Fralin bridge PU review
David Covell - MPG DA
After nearly 3 months I received my Lindy Fralin vintage strat bridge
pickup. I ordered the version with the metal plate, said to have enhanced
response in the bass and mids.
My expectation was that I'd get a dramatic increase in low-end response
without sacrificing the vintage top-end clarity and sparkle. In reality
the difference is VERY subtle; I should qualify that by stating that the
previous occupant was an older Duncan vintage PU (not an SS series) rather
than a stock strat PU. The Fralin IMHO is a very slight improvement on the
numberless Duncan, which I always found to be rather thin. For nearly $100
and a 3-month wait I had hoped for a bit more... I am glad to still have the
sparkle but I was willing to sacrifice some of it in order to fatten up the
low mids and I haven't found that to be the case.
For reference purposes: the guitar is a frankenstrat, with custom swamp-ash
body and maple Warmoth neck. Hardtail to maximize sustain and stability.
House amps are my '62 Deluxe, '65 Deluxe reissue, and 100-watt Hiwatt into
2 2x12 Kendrick-loaded open-back custom cabs. I prefer a nearly-clean,
minimally-effected sound and spend 90+% of the time on the neck PU for a warm,
rounded Robben Ford-ish tone.
In defense of the Fralin I must say that I have not yet played it through
the Hiwatt at full band levels, which is when strat bridge PU's sound their
most nasal IMHO. Perhaps the Fralin's alledged enhanced lows will reveal
themselves in a live setting. I can only hope so; at this point I cannot
recommend them as being worth the price and time lag. I would suggest the Van
Zandts at this point; unless the Fralin comes alive at band volumes I'll
likely replace it soon.
An added annoyance; the Fralin, when wired to standard color code (white
lead to switch, black to ground) is electrically out of phase with my middle
PU wired to the same color code. Looks like Fralin assumes I'll replace all
three PU's with his.
Your mileage will almost certainly vary.
===============================================================================
DAVID COVELL - MPG DESIGN AUTOMATION Phone: (916)356-2881
INTEL CORPORATION, FM3-94 Fax: (916)356-3013
1900 PRAIRIE CITY ROAD, FOLSOM, CA 95630 dco...@pcocd2.intel.com
(Non-standard disclaimer: I neither speak nor play guitar for Intel)
===============================================================================
Jim Collins
You say that you might suggest the Van Zandts. Have you tried them, yet?
I have two '57 reissue Strats, one loaded with Fralins (without the metal
plate), and the other loaded with Van Zandt True Vintage pickups. The
guitar that now houses the Fralins used to have Van Zandt Vintage Plus
pickups. (The Vintage Plus pickups now live on a rosewood fretboard
Strat.)
I don't know what the Fralin bridge with the metal plate sounds like, but
I do know what the Fralin bridge sans plate sounds like, and what the two
different Van Zandt bridge pickups sound like. One of my amps happens to
be a '62 Deluxe, as well, so I probably have a fairly good idea what you
are getting, and what you would get. My guess is that if you are not
thrilled with the Fralin bridge pickup, you won't be thrilled with either
of the two aforementioned Van Zandt bridge pickups. The difference between
the Van Zandt True Vintage and the Fralin is subtle, but nonetheless
present. Two my ears, the Van Zandts are just a tad brighter than the
Fralins. The Van Zandt Vintage Plus pickup is as bright, but higher
output. (On my two maple neck Strats, this translated into an ever so
slightly brighter sound for the Vintage Plus pickups, which is one reason
they are now on a rosewood fretboard Strat.)
The Van Zandt Blues pickup is darker and hotter, but I'm not sure if you
would achieve the dramatic increase in low-end response you are looking
for. Before you spring for that, try to find a guitar with Texas Specials
in it. I have only very limited experience with Texas Specials, but
several repairpersons have told me that the Blues and the Texas Specials
are pretty close. A friend and bandmate has the Blues in his Am. Std.
rosewood fretboard Strat, which he plays through a Deluxe reissue. He uses
fatter strings than I do -- his are .011 through .049 -- and he gets a
great bridge tone. Actually, I like his bridge tone. He isn't that crazy
about it, but on some tunes, he even admits that it sounds pretty good.
Van Zandt also makes a Rock model, but I don't know of anyone who uses
them.
It seems to me that if you really want more bottom out of that position,
you'll probably have to look for a pickup that doesn't really claim to be
vintage sounding. Good luck in the search. I hope this helps.
Jimmy
EC-FOURTH : MARK DAVIES
I'd like a little advice from anyone who could help me:
I have a cheap imitation Strat that actually has a nice sound, but some
annoying problems: goes out of tune easily (using whammy out of the
question!) and has a few troublesome frets that buzz on string bends.
In addition, the action can't be lowered as low as I'd like it as this
causes more of the frets to buzz. All these problems made me realise that I
must get a better guitar, and I've decided on either a US or Mexican Strat,
as those are the types available here. The US is double the price of the
Mexican, which due to import duties and other bulls**t costs R5000 ( divide
by 3 for $US and you see the problem!). Thus I'd rather get the Mexican at
half the price, but will it have the problems of my current guitar?
Thus the question is this: to Mexican Strat owners - to what extent can the
guitar be whammied and stay in tune? How low can the action be made? Did
you have any problems with fret buzzing, esp. on string bends?
I'd really appreciate opinions and advice here, before I spend any money.
Please replay via email if possible, as I can't always access this newsgroup.
One more thing, totally unrelated: I have a small practice amp, that has
quite a strange problem: It has developed the problem of buzzing when I
play a G note! It's not the guitar, as a friend has an identical amp and
this problem doesn't happen. I can play the equivalent G note moving up on
each string and this buzzing sound occurs, especially if I pick the note
hard. If a play an F#, and bend it up a semi-tone to G, the BUZZING OCCURS
AGAIN! Same with F bent up to G! It seems like something in the amp is
resonating at that particular frequency, and it really is annoying! Has
anyone had this particular problem before?
Mark
Jack A. Zucker
>
> After nearly 3 months I received my Lindy Fralin vintage strat bridge
> pickup.
[Misc unsatisfied comments]
Well, I love my Fralins. I have Fralins in one strat, and Duncan APS pickups
in the other. I was not looking for "enhanced bass with retained sparkle" or
anything like that. I simply wanted "vintage" tone. The Fralins DELIVER. The
fralin equipped guitar sounds much more like a vintage instrument than the
Duncan equipped instrument. The APS pickups are hotter, darker (increased
bass and mids). In terms of hoping for a bigger difference, it's been my
experience that expecting anything more than a 15-25% difference in 2
similarly manufactured pickups is unrealistic. Unfortunately, the boutique
pickups are made for people who are either tone fanatics, anal retentives,
or anyone with the additional discretionary capital. I love my Fralins but
are they worth $200 ? Probably not. Are they better than any other single
coil I've ever had ? Most definately!
>
> An added annoyance; the Fralin, when wired to standard color code (white
> lead to switch, black to ground) is electrically out of phase with my middle
> PU wired to the same color code. Looks like Fralin assumes I'll replace all
> three PU's with his.
>
Well, don't blame Fralin for that. There is not ISO standard for pickup wiring.
It's a matter of magnetic polarity and winding direction.
-Jaz
Richard Stern
: > pickup.
: [Misc unsatisfied comments]
: Well, I love my Fralins. I have Fralins in one strat, and Duncan APS pickups
: in the other. I was not looking for "enhanced bass with retained sparkle" or
: anything like that. I simply wanted "vintage" tone. The Fralins DELIVER. The
As someone who waited almost 2 months for my Fralins (like David), I
can offer my comments. Unlike David, I ordered a full set of 3 Fralins,
and also unlike him, I replaced Gold Lace Sensors (not another brand
of "vintage" single coils) in my Strat Plus.
I've only played with the Fralins for about 4 hours so far, but I'm
extremely impressed. All 5 positions sound great!! I've never played
a vintage strat, so I can't compare, but words like clear/crisp/bright/
sparkly describe the sound. At clean settings, every note rings clear
even in a complex chord. I could go on and on and rave about how much
better they sound than the Lace Sensors, but I'm trying to sell the
Lace Sensors :-).
Are they worth $200+ (as Jaz asks rhetorically)?? Sure, why not.
I could have gotten some Duncan SSL1s for around $140, or Van Zandts for
$180(?), but I figured "what the hell" and went for the Fralins.
They sound great, and that's all that matters to me now.
Anyone want to buy my Lace Sensors???
Richard Stern
rst...@col.hp.com
MCCARTHY BRIAN J
David Covell - MPG DA <dco...@frx702.intel.com> wrote:
>
> After nearly 3 months I received my Lindy Fralin vintage strat bridge
>pickup. I ordered the version with the metal plate, said to have enhanced
>response in the bass and mids.
> My expectation was that I'd get a dramatic increase in low-end response
>without sacrificing the vintage top-end clarity and sparkle. In reality
[snip]
>I am glad to still have the
>sparkle but I was willing to sacrifice some of it in order to fatten up the
>low mids and I haven't found that to be the case.
[snip]
> In defense of the Fralin I must say that I have not yet played it through
>the Hiwatt at full band levels, which is when strat bridge PU's sound their
>most nasal IMHO. Perhaps the Fralin's alledged enhanced lows will reveal
>themselves in a live setting. I can only hope so; at this point I cannot
>recommend them as being worth the price and time lag. I would suggest the Van
>Zandts at this point; unless the Fralin comes alive at band volumes I'll
>likely replace it soon.
>
You might want to try the DiMarzio FastTrack 1 - lots of lows and low mids,
plenty of highs, and much cheaper than the Fralin. I bet it would sound great
in a hardtail Strat. Let us hear about what you decide to do, and how it sounds