Vintage Hot Strat

Real 60's Vintage Strat Tone

$99$297

  • Single Coil
  • Clean & Articulate
  • Traditional Appearance
  • Vintage Output

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( 133 genuine reviews)

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!

Options

Select options for our Vintage Hot Strat:

Select Options Above To Display Add-Ons

Baseplate

Add a Baseplate on the Bridge Pickup.

Include Additional Set Of Covers

Not sure what cover color will work best for your setup? Include an additional set of covers here. Covers come in a set of 3.

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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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:

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

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.

Sound Samples for Vintage Hot Strat:
About this Sound Clip:

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

Tonal Graph For Vintage Hot Strat:

The tonal graph below for our Vintage Hot Strat features Lows, Midrange, Highs, and general Output.

HIGHS
MIDS
LOWS
OUTPUT

Attack: Bright & Sharp

Videos for Vintage Hot Strat:

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 Dimensions:

Fralin Strat Sizing & Dimensions
Our Strat® replacements are standard Stratocaster sizing and spacing. All string spacings are 52mm.

Vintage Hot Strat FAQ's

General FAQs

Here are quick answers to common questions we get:

  • What Ohm Readings does your Vintage Hot Strat 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 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.

  • 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.

Pickup Pairing

Our Vintage Hot Strat pairs well with the following models:

Lindy Fralin Stock Telecaster Set

Vintage Hot Tele - Set

( 155)

Starting At: $ 110

Pair a Middle with a Vintage Hot Tele Set for the ultimate in Nashville Tele Twang.

View Product

Get It Prewired

Get our Vintage Hot Strat prewired into a Prewired Pickguard!:

Customer Reviews

133 Genuine Reviews for Vintage Hot Strat

  1. Francesco Buzzi-Ferraris

    Verified Purchase

    Best pickups set I’ve ever played
    I have replaced the original set of pickups of my American Standard Strat with the Vintage Hot(test) and couldn’t have done a better choice. The sound of my guitar changed completely for the best and now it has a huge personality. Super happy with my purchase and definitely recommend them. Honorable mention for the Blender Pot that I installed with the VH pickups, once you get used to it you can play sounds unknown before to a Strat and very similar to a Tele. Almost two guitars in one. Thank you again guys

  2. Jonathan Bass

    Verified Purchase

    Incredible pickups. Surpassed all of my expectations. I got the hybrid stagger for my 16″ radius neck and the balance is amazing. The folks here are a pleasure to work with as well. I will definitely be a return customer.

  3. CJ

    Wow. Just Wow. With a good setup, quality neck and these Vintage hots installed you just can’t go wrong. Especially through my cranked Silverface ’68 Princeton Reverb Reissue, holy cow do these pickups sound great. Exactly as Strat should sound, these make everything else sound way too hot, with way too many mids or just lifeless and flat. Highly recommend investing in these if your strat doesn’t already have a set of actual, good quality vintage pickups in it already.

  4. LCL

    Verified Purchase

    Something was always nagging me about the G&L Legacy Special obtained in my youth. Maybe it was the humbucking dual-blade pickups, or the PTB™ that kept it from achieving the magical tonality I expected. After installing a set of Vintage Hots and blender configuration I can finally hear the fully realized sound of the this expertly crafted instrument.

  5. John Davis

    Replaced a set of emg dg-20 pickups with vintage hot w/ pickguard. Much brighter and fresh sounding. Clean distinct edges to each note. The pickups have great response to the pots. My old pickups clearly didn’t like a couple of my drives; the vintage hots sound awesome with those same drives so now they’re back in the lineup. I basically have a new custom strat with a couple new drives for the price of a set of pickups. Couldn’t be happier with my purchase. Went from a guitar that was seldom played to being my #1.

  6. Jim

    Just installed a set of Vintage Hots in my MIM Strat – it’s like I have a brand new guitar. Somehow the guitar is cleaner & more articulate, but more aggressive & throaty at the same time. I couldn’t be happier.

  7. A Linden

    Verified Purchase

    Neck standard stagger. Soundwise everything it was said to be. Very easy to get that sweet gritty sound and still have clarity. Only drawback was that the white lead cable was quite short and since I bought the neck version it needed an extention. The black lead was longer and A OK!

  8. Adam Goldfine

    Verified Purchase

    The sound of the Vintage Hots is absolutely incredible. Articulate and versatile, I now love the sound of my Strat. Not only that, Lindy spend a very generous amount of time on the phone with me answering questions and discussing every aspect of my rebuild including shielding, capacitor values, wiring schemes, treble bleed circuits and more. As a result, I tried some things I might not have otherwise and ended up with way more than I bargained for. The pickups shipped fast and I couldn’t be happier. Great product, great company, great people!

  9. Ron Collier

    I discovered a secret. If you want a great sounding guitar, don’t buy a top of the line Fender Strat. Instead find a Squier with a good neck and get Lindy’s Vintage Hot pickups installed. Better sound for a fraction of the price. By the way, I also love his Blues Specials, Split Blades, and Sunbucker pickups. His installation work is also first rate.

  10. Jamie

    It’s hard to describe these pickups any better than all of the previous reviewers have, but I’ll offer what I can. I bought myself an MJT relic-job Strat type guit that came with some vintage hots. Aside from the beautiful job MJT did, it was the Fralins that attracted me to the GUI in the first place. After a little bit of adjustment (raising the high E side of all three pups), the guitar just came to life. What beautiful tone. Just absolutely perfect. Round, warm, snap, chime. It’s all there. The toughest decision you’ll have is which position you’re gonna want to play in. Nice job guys! Thanks for your dedication to the art and craft of making beautiful pickups.

  11. Mike C.

    Verified Purchase

    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!

  12. Matthew W.

    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!

  13. Britt

    Verified Purchase

    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.

  14. Ben Mueller

    Verified Purchase

    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!

  15. Dan Kaufmanb

    Verified Purchase

    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

  16. Danny

    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.

  17. Bob

    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.

  18. Kevin Thomas

    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.

  19. ahmet orhon

    The only thing i can say it is great.
    Thanks Lindy Fralin.

  20. T92780

    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!

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