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.
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Vintage Hot Strat FEATURES:
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.
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
SOUND
Tonal Graph for Vintage Hot Strat:
The tone graph below for our Vintage Hot Strat features Lows, Midrange, Highs, and general Output.
Attack:
Sound Clips for Vintage Hot Strat:
About this Sound Clip:
All sound samples are played from Neck Position First and Bridge Position Last.
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.
Sizing
Tech Specs
See below for the estimated DCR and Polarity Information for our Vintage Hot Strat.
| SPECIFICATION | VALUE |
|---|---|
| Neck Ohm Reading: | 6K 1 |
| Middle Ohm Reading: | 6K 1 |
| Bridge Ohm Reading: | 6.6K 1 |
| 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 |
| 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.
Vintage Hot Strat FAQ's
General FAQs
Here are quick answers to common questions we get:
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What Ohm Readings does your Vintage Hot Strat have?
Navigate to our Tech Specs tab for complete Ohm Readings and more useful information.
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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.
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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.
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What pickup height do you recommend setting your Vintage Hot Strats 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.
Product FAQ's
These are frequently asked questions about our Vintage Hot Strat. If you have a question that you don't see listed here, click "Ask A Question" in the Quick Links section above.
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What's the tonal difference between this pickup and the Real '54s?
The Real ’54s utilize Alnico 3 Magnets, which provide a softer, spongier attack and a bit more glassiness when compared to the Vintage Hots. The Vintage Hots feature a more modern attack and a bit more bottom-end.
Pairing
Our Vintage Hot Strat pairs well with the following models:
Vintage Hot Tele - Set
Starting At: $110
Pair a Middle with a Vintage Hot Tele Set for the ultimate in Nashville Tele Twang.
View ProductGET IT PREWIRED
Get our Vintage Hot Strat prewired into a Prewired Pickguard!:
Featured Reviews
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CUSTOMER REVIEWS
128 Genuine Reviews for Vintage Hot Strat
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After researching various pups to the nth degree for my American strat, I took a chance on a Vintage Hot set with baseplate. I could not be happier! These replaced a set of DiMarzio Virtual Vintage that I’ve had for years, which I finally admitted to myself never sounded “strat-y” enough. It’s like a completely different guitar. Cleans are super chimey and vintage sounding, just as I’ve been hearing in my head. With some dirt, the pickups have the right amount of growl and bite, with the ability to track incredibly well without losing their character one bit. I am extremely happy and will be playing this axe more and more. The tone is inspiring and sounds as it should’ve from day one! Also, Tyler was helpful with some wiring questions along the way. Try these!
Years ago the owner of my local guitar shop told me “just get some Lindy Fralin Vintage Hots, they are the best Strat pickups there are.” I was in to heavier music then and had some hotter Seymour Duncan pups (JB in the bridge and teo Quarter Pounders) in my beloved Strat, but I filed that information away. Recently I decided it was time to make my Strat a real Strat again with three vintage type single coil pickups. I did a lot of looking but finally decided on the Fralin Vintage Hots. I got the baseplate on the bridge and a blender pot as well. I must say I am over the moon with my choice. These things are vintage Strat for days! Chimey, glassy, woody, clear, articulate, and amazingly responsive and touch sensitive both clean and with gain. I’m in love! I can’t recommend these more, thanks Lindy and company!
I just swapped out the stock pups on my American Select Strat (HSS) with the ‘Vintage Hots’, neck and middle. The difference is absolutely astounding, just an incredible upgrade in tone: more bell-like, glassy clarity throughout. These pups are never leaving this guitar! Completely satisfied.
I upgraded an old Mexican Strat I had with a Pure PAF in the bridge, and a couple of Vintage Hots in the middle and neck positions. This thing totally sings now. Nice and glassy, but still with a nice bottom end. Before the upgrade, I felt like I could only really use the bridge or bridge mid setting on the guitar. The mid and neck pickups by themselves were too muddy. But now, every pickup position offers tone as clear as a bell. So much more versatile than it was before. Thanks guys!
I Recently got your Vintage Hots for my Strat and wanted to say that I love them. These are the third set of pickups I’ve had in this guitar (american standard) and I’m finally happy. Your pickups have found homes in both of my Fenders ( I also have a Tele) and both sound amazing. Great quality pickups and supportive customer service. Thanks for explaining the differences between the pickups and helping me to make a decision
Holy cow are these the real deal…I recently had the opportunity to play a few Strats with Vintage Hots in them next to about 4 different sets of pickups being offered today, and objectively in my opinion, these ran circles around them without breaking a sweat. Worth every penny if you’re into that classic Strat tone, and feel like you can only get ‘so close’ with what the guitar makers offer today.
Swapped these into my Am Strat that was good but not great, now it sings.
These are the best strat pickups on the market. Period.
Need to grab some more for my 57 relic very soon.
After two years of searching for the right set of strat pickups I finally broke for a set of these. I have wanted these for a while but went down the road every time the idea came to mind. Not this past weekend. I have not yet installed the base plate, will being doing that soon. My tele has a set of pickups that will stay in it forever, AND NOW my stratocaster has a set of pickups that will stay in it for ever. Thank you Lindy this guitar sounds the way a stratocaster should sound in my head. Also I went with the blender option which is a must in my book. I had the Gilmore switch in and its like that with a whole lot more options. Couldn’t be happier, had the chance to speak with Lindy on the phone as well some time ago amazingly good advice and tremendously friendly. You will not find customer service like that anywhere. His work is worth every penny. Thanks a million.
The only thing i can say it is great.
Thanks Lindy Fralin.
Vintage Hot’s w/Bass Plate are among the best Strat pickups in marketplace and best $260.00 tonal investment you can make. They chime, sparkle and growl….great pickups!!
Cheers!