Steel Pole 42 Strat
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 Strat 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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P90 + Strat = Bliss.
Want to learn more about our Steel Pole 42 Strat? Here's all the information you'll need:
Steel Pole 42 Strat FEATURES:
If you’re seeking the perfect blend of a P90 and Strat Pickup, look no further than our Steel Pole 42s. Featuring a thicker and warmer tone than our Vintage Hot, 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 Strat 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 Middle pickup for hum-canceling on positions 2 & 4
- 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
- 6K Neck and Middle, 6.8K Bridge
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
Steel Pole 42’s sound larger and richer than traditional Strat 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 P90 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.
Tech Specs
See below for the estimated DCR and Polarity Information for our Steel Pole 42 Strat.
| SPECIFICATION | VALUE |
|---|---|
| Neck Ohm Reading: | 6.1K |
| Middle Ohm Reading: | 6.1K |
| Bridge Ohm Reading: | 6.7K |
| Neck & Bridge Polarity: | Clockwise Coil Direction, South To Strings |
| Reverse Middle Polarity: | Counter-Clockwise Coil Direction, North To Strings |
| Magnet: | Ceramic |
| Wire: | USA-Made 42-Gauge Single Poly Nylon |
| Recommended Pot Value: | 250K |
| Bobbin Material: | USA-Made Precision Injection Mold |
| 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.
Sizing
Steel Pole 42 Strat Questions And Answers:
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Have a question about our Steel Pole 42 Strat? 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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I would like to use these in an HSS strat build. Which humbucker would you recommend that would pair well?
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Q I would like to use these in an HSS strat build. Which humbucker would you recommend that would p...... Read moreA
Hey Jeff, our 8K Pure P.A.F. would sound great with the Steel Pole 42s in the Neck and Middle.
Do Fender brand pickup covers fit on the Steel Pole 42 pickups? I'm trying to match the pickup-covers' color to the color of my pickguard .
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Q Do Fender brand pickup covers fit on the Steel Pole 42 pickups? I'm trying to match the pickup-co...... Read moreA
Hey Tod, yes, Fender Covers will fit on our pickups.
Do the steel pole 42's pair well with a humbucker in the bridge? The humbucker is a MOJO and I tested the ohm's at 4.83 I will also be using a blender circuit. Can you please give me your recommendation. Thanks, Donny. PS I recently purchased a set of tele pickups for a custom build and they sound great.
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Q Do the steel pole 42's pair well with a humbucker in the bridge? The humbucker is a MOJO and I te...... Read moreA
Hey Don, the Steel Pole 42's should work great for your application. I looked to see what humbuckers they offer that are in that ohm range, but I couldn't find any. What model are you pairing with?
Tyler
Is the Steel Pole 42 a very noisy pickup?
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Q Is the Steel Pole 42 a very noisy pickup?A
Hey Jaime, no - the Steel Pole 42 has a pretty quiet operation. That said, it's still a single-coil pickup and will pick up EMF. - Tyler
I have a ALNICO NOISELESS P90 – HUMBUCKER in one of my guitars that I adore. I love the openness and complexity of the pickup. Hoping to recreate some of that sound in my strat. Would this pickup provide a similar sound?
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Q I have a ALNICO NOISELESS P90 – HUMBUCKER in one of my guitars that I adore. I love the openness ...... Read moreA
Hey Christian, yes and no. The Alnico Noiseless P9o Humbucker is more of a Strat-sound as-is, so, I would recommend something like our Blues Specials instead of the Steel Pole series. The Steel Pole series uses pole pieces which pull the pickup into the "p90" realm of tone.
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GET IT PREWIRED
Get our Steel Pole 42 Strat prewired into a Prewired Pickguard!:
I have been using a variety of Fralin pickups for 25 years, and the steel pole 42’s I put in my custom Phigas Bolt guitar capture the Garcia thick single coil tone I was after perfectly. I get complements on the tone every gig. Thank’s Lindy and the team at Fralin Pickups!
The description of these is spot-on, so if that’s what you need, these will do it. The sound is full and clear played clean, but dirty up superbly all with a little P90 flare. I particularly like that the bridge pickup is not wimpy or shrill…its got a good ‘fatness’ to it. Neck pickup offers Surprisingly good Strat’ tone with a little extra push, good quack in 2 & 4 positions. Easy to install… I replaced Gen4 noiseless PUP’s in a limited edition Strat. I had to wait five weeks to get ’em, but not too big a deal. Nice work Fralin team.
Lindy, I just installed the Steel Pole 42 bridge pickup in my Strat. My Strat had fallen to my number 2 guitar after over fifteen years of being number. I could never bond with my previous bridge pickups and thought I would make one last try. The Steel Pole 42 is exceeding all expectations. Where most my playing has been done on the neck pickup in the past, I have been playing almost exclusively on the bridge pickup all day. It is that versatile! It has the extra power I was hoping for but beyond that, it sounds great at all volume and tone settings. My Strat is once again my number one guitar. Thank you for all your help.