Twangmaster
True Fender Single Coil Tone
$175 – $350
Transform your humbucker-equipped guitar into something different and experience the Lindy Fralin-Designed Twangmasters. These humbucker-sized pickups don’t sound like traditional humbuckers, and that’s the point! Lindy specifically designed the Twangmaster to sound like a Fender Strat – with no hum. Featuring a warm and clear midrange with a familiar Fender sparkle, we guarantee that the Twangmaster will inspire you.
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Jump to Sound Clips and more Info:
Pure Fender Tone, Humbucker Looks.
Want to learn more about our Twangmaster? Here's all the information you'll need:
Features
Are you looking for an authentic single-coil tone out of a humbucker size? The Twangmaster is the pickup for you. Featuring Lindy’s unique left-right coil design, the Twangmaster features clear wound strings and round, sparkly treble strings – all with zero hum.
Our Twangmaster® uses USA-Made Alnico 5 magnets for a clean, bright tone. This pickup is the clearest and cleanest humbucker we make – clearer than our Big Single 42 and cleaner than our P-92.
Features:
- Lindy Fralin Original Design
- Clean Fender Tone in a Humbucker Cover
- Hum-Cancelling Design with hum-free operation
- 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
- Hand-wound with our “Sectioning” technique for unique, dynamic tone
- Backed by our 10-Year Warranty on manufacturing defects
- Risk-free 30-day exchange policy
Sound
How do Twangmasters sound? Clean and bright, articulate, and expressive. They sound best on 250K pots.
Give your Humbucker-routed guitar the voice it thought it could never have: a fender-type sparkle. The Twangmaster is slow to break up, with a clean, snappy tone that’s smoother than our P-92. Featuring a Fender-type sparkle and attack, the Twangmaster accurately sounds like a Fender Strat pickup, with slightly thicker mids and zero hum. That way, you can stand out in the mix and hear more of what matters most – your tone.
Our manufacturing process allows us to achieve unparalleled quality control. Our Twangmasters consist of USA-Made bobbins, baseplates, magnets, and wire. Sure, it’s more expensive, but we want the highest-quality materials we can get. We wind each pickup by hand, one at a time, using our proprietary “Sectioning” technique, which gives the Twangmaster a sweet, clear tone. Then, we assemble each pickup one at a time, by hand. Assembling this way allows us to achieve unbeatable attention to detail. Finally, we wax-pot the pickup to prevent microphonics and preserve the pickup for years to come.
Sound Samples for Twangmaster:
About this Sound Clip:
All sound samples are played from Neck Position First and Bridge Position Last.
Tonal Graph For Twangmaster:
The tonal graph below for our Twangmaster features Lows, Midrange, Highs, and general Output.
Attack: Bright & Sharp
Videos for Twangmaster:
Lead Color Codes
See below for our Lead color codes. For help with matching to other manufacturers, check out this resource here.
Gibson Braided Lead
Gibson-Style instruments
Phase Reversible
Coil Splitting
2-Conductor Lead
Phase Reversible
Tech Specs:
See below for the estimated DCR and Polarity Information for our Twangmaster.
| SPECIFICATION | VALUE |
|---|---|
| Neck Ohm Reading (Stock): | 7K* 1 |
| Bridge Ohm Reading (Stock): | 8K* 1 |
| Polarity: | Reversible with 2-Conductor Lead |
| Magnets: | USA-Made Alnico 5 |
| Wire: | USA-Made 42 / 43-Gauge Single Poly Nylon |
| Bobbins: | USA-Made Precision Injection Mold |
| Covers and Baseplate: | USA-Made Nickel Silver |
| Baseplate Leg Depth: | 6mm |
| Available String Spacing: | 49.2mm |
| 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.
* Due to the unique design of this pickup, ohm readings are not useful when comparing to other models. This pickup is medium output, and leans to a cleaner, clearer tone.
Polarity Information:
Here's how we wind and magnetize our pickups:
If you're buying a set from us, all pickups will work together seamlessly. If you're buying a single pickup, all you need to worry about is Coil Direction.
To ensure your pickup will work, make sure you select multiple leads (2-Conductor, 3-Conductor, or 4-Conductor if available), or the 3-Wire modification so you can reverse the coil direction, if need be.
Twangmaster Dimensions:
All Twangmasters have a string spacing of 50mm.
Twangmaster FAQ's
General FAQs
Here are quick answers to common questions we get:
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What Ohm Readings does your Twangmaster 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 Weeks accurate?
It 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 beat our estimated Lead Times.
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What pickup height do you recommend setting your Twangmasters to?
Our recommended Pickup Height is 1/8" (3.175mm) on the Bass Side and 1/16"( 1.5875mm) on the Treble Side. To measure, hold the correct side down at its highest fret. Then, measure from the bottom of the string to the top of the pole piece.
Product FAQ's
People frequently ask these questions about our Twangmaster. If you have a question that you don't see listed here, click "Ask" in the Quick Links section above.
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How do I orient the Twangmaster in my guitar?
The Twangmaster features a Raised D pole piece. Make sure the tallest magnet is under the D string.
Pickup Pairing
Our Twangmaster pairs well with the following models:
High Output Tele - Bridge
Starting At: $ 120
Pair the Twangmaster with a High Output Tele Bridge for a killer H-T combination
P-92 - Bridge
Starting At: $ 175
Use the Twangmaster as a Neck pickup and the P-92 as a Bridge pickup for a Fender-tone in the Neck, and a P90 tone in the Bridge
Split Blade Tele - Bridge
Starting At: $ 135
The Twangmaster pairs well with a High Output Split Blade
Featured Reviews
Reviews We Worked Hard For, and Are Proud Of
Customer Reviews
48 Genuine Reviews for Twangmaster
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I put a twangmaster in the center position of a 3 HB pickup SG. It is is wired where one tone control is sacrificed for independent volume control of middle pickup mod. Now I have the option for great tele-like twang when I need it and I now have much more versatility in tone options. I am very happy with Fralins delivery time and customer service as well as the wiring diagrams and tips that are offered which are valuable resources. Thank you!!
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sounds great
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I purchased a 2% overwound bridge twangmaster with 2-conductor to replace a bridge twangmaster that I bought from a European source as part of a set. Turned out that it was out of phase with the neck twangmaster of that set. No idea whether this is done on purpose but I don’t like the out-of-phase-sound. The set is in a PRS Single Cut which was a problematic guitar with a warm tone and a huge bass/low mid emphasis – no neck pickup worked (best was a Firebird type, full size humbuckers were muddy) and most of the bridge pickups did not work. The twangmasters cleaned up that guitar nicely – no more mud, not even on the neck! The clean tones are spectacular. On the bridge I can even get country twang with the PRS now. While both pickups have lots of highs they are not shrill – they are simply brilliant. Overdriven I like them just as much. Any excess highs – I turn down the tone control.
I kept the 500k pots in the guitar, which works fine for the neck pickup. I added a 470k resistor to ground for the bridge pickup, which brings it close to the recommended load of 250k. I used a 1500pf cap on the neck tone control and a combined value of 1200pf for the bridge tone control. These are a bit lower than what I usually use.
The only minor quibble I have is that the 1st string has a bit less volume than the others but between the 2nd to 6th strings the output balance is excellent. It is only noticeable for clean single notes, and even there it is not too bad.
The bridge pickup from the set is now in the neck position of another guitar and works great there, too. -
I think I now have 4 or 5 Twangmasters. So that should pretty much say it all in terms of a recommendation. I hope I’m remembering this correct but my first experience with a Twangmaster was in a PRS EG guitar. I loved them so I did some investigating and found out Lindy was involved in the development. I then started buy directly from him. Anyways I like clarity in my tone even if I’m running distortion. These pickups give me that clarity but they can get nasty too. All without hum. I would say these more replicate a thick telecaster tone. I’ve have these in PRS McCarty, Humbucker sized bridge on a telecaster and a telecaster neck humbucker sized spot on a different telecaster. The neck really gives the telecaster a more strat neck position tone which I’m also very font of.
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i just got the twangmaster to put into the neck position on my bluesboy, to pair with the split steelpole bridge pickup. unbelievable. exactly what i have been looking for. couldn’t be happier.
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I was on the market for an utmost sparkly clean pickup in a humbucker, without it being too thick and fat. I’d heard of great things with other types of pickups but they just didn’t grab me. Whether it was too thick, too bright, too warm etc.
I finally decided on giving a Twangmaster set a try and my god, was I impressed. It has the cleanest, most articulate and beautiful sound I’ve ever heard from a pickup. It takes everything you’d love about both a humbucker and a single coil pickup and then blows you away even more.I have my set with the neck 2% under wound, with the same controls as a typical Stratocaster(volume, tone, tone) and it’s just absolutely beautiful. They’re bright, but not blinding, warm without losing articulation and with fitted tone controls you can pretty much get any type of clean tone you’re looking for!
If you’re looking for a clean tone pickup or even if you’re just experimenting, I can’t recommended them enough!
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Incredible!!! Pairs beautifully in my Telecaster with a Fralin Blues Special in the bridge. True to the description, totally gets that Strat neck vibe. I love the Twangmaster, for cleans, overdrive and fuzz.
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I put a -2 underwound Twangmaster set into a PRS S2 Custom 22 semi-hollow. I was thinking initially to put them into a Gibson ES 275 semi-hollow, but then feared that they might make it “too Fender-y”. Fender-y is a good thing in most guitars, but a Gibson should sound like a Gibson, in my opinion, but their stock humbuckers seldom do anything for me. The Twangmaster bridge pickup reminds me of a Tele bridge in this PRS guitar, and sounds great. The neck pick-up does NOT remind me of a Strat pickup, which so many reviewers have claimed. This is a bit disappointing because that was my expectation after reading the reviews. That being said, the Twangmaster in the neck, to me, sounds very round and wonderful and would likely do pretty well in a Gibson, but the bridge would have been too Tele-like. Again, my assessment is that the neck does not remind me of a Strat neck pickup, and the bridge reminds me of a traditional Tele bridge. This combination essentially turned my PRS into a Telecaster (which is an improvement). I once had a double humbucker Tele and these Twangmasters would have been perfect in that guitar. I think my next attempt will be a set of the Big Singles in a Gibson….I think those would work very well. The Twangmasters are punchy and clear and LOUD…a great upgrade from the muddy humbuckers that came with the PRS…excellent Fralin pickups and I’m happy with them in the PRS. Definitely more Fender-like, but no Strat tones in my application, and too Fender-y for a Gibson (in my opinion).
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