Split Steel Poled Tele
Clean P90 Tone, No Noise
$150
Noiseless P90 Tone in a Tele Bridge Position? Yep – we got that! Enter the Fralin Split Steel Pole Tele Bridge: a Noiseless P90 for Telecaster. This pickup features a fat, thick midrange and aggressive highs. It’s a perfect drop-in replacement for any Fender Telecaster Bridge pickup and for those looking for that versatile, unique P90 tone for their Tele. Get inspired and discover what you’ve been missing.
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P90 Tone, Zero Hum.
Want to learn more about our Split Steel Poled Tele? Here's all the information you'll need:
Features
The Split Steel Pole Tele Bridge provides an authentic P90 tone without the noise. If you’re not happy with your bright, noisy bridge pickup, we invite you to check this pickup out. Featuring adjustable USA-Made Pole pieces and a thick, dynamic midrange, you will be amazed at the clarity, versatility, and articulation coming from your Tele’s bridge position.
Based on his Split Blade design, Lindy created this pickup to get more aggression out of the bridge position while still canceling out hum. Installation is a breeze, as this pickup will drop right into your Telecaster with no modifications necessary
Features:
- Noiseless, Fat And Full Tele Bridge Tone
- Huge P-90 Midrange and Thickness
- Direct Replacement For Tele Bridge
- Two outputs for fine-tuning your unique tone
- Unique left-right coil design for 100% noiseless operation
- Adjustable Steel Pole Pieces for fine-tuning string balance
- USA-Made Precision Injection Mold, and USA-Made Ceramic Magnets and Wire
- Backed by our 10-Year Warranty on manufacturing defects
- Risk-free 30-day exchange policy
Sound
Are you seeking something unique for your Tele’s Bridge position? Are you looking for a “secret weapon” in your guitar’s arsenal? Look no further than our Split Steel Pole Bridge. With a unique design comes a familiar (yet unique) tone. This pickup features a thick, bold midrange, a percussive treble, and a familiar P90 growl.
Wound strings are crystal-clear yet loud, and Treble strings have the Tele Twang, but with a rounder quality. With an accentuated midrange and warmer highs, this Bridge pickup is perfect for those trying to tame a twangy Tele bridge.
Whether you play with distortion or not, you’ll undoubtedly cut through in the mix with our Split Steel Pole Tele Bridge.
OPTIONS:
Choose Stock Output: If you want the thickest, beefiest tone. The midrange will be loud and full. Highs will be slightly darker.
Choose -5% Output: If you want a little clearer tone and more articulation. Highs will be more present, mids slightly scooped.
Tonal Graph For Split Steel Poled Tele:
The tonal graph below for our Split Steel Poled Tele features Lows, Midrange, Highs, and general Output.
Attack: Stiff & Percussive
Videos for Split Steel Poled Tele:
Sizing
Tech Specs:
See below for the estimated DCR and Polarity Information for our Split Steel Poled Tele.
| SPECIFICATION | VALUE |
|---|---|
| Ohm Reading: | 9.8K (Stock) |
| Polarity: | This pickup's polarity is reversible with 3-Wire configuration |
| Magnets: | USA-Made Ceramic |
| Wire: | USA-Made 43-Gauge Single Poly Nylon |
| Bobbins: | USA-Made Precision Injection Mold |
| Baseplate: | USA-Made Nickel Silver |
| Recommended Pot Value: | 250K* |
| Recommended Cap Value: | 0.02mfd 2 |
Additional Technical Info:
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.
* 500K Pots will provide a clearer, brighter tone
Polarity Information:
Here's how we wind and magnetize our pickups:
If you're buying a set from us, all pickups will work together seamlessly. If you're buying a single pickup, all you need to worry about is Coil Direction.
To ensure your pickup will work, make sure you select multiple leads (2-Conductor, 3-Conductor, or 4-Conductor if available), or the 3-Wire modification so you can reverse the coil direction, if need be.
Split Steel Poled Tele Dimensions:
Split Steel Poled Tele FAQ's
General FAQs
Here are quick answers to common questions we get:
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What Ohm Readings does your Split Steel Poled 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 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.
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What pickup height do you recommend setting your Split Steel Poled 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 Split Steel Poled Tele. If you have a question that you don't see listed here, click "Ask A Question" in the Quick Links section above.
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Will this fit my Telecaster's Bridge assembly?
Yes! Although you may have to tilt the pickup and “slide” the top through the opening. Doing so carefully won’t damage the pickup in any way.
Pickup Pairing
Our Split Steel Poled Tele pairs well with the following models:
Split Blade Tele - Neck
Starting At: $ 135
Choose Vintage Output for a traditional Telecaster Tone with no hum.
View Product
P-92 - Neck
Starting At: $ 175
For clean, noiseless P90 tones out of a humbucker-equipped Tele
View Product
Steel Pole 42 Tele - Neck
Starting At: $ 130
For cleaner P90 tones for your Traditional Tele
View ProductGet it prewired
Go the extra mile and combine our Split Steel Poled Tele with a Telecaster Control Plate!:
Featured Reviews
Reviews We Worked Hard For, and Are Proud Of
Customer Reviews
75 Genuine Reviews for Split Steel Poled Tele
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Put this in a custom Esquire build, and it may be the best rock bridge pickup for a Tele I’ve ever played. From sparkly cleans with the volume rolled back to Zeppelin I when cranked, it is touch sensitive and, like the rest of Lindy’s stuff, has TONE.
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I acquired this pickup in Jan 2023, and installed it in an esquire-type build (single pickup), intending to use it for rock and blues.
Initially, I had utilised 250K volume and tone pots, but it did not quite give me the kind of top-end presence and spank I was hoping for; I swapped out the tone pot for 500K and there it was.
I’m super happy with this purchase, so much so that I wished Lindy would do a “split SP42-type, 5% underwound” pickup for the neck to complement this wonderful bridge pickup. I know you guys do something like this for Strats, so perhaps do a Tele version!
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I’ve played pretty much every style of music on guitar for 72 of my 77 years, and regularly modify my instruments to improve or attain a spectrum of tones via pickup selection, wiring harness and/or pot changes.
I expected that replacing the stock bridge pickup with the Steel Poled P90 bridge pickup would make a difference. But I was very surprised by how dramatically different the tonal range was improved and has changed the personality of the instrument while eliminating the usual single coil hum. -
I installed this pickup into my Fender Telescater “Elite”, replacing the original bridge pup. The sound is now full and powerful and has the authority I was looking for. Now I can stop playing with various EQ’s to achieve what I’ve wanted to hear. It seems to be noiseless as claimed
when used with my Fender Deluxe Reissue. A great product! -
I have a tele with a P-90 in the neck…the contrast with the standard tele pickup in the bridge was too much…there was almost no way to have my amp and effects set up in a way where both sounded stellar. It I set up for the P-90 to sing, the tele pickup was so weak and thin. I have other guitars with a twangy single coil in the bridge, so the solution was to get the split steel pole pickup…what a perfect match. Does not quite have the color and tone of true P-90 in the bridge…but it gets more than halfway there. And that is just fine because really, this pickup has a character all its own: 20% tele twang, 60% P-90, and 20% just pure uniqueness resulting in a great tone. I love playing lead on this pickup…it soaks up distortion with exactly the right amount of bite and body! Playing with both bridge and neck gets that twang and chime, but again, with some uniqueness I cant get from any other guitar I own. And in the end, that was exactly what I was looking for. I don’t need to sound like anyone else…I need to sound like me. And this pickup did the job! And of course, with zero hum.
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Wow!! This is the sound I’ve been trying to get out of a bridge pickup for years. Amazing pickup and it pairs perfect with a Split Blade (Blues Output) neck pickup. I did the 4-way switch mod and these two pickups in series produce a fantastic lead tone!!
Prior to installing the Split Steel Poled P90, I had always struggled to dial in a good bridge tone with other pickups. No problem with this pickup. It has the perfect balance of lows and highs, and the midrange is perfect to cut through any mix! I highly recommend both of these pickups!
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Lindy,
Great job, again, on split pole p90 T bridge pu rec’d from ya! Woody tone and aggressive! Perfect!
Doubt ya remember me, but was one of the partners in Sandstrummer Vintage Guitars- we hung out with ya in your basement after Richmond guit show back in the ’90s! Interested in using your pups- besides promoting ’em heavily here in myrtle beach- in some of my RICH Guitar builds and high-end, boutique guit partner, Swamp Donkey Guitars. Interested in quantity price list if good for ya! Thanks, and, great job, again!
Rich -
This was purchased as part of a mod for my main guitar, a switch to P90 pups and a few other upgrades. I wanted hum-cancelling P90s that would work with the guitar’s routing (there’s barely any options out there for a P90 in a Tele bridge housing, especially hum-cancelling). This fit the bill, so I went for it and I couldn’t be happier. The sound is articulate, warm, & versatile, whether as a clean signal or nice ‘n’ dirty. It works well with every one of my pedals as well as every combination of effects I’ve thrown at it so far. As of today, I’ve used it for blues, alternative, jazz, various forms of rock, reggae, nu metal, & even singer-songwriter/folk; I recommend it for pretty much anything!
Yeah, I know, everyone raves about that tele bridge traditional sound. I say forget tradition; get something better. Get this pickup!
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The Fralin split Pole Tele noiseless bridge is a monster!
It is aggressive like a P90, and still keeps that Twang spank! -
As others have said: This is not a conventional tele bridge pickup, although it can be “tamed” somewhat with judicious use of your volume control. This is mostly p-90, all the chankiness for sure. I got the stock wind and there’s plenty of girth on tap. No hum obviously which is miraculous. Solo your back pickup and it’s instant Les Paul junior. I think this pickup would be great with a noiseless p-90 in the neck, another steel pole, p-92 or maybe stock paf-style humbucker? I’m using a Novak DA/GT gold foil humbucker in the neck, and it’s not *as* good mixed as I’d like, there’s more tonal contrast than I was expecting, but I think I need to get a resistor into the circuit and/or tweak the “phase”. Thankfully, both pickups sound complete on their own, so the neck+bridge sound isn’t critical at this point. It’s currently wired up with 500k pots and a .022mf cap, with the neck pickup coil switching on a mini toggle.
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Great pick up! The clarity of the tone and hearing the distinct string tones is awesome. Delivers the P-90 tone in a Tele pick up!
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This pickup is amazing. It’s exactly what I was hoping for. Smack dab in the middle between tele and P90. And it’s dead quiet. Also, it mates perfectly with the Fralin wide range humbucker. So glad I took a chance on these.
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The split pole picked is fantastic ! Has the perfect amount of output and tone is great. Quiet with no room buzz ! So great that I put them into 2 tele’s and one strat !
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Just got the pickups today, and set straight to putting them in after work.
I got a 5% underwound Split Steel Pole Tele bridge pickup and a vintage Split Blade Tele neck pickup for the bridge and middle positions of my Tele, which are combined with an existing low-ish output HB at the neck which I really like.
Holy frijoles, what a great sounding pair of pickups these two I just installed are! It feels almost like a lie not to precede ‘great sounding’ with an expletive multiplier! (Sorry, I grew up next to a Naval Air Station in NJ, so cussing is like breathing in my home town).
Ok, so the 5 way switch options:
By itself, the 5% underwound bridge pickup has the perfect blend of Tele and P90 – the tone of a great Tele bridge pickup mixed with the attack, cojones, and midrange presence of a P90. Absolutely killer tones with bite!
Add in the Split Rail neck pickup with that, and you get what a Strat’s bridge/middle pair would sound like after they’d been through an intensive body-building program – all of the cluck, with some serious muscle behind it.
Switch to the middle position, and the bridge/middle pair sounds good like a Tele should with the neck pickup’s default parallel HB setting. Oh, and grab your electrical-taped capo and grunt with your bends, folks, because it gets into Albert Collins territory when you pull that knob up to go series on the HB. It does a bang-up Micawber imitation, too.
Next up is not neck/middle like you’d expect, but neck/bridge with the famous Bill Lawrence 1/2 out of phase wiring. Nice, slightly nasal tone with the HB in parallel mode, and a little bit more nose when you put it in series. Very usable tones! Sounds great ahead of a hot, driven amp to get the GR-RRR! without the flubby lows you can sometimes encounter with overdrive.
Finally, for the sake of completing the 5 switch positions list, the neck by itself. It is great, but is not relevant to this review. 🙂
Oh, and the best thing of all? These pickups KNOW THE WORDS! Absolutely NO humming! 😀 I wish I could give them 6 stars!
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I called about a neck pickup companion; vintage split was recommended. I installed a 4 way switch couldn’t be happier!
I’ve owned tele/tele style guitars. The neck pickups sometimes can be…..uninspiring. Not these! That neck pickup wax a perfect match for the steel spill pole.
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