BALANCE OF P90 AGGRESSION WITH SINGLE COIL BITE.
Steel Pole 42 Pickups is the perfect blend of a P90 and a Tele Pickup. If you’re looking for a thick, warm, and beefier sound, you will love the sound this model could provide. Steel Pole Pieces and Ceramic Magnets give this pickup a harder top-end. The midrange is also beefier than High Outputs, making it ideal for a Bridge Position. Distortion will yield a faster break up and a chainsaw grind.
Our manufacturing process allows us to achieve unparalleled quality control. Steel Pole Pickups consist of a precision injection mold and USA-Made Steel Screws. We use aggressive USA-Made magnets to make this model scream. Each bobbin is carefully inspected and cleaned before winding.
We wind each pickup by hand, one at a time. Each pickup is wound using our proprietary “Sectioning” technique. This gives the pickup a sweet, clear tone. Finally, we wax-pot the pickup to preserve the pickup, and prevent microphonics.
FEATURES:
- Original Fender Size, Lindy Fralin Design
- Strong and bold – lots of midrange and snarl
- USA-made Ceramic Magnets for aggressive tone and output
- Compensated Bridge for even volume across all pickups
- RW/RP Neck pickup for hum-cancelling middle position.
- Adjustable Steel Pole pieces for fine-tuning string balance
- Hand-wound with our “Sectioning” technique for unique, dynamic tone
- Hand-built for unrivaled quality control
- 10-Year Warranty on manufacturing defects
SOUND:
Steel Pole 42’s sound larger and richer than traditional Tele pickups. You’ll notice more midrange, especially in the lows and highs when played clean. The midrange is prominent on this pickup, and it sounds great on 250K pots. These pickups are not as dark as a P90, but have a beautiful openness and clarity. Steel Pole 42’s sound thicker in the midrange with more of a “chainsaw” grind. For musicians looking for more of a traditional P-90 sound, we recommend our Steel Pole 43 Pickups.
Finally, Steel Pole 42 Pickups are for those who need more output from their stock pickups. If you’re looking for something different, these may be right for you. Also, if your current pickups are too bright or thin, you will love these. These tend to be warmer-sounding, and a bit aggressive.
FAQ’s:
- How will this pickup differ from a standard Tele pickup? Because of the Ceramic, the Steel Pole pickups have a harder and more aggressive treble than the softer, more sparkly treble of a normal Tele pickup with Alnico magnets. The Ceramic will cause this pickup to sound slightly more aggressive in the midrange, and will be darker.
- How far away from the strings does the pickup need to be? Push your Low E String down at the highest fret. Measure from the top of the pole piece to the bottom of the string. Ideal starting location should be 1/8? on the bass string, and 1/16? on the treble string, when the High E string is pushed down at highest fret. You can adjust the stagger from there with the pole pieces.
- Wiring Diagrams? Here!
TECHNICAL INFO:
Sizing Information
Glenn Winburn (verified owner) –
These sound just as advertised. I’m gonna have them for a long time.
Bryce Lewis (verified owner) –
Best quality, as always. Love this pickup in my Tele, sounds even better than the Blues Special in my other guitar.
Richard Branson (verified owner) –
I never thought my 2007 American Series Tele could sound this good… beefy, fabulous mids and low end. I’m at a loss. I actually like the bridge pickup more than the neck. I always have a hard time describing what I hear. The low end is not boomy, and the high end is not twangy, but it still has a lot of Tele flavor. With stock pickups, I preferred the neck pickup because I tend to gravitate toward a warmer, Jazzier sound. With these pickups, I prefer the bridge and middle positions just because they sound so damn good!
Adam Iredale-Gray (verified owner) –
Love the Neck, not sold on the bridge
I love the warm fat and loud sound out of the Neck pickup. just what I had hoped for. I think I am going to look for something different for the bridge position though. a bit too mid focused for me.
Greg Day (verified owner) –
Absolutely perfect! We installed these into Tim Armstrong’s telecaster that is his ska and reggae beast and he loves them! Great set Of pickups we love lindy over here at Ugly Guitars!!
Adam Iredale-Gray (verified owner) –
I love the warm fat and loud sound out of the Neck pickup. just what I had hoped for. I think I am going to look for something different for the bridge position though. a bit too mid focused for me.
Roger W Owen (verified owner) –
Replaced the N3 noiseless pickups in my American Deluxe with steel pole 42’s and couldn’t be happier. Much fuller sound and no spikiness. Bridge pick up is sweet with the tone rolled back a little. It took a while trying to figure out just what pickups I wanted …but these are perfect ! They really do fit in between stock tele sound and P-90 sound. Very pleased !
Jason Olsen (verified owner) –
I just installed a set of these in my Telecaster. They sound phenomenal. Great full Tele sound when playing clean, and a little more bite when overdriven than stock Tele pickups. No lack of twang, but definitely a fuller sound over all. I couldn’t be happier with these.
Peter P. (verified owner) –
Just installed the Steel Pole 42 bridge in my stock early ’67 Tele and it really adds body while keeping plenty of twang and treble for clean country – a very good solution for thinner sounding Telecasters. The Blues Special was great too but this particular piece of ash seemed to need the Steel Pole 42 to get body. Thanks again as always. One could have a nervous breakdown reading all the mojo out there while shopping for pickups. I like Fralins – staightforward, simple, and natural sounding.