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
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:
Notice:
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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Will these Blues Special Tele and other Tele and Strat pickups work with a vintage depth pickup cavity of 5/8"?
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Q Will these Blues Special Tele and other Tele and Strat pickups work with a vintage depth pickup c...... Read moreA
Hey Jordan, thanks for your question. All of our standard Tele Neck pickups (not the Steel Pole line) will have an average height of 5/8", so as long as you're not bottoming out the pickup, it should fit fine. If you sink your pickup flush with the pickguard, it will bottom out.
I have a Fender '52 RI Tele on which I've made a few mods. My neck pickup seems to have low output and sounds anemic and weak. The original pickup was weak, the rewind (P-90) was weak and the present LSL replacement is weak. I can only guess this has something to do with the bobbin size because I've heard a lot of Tele players make the same complaint about their neck pickup Would the Vintage Hot neck pickup with 2% over-wind have noticeably highe...
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Q I have a Fender '52 RI Tele on which I've made a few mods. My neck pickup seems to have low outpu...... Read moreA
Hey James, I would actually recommend the Blues Special - it features twang, but a thicker midrange and darker highs, especially in the Neck - in my opinion, it's the perfect voicing for a Telecaster. We have a 30-day exchange policy, so if you're not 100% satisfied with the Blues Special, we'll know what to do from there.
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.
Note:
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Featured Reviews
Reviews we worked hard for, and are proud of.
I’ve only just ordered my pickup, and can’t wait to try it. But I can’t help but submit a review of the service I received from Fralin support, after ordering .. It’s exceptional. I made a casual query regarding wiring on the order form, and the feedback and follow up I received from support (Ellen) was the best interaction I’ve had from an online company. If the support I received is indicative of the product and the company, it’s 6 stars… Thanks !
The stars are for the pickup as well as the company. The pickup is unparalleled. Construction is clean and rock-solid. The sound is amazing. Everything you want in a Tele neck pickup; it is twangy (without being harsh), it has an attack and warmth that pushes amp and DI signals in a beautifully and harmonically pleasing way. It also has that unmistakable character that immediately makes tremolo and reverb make sense. Some of the highest quality pickups I’ve ever bought, and I have purchased many from many companies.
But the customer service and care this company has for its clients is second to none. When I ordered my pickup I put in the ‘comment’ section that I was putting it as the middle pickup in a ‘Nashville Tele’ styled setup, but in a Jazzmaster with Jazz pickups. One day after placing my order I get a phone call from Mr. Fralin himself. He was so nice and such a pleasure to talk with. He asked all about what my plan was with the pickup so that he could better understand how to wire the pickup optimally for my planned implementation. Then when I called back to relay some information he’d asked for the person who picked up the phone was just as pleasant and friendly.
We all stand on the edge of a time when this could all continue on with a rich, large table every musician can sit down at and eat or an industry that becomes (once again) bloated and implodes upon itself. It’s up to us which way it goes and people that these, at the Lindy Fralin company, are the ones we should be following in their example and supporting their endeavors. It is the diligent, honest and friendly ones that will keep this train a-rollin’ for years to come and keep the world of sound equipment and music healthy and vital. People will never not need music, but the enjoyment of making it is our responsibility to maintain.
Fantastic! One of the best pickups I’ve heard. I Have this in the bridge paired with a Vintage Vibe Guitar P-90 pickup in the neck and I can’t stop smiling.
I swapped these pickups out in my 2020 Player Series. They had the Alnico 5 pickups. And WOW! What a difference these pickups make! The neck sounds amazing and that bridge just has all the twang and kick you’d ever need out of a Telecaster. I highly recommend these pickups.
I installed these pickups in my Player Telecaster. They are very clear and articulate and respond extremely well to pick attack. I LOVE them. No complaints whatsoever. Just absolutely amazing!
The blues pick-ups are awesome!! Great tones
Great sounding pickups and customer service. I was helped with my questions on the phone with John and he was very knowledgeable and helpful. The pickups are described perfectly on the product page. I got the blues special set and even though I liked my original neck pickup this one is definitely an upgrade. The bridge pickup was a major upgrade and helped tame that harsh treble the original ones had. Add some overdrive and they shine even more. I’m more than happy with my purchase and buying experience.
The pickups have a very nice sound and were fairly easy to install. The sound is strong. I have mostly played Stratocasters in the past, and I was surprised when the middle pickup switch position was louder than the single pickup positions. There is a solidity to the Telecaster that the Stratocaster does not have, and it is brought out very well by these pickups.
Blues Specials are the best investment for my Tele, Definitely recommend, a true upgrade, can’t stop playing it!
Great pickups…. Great upgrade to my Fender Elite Tele. Clean tones are clear and fat. Great note separation. This is my first set of Fralins. Highly recommended.