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.
Quick Links
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 |
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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 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.
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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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Warm and powerful
I loved the Tele sound but didn’t realize how much it hurt the ears. I didn’t want to lose what makes Tele’s unique, but also didn’t want a migraine. This in the bridge warmed it up, beefed it up, gave it really cool breakup for my heavy rock and roll sound. Paired with a Big Single Mini in the neck, I now have a much more versatile guitar. How can I explain in words what is something you just need to feel? My guitar rips now.
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Customer added no additional comments
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Awesome tone
Put a set in a Nashville Telecaster with a Freeway 5-Way/10 Position Switch. The pickups are a little warmer than my stock Telecaster’s but still have classic Tele tone. Definition remains clear through the top 40% of the tone knob’s range and has a really pleasant grit at 50% when I switch into the series and parallel positions on the Freeway Switch. Perfectly matched and balanced across the three pickup set and the most versatile and tonally pleasing guitar pickups I own. They sound spectacular with some overdrive through a tube amp and manage everything I throw at them genre-wise from 60’s Rock, 90’s Grunge, Classic Blues to Modern Alternative. Fralin’s customer service was very helpful when I reached out with questions about pickup recommendations. There may be pickups available that are as good, but there are absolutely none that are better.
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New Life for 2002 MIM Tele
My 2002 Fender Standard Tele’s combination of a heavy body and weak sounding pickups made playing it a lackluster experience, relegating it to my guitar closet most of the time, but have kept it for sentimental reasons. Had my guitar tech install a set of Blues Specials and the Tele suddenly became alive, woken up from its dreary slumber. As others have said, I should have done this long ago. Pure Tele tone, but on steroids! Compared to the original pickups, this set is way more articulate, responsive, has much more clarity and note separation, but with an edgy punch. My axe is definitely a keeper now, and not just for the sentimental reasons. Besides, the open top nickel neck pickup is very sexy looking to boot! Very pleased with the results from Lindy and his team. I still cannot believe what a difference this set of pickups has made. Thanks, guys!
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Yes! Fralin fan from day one, I bought a set Years ago for a strat and these offer the same balance in pickups for a tele. Highly recommended! Beautiful!
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Best Tele Pickups
If your on the fence don’t be, I have these pickups in two different tele’s, really unbelievable tone and character on these…they are great clean and also take on overdrives with clarity. Both tele’s have them wired with a series/parallel, and the one also with an out of phase. I get comments all the time from the sound guys and audience with these that the tone is unreal. Plus the customer service is outstanding and a great group to work with, thanks Lindy and the crew keep up the great work. Paul
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The Gold Standard! Worth every penny. authentic tone with just a dash of heat. balanced, confident, colorful. just what I needed for my custom build.
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Awesome Pups great sound and vibe. Highly recommend!!
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NEW LIFE FOR 2002 TELE.
My 2002 Fender Standard Tele’s combination of a heavy body and weak sounding pickups made playing it a lackluster experience, relegating it to my guitar closet most of the time, but have kept it for sentimental reasons. Had my guitar tech install a set of Blues Specials and the Tele suddenly became alive, woken up from its dreary slumber. As others have said, I should have done this long ago. Pure Tele tone, but on steroids! Compared to the original pickups, this set is way more articulate, responsive, has much more clarity and note separation, but with an edgy punch. My axe is definitely a keeper now, and not just for the sentimental reasons. Besides, the open top nickel neck pickup is very sexy looking to boot! Very pleased with the results from Lindy and his team. I still cannot believe what a difference this set of pickups has made. Thanks, guys! -
Blues special Tele pickups – Love my blues special telecaster pickups!!! They sound big and warm but still have that telecaster bite.
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’73 Tele Custom reborn
Bought this to go along with a Fralin Wide Range HB and couldn’t be happier. I was seriously considering selling this guitar, it just kinda fell out of favor because the tones were meh. It is now totally revitalized and is way more fun to play. Love it!!! Customer service for this transaction was stellar as usual as well.
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Transformed my MIM Tele! The in-between position is gorgeous!
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More on Tele Pickups: If I am going to install new or replacement pickups, I will ALWAYS choose Lindy’s pickups. Got them on all 6 of mine.
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Blues Special Tele: I am pleased – quality plus – happy 🙂
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Nope – we compensate the winding of the neck pickup to make sure there is no difference in tone from the uncovered version or covered version.
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Simply Amazing!
Wanted to put the best pickups in the Tele I was building, and boy am I glad I did!!!! They sound absolutely incredible!!!! Couldn’t be happier with the pickups, the service, the whole experience. If I need new pickups for any of my other guitars, without a doubt, I’m going back to Fralin.
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More Mid Punch with Sparkle
Fantastic pickups! I have Lindy’s stock tele in another guitar as well as a 2÷ overwind bridge with blues special in the neck. So I wanted to try blues special in the bridge. Went into a 90’s MIJ ’52 telecaster. These pickups are just what I was looking for. More girth and punch from the mids, but without losing top-end sparkle too much. I’ve yet to not be amazed by any Fralin pickups, and these were no different. Top-notch quality and always amazing customer service.
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Blues Special Tele Bridge – Amazing
Incredible bridge pickup for my 2006 American Standard Telecaster. Pairs perfectly with my stock neck pickup, and what can I say other than never in my wildest dreams did I ever think the solo’d bridge pickup in my Tele would be my PREFERRED position!! Thanks so much to everyone at Fralin for helping me to select the right pickup for my sound. It’s perfect.
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OMFG! The pickups went into a pine body Telecaster with a 4-way switch. I am in love with the sound. They have great clarity and very good note definition. No muddiness in the neck position! I will be buying from you again!!
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great warm tone, still telecaster
After installing this set in my 77 Telecaster, and replacing the original 1meg volume pot by a 250K, my guitar now really has an amazing warm punchy sound, but keeps great clarity. Before, I had to roll down the tone volume a lot because the trebly “ice pick” sound was piercing my eardrums. Now I can keep in on full and can’t stop playing! Thanks a lot! Tim
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