Vintage Hot Strat
Real 60's Vintage Strat Tone
$105 – $315
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:
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.
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 |
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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 |
Additional Technical Info:
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.
Polarity Information:
Here's how we wind and magnetize our pickups:
Note: All of our coil directions are depicted from Ground (Black Wire, or Start Wire) to Hot (White Wire, or Finish Wire).
Vintage Hot Strat Dimensions:
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 1 Week 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.
Pickup Pairing
Our Vintage Hot Strat pairs well with the following models:
Vintage Hot Tele - Set
Starting At: $ 120
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
Reviews We Worked Hard For, and Are Proud Of
Customer Reviews
138 Genuine Reviews for Vintage Hot Strat
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Customer added no additional comments
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Did a “stealth” rebuild of a Squier Mini-Strat with my local luthier: locking tuners, bone nut, frets dressed, replaced all the wiring, pots, jacks and switch – piece de resistance: a set of Fralin Vintage Hots. The little bratty stratty is a hoot to play, and even more of a hoot to bring out on stage to play classic rock.
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Vintage hots
Man. These were exactly what my Frankenstein strat needed. The pickups I had in there before were sort of flat, with not much going on, and I barely used the bridge except to tune. I played a gig on the vintage hots the day they were installed and I felt like a new player! I even played on the bridge most of the night. The tonal possibilities just popped right out. I love these Pickups. Well done!
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Lindy and staff are hallmark examples of customer service excellence! Thank you for your suggestions… I am very happy with the tone and balanced output of these pickups!
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I recently purchased a Nashville Tele pickup set consisting of 2% overwound Stock Tele pickups with a Vintage Hot Strat middle pickup. I installed them 2 weeks ago and absolutely love them. They are perfectly balanced in output and tone. There is no hum or buzzing or phase issues. Combined with my B Bender, they make my Tele so versatile and fun to play. I highly recommend this Nashville Tele set, it’s the perfect medium output. This is the fourth set of Tele pickups I’ve bought from Lindy Fralin in the last 7 years and I’ve never been disappointed. I’ve also had his bass pickups as well and I can’t say enough good things about Lindy’s products. The people there do great work and turn out first-class products. My pickups were shipped on time and safely packaged. I will be a customer for life.
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Superb tone and dynamics!
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received a set from santa and had them installed on a warmoth strat. if only every christmas consisted of lindy fralin pickups!
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Hello I recently purchased a Nashville Tele pickup set consisting of 2% overwound Stock Tele pickups with a Vintage Hot Strat middle pickup. I installed them 2 weeks ago and absolutely love them. They are perfectly balanced in output and tone. There is no hum or buzzing or phase issues. Combined with my B Bender, they make my Tele so versatile and fun to play. I highly recommend this Nashville Tele set, it’s the perfect medium output. This is the fourth set of Tele pickups I’ve bought from Lindy Fralin in the last 7 years and I’ve never been disappointed. I’ve also had his bass pickups as well and I can’t say enough good things about Lindy’s products. The people there do great work and turn out first class products. My pickups were shipped on time and safely packaged. I will be a customer for life.
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Great sounding pickups, excellent customer service from the team helping me out with the pickguard and wiring. Went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure I was happy with the sound of my guitar. Would happily buy from them again.
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Simply THE BEST!!!
After trying probably dozens of Stratocaster pickups, I’ve finally found what I think is THE BEST!!! I’ve put these in 3 different guitars now and even have them in my personal Strat. They sound just like a Stratocaster should in my opinion and really show off why the Strat is one of the most versatile electric guitars ever designed. I just can’t find a bad thing to say about them or about Fralin. If you ever have any questions before or after your purchase they are always happy to take care of you. I’ve spoken to Lindy on the phone a few times and he is the real deal…kind, knowledgeable, friendly, down to earth. From now on when I need pickups all I think is Fralin. The end. -
I can’t put my strat down. These pickups are great!! I’ve always preferred the Tele over a strat but now with these pickups. The strat is that much better. Keeping the original strat sound but with more usable power. Excellent tone
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I just installed these for a customer at the last moment for Christmas so thank you guys for getting it out quickly. I just wanted to follow up and let you know that he really wanted to use the D brand but I snuck these in after talking with his dad who told him about it Christmas morning and he absolutely loves the pickups. RIght now he wont put it down and playing all the time. The entire guitar turned out to be one of the prettiest I have ever made. Ill have a picture or 2 of him playing it before long so if you are interested i hope you check it out.
Thanks for working with me on getting out a fantastic set fairly quickly.
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Fralin Stock Tele and Vintage Hot Strat
I brought 2 sets, the Tele replacements first, then the Strat.
Stock Tele: went into a 61CS Tele. I went for the 5% overwound bridge but wish I had got the 2% or stock bridge as the bridge pup is a little too edgy. The neck pup is perfect.
Vintage Hot Strat: went in a 62CS Strat, and are beautifully balanced, with enough sting, very happy with these. -
Amazing pickups! For a couple of decades, I tried to find the right mix of ingredients for a perfect strat and vintage hot turned out to be the gamechanger. The stock p/us in American Vintage ’60s strat are quite good, but vintage hots just seem to widen the sound palette taking you to a much more interesting sound landscape.
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Vintage Hots are Smokin!
I was always disappointed with the pickups on my Strat. I’m pretty much a Gibson guy and a humbucker guy, but when the tone called for a Strat, I wanted a nice thick, warm sound that had some muscle to it. My original Strat pickups, and also a set of Texas Specials were just disappointing. With the Vintage Hots, my Strat is like a new guitar… can’t put it down. And now I like the bridge pickup position…rarely used it before because it was too weak and thin. Now it growls. In combination with the pickups, I also put a 3-position switch in (with the 5-position, I kept brushing against it when strumming and when in the neck position kept knocking it to the out of phase position) Now the middle pickup is a viable tone choice. I love these pickups! -
Great Vintage Spec Pickups
I bought these pickups and installed them in my American Professional Stratocaster, because I wanted a more vintage sounding tone. I was very impressed with these, and especially the bridge pickup because it is fatter and less shrill than the v-mods I had before. I would definitely recommend if you want that vintage strat tone. -
Clear vintage Stratocaster sound
In the past few months, I replaced the stock pickups on my 1988 and 2001 American Stratocasters with Lindy Fralin’s Vintage Hot pickups. What a difference! these guitars both ring out with pure strat tone beauty. I had heard that these pickups were great and that was no exaggeration. Not louder just great tone. Finally that authentic Strat-ness! -
After 30 years, this Strat sings with Fralin Vintage Hot set
Japanese strat that had all kinds of pickups over the years. Stripped it all down. Put some sonic blue Nitro finishing and took care of the neck and frets properly. Only thing left was to put new pickups in. And in they stay. Fralin’s are Strat the way they should be. Hard to find now a days. -
Just received and fitted my loaded pick-guard with vintage hot set [incl base-plate].Installation was straight forward although I added another wire from the shielding paint[body] that is a feature of most of the modern bodies. I used the excess wire supplied and trimmed from the pre-wired pick-guard. I advise fitting the loaded pick guard before final fitment of a 22 fret neck [just easier].
This was a new “parts-caster” using new American Fender parts – American performer alder body, American professional maple neck[deep “C”]
I was advised to get the guitar action sounding right before adjusting pickup heights and I think this was good advice. I used Fender factory specs as a starting point, and Lindy’s pickup height adjustment video as a guide to pickup heights.
Sounds glorious, and they are everything that they say they are. I am still blown away by the tonal variation I can get, and the rich tonal landscape. -
Splendid! These are some mighty fine pickups. The best I have ever put in a strat. Customer service is outstanding.
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