Steel Pole 42 Tele
Enter the world of the almighty P90 pickup, and discover what you’ve been missing with our Steel Pole 42’s. Featuring the perfect balance of a traditional Tele pickup and the P90 tone, we’ve achieved hybrid tonal bliss! Expertly crafted by hand, we guarantee this tone will inspire you for years to come.
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Telecaster, Meet P90.
Want to learn more about our Steel Pole 42 Tele? Here's all the information you'll need:
Steel Pole 42 Tele FEATURES:
Steel Pole 42 Tele pickups are an exciting blend of a P90 and a traditional Tele pickup. Thicken up your Telecaster’s tone with a snarly and warm midrange and a stiffer, percussive treble. Hand-built with USA-Made Steel Pole Pieces, Ceramic Magnets, and a low-output wind, we guarantee the unique tone produced by this set will inspire you.
Featuring a thicker and warmer tone than our Stock Teles, you’ll be impressed by the unique pick attack and versatile nature of this set. Hand-built with Steel Pole Pieces and Ceramic Magnets, Steel Pole 42s feature a stiffer top-end and midrange snarl. If you play with distortion, you can expect a faster break up and a “chainsaw” grind.
Perfectly fusing the clarity and dynamics of a Tele pickup and the midrange aggression and bark of a P90, we’re sure that this is one of the most versatile and unique-sounding pickups on the market today.
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 a hum-canceling 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
- Backed by our 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.
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, using our proprietary “Sectioning” technique. Winding pickups this way gives each pickup a sweet, clear tone. Finally, we wax-pot the pickup to preserve the pickup and prevent microphonics.
Tech Specs
See below for the estimated DCR and Polarity Information for our Steel Pole 42 Tele.
| SPECIFICATION | VALUE |
|---|---|
| Neck Ohm Reading: | 7.7K* |
| Bridge Ohm Reading: | 6.7K |
| Neck Polarity: | Counter Clockwise Coil Direction, North To Strings |
| Bridge Polarity: | Clockwise Coil Direction, South To Strings |
| Magnet: | Ceramic |
| Wire: | USA-Made 42-Gauge / 43-Gauge Single Poly Nylon |
| 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
Steel Pole 42 Tele Questions And Answers:
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Have a question about our Steel Pole 42 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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Do I need a 3 wire bridge pickup if I’m installing your steel pole 42 pick up in a telecaster custom? I don’t have the guitar yet, it’s on its way…but wanted that p90 sound in the bridge without modifications and wanted to keep the humbucker in the neck. Thank you for your help
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Q Do I need a 3 wire bridge pickup if I’m installing your steel pole 42 pick up in a telecaster cus...... Read moreA
Hey Ron, it's a good idea to have, just in case you need to reverse the coil direction. If you didn't have it and were out of phase with the Humbucker, you'd have to figure out a way to flip the humbucker's coil direction. - Tyler
Hi there! A couple questions about the steel pole 42 bridge pickup. Do you think it would be a good match for a vintage style neck humbucker in a Keef style broadcaster? I’ve got a Peter Florance Voodoo 59 neck and I’m looking for a tele bridge pickup with enough output not to be overpowered and will play well with 500k pots. I want the wiring to be straightforward…3-way switch, 500k pots, tone cap. Nothing else. Thanks!
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Q Hi there! A couple questions about the steel pole 42 bridge pickup. Do you think it would be a go...... Read moreA
Hey Adam, you might be best served to go with the Steel Pole 43. It sounds a lot thicker-sounding than the Steel Pole 42 which sounds best on 250K pots. The Steel Pole 43 will balance a bit better with a humbucker neck.
Can this pickup get the extra wire to install on a 4 way switch? If so, how much extra would that be?
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Q Can this pickup get the extra wire to install on a 4 way switch? If so, how much extra would that...... Read moreA
Hey David, yes - simply choose "3 wire neck" on the Neck Options and we'll wire it up to spec at no additional cost.
How far away from the strings does the pickup need to be?
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Q How far away from the strings does the pickup need to be?A Push your Low E String down at the highest fret. Measure from the top of the pole piece to the bottom of the string. The 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 the highest fret. You can adjust the stagger from there with the pole pieces.
How will this pickup differ from a standard Tele pickup?
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Q How will this pickup differ from a standard Tele pickup?A 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.
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Go the extra mile and combine our Steel Pole 42 Tele with a Telecaster Control Plate!:
I needed to replace the neck pickup on my old Am Std tele with a more muscular midrange (keeping the stock bridge pu.) The Steel Pole 42 Tele neck is ideal. Nice throaty clean sound and pushes solid drivier sounds I want from my amps. Works well in combination with the bridge, particularly with the 5-way Bill Lawrence switching I use. Also the pickup was initially listed to be shipped after a three week wait but it was shipped in less than a week. Frailin is a great company.
I ordered Blues Specials from a music store in CA to put in a new Tele build, but SP 42s came by accident. I was going to return them, but after reading reviews, decided to put them in my personal guitar. I didn’t put them in the new build because I didn’t want to hand somebody a Tele that was for all intents a funny shaped SG. (which, as it turns out, would not have been the case).
I’m very glad I kept them. They have a .47 orange drop tone cap and a .001 treble bleed. As advertised, they have more oomph and snarl than a regular tele PU, but they sound excellent running them straight into a tube amp- no boost, fuzz, flange, verb or whatever is needed to dial a complete and thick, but still tele-ish tone. I’m just an amateur who builds guitars for friends, but these things rock. Having said that, they probably don’t country. The bridge PU, at least in my hands doesn’t do the Twang Thang, but for my purposes its an excellent trade off
Incredible pickups. I wanted something that could go from immaculate cleans to flamethrower distortion as I front a ska-punk band and these deliver in spades. My beloved Tele has never sounded better and I don’t think I’ll ever buy non-Fralin pickups again for any of my guitars!
Steel Pole 42 in neck and Blues Special in bridge…incredible…they replaced SD Antiquities that were way too brittle to my ears…with this pair of Fralins it’s the perfect combo of twang and growl…Both pickups can go from clear and bright with nice warmth and sustain to full on growl and grind in a flash depending on string attack and pedals…very happy
Simply put, I installed a set of Telecaster Steel Pole 42’s along with the prewired Control Plate in a Telecaster that I have had for years, and the difference was exceptional. The guitar sounds so good that I have a hard time putting it down. In a world of compromise the quality and craftsmanship are first class. I am not an expert but the staff at Fralin are experts and they guided me to the right combination. Thank you for a really enjoyable product.
I put a set of the Steel Pole 42’s in a Highway 1 Tele to bring it closer to a P-90 sound without sacrificing too much the Tele character. The result was what I’d hoped for: extra authority from the bridge pickup, fuller neck pickup tone, and a guitar that still sounded familiar — but more substantial. Nice appearance too with the open-top neck pickup option.
The customer support from the Fralin team is full-on. Useful documentation was supplied in advance of delivery, and the support team were available and attentive throughout the install when I needed it. This upgrade gets a 10 out of 10.
Love the new tones my MIM telecaster makes. Sounds excellent.
Outstanding pickup and outstanding customer service from Lindy Fralin and his team. I ordered a bridge pickup and it sounds just as described: a hybrid of tele/P90. I’m very happy with the sound. This wasn’t my first time ordering Fralin pickups, and I’m sure it won’t be my last!