Blues Special Tele
Versatile & Thick Tele Tone
$120 – $240
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:
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
Sound Samples for Blues Special Tele:
Compare Outputs
We have 2 outputs of our Blues Special Tele. Compare them below.
About these Sound Clips:
All sound samples are played from Neck Position First and Bridge Position Last.
Tonal Graph For Blues Special Tele:
The tonal graph below for our Blues Special Tele features Lows, Midrange, Highs, and general Output.
Attack: Dynamic & Full
Videos for Blues Special Tele:
Tech Specs:
See below for the estimated DCR and Polarity Information for our Blues Special Tele.
| SPECIFICATION | VALUE |
|---|---|
| Neck Ohm Reading: | 7.8K* 1 |
| Bridge Ohm Reading: | 7.3K 1 |
| 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 2 |
Additional Technical Info:
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.
*The Neck reads higher due to the use of 43 Gauge Wire, outputs are compensated
Polarity Information:
Here's how we wind and magnetize our pickups:
Note: We depict all our coil directions from Ground (Black Wire, or Start Wire) to Hot (White Wire, or Finish Wire).
Blues Special Tele Dimensions:
All dimensions include a covered Neck pickup to account for the slight increased size from the cover.
Blues Special Tele FAQ's
General FAQs
Here are quick answers to common questions we get:
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What Ohm Readings does your Blues Special Tele 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 1 Week accurate?
It 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 beat our estimated Lead Times.
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What pickup height do you recommend setting your Blues Special Teles to?
Our recommended Pickup Height is 1/8" (3.175mm) on the Bass Side and 1/16"( 1.5875mm) on the Treble Side. To measure, hold the correct side down at its highest fret. Then, measure from the bottom of the string to the top of the pole piece.
Product FAQ's
People frequently ask these questions about our Blues Special Tele. If you have a question that you don't see listed here, click "Ask" in the Quick Links section above.
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How does the cover affect the tone of the Neck pickup?
It doesn’t – we use USA-made nickel Silver, the most sonically-transparent metal for covers. We also compensate the winding technique to make sure the Neck pickup sounds like we want it to.
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What is 4-Way Switching?
4-Way Switching adds a fourth position to your Telecaster’s switch to put both pickups in Series and Parallel. The 4th Position sounds like a big humbucker as a result. Read more on the topic here.
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What is required for my pickups to work with 4-Way Switching?
We apply tape to the magnets before winding to isolate the coil wire and the magnets. If you select a cover, we add a separate ground wire to permanently ground the cover instead of grounding the cover through the coil.
Pickup Pairing
Our Blues Special Tele pairs well with the following models:
Big Single - Neck
Starting At: $ 175
Pair A Blues Special Bridge with a Big Single 42 in the Neck for a killer combination.
View Product
Blues Special Strat - Middle
Starting At: $ 105
Nashville Tele? Our Blues Special Reverse Middle is the perfect match
View ProductGet it prewired
Go the extra mile and combine our Blues Special Tele with a Telecaster Control Plate!:
Featured Reviews
Reviews We Worked Hard For, and Are Proud Of
Customer Reviews
358 Genuine Reviews for Blues Special Tele
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Customer added no additional comments
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Tele-icious
These are the best Tele pickups I have ever had. I wired them into my ’67 Tele with an RS Guitarworks harness and the thing sounds much better than the day I bought it with stock pickups in 1977. Thanks, Lindy and crew!
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Blues Special pickups
Not only do these sound great, but Lindy called me unannounced to make sure he understood whether or not to send reversed polarity pups or not. Had a nice chat on the phone–great guy, outstanding service.
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Tele Blues Specials
I couldn’t be more pleased, this thing sounds like a million $$$ in my baritone Tele. Thank you Lindy & Co., pure genius.
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Fantastic Pickups!
Full-bodied, articulate, great grit, they rock. I used these pickups in a Xaviere Tele with swamp ash body, maple neck. Installed string bridge, Fralin pre-wired Vol/Tone pots. Guitar rocks, great sustain. The matched pickup set was a plus. I have a Tele with Seymour Duncan’s; I like these better. I am planning on upgrading my 20yr old Am Strat with Fralin pickups soon.
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Back from the dead!
My early 90s MIM Telecaster sounded kinda dead and lifeless. It had been mostly living in the case, with my 06 MIM Stratocaster becoming the main. I decided to change out the pickups in the Telecaster in hopes that it would sound a little bit better and make me want to use it a bit more. Well now I don’t want to play my Strat anymore and I haven’t put my Tele down in a month. I guess I’ll have to change out the pickups in my Strat here soon and then I’ll want to play both guitars equally!
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Amazing as always.
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Big difference.
I installed a set of Lace sensors into an American Elite telecaster after being disappointed with the stock Fender gen4 pickups. I have an old strat plus with original gold Lace sensors that I have loved since I got it in ‘87 and expected good things trying them in my new Telecaster. While they were a drastic improvement they didn’t really deliver as I had hoped. I was almost ready to sell the new telecaster thinking it may be a lost cause when I came across some very good reviews of Fralin pickups which I had heard of before but wasn’t really familiar with. I decided to try them as a last resort and I must say I’m absolutely delighted! They have imparted the warmth and character I was not able to hear with both other brands. Very dynamic and a beautiful organic voice that surpassed my expectations to the point that it is now my favorite guitar. The only thing I may change is the covered neck pickup as I do find it a bit dark and probably should have selected the uncovered version according to what I’m reading on the web site but I am still thrilled with both pickups. The bridge pickup is simply amazing. I own several telecasters but this one actually snarls on-demand and in the middle position (which I use a lot) is awesome delivering exactly the funky spank I love when switched there. I’m a happy customer! RR
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Blues Special Tele Neck Pup
I love this pickup! Really top-notch. My Tele is even more versatile than it was now. I had to make a special request to reverse the pickup magnet polarity to pair with my existing (older) stock Fralin bridge and these guys came through! It really reduced the noise floor I was experiencing with my old Fender neck / Fralin bridge combo. My other guitars are upset – I can’t put this Tele down, getting seriously great tones out of it! With the four-way switch wiring on the neck cover (they add this at no extra cost!), I can get everything from punchy warm humbucker tones to that typical single PU tone that cuts through any mix and anything between. Thank you all at Fralin for your great service and quality!! Highly recommend 🙂
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As advertised. Similar in concept as the Strat version. Great stuff.
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It is a great upgrade for my noiseless pickup, I mod it with a 4-way switch and it is really versatile
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Great as always! Your service and products are second to none.
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Customer added no additional comments
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Awesome. The tone is excellent! I couldn’t be happier! This is my favorite set of pickups I’ve had in the Tele that I’ve been playing for 21 years. Also, I did a cap mod with a push/pull pot… way cool!! Watch lindys YouTube videos on this mod.
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The Blues Special, in this application as a single pickup in an Esquire, provides just enough extra than a standard Tele style with a very balanced tone. Detailed but not ice pick highs, punchy but not overbearing mids, pleasant bottom. Packaging professional, shipping fast, installation with no hum.
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Beautiful tone
Always beautiful, open and responsive. Bring out the best in my guitars. -
Fitted the set in my Fender Road Worn 50s Tele and it has made a huge tonal difference. Great string balance and separation with no noise. Great sounding clean and driven. Very happy!
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Great tele pickups
I am very lucky, I build my own guitars so I get to compare. Honestly no audio or video review can reproduce sound well enough to give you a real impression I have 2 pretty much identical Teles one has Lollars and the one I put these Fralins in. I like both but they are totally different. The Fralins are powerful and detailed with a rawness that reminds me of Springsteen. I couldn’t be happier. I would definitely buy Fralins again. -
Great upgrade! Beefy and clear, best tele pickup tone I have ever heard
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Just what I was looking for!
Very happy with the Blues Specials. The bridge pickup is full and articulate. I’m not much of a country player so I wanted a pickup which retains enough twang to remain true to the Tele style but not the thin tinny twang which can be common. In this regard the bridge pickup is exactly what I was looking for. I ordered the set with the covered neck pickup and in all honesty this is where I was most surprised. I absolutely love the sound of this neck pickup! It is also full sounding but has a crispness that surprised me and is very pleasing to my ears. Sounds killer with a little hair. Thanks Fralin! Already considering replacing the pickups in my Strat with some Fralins as well.
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