Lindy Fralin Blues Special

Pickup features: Passive Single Coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 1984 American Standard Fender Stratocaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock Fenders and Seymour Duncan JB-Jr in bridge
Other pickups on guitar: N/A
Artists using this pickup: Me!
You musical style(s): Classic Rock and Blues.
Reason for pickup change: I wanted a fatter, smooth Strat tone out of this guitar good for Blues and Rock.

Perceived output level: Slightly hotter than stock Fender's
Tone: Middy, balanced, clean & smooth, 3 dimensional with spank
Sonic evaluation: I placed my BS set in my 1984 American Strat. I had a BS in my neck position since last winter and only liked it so I played the neck position all the time. I had a stock in the middle and a JB-Jr in the bridge.
I got exactly what I wanted, the fat, smooth and rich tone in all 3 positions. I wanted a great blues strat that wasn't too bright and with a little more fat sound. With these pickups, it makes my strat sound a bit fatter but still sound like a strat at the same time. I love these pickups!
I also modded my strat to select a combo of neck/bridge or all 3 pickups together. I installed push pull knobs for my volume and tone. I pull up on the volume and I add the neck to my bridge pickup. If I pull up my tone knob, I add the middle as well. I love the neck/bridge combo the best! This gives me a Telecaster tone with attitude. With all 3 pickups on, the sound is slight hollow and unique. My strat is very versatile and I like it very much.
I don't suffer hum noise. I don't know if it's my Dr. Amp shunting the hum or not.
The pickups are slightly hotter than a stock Fender pickup. I adjusted the pickups lower to where they are clean and smooth. Closer up they became too stiff sounding.
I can attain many nice strat tones now.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Blues and rock. All positions are suitable. It's a very good match.

Comments: I think Lindy's are best strat pickups out there. I would replace them in a New York minute. I've been playing 22 years. I own another strat with an EMG David Gilmore pickguard and a Les Paul. I play through a Dr. Z. Maz 38 amp. I'm mostly into Blues, R&B, and classic Rock. I dabble with Rhandy Rhoads and Van Halen too.
I love the pickups in that they just sound great. These gave me the smooth sounding strat I always wanted. This strat gives me 2 extra tones that my other(great sounding) strat won't give me.
Once I bought my Dr Z amp, my JB-Jr didn't sound good with the humbucker configuration. I like the fact that Lindy's are individually hand wired and I never heard a bad thing about them. Maybe later, I'll get another strat and buy a set of the 54's.
I got the sound that I wanted with this guitar----finally! I always loved the way strats felt and played, but never the stock sound. Now I have 2 strats that sound great and I love to play.
Do yourselves a favor and buy/tryout a Lindy. They made great products.

Pickup features: Single coil slightly overwound
Impedence or other specs: 6,2k neck and middle; 10k bridge

Model of guitar or bass: Hamer Daytona - 93 USA Made
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar: Bridge is a Fralin Steel Poled 43
Artists using this pickup: Anyone who wants unequaled strat tone
You musical style(s): blues and rock
Reason for pickup change: This Hamer is so F'ing perfect... maple/maple neck - better than any strat I've ever played, and that's hundreds of Fenders too.

Perceived output level: Neck and Middle - just a little hotter than stock; Bridge - P90 level, almost H/B!
Tone: well-balanced, yeah - smooth as silk... pos 4 (neck/mid) is favorite.. like butter but with quack, spank and plenty of sparkle
Sonic evaluation: Lot of amps - Orange TC30212 or close to that - twin chan, 2x12, 2003 model. Ashdown peacemaker. Egnater TOL (yep), Marshall JTM45, Crate Vintage-30. With minimal tweaking, sounds like freegin HEAVEN... I can't put the guitar down. I have several strats - using Duncans, Fenders (custom shop - 57s and Texas Specials) - where they all have their unique tones, I always go back to the Fralin-equipped strat. It ALWAYS sounds good, even on the bad fingers-dont-work-and-nothing-sounds-good-gonna-stop-playing days... and I actually kick ass, frankly (SRV, Eric Johnson note-for-note with my own style overlaid- hey everyone has bad days)... the Fralins always sing for me - and when I'm really in a humbucker mood, the 10k bridge through high-gain settings (all tube, only way to go) is capable of laying down a lush, heavy sound - believe it or not, with a little eq-tweak. Great crunch, note-definition to-the-extreme, but not thin or shrill. The 3rd (normally tone) knob is a mix pot for the neck/bridge (allowing all 3 pickups at once)... dialing it to about 5 seems to be perfect for the hi-gain pos 1 and 2... Anyway, I can't say enough good things about Fralin pickups. Eventually all of my single-coils will be Lindy Fralins. Will try the H/B's soon as well. BUY THESE PICKUPS - YOU WILL LOVE THEM!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Blues and Blues-Rock to HARD blues-rock -PERFECT. Heavy Metal - N/A

Comments: Definitely would replace - I have 17 guitars - only one has Fralins so far, and I play it 80% of the time (mostly due to the Fralin sound)
Playing 27 years, since I was 13. Les Pauls and Hamer Strats mostly, with a few shred machines (USA Charvel and Hamer Floyd-equipped)
These pickups stomp on all others - (yep, even Seymour, my go-to for passive humbuckers)
They did everything, add every option, bell and whistle - including switching and mixing...
I have found the sound for my Strats - and it is Lindy Fralin.

Pickup features: Passive single coil
Impedence or other specs: n/a

Model of guitar or bass: Double D "Strat"
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Kinman Woodstock (neck & middle)
Other pickups on guitar: Di Marzio PAF Pro
Artists using this pickup: n/a
You musical style(s): Rock/pop
Reason for pickup change: The Kinmans compress the sound too much. They are noiseless but that would be all. One thing: Kinmans are not real single coils. If you're looking for single coils absolutely buy Fralins.

Perceived output level: Output is very sparkling and bell-like. Absolutely cuts through when you hit the strings harder.
Tone: Sparkling and bell-like, what you expect from a single coil.
Sonic evaluation: I am using this Strat-style guitar (alder body and hard-rock maple neck). There is a DiMarzio Paf Pro in the bridge position. The amp is a Mesa Boogie Subway Rocket. The combination is perfect, but honestly I think these pickups would sound great with every amp combo. I also use a Dunlop wha-wha and a Boss chorus. If you keep the effects simple you can really get the great sound out of the Fralins.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play rock/pop music: Hendrix, Santana, Living Colour, but our own music as well. This pickup is surely suitable for every position.

Comments: Shortly: if you need real fat single coils, buy Lindy Fralin. The rest is make-believe. Personally I don't believe in Kinmans, because they are not single coils.

Pickup features: single coil hybrid
Impedence or other specs: blab blab blab

Model of guitar or bass: 52 reissue MIJ Tele
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: seymour duncan
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Brad Paisley uses this bridge pickup in his pink 68
You musical style(s): undefined as yet, leaning toward country (could you have guessed that?)
Reason for pickup change: I WANTED BRAD PAISLEY TONE!!!!!

Perceived output level: They
Tone:
Sonic evaluation:
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments:

Pickup features: passive single coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 62 reissue Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: stock
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: ??
You musical style(s): Roots rock, Blues, Original pop
Reason for pickup change: Got Fralin Real 54's on my #1 Strat-want this one to be able to bark a little. Stock pickups sound ok-not as good as real 54's. Reverse wound middle pickup for quieter operation in the even positions.

Perceived output level: Hot, but not in the dead zone of say, Hot Rails.
Tone: not as lovely as my real 54's when played clean-but nice and tight
Sonic evaluation: I play my guitars thru a Princeton Reverb II with Celestion Blue alnico speaker, or a Vibro King. Tone Bone in between.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: perfect for the edgier side of all non-death metal music. good clean, too.

Comments: exactly what I wanted for this guitar. If I ever get cured of GAS(gear acquisition syndrome) and strip down to 1 git, it'd be Fralin real 54's. These pickups, however, provide that, dare I say, SRV tone to the pallette more readily. I have Blues Specials in my Tele and love 'em. These have the same characteristics. You can pound the hell out of your strings and they don't fart like some whimpy pickups do. Just a nice tight low end thump. The bridge pickup is a pleasure to play alone (bassplate installed). How many stock strats can you say that about? All in all, exactly what I was looking for.

Pickup features: Single Coil, steel poled bridge
Impedence or other specs: Neck - 6.2 K, Reverse Middle - 6.4 K, Bridge - 10 K

Model of guitar or bass: SRV signature Stratocaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Texas Specials & Vintage Hots
Other pickups on guitar: Texas Specials & Vintage Hots
Artists using this pickup: ? I'm sure there are a lot.
You musical style(s): The BASICS (Blues, Alternative & Rock)
Reason for pickup change: Texas Specials are a little muddy, the Vintage Hots didn't have enough output for my liking. The VH are great for chords, but so so for solos.

Perceived output level: Hoter than stock. Bridge is really hot!
Tone: Well rounded, slightly middy and bassy to me, not as high "ice picky" or muddy like the TS. They do have a bit of magic to them!
Sonic evaluation: Very good in seperating the chords, not overly muddy with decent sustain. The vintage hots had even better seperation but soloing didn't have the umph that the Blues Specials have. The Steel pole bridge is very P-90 like, not exact but pretty good. The 3rd position has a pretty nice tele sound to it. The Previous TS had a lot of output but sounded muffled compared to the VH and BS. I had a baseplate on the VH also, it had a decent tone, but again I wanted a little more for solos. The BS deliver. I might have even gone hotter but didn't want to risk it, since I'm pretty content at this point. These pickups are very clean, balanced and lively to my ears. The only other pickups I've owned that were almost as good were a set of Fat 50's and the stock pups on my US 62 RI strat. The blender pot for any pickup is a highly recommended addition.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: It's a good match for me. Blues! I'm sure there are better but I'm content.

Comments: The price isn't too bad, a little high compared to others but for something that has a 10 year warranty and an 30 exchange policy, it's a great deal! I traded the VHots for the BSpecials ($10 SHIPPING CHARGE FROM FRALIN) and I'm glad I did. Fralins are the best pups I've owned to date, but you have to find what works for you and I'm sure I'd be happy with a lot of high end pups out there? I'm giving these a 9 because I'm positive there are better pups somewhere that deserve the 10, I'm not going to try and find them however. I'm happy with them but more tired than anything to actually replace them. I'd like to try other stuff but I'd buy these again since the do what they're suppose to and are definetly an improvement. I've been playing since the late 80's and for what I need they work great. If your out to save a buck get the Fat 50's, I personally think they have more character than the TS and compare the the BS. There is a bloom to these that cheaper pups just can't create. If you have a cheap crappy amp or guitar don't expect these pups to make you sound great. If you have decent technique and gear, these pups will definately enhance your tone.

Pickup features: single coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Fender 70's Strat MIM
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: stock
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Lindy Fralin (I hope...)
You musical style(s): Rock, blues, pop, reggae
Reason for pickup change: I have been very happy with this guitar but wanted to upgrade to the highest quality pickups I could find. After reading the 99% glowing reviews on these things I decided I couldn't go wrong. Only problem I had was deciding between Vintage Hots and Blues Specials. In the end it was really almost a coin toss- just wanted the ability to do some heavier stuff.

Perceived output level: I'd put the output at 10-20% more than stock.
Tone: Balanced, full, lots of pleasant overtones. Nice sounding in all positions. EXTREMELY quiet in positions 2 and 4- average noise in positions 1, 3 and 5.
Sonic evaluation: Solid ash 70's strat-> Fulltone II overdrive/boost-> Digitech RP2000 effects-> Modded Deluxe reverb reissue.
I toiled over whether to buy the vintage hots or blues specials, but in the end I went with the latter because I was drawn to the idea of a bit more output/sustain for leads. I was very worried that they might make the guitar sound less strat-like, dark or that they might be too overpowering. Now I know I made the right choice. These sound absolutely fantastic on clean settings and really love to be overdriven. As I tinkered with the settings I settled on moderate to low pickup heights and prefered the sound with a moderate mid-boost EQ setting (sounded less nasal/hollow that way). In comparison to the stock pickups I find that they add a whole new dimension to the sound in several ways. One: It's as if they have a built-in perfect EQ-no shrill highs, nice tight bottom end. Two: There's just a lot more there going on- a more complex sound with lots of pleasant overtones. For that reason I think they really shine when played clean or with overdrive and boost. I've tried to get a metal sound out of them using my amp modeling pedal and can get some decent sounds if I mess with the settings enough but they're definitely not made for that. They're made to sound like a vintage strat and they do. I was pleasantly surprised at how quite positions 2 and 4 are. The tone is also fabulous in these positions so I find myself using them a lot. I installed the bass plate but can't really evaluate what it is doing since I didn't hear the pickups without it. Position 1 is quite bright but not shrill. Now I see what everyone is saying about "sensitive to pick attack". They really pick up anything percussive that you do with the strings, very noticeable with light palm muting. So if you have a lazy pick hand watch out.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Great versatile pickups for rock, blues, pop.

Comments: I was a bit concerned about spending the money on these. I'm really happy I did buy them. I couldn't be more happy with the tone. I also like the fact that the money is going to a relatively small-time craftsman and guitarist rather than a giant corporation and that not everybody on the block has Lindy Fralins.
I hope the review was helpful. If you like a classic strat sound I don't know how you could improve upon these.

Pickup features: Single Coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Telecaster/Ash Body/Rosewood Fret-Board
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Seymour Duncan Antiquity
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Brad Paisley/?
You musical style(s): Country/Classic Rock
Reason for pickup change: Looking for "The" sound for my particular guitar.

Perceived output level: Somewhat hotter, but "smoother and warmer" than the SD, but not at all "dark".
Tone: Very well balanced!
Sonic evaluation: I am using a Fender Custom Shop "Custom Classic" Tele and a 69' Fender Twin Reverb amp.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: For the styles of music I play, these are an excelent choice. I think they would be a good choice for anyone looking for a versitile Tele.

Comments: I would buy these again as I have tried most every Tele pup out there.
I have been playing 40 (aarrgg!) years. My pedals are: Boss TU-2>Barber Tone Press>Fulltone Fulldrive 2>Boss CE-2. These are the very best Tele pickups I have ever owned. The neck pickup is totally unbelivable compaired to any other neck pup I have ever used. I can say I am actually playing with just the neck pup alot, where I barely used it before. The bridge is harmonically balanced, as is the string balance with both pups. There is no "icepick" to these at all. Very smooth with a great tele twang,if you need it. The middle position sounds great also. I chose these because they are some of the only tele pups that I have not tried, and the reviews here a very good. I am totally sold on these pups. I am amazed at how quiet they are for single coils.

Pickup features: passive single coils
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Custom Fender Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Lace Sensors
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): any and all.....a mix I suppose
Reason for pickup change: Lace Sensors are crap. No character at all, I hate them

Perceived output level: not sure. They are a bit overwound compared to the vintage set, so a bit darker
Tone: very balanced,bassy and kinda muddy......but
Sonic evaluation: I use a modified custom strat through a 64' Fender Twin. Along with an assortment of different pedals. my setup ia as follows. Strat>>>Teese RMC2 wah>>>BiComp compressor>>>Analog man TS-9 silver mod>>>Maxon OD-820 overdrive>>>Maxon analog Delay>>>Ernie Ball volume pedal>>>64' Twin.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I use this guitar for everything except jazz

Comments: I'm not sure if I'd buy them again because I never really compared them to anything else. i've been playing for about 7 years. I only own one other guitar, a 76 fender starcaster. At first I didn't really like these pickups. They were really dark and lacked any kind of shimmer. But....I ordered them from Torres engineering with the pre wirder blues caster deluxe harness with the mid boost and blender pot. Once i engaged the mid boost these pickups really came to life. Tons a shimmering sparkle, and since these are overwound they still had a nice thump and really nice base response. These things really do capture every little nuance of your playing as far as touch goes. They're really balanced and you can coax a harmonic easily. If anyone is considering these pickups I STRONGLY recommend getting the mid boost pot. It really sounded like I took a blanket of the amp. I didn't really like these things until I used the mid boost, which always stays on. But even without the mid boost they still spank the Lace Sensors. The only thing that sucks was that they're expensive, and they took almost six months to arrive at my home. But I'm very satisfied. If your a serious player that really understands how a strat is meant to be played then I think you'll like these. Every little detail and acticulation that good players use to really sound like good players can be coaxed wonderfully. But, if you suck then these things will tell you that you suck. No hiding behind a wall of distortion here cause that will destroy the beauty of these pickups, which is pure, unaltered, shimmering, unforgiving tone from clasic fender heaven. If you hit a bad note, you'll know it. If you need a string change, you'll know it. I love it, these things will make you a better player if you listen to what they're telling you. Oh, and the blender pot can make for a frighteningly convincing Tele neck pickup tone. I got the base plate too, but I don't know what the hell it does, but I like the sound as is so I guess it doesn't matter.

Pickup features: Single coil
Impedence or other specs: 6.2K neck and middle, 7.2k bridge w/baseplate

Model of guitar or bass: Homebrew Strat w/ USA Custom neck, Warmoth body
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: n/a
Other pickups on guitar: n/a
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): blues, rock and a little jazz
Reason for pickup change: Only pickups to have been installed in this guitar

Perceived output level: Hotter than a stock strat pickup
Tone: Balanced and full
Sonic evaluation: Currently using playing through a Dr.Z Maz Jr w/2x10 speaker option. Barber Burn Unit 2 overdrive for a little kick. These pickups are great for my tastes. If you're looking for pickups that are beefier than stock strat pickups without getting muddy these are likely to please. Chords still have that strat shimmer but with more thump. Jazz chords on the low E string sound strong when using the neck pickup. The bridge pickup sounds like a hot tele without being too bright. The baseplate is a worthwhile option.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Just a great all around strat pickup, suitable for any strat appliciation

Comments: I've got 4 guitars with Lindy's pickups, and I'm sure if something happened to this guitar I'd get another set. I have a set of vintage hots (3% underwound) in another homebrew strat that are great pickups in their own right. The blues do have more mids and lows and sound rounder than the VHs with better sustain. What works for you is clearly subject to your own tastes in the end. Hope this review was helpful!