Demo of the Lindy Fralin, Split Blade "High Output" Pickup Set, loaded in my Fender Ultra "Texas Tea" Stratocaster. Played through a Blackstar ID:Core 100 2x10 combo amp.
First the pickups sound awesome and your playing is incredibly tasteful and supermusical to my ears. One of the coolest things I noticed about this and other of your videos is your ear for being in tune and fixing it. I think we have similar ears for things being out of tune because almost as soon as I notice that something is even slightly off I think “i bet hes going to catch that and twist a tuning peg” and you do every time. My ear isnt as refined as yours because I cant hear which string needs tightening and which way like you can and I think thats really cool and is something I aspire to be able to do. Great video as always!
The Split Blades are awesome pups. I have a weirdo set in my 'Strat' (actually a 2012-2013 ESP LTD ST-213) consisting of a '57 Vintage on the Neck, a Texas Special in the Middle and a Super High Output on the bridge. When I tried to order this set, I was told they couldn't be made to match due to impedance differences. I ended up with the set I wanted along with a Jeff Babicz Bridge and Trem and Schaller locking machines from Germany. There's no substitute for Lindy Fralins. I just ordered a set of High-Output humbuckers for an ESP Eclipse Floyd Rose I had built. Fralins are the best pups you can find short of having your own pup specialist wind them for you. That's a FACT.
Dude. That is a badass finish on a world-class build! That pickguard is super cool as well. I'm a Fralin Strat guy as well; he has a great ear pickup design and they've awesome customer service.
Hi Chris. I loved your playing, but I came to hear those pups demo. Very impressed! and that 3 ply? pickguard super strange. My take away... your legato and tone was delicious. Bravo! Very classy player.
Absolutely awesome pickups and absolutely badass playing. Seriously, you're a world class shredder. Amazing! I've been hearing about Fralins for decades now but haven't tried them. But I know the next time I get a strat I'm gonna fix it up with these Fralins and a Vega trem. And I prefer maple fretboards. I have a Mexican Strat with a Tone Zone/Air Norton set and it sounds and plays awesome, and I love the speed you get with maple. I stared with maple fretboards in the 80s but drifted to rosewood and ebony, etc. And while they are good and have their special properties nothing beats maple in my book.
Agreed about the maple. I have 10 guitars, 8 of them maple, one of which is a beautiful birsdsey maple. Can't go wrong! Especially getting them work in a bit grimey and dirty.
Hmmm Vega trem you say hey? I just got a wilkinson 2 point trem with the staggered string holes, stainless steel and all that. Sounds and feels amazing. My next project will probably have a schaller Vintage on it, however maybe I'll upgrade my MIM Strat with one of these Vegas 🤔🤔🤔🤔
I really like the wilkinson trem's as well. I did a Warmoth build with the wilkinson a bunch of years ago... But, the solidity in the build quality and the smoothness of the trem, is unreal with these Vega -trem's. I can't figure out how it's doing it really... It's just a trem with 2 springs... But the feel is so solid, smooth and reliable. I really can't say enough good about them...
BTW Chris, how do you install the strings with the Vega trem system? I have watched several install videos and they say it's tricky, but don't say how to put them in. Thanks in advance! Your videos are always so informative and influential - because of you I bought an Eart! LOL.
It's not tricky at all. They go in through the back of the string block, instead of the bottom. There's an angled area where the holes are. I will be making a Vega-Trem installation video soon. In which I will address this.
The roundness of the split blade pickups in shape is to match the radius of the fretboard. I bought the middle radius fralins to match the 10 inch radius I Radius Of my fretboard. How close to the strings do you set yours?
On a clean channel, I set the bridge pickup to where I think it sounds best. Then I set the neck pickup to where it matches the volume level of the bridge pickup. Then I set the middle pickup to be slightly lower than the Neck and Bridge. That's my personal preference. I like to do it all by ear instead of measuring heights. IMO, setting up pickup heights for optimal tone, can only be done by ear. Each guitar has it's own voice. I, likely am not using the same guitar, bridge, strings, etc.. as whoever came up with the "recommended" settings. Play around with it. There's no such thing as "the right height". It all comes down to how you hear it. Peace!!
I really love both for different reasons. The "area" pickups are hotter and have better Hard Rock/metal tones. They can do cleans as well but, the Fralin's, excel at the clean tones, but also Rock pretty hard too. Overall, the Fralins fit what I do, maybe a tad better than the area's. Also, the shape of the pickups themselves are fantastic. I constantly catch my pick, on every middle pickup ever! The fralin's have curved tops that are out of the way, without having to bury the middle pickup. Now, I can get a far better balance across all 3 pickups. I should mention that the variety of tones with the Fralins, are better than any pickup set I've ever tried. The middle pickup has an amazing "honk" thats reminiscent of the Mark Knopfler tone. I love it and actually use my middle pickup a lot now! I wish the Fralin's weren't so expensive! I want them in all my strats. Another set that is IMO a close 2nd to the fralins, are the Mojotone, quiet coil 58 (with hot bridge) set. Excellent pickups, with very good versatility! Peace!
I like these better. IMO, they have a superior tone and the build quality is exceptionally good! But, they cost almost double what the lace's cost... But, I think they're worth it.
