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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Go the extra mile and combine our Steel Pole 42 Tele with a Telecaster Control Plate!:
Ordered the Steel Pole 42 Bridge for my T-Style guitar. Couldn’t be happier with the sound. Lovely midrange and highs, and reacts to your picking dynamics much better than the original pickup. Very Happy!
Very good pickups that sound exactly as described: somewhere between P90s and traditional Tele pickups. Excellent sound, for sure.
Why not 5-star? Installation wasn’t so smooth, with some quality issues to fix (maybe just bad luck) and I would welcome a more qualitative top cover, as the current one is a bit too plastic looking.
I am still very happy I bought these.
To quote my customer who had me put these in his telecaster; “[email protected]#$%^g awesome! I wish I had ten sets!” But, then he would have to have ten telecasters.
Replaced the neck pickup in my 2010 Acoustasonic Tele, and turned a very ordinary guitar into a great one. Thank you!
Without doubt the absolute best ever, pickups. So fat and sweet and all the good quack!
I installed these pickups in a costumers 2012 telly and he is thrilled with them thanks much Jim
Amazing pickup! Strong, clear, and quiet, with incredible detail. Every nuance of the pick/finger to string contact is reproduced. Superb. Surpassed my expectations, which were high.
Fralins Steel Pole 42’s: Fender Offset Tele and a 68 Princeton Reverb, 0 pedals required
There’s a beach in a glacial lagoon in Iceland of coarse pure black volcanic sand littered by chunks of glacial ice – The Diamond Beach ….and I’ve seen the Northern lights pouring color like vitriol on asphalt there …. Black sky, black beach, light through ice washing and grinding against sand …. Total balance and harmony between cold and clarity and rugged texture, so perfect and rare it feels alien …. When I plugged in my custom offset Tele newly equipped with Fralin’s Steel Pole 42s I had that experience again —- the grit, the color, the clarity, and the awe. Fralins customer service responded almost immediately to my initial email inquiries and made helpful tips and suggestions to get the best experience out of my order and set-up —– once I placed my order, they kept me up-to-date with its status and processing times …. Once it was shipped, they emailed tips and schematics for installation. It was nothing short of the peak of customer service, prioritizing quality control every step along the way. I am absolutely thrilled with my purchase —- and will definitely look to them again in the future. Thank-you Fralin!
Love this pickup!
Sounds exactly as described: between a Tele bridge and P90. I use 13s with a wound G, the adjustable pole pieces are as important to me (for adjusting individual string volume) as the tone. Only improvement is if I would’ve bought the neck pickup too! If you’ve never done bought a Fralin and are a lil nervous, DON’T BE! Fralin and crew are incredibly helpful, insightful and make a very well thought out pickup and company. Just fuggin do it!
Great product, amazing service!
I was looking for a darker and beefier tone on my TC neck and I found it. I was contacted by a Fralin representative to ask exactly how I wanted the guitar set up so they could wire the pickup properly. I didn’t hesitate to order more parts from Fralin and haven’t been disappointed.