Blues Special Tele
Versatile & Thick Tele Tone
$120 – $240
Love playing your Telecaster again and know it finally has the voice it was always meant to with our Blues Specials. Wound with a 5% overwind from our Stock Teles, Blues Specials feature a punchy, warm tone that tames the harsh top-end from most Telecasters and helps you hear every nuance in your playing. Lastly, customize your appearance with our neck options and make your Telecaster a real eye-catcher with a look that suits you.
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Jump to Sound Clips and more Info:
100% Tele, Just a Bit Meaner.
Want to learn more about our Blues Special Tele? Here's all the information you'll need:
Features:
Discover what you’ve been missing with our best-selling Telecaster pickups. Blues Specials feature a 5% overwind that emphasizes the midrange while taming the high-end for a warmer, thicker Telecaster tone that still sounds like a Tele. Built with all USA-Made parts, you can take pride knowing Lindy designed his Blues Specials with the highest quality materials available.
It starts here: Our manufacturing process allows us to achieve unparalleled quality control. Blues Specials consist of local fiberboard and USA-Made Alnico 5 Magnets. We wind each pickup by hand, one at a time, using our proprietary “Sectioning” technique for a sweet, unique tone. You can feel great knowing that we wound your pickups specifically for you. Finally, we wax-pot the pickup to prevent microphonics and preserve the pickup for years to come.
Features:
- 5% more coil than our Stock Tele set for a warmer, thicker tone
- Modified Fender specifications, optimized for output
- High output, but still has Fender sparkle
- Compensated Bridge for even volume across all pickups
- USA-made Alnico 5 Magnets for optimal tonal balance and output
- Two different magnet staggers for optimizing pickups for your instrument
- 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
Sound
If you’re looking for balance – not too bright, not too dark, this set is for you. While playing clean, Blues Specials sound thick and creamy with open and clear highs and a thicker midrange. The overwound coil tames your highs and bumps your midrange – more than the Stock Tele Pickups, while you can expect more of a traditional Tele Tone than our Steel Pole 42s.
With distortion, you can expect a light compression, low-end growl, and a medium attack. Single notes sound thick and round, while chords have a full tone with an early breakup. Finally, Blues Special Pickups are for you if you’re looking for more output from your current pickups, but still want to keep that traditional Tele tone.
You’ll wonder why you didn’t make the switch earlier.
Are you looking for a Hum Cancelling Tele pickup that actually sounds like a Tele? Check out the Blues Output of our Split Blade Tele Pickups
Sound Samples for Blues Special Tele:
Compare Outputs
We have 2 outputs of our Blues Special Tele. Compare them below.
About these Sound Clips:
All sound samples are played from Neck Position First and Bridge Position Last.
Tonal Graph For Blues Special Tele:
The tonal graph below for our Blues Special Tele features Lows, Midrange, Highs, and general Output.
Attack: Dynamic & Full
Videos for Blues Special Tele:
Tech Specs:
See below for the estimated DCR and Polarity Information for our Blues Special Tele.
SPECIFICATION | VALUE |
---|---|
Neck Ohm Reading: | 7.8K* 1 |
Bridge Ohm Reading: | 7.3K 1 |
Neck Polarity: | Counter Clockwise Coil Direction, North To Strings |
Bridge Polarity: | Clockwise Coil Direction, South To Strings |
Wire: | USA-Made 42 / 43-Gauge Single Poly Nylon |
Magnet: | USA-Made Alnico 5 |
Recommended Pot Value: | 250K |
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.
*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: All of our coil directions are depicted from Ground (Black Wire, or Start Wire) to Hot (White Wire, or Finish Wire).
Blues Special Tele Dimensions:
Blues Special Tele FAQ's
General FAQs
Here are quick answers to common questions we get:
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What Ohm Readings does your Blues Special Tele 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 Blues Special Teles 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 Blues Special Tele. 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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How does the cover affect the tone of the Neck pickup?
It doesn’t – we use USA-made nickel Silver, the most sonically-transparent metal for covers. We also compensate the winding technique to make sure the Neck pickup sounds like we want it to.
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What is 4-Way Switching?
4-Way Switching adds a fourth position to your Telecaster’s switch to put both pickups in Series and Parallel. The 4th Position sounds like a big humbucker as a result. Read more on the topic here.
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What is required for my pickups to work with 4-Way Switching?
We apply tape to the magnets before winding to isolate the coil wire and the magnets. If you select a cover, we add a separate ground wire to permanently ground the cover instead of grounding the cover through the coil.
Pickup Pairing
Our Blues Special Tele pairs well with the following models:
Big Single - Neck
Starting At: $ 175
Pair A Blues Special Bridge with a Big Single 42 in the Neck for a killer combination.
View ProductBlues Special Strat - Middle
Starting At: $ 105
Nashville Tele? Our Blues Special Reverse Middle is the perfect match
View ProductGet it prewired
Go the extra mile and combine our Blues Special Tele with a Telecaster Control Plate!:
Featured Reviews
Reviews We Worked Hard For, and Are Proud Of
Customer Reviews
356 Genuine Reviews for Blues Special Tele
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Blues Special Tele pick ups
Sound magnificent. I soldered them in myself and the Fralin Team made this as easy as possible. I will admit that I forgot to feed the neck pick up wire through the body before soldering to the switch plate… oops! so I had to do it twice. That made for good practice with the soldering tools. I highly recommend the pickups.
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The perfect Tele bridge pickup
I am absolutely floored with the quality of Fralins. Not only from a build quality standpoint, but the tonal change really blew me away. This is not only better than stock pickups, but it is probably the best Tele bridge I have ever heard.
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Awesome!
Love the sound of the Tele with the Blues Special pickups. Such a fuller, richer sound than before. I have Split Blades on my Strat and now don’t know which one I prefer! I highly recommend Fralin products.
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Killer pickups! Amazing communication, fast shipping, and a wonderful-sounding product.
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Best Pick Ups
Several friends recommended the Blues Specials and they were right. Fantastic sound. Couldn’t be happier.
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Great Set! Great set to take your Tele to the next level. Very warm and organic sound. I put these in a Nashville Tele with a Vintage hot in the middle. Customer service responded only once, and never to follow-up questions.
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Amazing Transformation!
I bought a good, but cheap guitar, as a project. A harley benton telecaster. Great playing guitar, especially for the price but the pickups were unbalanced and lacking. I put a set of blues specials in it and wow! It really has transformed that guitar. All switch positions are more balanced and usable and the tone is so fat and punchy. It’s still got plenty of sparkle and shine without being shrill like a Tele can be. And the neck pickup muddiness is gone! Best thing I could have done to this guitar!
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They are that good. Really…
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These pickups Really hit the spot! After being frustrated by so many other After market tele pickups I can finally say I’m happy! Great pickups!!!
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Best Telecaster pickups I’ve ever played neck is very much like a Strat tone. Bridge is bright and twangy without the ice pick pain. Bridge pu gives me a Don Rich tone.
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The best Tele style pickups on the market. Lindy Fralin pickups are consistently the best choice for my custom instruments.
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Love my new pickups! Great sound love em got a pair for my tele.
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They sound great – The pickups were what I was hoping for but the tubing for the screws was a little short and I had to get longer pieces
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Killer tone. Couldnt be happier with the tone, detailed installation instruction, and customer service. Lindy customer for life!
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Perfection – The the Blues Special really brings out the natural tones of the guitar.
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I placed the Blues Special Tele pickup into the bridge position of my “Barncaster” (Tele) build. It sounds fantastic! Really cutting highs that are so Telecaster Twang. The build quality of the pickup is all first class, in-fact these were recommended to me by my luthier friend and Im glad he did because the pickups that I chose really make the guitar sing.
I have coupled this with a Pure P.A.F. in the neck position. A Seymour Duncan Bareknuckle similar set were what I was going to use originally, but I emailed Fralin, with a youtube video to demonstrate what I was after and they were very helpful in suggesting from their range.
(It came out a whole lot cheaper too, and that included postage to South Australia.) -
Sounds Great
Easily installed in an inexpensive Squire Telecaster… now it sounds as good (or better) than a bonafide Tele at a fraction of the price tag. Great pickups. -
1966 Blakc tele Custom w/ doubble binding.
When it comes to vintage single coils – Fralin is absolutely #1 in my book.
I only know the Fralin Strat & Tele models, and they’re both great sounding pickups. Perfect (I call it) “frequency spread”. Pulls you right in, and it’s a joy to play.
Very good.
Henry Eugen -
Exceeded Expectation. Took Me awhile to get back to this project over the holidays. Finally got the Blues Specials in and woah! Blues tone for miles! I am sure I will be back for another helping.
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Amazing Tele Pickups. I‘ve just put them in my custom tele; they sound absolutely awesome! Fat, round, ballanced: High quality pickups, completely worth it.
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