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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If I am using the Tele Blues Special pickups with a push-pull pot do I select the 4 way switching modification when I order the pickups?
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Q If I am using the Tele Blues Special pickups with a push-pull pot do I select the 4 way switching...... Read moreA Hey Barry, if you're looking for the Series Parallel Mod (4-way switching with push-pull) then yes - make sure you select the 4-Way Switching Modification.
What is Hybrid stagger for the tele PU
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Q What is Hybrid stagger for the tele PUA Hey Keith, click the "What's This?" button next to Magnet Stagger. It'll show an explanation.
I can’t decide! Building a tele for my band mate, he really liked my tele with a purple lace in the neck position (I paired it with a Fralin overwound p90/hb size), first goal was somewhat traditional tele sound but he really liked the clean tones from the lace. I’m leaning to the hot blues set (he mostly plays rock style and hb guitars, so I think a bit hotter and thicker in the bridge), main question is if the hot blues neck might compare i...
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Q I can’t decide! Building a tele for my band mate, he really liked my tele with a purple lace in t...... Read moreA Hey Trevor, I definitely recommend the Blues Specials for what you're after. They are our most versatile Telecaster Set, they can get dirty and clean up really nicely as well.
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.
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Fantastic Tele Tone. Great pickups that sound better every time I play them.
I recently bought a Sire t7, the new hot affordable Tele style guitar. Great guitar, rock solid, features that you’d only find on a much more expensive fender American made. But… the bridge pickup was piercingly bright. I shopped around and discovered the wonderful world of Fralin. Loved the idea of a set of pickups custom made by hand for me. Enough said.And buying from a small business was also a big factor. Installation was surprisingly easy for a 1st timer thanks to the tutorials provided,and the difference was stunning. Crystal clear but none of the harshness.I finally discovered what real tone is.Even makes my sloppy playing sound good!! I can’t say enough good things about these pickups. I know tone is a very subjective thing, but I can finally say that I’ve found it.
I had never messed around with pick ups before but am very pleased with the difference im noticing so far – will still take some dialing in to find what im looking for (still playing with the saddles and action to see what effects that has) but im very impressed with the clarity im noticing and how much of a punch i get on the low end now. more importantly though, i very much appreciate how much of the information was available on this site as far as instructions and diagrams because i had never tinkered with a guitar like this. i had a little experience with soldering in the past but with that and the information available on the site i was able to finish the swap and it worked which was pretty sweet. thanks guys
I have a Blues Special Bridge in a Telecaster Custom and this was to replace the neck pickup in a Modern Player Telecaster Plus. Yup, a Chinese built Fender. I was always to uppity to ever own a MIM or an Asia made guitar, but I purchased this on a whim. It is well built, but the electronics were sketchy, bad 5 way switch and the neck pickup sounded dull and almost like out of phase. But, this pickup was ordered with magnet polarity south up and counter clockwise coil direction. New switch and this pickup…it now makes the guitar a complete Swiss Army knife. This pickup is articulate, punchy, yet warm and full. I am sold on this series of Fralin pickups. I also have a hand wired Strat Blues Special pick guard from Fralin. These pickups are the real deal for a blues player. I didn’t and you won’t go wrong with any Fralin Blues Special pickup.
gotta give it 4 and a half stars….
I have a 2015 Tele, stock, with a single coil neck pup and a humbucker in the bridge…it’s one of those Guitar Center tele’s that Fender made from 2013-2015… I loved the sound of the stock neck pickup but it was no match for the humbucker out put wise….the Fralin Blues special cured all of that….it was a perfect match!…my only gripe, is the height adjustment screws appear to be of lesser quality…..
this is the 5th guitar I’ve put a set of these in……they are my favorite pickup, nothing else compares
I installed these in a Fender 50’s Road Worn Telecaster replacing the stock pickups and the difference was so remarkable, I thought I installed them wrong! 500% changed the entire vibe of the guitar and it’s now a completely inspiring guitar to play.
Tele Blues Special neck pickup… Awesome!
This is the third time changing out the neck pickup on my ’52 Reissue
It finally sounds good when the others sounded weak and anemic
I was worried about losing twang and clarity. I needn’t have worried.
I can even get a convincing Strat tone.
I haven’t heard the blues specials in my custom built Tele yet , because it just got finished with the build but Richard at RSM Guitar Works in Winnipeg,Mb , Canada who does all my guitar work says it’s the best sounding Tele he’s ever heard with tons of sustain and spot on tone wise. I had it wired up 4 way . I can’t wait to get back home to pick it up and play it to see for myself.
It’s a great tone?
Attention to detail was seen everywhere.
I was also grateful for the speed from order to arrival.