’51 P-Bass

I bought a new American Vintage II 1954 P bass, loved everything about it even the tone except that all the pole pieces were the same height but the neck radius is 7.25″ This means that the A and D strings need to be raised higher than the E and G. With a flat pickup the a and D were louder than the E and G so I had them make one with the two middle poles raised. This was just what the doctor ordered, Their pickups sound just like the Fender pickup, maybe better, but make it much easier to set them up. Before I got it I was always fiddling with string height, neck relief, on and on. With this new pickup I’ve got it playing and sounding exactly the way I wanted it to sound, I bought a new Fender bridge that fit perfectly but allowed individual string adjustments and also allowed the use of Rotosound strings which I’ve loved for decades.
All in all I feel these pickups are a vast improvement over the stock ones in sound and ease of set up.

This pickup sounds amazing. It’s an accurate representation of Leo’s first p bass single coil pickup design. It has that crunch and punch, along with clear warm bottom. The 60 cycle hum isn’t too bad, even with the tone pot wide open.
I did wire it upside down, meaning the pots turn off to the right, on the left. It doesn’t make any difference, just an adjustment getting used to. I usually set it and forget it anyway.

Bought a cheap Squier 51 P Bass and replaced the pickup by the Fralin ’51 P-Bass pickup (5% overwound).
It has great performance with la bella flatwounds and a real 50’s sound. Love it!

Pickups are installed & sound great?

Bought a Fralin 51p to replace the stock pick up in a squire. This pickup is way more responsive to changes in playing dynamics and the tone is phenomenal.

I purchased the 51 p-bass regular wound pick up for a Squire P bass i picked up. I have absolutely have fallen in love with this pick up. Every gig I get complements on how well the Squire bass sounds and cuts in the mix. When recording this is my go to bass. It has such range just by playing with the tone knob. I play everything from country to punk rock and this pick up gives me the exact tone I need.

Outstanding performance and quality. Service is always top notch. I like this pickup better than the original actually. Less noise, more clarity, and just a better tone all the way around. I have a couple of these in “51 builds, and they always garner compliments.

Hey guys,, I installed 2. 51+5s in my jazz bass and it kicks like nothing on the planet. I have almost a dozen different bass guitars and this one is outstanding! Thank you for making these pick ups it really have to try it both of them! The bass it’s a 63 jazz bass so it has the great wood that you really can’t find any more

I got this to replace the stock pickup in a ’55 reissue Precision. The quality is great, you can see the materials and detail are spectacular.

But I did get it for the tone, and it disappoints. The low end is rendered indistinct and mushy, and the high end a little brittle.

Going back to the stock pickup. Didn’t like the Fralin at all.

Amaaaazing – Best pickup I have ever had, building 3 more like this and will only use Fralin pickups from now on.

I have a Japanese “Sting” P bass. I received the ‘51 P bass, overwound. I installed it in about 15 minutes. The fit was exact. The only hang up was stripping the insulation off the wires. That material is tough, it’s like the old ‘50’s insulation, cloth not plastic. I vaguely remember my high school shop teacher burning that insulation off. I finally got (no fire used) with a fair amount of salty language. The sound this pickup delivers is superb. On stage, my in ears delivered the deep bass i wasn’t even expecting. This pickup is super quiet. I’m glad I didn’t opt for the split pickup, seems unnecessary . What can you say, real American quality should never be taken for granted.

Fralin is legendary! I bought a Squier Classic (something or other) 50’s P Bass on CL and proceeded to hot rod it out. The first thing I ordered was the split 50’s pickup with +5 overwind. It went right in with no effort and sounds amazing! I also upgraded all the electronics. The last thing to do is new Hipshots. Thank you Fralin team for your attention to detail. You have earned your reputation!

Great pickups! I got the 10% overwound P-Bass pickups and they sound incredible. I couldn’t be happier.

Thanks for the fast delivery.
The pickup works very well in my 51 P Bass Reissue
and the SOUND IS SENSATIONAL!
Thanks to all at Lindy Fralin!
Yours sincerely

Dieter Bauer

My 1951 Made in Japan Pbass Reissue had very unusual Pickups that looked like a start pickup.. They were smaller then most 1951 Pbass pickups. Lindy and his staff were world class in helping me with my pickup issues. Lindy himself help made a pickup that would fit my bass and It sounds amazing. I can’t recommend buying a fralin pickup more. A huge Thanks to everyone working at Lindy Fralin

Had them re-wind the original from my dad’s 50’s era.
Used it live for the first time, yesterday.
EVERYONE’S jaws were on the floor at the tone.
I couldn’t believe it myself.
Thanks to all at Lindy Fralin!

As advertised – The pickup was delivered in a timely manner. The pickup sounds great in my CIJ ’51 P Bass Reissue. The sound really opened up. A worthwhile upgrade.