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Fralin Steel Pole Telecaster Pickups
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Steel Pole Tele Bridge

Steel Pole 42 Tele

Perfect Balance of P90 and Tele Tone

$115 – $230

  • Single Coil
  • Thick & Versatile
  • Unique Appearance
  • Modern Output

Lindy Fralin Original Design

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( 50 genuine reviews)

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.

 

Options

Customize your Steel Pole 42 Tele:

Select Options Above To Display Add-Ons

Neck Options *

Choose how you want your Neck Pickup to look like! If no option is selected, you will receive no cover with Black Tape.

Bridge Options *

Specify if you want White Cloth String or Black Cloth String on your bridge. If no option is chosen, you will receive White String.

Pickup Options

If buying a single Neck or Bridge, you can select the corresponding option below to reverse the polarity of the pickup. Optionally, you can choose whether you want Gold Screws or not.

Nashville Tele Info:

Are you buying pickups for a Nashville Telecaster Setup? Make sure you check this box to let us know. Make sure you add a middle pickup as well. Our Nashville Polarity will cancel hum in positions 2 & 4, like a Strat.

SPEED UP YOUR ORDER

Since you're buying a single pickup, we might need more information from you. To avoid unnecessary delays in your order, please choose one of the options below:

Be sure to read our article on Pickup Polarity here.

Notice

Due to the nature of Raw Nickel, Raw Nickel may contain slight cosemetic defects or abrasions.

Recommendation

We recommend using 2-Conductor With Shield Lead when purchasing a single pickup. 2-Conductor lead allows you to reverse the phase should you have phase issues. Learn About Lead Choice

Upgrade To A Prewired Pickguard

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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:

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.

Sound Samples for Steel Pole 42 Tele:
About this Sound Clip:

All sound samples are played from Neck Position First and Bridge Position Last.

Tonal Graph For Steel Pole 42 Tele:

The tonal graph below for our Steel Pole 42 Tele features Lows, Midrange, Highs, and general Output.

HIGHS
MIDS
LOWS
OUTPUT

Attack: Stiff & Percussive

Tech Specs:

See below for the estimated DCR and Polarity Information for our Steel Pole 42 Tele.

SPECIFICATION VALUE
Neck Ohm Reading:7.7K* 1
Bridge Ohm Reading:6.7K 1
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 2
More Information:

1 Ohm Readings can vary due to a multitude of factors, including ambient temperature, multimeter calibration, different wire batches, and other factors. Due to this, ohm readings are approximate. Learn more about Ohm Readings here.

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.

*The Neck reads higher due to the use of 43 Gauge Wire, outputs are compensated

Polarity Information:

Here's how we wind and magnetize our pickups:

Fralin Telecaster Polarity

Note: All of our coil directions are depicted from Ground (Black Wire, or Start Wire) to Hot (White Wire, or Finish Wire).

Steel Pole 42 Tele Dimensions:

Steel Pole Tele Dimensions

Steel Pole 42 Tele FAQ's

General FAQs

Here are quick answers to common questions we get:

  • What Ohm Readings does your Steel Pole 42 Tele have?

    Navigate to our Tech Specs Tab for complete Ohm Readings and more useful information.

  • 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.

  • Is your Lead Time of 2-3 Weeks 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.

  • What pickup height do you recommend setting your Steel Pole 42 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.

Pickup Pairing

Our Steel Pole 42 Tele pairs well with the following models:

Steel Pole 43 - Lindy Fralin Pickups

Steel Pole 42 Strat - Middle

( 28)

Starting At: $ 110

Pair with a Steel Pole 42 Reverse Middle for a Smokin' Nashville Tele tone.

View Product
Fralin Split Steel Pole Tele Bridge

Split Steel Poled Tele - Bridge

( 72)

Starting At: $ 129

Our Split Steel Pole Tele Bridge is the perfect noiseless companion for our Steel Pole 42.

Sound Clip Coming Soon
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Get it prewired

Go the extra mile and combine our Steel Pole 42 Tele with a Telecaster Control Plate!:

Get It Prewired - Lindy Fralin Pickups

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