Vintage Hot Tele
Vintage Tone & Twang
$120 – $240
Experience the ultimate in clarity and articulation with our era-authentic Fralin Vintage Hot Tele set. Warm, clear lows paired with brilliant highs, our Vintage Hot Tele set will inspire you with all the twang you desire. Built with all USA-Made parts, you can take pride in knowing we made every aspect of your pickups with the highest-quality materials possible.
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The Ultimate in Tele Twang
Want to learn more about our Vintage Hot Tele? Here's all the information you'll need:
Features
Are you looking for the cleanest and most transparent tone out of your Tele? We got you! Vintage Hot Tele Pickups: our second best-selling Tele set. This set features a bright, pure sound that allows you to cut through the mix and hear every nuance in your playing. Wound by hand to ’50s specs, you can feel great knowing your pickups were wound by our expert craftsmen, specifically for you.
Features:
- Original Fender specifications, with modern output
- Clean and clear, lots of Fender sparkle and twang
- USA-made Alnico 5 Magnets for optimal tonal balance and output
- Compensated Bridge for even volume across all pickups
- 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
- Backed by our 10-Year Warranty on manufacturing defects
- 6.6K Bridge, 7.4K Neck
Sound & Video
This pickup set is perfect for those looking for the most traditional Tele twang out of their Telecaster. Vintage Hot Tele Pickups excel at cleaner styles of music. Expect a robust and open midrange, clear bass strings, and bright and sharp-sounding plain strings. The break-up is smooth and late, ideal for cleaner players or a softer playing style.
Vintage Hot Tele Pickups are for those who need the most traditional Vintage Telecaster tone. If you’re playing style involves more distortion, or, if you prefer smoother, darker-sounding pickups, you might like our Blues Specials a bit more. However, If your current pickups are too dark, or if you’re looking for some added definition and clarity, you will love these. You’ll wonder why you didn’t make the switch earlier.
Our manufacturing process allows us to achieve unparalleled quality control. These Telecaster pickups consist of local fiberboard and USA-Made Alnico 5 Magnets. We wind each pickup by hand, one at a time. Each pickup is wound using our proprietary “Sectioning” technique. This gives the pickup a sweet, clear tone. Finally, we wax-pot the pickup to preserve the pickup and prevent microphonics. Rest assured: when you receive this pickup, you’ll know it’s painstakingly made with love.
Sound Samples for Vintage Hot Tele:
About this Sound Clip:
All sound samples are played from Neck Position First and Bridge Position Last.
Tonal Graph For Vintage Hot Tele:
The tonal graph below for our Vintage Hot Tele features Lows, Midrange, Highs, and general Output.
Attack: Bright & Sharp
Videos for Vintage Hot Tele:
Tech Specs:
See below for the estimated DCR and Polarity Information for our Vintage Hot Tele.
| SPECIFICATION | VALUE |
|---|---|
| Neck Ohm Reading: | 7.6K* 1 |
| Bridge Ohm Reading: | 6.8K 1 |
| Neck Polarity: | Counter Clockwise Coil Direction, North To Strings |
| Bridge Polarity: | Clockwise Coil Direction, South To Strings |
| Magnet: | USA-Made Alnico 5 |
| Wire: | USA-Made 42 / 43 Plain Enamel* |
| Recommended Pot Value: | 250K |
| 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.
*The Neck reads higher due to the use of 43 Gauge Wire, outputs are compensated
Polarity Information:
Here's how we wind and magnetize our pickups:
Note: We depict all our coil directions from Ground (Black Wire, or Start Wire) to Hot (White Wire, or Finish Wire).
Vintage Hot Tele Dimensions:
Featured Artists
These artists trust their tone to our Vintage Hot Tele
Solo Artist
"Lindy Fralin nailed everything I love about vintage Strat pickups a long time ago and that’s why I’ve kept them in some of my favorite guitars all these years. Truly inspirational in the studio, on the road and stirring up the neighbors at home."
D.J. Williams BandKarl Denson's Tiny UniverseJohn Legend
“As a tone fanatic, I’m always chasing that perfect balance of warmth, clarity, and punch—and Lindy Fralin pickups deliver every time. Whether I’m laying down clean rhythms or pushing my amp into overdrive, these pickups respond with incredible dynamics and character. The craftsmanship is top-tier, and they bring out the best in my playing. If you’re serious about your tone, Fralins are the real deal.”
Pickup Pairing
Our Vintage Hot Tele pairs well with the following models:
Vintage Hot Strat - Middle
Starting At: $ 105
Pair a Vintage Hot Tele Set with a Vintage Hot Strat Middle for a Twangy Nashville Set!
Real '54s - Middle
Starting At: $ 105
Pair a Vintage Hot Tele Set with a Real '54 Strat Middle for the ultimate "Quack" in positions 2 & 4.
Get it prewired
Go the extra mile and combine our Vintage Hot Tele with a Telecaster Control Plate!:
Featured Reviews
Reviews We Worked Hard For, and Are Proud Of
Customer Reviews
167 Genuine Reviews for Vintage Hot Tele
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Esquire Use – Great Tele/Esquire bridge pickup sound. Very twangy but not piercing. Happy I bought.
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Exceeded My Expectations
I’ve had a couple of weeks to live with the new Fralin tele pickup, and my initial enthusiasm hasn’t waned. I’ve used another boutique bridge PU (rhymes with dollar) for many years in this guitar, and I’ve always been pretty pleased with it, but it didn’t give me exactly what I heard in my head. The Fralin stock tele with 2% overwind turned my head the first time I played it. It has a harmonic richness I felt was missing before, a very classic early 60’s tele sound, but with great bass response, ample output and sparkle with no harshness. I’m rethinking this guitar now, and I feel it’s more versatile and rewarding to play. It covers a broad stylistic territory and has great touch sensitivity. I could say more, but just thinking about this pickup makes me want to stop and play that guitar again. Let’s just say it exceeded my expectations. The pandemic is beginning to ease, and I’m looking forward to getting back to regular gigging with this guitar and running the Fralin through its paces. I see more of Lindy’s PUs in my future.
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Sounds like butter
Called these guys up when one of my factory Tele pups went bad to ask about options. Ended up with the Tele “stock” model. They’re the best sounding Tele pickups I’ve ever heard. Thanks, guys!
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Perfect! Dominant Tele Twang
Love these pickups. This set is in a baritone Tele wired 4-way. So full, very even output. The best of the Tele sound I want and more. Have already recommended.
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I purchased stock pick ups for my MIM telecaster with the pre-wired control panel. The labelled wires made things a snap for soldering with no issues. I’m very pleased with the tone. The tone is clear and crisp and the neck pick up is like night and day compared to the original. I also purchased push pull pots for both volume and tone which make things even brighter. Sometimes that’s what you want, sometimes not but I have a choice. Don’t even hesitate you will not be disappointed.
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I wanted to install a Stratocaster pickup in my tele, which would have required a new pickguard, and probably some body routing. I was fortunate enough to talk to Lindy, who informed me that he could basically replicate a Strat vintage hot neck pickup in the tele size. It’s perfect! I was looking for more of the Strat bite in the neck, and it totally delivers. Find myself playing that tele more and more now. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me and figure out exactly what I was looking for. I love it!
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Classic Tele sound
I put these in my Tele that had a Bill Lawrence bridge pickup and Fender Texas Special neck pickup. The Fralins are more twangy with more high end which is what I was going for. -
Stock Tele Neck, +2% Bridge
I installed my new Fralin pickups in an MIM Deluxe Tele and they really bring a new dimension to the sound. It took a little fine-tuning to get the pickup height and amp settings right, but once I dialed everything I have been very happy. There’s just a ton of definition to the sound across the frequency spectrum. The Stock neck pickup sounds incredible to my ears on a clean setting – it has warmth, chime, and clarity all in one. With drive, the pickup retains warmth and clarity without getting muddy. I went with a +2% overwind on the bridge pickup. Clean, the bridge pickup has a lot of bite and twang and I find that I need to tame it a bit by slightly rolling off the tone. Once adjusted, it’s got the classic tele clean tone. But, I find the bridge pickup really shines with gain where the growl and overtones really come through. The middle position also works best for me with the tone rolled off a bit, but with light overdrive this really nails the Stax sound. I also installed with a 4-way switch. The two pickups in series give a big boost in volume and mid-range – it’s definitely a usable sound for a “creamy” lead but I spend way more time in the other three positions. -
Custom Tele neck pickup
I wanted to install a Stratocaster pickup in my tele, which would have required a new pickguard, and probably some body routing. I was fortunate enough to talk to Lindy, who informed me that he could basically replicate a Strat vintage hot neck pickup in the tele size. It’s perfect! I was looking for more of the Strat bite in the neck, and it totally delivers. Find myself playing that tele more and more now. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me and figure out exactly what I was looking for. I love it! -
Just What I Wanted! I got the stock tele neck pick up only and am thinking about getting a bridge because the neck sounds so good. When I had a problem with installation they called me and helped me through, super fantastic customer service throughout.
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I installed these in a 1985 MIJ ’62 Tele Custom Reissue. I am amazed by the improvement in tone over the stock pickups. They are punchy, articulate, and sweet-sounding. Highly recommended!!
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Absolutely amazing!
I started building a partscaster over a year ago. This project has been a labor of love. I’ve dumped a lot of money into a guitar that really wasn’t anything special.. Well, until now. After I installed the Stock Tele pickups this guitar was transformed. I will put this tele up against ANY stock Fender tele. For one I sheilded all the cavities and this is the first Tele I’ve ever played that was dead silent. No hum. No noise. It’s absolutely amazing. The tones I get out of this guitar now are unbelievable. This is the first guitar I’ve ever owned where I’m not cranking all the knobs to 10. There are so many tones now. And the best part. I’ve been inspired. I’ve been playing a lot more. At 38 I don’t play as much as I used to. I’ve been a metal player all my life and the last year I’ve really been working hard to get my country chops up. I have a whole new lease on playing again. I find myself playing 4-10 hours a day just like when I was a kid. While I write this review I’m waiting on my next set of Fralin pickups to arrive. Now I’m building a Strat! After that I might try some P90’s in one of my Les Pauls. I can’t speak to any higher praise than that of Lindy Fralin. I know it’s been a long journey and a lot of experimentation but what Lindy has done for Single Coil pickups is every bit as phenomenal as someone like Seymour Duncan or Lawrence DiMarzio. And in someways maybe even more simple because there is a lot of controvesry over who makes the best humbucker’s but there really is no question on who makes the best single coils pickups. It’s Fralin. Fralin pickups are better than Gibson or Fender today. Great stuff! Can’t wait for my new ones to show up also. -
’52 Reissue knockout !!
Installed into my ’52 Reissue Special (1999) , wow it’s never sounded so good. Exactly what I hoped it would sound like after watching your videos. Thanks Lindy, maybe some Strat pickups next..Simon from Oz -
Vintage twang! Neck is fat and silky. Bridge is fat and singing, just enormous twang without the piercings highs (2% over). Really doesn’t get much better than this for that vintage correct ‘50’s tele flavor.
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Just snagged a sweet Tele partscaster loaded with Lindys.
Amazing!
Thanks for your dedication to premium sound.
You guys rock hard! -
The Stock Tele +2% is fantastic! Telecaster clear, but with some extra “body” in the mids. These replaced some Custom Shop Blackguards and the improvement particularly in the neck is huge. I also did a 4-way switch conversion and the series 3rd position is fantastic. It sounds somewhere between a Burstbucker and a P-90 and the extra output and tone really push low gain drive pedals. It’s all about the clean tones for me and BS’s the best “Tele” sound out there. Thanks for all your help. Customer service is a “10”. The pickups are a “10”.
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Customer added no additional comments
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Tele at its best! Pure tele chime and punch when needed. I recommend them.
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These spank! I installed these in a 2008 USA-made American Standard tele. A noticeable upgrade, the guitar now seems like something a little bit special.
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Classic Tele sound with a bit more bite!
Wanted to upgrade the stock pickup in my Squier CV Esquire and decided on the Stock Tele bridge pickup with 5% overwind. Very happy with this choice as it give me the classic tele sound with a little bit more bite. Some pickups lose their harmonics as you add more overdrive or dirt but this pickup does a great job of retaining its tone.
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