” switch and noisless pickups. I’m thinking of trying the Fralin Blues Specials. Will the S1 switch still work? Are there any other issues with this setup?
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Q Hi, I have an Ultra tele. It has the “series” switch and noisless pickups. I’m thinking of trying...... Read moreA
Hey Jim, yes! Be sure to select "4-way switching modification" on the product Add Ons and Options.
Assuming I'm using a traditional bridge with brass saddles and mounting the bridge pickup with the provided screws, is a separate bridge ground wire required to ground the strings? Or does the metal plate beneath the bridge pickup negate the need for that.
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Q Assuming I'm using a traditional bridge with brass saddles and mounting the bridge pickup with th...... Read moreA
Hey Jordan, as long as your properly ground the Bridge Pickup using the supplied black wire, the steel plate grounds out the bridge assembly when the bridge pickup mounts to the bridge assembly.
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Go the extra mile and combine our Blues Special Tele with a Telecaster Control Plate!:
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308 Genuine Reviews for Blues Special Tele
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These pickups are so full and rich sounding and then will absolutely scream when asked. Sustain for days and no more searching for tone. It’s all right there and the overwind was just what I was looking for on the neck pickup. Warm and rich until I attack and let the grime out! I thought the V-Mod pickups that I had were good but not even in the same ballpark as these Blues Specials. I installed these with a pre wired control plate which has proved a winning combo. 100% satisfied and can’t recommend enough!
I did not dislike the stock pickups in my Mexi Tele, but I just wanted to get a little thicker and more complex tone. These Fralin Blues Specials did that and then some!! Thank you for excellent products and stellar customer service!!!
Anybody who says this pickup is too hot or thick is silly. This pickup has that wonderful tele chime but isn’t piercing or thin. I play on a Vox so I’d say on occasion it’s as bright as I’d ever want a bridge pickup to be. But on the other hand it can give you some heft when needed and is a pickup that actually lets you use the tone knob with great effect. A versatile pickup that can give you any sound you want really, I’d pick it over anything.
Still pretty traditional on gain, tho I was surprised that the neck pu was hotter than the bridge (even with height adjustments) this may be normal though. This is my third set of fralins and definitely has the overtones and chime that you expect from an upgraded pickup. No issues and they came faster than the quoted lead time
Like thousands before me, I recently bought a Squier CV50 Tele and loved it…but felt it could be taken to the next level (USA/Japanese) with a pickup upgrade. My research and spidey senses led me to the Fralin Blues Special and I’m so pleased with the tonal/balance/clarity improvement over an already decent set of stock pups. The ordering process was exceptionally easy and clear, even for a lefty like me, and I was able to know exactly what I ordered and why. Super happy customer!! Been recommending them all over social media as the opportunity arises…which is almost daily. Thanks Lindy and Co.! P.s. Unless you’re a pro jazz performer, disconnecting the tone pot from the neck also improves balance/output/clarity…just a suggestion.
These pickups are the bomb! I have an early American Standard Telecaster from about 1989 and could never come to terms with the bridge pickup. I swapped these a few years ago for a set of vintage-style pickups from another manufacturer and also installed a 4-way switch. This tamed the twang from the bridge and kept the melodic sound of the neck pickup so I was happy, but I wanted to get more of the Strat chime from the neck pickup. The uncovered neck pickup on the Blues Specials delivers both output and chime. If you want the softer neck tone, just roll back the tone knob, and you’re back, but with some added brightness when you need it. Together, this pair really are a match with output and clarity and I am enjoying the middle position more than ever too. The only negative is the 4th position, with the two pickups in series, doesn’t seem to have the same thickness of tone as before, but maybe that’s down to the added oomph of the set! That’s the sound I was looking for, and is good for blues (obviously), country, rockabilly and some overdriven hard rock licks.
These really impressed me. Really wasn’t expecting them to sound so perfect. I replaced a set of Fender 57/62s with these wanting a bit of more fattness, but not over the top. The BS’s perfectly nail the tone I was looking for and still sounds like a strat. Perfect.
Thanks. Excellent helpful service too.
Wonderful snarling Telecaster tone, a hot rock and roll pickup. Endlessly fascinating how it talks to the #2 tube in my old Mesa Boogie.