Fralin Split Blade Telecaster Pickups are Surprisingly...
Nov 23, 2013 10:20:09 GMT -7
iluvpunz likes this
Post by waynelawkid on Nov 23, 2013 10:20:09 GMT -7
Impressive. I have somewhat of a split personality disorder when it comes to single coil pickups. I absolutely love the unmistakeable quack, chime, and twang that can only be achieved through single coils, but can barely stand 60 cycle hum. Alas, I am the key demographic for pickup makers that claim to offer "noiseless single coils." Over the past decade or so I have tried many sets of telecaster and strat pickups which claim to offer the true tone of a single coil without the hum. Each disappointed for various reasons. Commonly they sounded sterile and more like a humbucker in single-coil drab, rather than a noiseless single coil. Thus, for years my strat and tele tones have lived in the "in-between" settings where the reverse winding negates hum.
Last weekend I was taking in the latest and greatest selection of pickups at my favorite music store, when I stumbled upon Lindy Fralin's Split Blade telecaster pickups. This particular set was the "Blues" variety. Snake-bitten from past disappointment I initially resisted the purchase, but ended up pulling the trigger after reviewing what few reviews existed online. Fast forward a few hours and I had soldering iron in hand performing a pickup transplant in my Grosh Retro Classic Hollow T.
After a weeks worth of running the pickups through various Z amps and OD pedals, I am very happy with the results. The neck pickup has an unmistakeable telecaster roundness to it with a pleasant chime in the unwound strings. The middle position has plenty of quack, chime and single coil airyness (word?). The bridge pickup is all Tele without the ice-pick quality sometimes associated with bridge pickups. Suffice to say these pickups indeed sound like single coils and, best of all, there is absolutely no hum. The pickups are dead quiet. All in all I am very pleased.
I usually don't do gear reviews because I don't consider myself qualified to render educated opinions. BUT, having walked about through the noiseless single coil odyssey for over a decade I figure I would opine for the masses.
Of course, a pic never hurts!
Last weekend I was taking in the latest and greatest selection of pickups at my favorite music store, when I stumbled upon Lindy Fralin's Split Blade telecaster pickups. This particular set was the "Blues" variety. Snake-bitten from past disappointment I initially resisted the purchase, but ended up pulling the trigger after reviewing what few reviews existed online. Fast forward a few hours and I had soldering iron in hand performing a pickup transplant in my Grosh Retro Classic Hollow T.
After a weeks worth of running the pickups through various Z amps and OD pedals, I am very happy with the results. The neck pickup has an unmistakeable telecaster roundness to it with a pleasant chime in the unwound strings. The middle position has plenty of quack, chime and single coil airyness (word?). The bridge pickup is all Tele without the ice-pick quality sometimes associated with bridge pickups. Suffice to say these pickups indeed sound like single coils and, best of all, there is absolutely no hum. The pickups are dead quiet. All in all I am very pleased.
I usually don't do gear reviews because I don't consider myself qualified to render educated opinions. BUT, having walked about through the noiseless single coil odyssey for over a decade I figure I would opine for the masses.
Of course, a pic never hurts!
