Blues Special Tele

Versatile & Thick Tele Tone

$110$220

  • Single Coil
  • Thick & Versatile
  • Traditional Appearance
  • Modern Output
( 341 genuine reviews)

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.

 

Options

Select options for our Blues Special Tele:

Select Options Above To Display Add-Ons

Neck Cover *

Choose how you want your Neck pickup to look in your guitar. If no option is chosen, you will receive an Uncovered neck, which is standard.

Neck Options

If performing a 4-Way Switching Mod, please select this box below:

Bridge Options *

Specify if you want White Cloth String or Black Cloth String on your bridge. If no option is chosen, you will receive White String.

Nashville Tele Info:

Are you buying pickups for a Nashville Telecaster Setup? Make sure you check this box to let us know. Make sure you add a middle pickup as well. Our Nashville Polarity will cancel hum in positions 2 & 4, like a Strat.

SPEED UP YOUR ORDER

Since you're buying a single pickup, we might need more information from you. To avoid unnecessary delays in your order, please choose one of the options below:



Be sure to read our article on Pickup Polarity here.

Notice

Due to the nature of Raw Nickel, Raw Nickel may contain slight cosemetic defects or abrasions.

Recommendation

We recommend using 2-Conductor With Shield Lead when purchasing a single pickup. 2-Conductor lead allows you to reverse the phase should you have phase issues. Learn About Lead Choice

Upgrade To A Prewired Pickguard

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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 tonal graph below for our Blues Special Tele features Lows, Midrange, Highs, and general Output.

HIGHS
MIDS
LOWS
OUTPUT

Attack: Dynamic & Full

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.

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

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.


*The Neck reads higher due to the use of 43 Gauge Wire, outputs are compensated

Blues Special Tele Dimensions:

Telecaster Dimensions - Fralin
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:

  • What Ohm Readings does your Blues Special Tele have?

    Navigate to our Tech Specs Tab for complete Ohm Readings and more useful information.

  • 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.

  • Is your Lead Time of 2-3 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.

  • 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. 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.

Product FAQ's

These are frequently asked questions about our Blues Special Tele. If you have a question that you don't see listed here, click "Ask A Question" in the Quick Links section above.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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:

Raw Nickel Cover

Big Single - Neck

( 41)

Starting At: $ 165

Pair A Blues Special Bridge with a Big Single 42 in the Neck for a killer combination.

View Product
Lindy Fralin Blues Special Strat

Blues Special Strat - Middle

( 112)

Starting At: $ 99

Nashville Tele? Our Blues Special Reverse Middle is the perfect match

View Product

Get it prewired

Go the extra mile and combine our Blues Special Tele with a Telecaster Control Plate!:

Get It Prewired - Lindy Fralin Pickups

Customer Reviews

341 Genuine Reviews for Blues Special Tele

  1. Deric Mendes

    Verified Purchase

    Perfection
    I couldn’t be happier! The Blues Specials provide an outstanding vintage twang with some added thickness. The dynamic response is also top-notch. I’ll definitely be putting these in all my Teles.

  2. Phillip Tankel

    Verified Purchase

    Great sounding pickups: Great sounding, crystal clear, and easy to install The only issue I had was the tubes were too small. Thanks

  3. Francis Gilbert

    Verified Purchase

    Sweet. Twang city!

  4. David Wilson

    Verified Purchase

    Sweet spot.

    These brought my Telecaster to life. It originally had somehow ceramic pickups that were cold and sterile sounding. I couldn’t be happier with the warm sounds I get. Great for blues, rock, and country. From now on when I replace pickups this is the company I’m buying from. Thanks, David

  5. Tim Billingsley

    I just installed your Blues tele set in a cheap $120 tele and they sound AMAZING. I am so pleased that I found your pickups before making the mistake of putting some other brand of pickups in my guitar. Thanks for such great products.

  6. Deric Mendes

    Verified Purchase

    Perfection

    I couldn’t be happier! The Blues Specials provide an outstanding vintage twang with some added thickness. The dynamic response is also top notch. I’ll definitely be putting these in all my Teles.

  7. Brian Fuller

    Verified Purchase

    What a sound!

    I was researching some pickups for my Tele when I ran across Fralin. Everything about them sounded like what I wanted. Some twang, but a bit more low end bite. WOW! The sound out of my amp is only 100 times better than what I thought it would be. These are absolutely amazing.

  8. Scott Becker

    Verified Purchase

    A step above Custom Shop Twisted Tele pickups

    These replaced a set of Custom Shop Twisted Tele pickups in a mahogany bodied Tele. With the Twisted Tele’s I had to keep the tone control turned up, even on the bridge pickup, and usually max with the neck pickup, to get good Tele sounds. I’ll sure the mahogany body contributed to this, but still a surprise. The Blues Specials have a much more open, complex sound and I’m back to rolling the tone back for certain sounds, yet is still stays very clear. They magnified the resonance of the mahogany body in a pleasing way as well without getting into the dark, muddy side of sound. There is also some more output which is a plus for me. As others have said, the sonic depth and harmonics these pickups provide is a real treat and offers a wide range of tones depending on how you set the controls and your picking technic.

  9. Tim Withee

    Verified Purchase

    “Awesome” might be a slightly overused word, but it’s the best description for these Fralin Blues tele pickups. They’re a huge improvement over the stock Fender V-Mod pickups — which didn’t sound bad, by the way. But the Fralin Blues Specials are really something special. Briefly, the bridge pickup is gutsy and powerful but still retains that Bakersfield twang that I have to have on a telecaster. The neck pickup is well balanced with the bridge pickup, and there’s some great rhythm and jazz tones — and lead tones as well in that neck position. The two middle positions — series and parallel — offer two distinct tones and sound terrific. I have a lot of experimenting to do with this new setup. I would highly recommend the Blues Specials to anyone thinking to upgrade their telecaster pickups, wanting to retain the basic character of the telecaster, but with more guts. I’m more than 100% satisfied with my choice and highly recommend adding a four-way switch as well. It makes a world of difference over the stock 3-way switch and I think will help me get the most out of these great pickups. Thanks!

  10. Nam Nguyen

    Verified Purchase

    Incredible pickups

    These are premium quality pickups. They offer a clear and refine sound, and at the same the thickness and the bite you need to play some electric blues. We all know what to expect from the bridge pickup, but now the neck and middle positions also offer beautiful tones that now make my guitar an all-around beast. Thanks to the Fralin team, I will be surely purchasing other products in the future!

  11. Kevin Andreason

    Verified Purchase

    Best Pickups Anywhere!

    I built a custom tele with the Fralin Blues Special Tele pickups and Fralin Magic cap and it is incredible! Tone for days! These pickups have tons of output and the tone is very well balanced. I’ve used Fralin pickups in several builds now and they are the best! They exceed my expectations every time and I couldn’t be happier. They always give me exactly what I want built to order super fast turnaround time and they are always there to answer any questions almost always right away! What more do you want!

  12. Greg Tremel

    Verified Purchase

    No hiccups with the pickups! I like them. The quality is top notch and they sound great. I will definitely buy Fralin pickups again. One small problem. The rubber tubes for mounting were pretty short – only about 1/4″ long. It would be perfect if you would cut them 1/2″ long. Fast shipping too! Thanks!

  13. Casey Boulter

    Verified Purchase

    Installed in the bridge position of a black ’62 Fender Telecaster Reissue and it came to life! It sounds absolutely incredible!!! So much better than the stock pickups. Paired this with the Hum-Cancelling P90 pickup in the neck. I’m putting Fralin pickups in all of my guitars now! Thanks, great product!

  14. Brian Fuller

    Verified Purchase

    Holy smokes! I just put in my Blues Special pickups and Control Plate and they are fantastic. I truly appreciate the way y’all laid out how I was to solder everything. I’ve only soldered a few times, but y’all made it so easy. Thanks for all the emails with instructions as well. This is such a cool change for my Tele. Thanks for making great parts and making the installation easy. Keep up the great art!

  15. Jason Romero

    Verified Purchase

    I purchased the Blues special bridge pickup for my G&L ASAT classic. I’ve heard a lot of people who love the MFD’s but I just didn’t mesh with them. I put a Fralin Blues Special and now my guitar sings. Love this pickup so much!

  16. Istvan De Jesus

    Verified Purchase

    Hello and God bless!!!
    Have to say that Fralin pickups are just legendary. This is my first experience with this brand. Received my Blues Special pickups yesterday and today was my “test drive” day. Nothing more nothing less than a perfect pickup. This baby’s are a masterpiece. Exactly as advertised. Installed them on my Squier CV 50’s Telecaster (2016). The bridge is amazing but that neck pickup is remarkable. The perfect balance of clarity and darkness. Chords, single note solos, etc, you can do it all with amazing articulation. I’m a neck pickup fan and this is just what I was looking for. The bridge is not ice picky. 3 very usable sounds.

  17. Brett Sheroky

    Verified Purchase

    That’s The Stuff

    Recently had a custom Tele built that was too bright with a set of Cheetahs. Called Fralin, Lindy answered and talked to me about what I could try as far as pickups, caps, and pots go. Then we just talked music for about 5 minutes. Super cool. Anyway, I decided to try the Blues Special at the bridge and a Stick Tele at the neck. Per our talk, Lindy suggested I do a nickel cover to keep it brighter and he’d personally polish it to shine it up like chrome. Got the pickups a few days later, put em in and… oh yea, that’s the stuff. Tamed my bright Tele on the bridge while still being able to get that classic Tele sound. It just got rid of that ice pickiness and added a little fatness. I have 275k pots and a .033 cap on there now. Because of the quality and Lindy willing to talk to me through it, I’m a Fralin customer for life.

  18. Nick Whelehan

    Verified Purchase

    Threw these along with Fralin neck Tele Pup into a Squier bullet. SO freakin’ KILLER!! Won’t go back to Anything else for Telecasters or Strats other than Fralin.

  19. Alan Mock

    Verified Purchase

    This is my first experience with Frank pickups and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I put these Blues Specials in telecaster I built with a Warmoth body (swamp ash) and neck (roasted maple). I wired the guitar with the 4-way switch with the paired pickups in series and in parallel. These pickups, with this wiring, cover all the bases I need for blues, blues-rock, and classic rock. I’m absolutely in love with the neck pickup – clear, chimey, and full. Overdriven they send me into guitar bliss!!! I play less on the bridge pickup, but it cuts through a mix well without being to bright or sharp. I just couldn’t more excited about these pickups. I just don’t want to put my guitar down!!!

  20. Paul McGilvery

    Verified Purchase

    Perfect Tele pickups

    These are really well-rounded, with just a bit of early breakup for more bluesy tones. The bridge pickup is twangy and punchy without hitting “icepick” sounds (even with the treble wide open), and the neck pickup has a more bell-like, almost “stratty” sound (sounds killer tuned to E flat). I re-wired a Mexican Tele with these, and now I wish I’d done it years ago. Really versatile, impressive pickups for any setup. Highly recommend!!

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