Vintage Hot Strat
Make your Stratocaster sound like a Strat should with Lindy Fralin’s Vintage Hots. As our best-selling Stratocaster set, Vintage Hots offer the purest vintage Strat tone. Vintage Hots have a warm, balanced midrange with lots of sparkle and clarity on the top, guaranteeing you’ll stand out in the mix. If you’re looking for the purest Stratocaster tone, look no further than these pickups right here!
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Fralin Vintage Hots: Real Vintage Strat Tone.
Want to learn more about our Vintage Hot Strat? Here's all the information you'll need:
Vintage Hot Strat FEATURES:
- Modified Vintage Fender specifications, with modern output
- Bright, clean tone with balance across lows and highs
- USA-made Alnico 5 Magnets for optimal tonal balance and output
- RW/RP Middle for Hum-Cancelling in Positions 2 & 4
- Two magnet staggers available for different fingerboard radiuses
- Hand-wound with our “Sectioning” technique for unique, dynamic tone
- Hand-built fiberboard Bobbins for unrivaled quality control
- 10-Year Warranty on manufacturing defects
- 6K Neck & Middle, 6.6K Bridge
OVERVIEW
Vintage Hot Pickups: our best selling single coil set. If you’re looking for a sparkling, bright, and open sound, you will love these pickups’ tone. Vintage Hots give you a balanced 50’s Tone: a smooth balance between bright and fat. They fit in the middle sonically of our Real 54’s and Blues Specials.
These pickups are era-authentic: wound with USA-made 42-gauge Formvar-enameled wire and built with USA-made AlNiCo V magnets. These pickups sound smooth, balanced, and beautiful.
SOUND
Vintage Hots sparkle and sound very open and clear without sounding “tinny” or glassy. These pickups sound big and full, with an even balance of Bass, Middle, and Treble, clean or dirty. The tone cuts through with distortion – while remaining very dynamic and thick.
Expect a precise low-end and an acute attack. Single notes cut through with ease, while chords have an excellent string-to-string definition.
Are you looking for a Hum Cancelling Strat pickup that actually sounds like a Strat? Check out the Vintage Output of our Split Blade Strat Pickups
Our manufacturing process allows us to achieve unparalleled quality control. Our Vintage Hots consist of locally-stamped fiberboard and USA-Made Alnico 5 Magnets. We wind each pickup by hand, one at a time. We wind each pickup using our proprietary “Sectioning” technique. Our Sectioning Technique gives the pickup a sweet, bright tone. Finally, we wax-pot the pickup to preserve the pickup and prevent microphonics.
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Tech Specs
See below for the estimated DCR and Polarity Information for our Vintage Hot Strat.
| SPECIFICATION | VALUE |
|---|---|
| Neck Ohm Reading: | 6K |
| Middle Ohm Reading: | 6K |
| Bridge Ohm Reading: | 6.6K |
| Neck & Bridge Polarity: | Clockwise Coil Direction, South to Strings |
| Reverse Middle Polarity: | Counter-Clockwise Coil Direction, North to Strings |
| Recommended Pot Value: | 250K |
| Magnet: | USA-Made Alnico 5 |
F.A.Q's
- What Magnet Stagger Do I Use? It all depends on your fingerboard radius. If you have a 7.25″ – 9.5″ radius, we recommend going with Stock Stagger. If you have a 10″ radius or flatter, including compound radius, go with a Hybrid stagger.
- What’s the difference between Blues Specials and Vintage Hots? Blues Specials have more turns per pickup – they sound thicker and darker, with more output than Vintage Hots. Vintage Hots sound cleaner, clearer, and a tad bit more balanced.
- How far away from the strings does the pickup need to be? 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 pushing the High E string down at the highest fret.
Sizing
Vintage Hot Strat Questions And Answers:
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CUSTOMER REVIEWS
94 reviews for Vintage Hot Strat
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Hi, how is the pole spacing? (for check the right replacement cover in black version)
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Which stagger would you suggest for a ’50’s Roadworn MIM Strat?
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What is the purpose of the baseplate?
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Hello, for a set of your vintage hot strat, what does the baseplate under the bridge pickup do? Would you suggest using a set of three of these pickups with the .015 mf cap?
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Hi, I have a left handed 98 MIM Strat. Looking at the Vintage Hots with bridge plate. Not sure if I should get Stock Stagger or Hybrid Stagger. I believe the guitar has a 9.5 radius, but not positive. Any guidance you can give would be super helpful. Thank you, Gregg
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Great pickup!
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Vintage Hots (stock) in 1987 Am. Std. Strat
After24 yrs, decided the stock PUs sounded not so great..after much looking, listening, and recommendations…ordered the VH’s and had installed. WOW..warmer, better, not as harsh…but the bridge PU was the real shocker, it sounds amazing..slightly hotter so there’s not a volume drop off, but the tone was way better and sound that’s 100% usable now (i rarely, if ever, used the bridge on it’s own before).
Hi, how is the pole spacing? (for check the right replacement cover in black version)
Hey Alessandro – 52mm on all pickups.
Which stagger would you suggest for a ’50’s Roadworn MIM Strat?
Hey Gerry, Stock Stagger would work best.
What is the purpose of the baseplate?
The Baseplate adds a bit more power and punch to the Bridge pickup. The tone is similar to a Telecaster bridge pickup.
Hello, for a set of your vintage hot strat, what does the baseplate under the bridge pickup do? Would you suggest using a set of three of these pickups with the .015 mf cap?
Hey Bill,
The Baseplate adds a bit more power and punch to the Bridge pickup. The tone is similar to a Telecaster bridge pickup. If using the Magic Cap (0.015), just note that it will not work as a normal tone cap. It only rolls off the highest treble of the Bridge Pickup only, and you might not hear its effect on the Neck pickup.
Hi, I have a left handed 98 MIM Strat. Looking at the Vintage Hots with bridge plate. Not sure if I should get Stock Stagger or Hybrid Stagger. I believe the guitar has a 9.5 radius, but not positive. Any guidance you can give would be super helpful. Thank you, Gregg
Hey Gregg, most of the Strats during that era were around 9.5″. I would select Stock, but if the fingerboard feels pretty flat to you, you can’t go wrong with Hybrid!