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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Hey Lindy. I have had P90s with Alnico magnets that I liked. Can you make these with an Alnico II bar magnet? I love what you do. I have many of your pickups and swear by them. Thank you
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Q Hey Lindy. I have had P90s with Alnico magnets that I liked. Can you make these with an Alnico II...... Read moreA
Hey Carl, as it turns out, we cannot make this pickup with Alnico 2 Bar Magnets - we do not have them in the custom size required to make them work. We apologize for the inconvenience.
I'm very fond of the sound of the Steel Pole 42 bridge pickup. Which of your neck humbuckers would pair best with this pickup in an American Performer Telecaster Hum? I was thinking the Pure PAF with a nickel cover. Or would a noiseless P-90-Humbucker be a better choice for volume balance? I'd like to keep the original pots in place.
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Q I'm very fond of the sound of the Steel Pole 42 bridge pickup. Which of your neck humbuckers woul...... Read moreA
Hey Joel, that's a good question. If you're looking for a traditional PAF tone, I'd go with our 7.5K Pure P.A.F. Otherwise, our P-92 would be a great choice.
I have a Player series Telecaster. I'm looking to get a thicker tone without sacrificing the Tele vibe. I'm also looking to do the 4-way switch mod. It seems the SP 42 set is what I'm after, but was wondering if you had any other recommendations.
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Q I have a Player series Telecaster. I'm looking to get a thicker tone without sacrificing the Tele...... Read moreA
Hey Noah, either the Steel Pole 42 or Blues Special will work perfectly for what you're after. The Blues Special will retain 100% of the Telecaster vibe while providing a thicker, warmer tone with tapered highs. The Steel Pole 42 will give you a fat midrange with stiffer treble and more growl.
I'm preparing to install a SP42 in a Tele with a Fender Noiseless at the neck. Is this going to be a problem to reverse if they are out if phase?
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Q I'm preparing to install a SP42 in a Tele with a Fender Noiseless at the neck. Is this going to b...... Read moreA
Hey Jimmy, no it shouldn't be hard to reverse. It will be easier to reverse the Fender if you don't have the 3-Wire Option on our Steel Pole 42.
I have the 42 in the neck position but I don’t have the chrome cover… is there any special installation I need to do for this? Also do you have this in stock?
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Q I have the 42 in the neck position but I don’t have the chrome cover… is there any special instal...... Read moreA
Hey David, as it turns out, we don't sell the covers individually. However, you'll need a cover like this to make the modification work. - Tyler
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GET IT PREWIRED
Go the extra mile and combine our Steel Pole 42 Tele with a Telecaster Control Plate!:
Fralin pickups are Flippin’ Awesome! Never disappointed with the pickups form Fralin! We’ve installed many sets and have very satisfied customers
Smooth silk. I’m down to 2 pickup companies. I don’t buy assembled guitars anymore. Fralin hands down are the best single coils around. Glad ya’ll are still innovating. Keep that up. 50+ year player
Customer added no additional comments
Another satisfied customer at Florio Guitars thanks to Lindy Fralin. The perfect Tele upgrade with a twist. Thanks again!
Love these in my Tele.
Wanted a little more bite and gain from my Tele and these work perfectly. Thank you Lindy for talking to me personally to see what I was looking for.
Glad I went with SP 42 in bridge and SP43 in neck
This pickup is also better than I expected, especially when mixed with the SP 43 neck pickup. Sweet sounding and versatile. I love how they nailed the mix of P90 while keeping that classic Tele bridge pickup sound. I love both sounds and this captures that great mix. And, again, like I mention in my SP 43 review, the unexpected increase in sustain that seems exponentially improved from the stock pickups, which were pretty good. I have owned, and currently own, guitars with Barden’s, Fender Custom Shop, Lollar’s, EMG, Seymour Duncan and they’re all great. I kept hearing about how good Fralin’s are and now I know why for real. Seriously considering an SP43 set for my Strat now, when/if the budget works. Thank you!
Flawless and balanced
For a rich velvety tone, especially on the neck, these were just what I was looking for.
Flawless and balanced. For a rich velvety tone, especially on the neck, these were just what I was looking for.
Customer added no additional comments
My 2 cents
The p90 is my favorite pickup as mentioned in my review of the split poled Tele bridge pickup. I’m very happy with this combination I love the nature of the telecaster and I have a road-worn that Larry Cragg set up with his LC Special Fralins but I can’t always play at the volume I need to achieve the overdrive tone I crave and want, though I can use a pedal and have plenty I prefer to just plug and play most of the time. It’s great to just have a good setup great pickups a cord and a good amp with a little reverb turned up to smooth out my mistakes. So pure and raw. With these in my other Tele, I can get that all-day at low volume. The neck pickup is punchy crisp and if I were to call it a bass pickup as some do it’s clear with drive. The lead tone I get sounds like the blistering clear notes that Dickey Betts rolls out. Thanks, Lindy and the helpful staff, I love your products I have them in teles strats and few Gibson’s too.