Swapping Fralin Pickups In My Novo Idris Guitar +

[@FralinPickupsOfficial]

Thanks so much for coming by the shop, R.J.! It was great to meet you.

[@rogerbouchard4096]

I’ve had Fralin Blues pickups in my 92 American standard strat for 10 years. When I first put them in, I thought the bridge pickup sounded harsh and brittle. I called the Fralin shop and had a great conversation and was told to send it back for a rewind. We talked at length about the sound I was looking for. At the end of the conversation I asked for the name of the person who was helping me and it was Lindy himself. Needless to say, I love my pickups and have had no thoughts of replacing them.

[@jeffreyduncan989]

Lindy is a legend… his company has the best customer service. Lindy has jumped on the phone multiple times and helped me choose a pickup. I have his pickups in two of my guitars and they are stellar 👍👍👍

[@Myoldnameiscringy]

I visited the shop about a year ago. I was practically unannounced, but they still let me in and I got to talk with Lindy for a good while. Such nice people. I’m looking at some of their Strat pickups right now. 😊

[@joeferris5086]

I used to live in RVA. I also had Lindy rewind a 65 jaguar pickup recently. The man called me himself to clarify some things. Not only that but i literally got the pickup back from him like 4 days later including mail time. Cant recommend them enough.

[@jfinester]

Great video! To my ear the Hot Vintage set sounds better-a bit more scoop in the mids. It was really apparent in the middle-and-neck position. However, the Split Blades sounded darn good too. And the Novo Idris looks great!

[@Xyrium]

I agree, I dug the vintage set. The great playing can't hurt either... ;)

[@nigeldaddyo]

I agree. I’ve personally owned both sets and experienced the same results. I think the vintage hots are Lindy’s best work…and that says a lot given how great alll his models are.

[@hanovergreen4091]

Agreed. Unexpected.

[@maxwellblakely7952]

The split rails sound more modern to me. Not sure which set I like better.

[@GraniteSoundtrack]

Finally a real good demo of split blades! Thanks RJ.

[@ibalrog]

Great look at a bit of Fralin's process. Also, Lindy continues to be a treasure.

[@shock3863]

Sounds great RJ, good choice of pickups!

[@tacdoc8736]

The Fralin guys are so helpful and genuine. I love every pickup i've played by them and their Big Single Mini is hands down the best pickup i've ever installed in a Tele neck position.

[@MoreMeRecording]

My goodness these sound great. Wow..

[@TheMerc1950]

Dang. And in shell pink! Nice!

[@PrettyRecords]

Great playing and great pickups! Split Blades for me! 👍

[@kingbrutusxxvi]

Considering the "sharper/pointier" curves of the body and headstock I actually think these pickups look more correct than the stock ones. That split blade matches everything better. And, as a bonus, they sound fantastic. Great post, R.J..

[@VoodooDewey69]

Thanks for the tour , awesome .

[@jordanwest4595]

Im from Richmond! cool to see you post about this.

[@BenCoombs]

Thanks for doing a factory tour, the new pickups sound great!! Cheers!!

[@mediumshreddercheese]

Can’t really go wrong with any of the Fralin pups! Big fan!

[@rigorhead01]

I have the Blues Specials in my American Deluxe strat. It's my #1 guitar, and it sounds phenomenal! Love the Fralin pickups!

[@martianmurray]

Individually I preferred the vintage in neck and middle, but the blade in bridge.

[@gregoryz6545]

Great video. I have his PAF pickups. Love em.

[@druwk]

Yes Please! Love to see the operation of where and how. I have Vintage Hots in the neck, middle of my Partscaster, and a Blues Special in the Bridge. Got the loaded Pick guard direct from Lindy Fralin exactly how I wanted it. Great Company. Great sounding pickups.

[@charleshale8504]

I live in RVA, have been by the shop countless times and Lindy truly has just an incredible wealth of knowledge when it comes to pickups and guitar. Such a helpful staff as well, and I'm glad to see them get some recognition in this video!

[@seamusfloyd8956]

Thanks for this. I have been curious about the split blades. For my tastes I liked the Vintage Hot's a little more. Demo videos are always easier to pay attention to when you like the creator's playing. Awesome!

[@deplinenoise]

Thanks RJ this was really great. So cool to see Lindy’s shop!

[@Krispy1011]

Great video - the Fralin split blades to me sound like they lose a little bit of Strat sound and pick up a little bit of humbucker sound - but they really really sound great. They appear to be very expressive by the way your play the guitar too. and as usual, RJ's playing is the icing on the cake - great job

[@jmaripen]

That pickup sounds wicked! But man, I have to say you have immaculate hair! 🔥 Looking forward to more awesome content!

[@jerrymckenzie1858]

I can highly recommend Lindy Fralin pickups!

[@LucasHaneman]

Both sets sound great. Nice stuff RJ!

[@JK-up7vz]

I have a prewired pick guard on order right now! Vintage hot in neck and middle, blues special at the bridge with the blender pot. Can’t wait for it to arrive here in Holland!! So cool to see your visit to that shop. All the guys there are just crazy about pick ups and I am so happy that my order is on one of those shelves right now!!

[@THEItchybruddah]

This was brilliant THANK you. I have three instruments that I consider were “saved” by Lindy’s contraptions: A Squire Mascis with Mastery parts and his hum cancelling units, A Penguin that had bad examples of dynasonics - which were also replaced with Frailin hum cancelling units (Lindy is fond of saying “It’s just a P90! but they don’t make noise and they’re voiced COMPLETELY different from another!) And lastly a partscaster w/ his high output Tele pickups that will keep up with that guy using humbuckers in the band. Fantastic sound and playing examples Sir! Enjoy your Novo. It’s a wicked versatile weapon you got there! Holler if you come over the plateau to play in Knoxville!

[@kyledriscollmusic]

love all my Fralins

[@davidshort8226]

I'm so jealous of that hat.

[@michaelmele4888]

Between the Novo and the Tyler you have all the tone and two very high end guitars.

[@FC-cz6zd]

Really surprised RJR doesn't have at least twice the subs he does. Always has great content.

[@frantisca]

Those split blades look great with your new guitar ! The split blades have a lot more clarity and punch: definitely adapted to this new Novo !

[@marcogman8905]

Great video. Always interested in those split pickups. I put Lace Sensor Silvers in my Nash S-57. I also put a Seymour Duncan speed volume know and a blend knob as well. The blend adds the neck in the bridge and bridge-middle settings. It also adds the bridge in the neck and neck-middle settings. The blend knob adds the neck and bridge incrementally so it's not always at 100%. The middle tone is now a master tone. That was also moded to the Fender knob that has a bypass notch around 9 or 10. You're guitar would look killer if it had a gold pickguard with the white knobs to match the new pickups. Take care. Happy New Year's, RJ.

[@hanovergreen4091]

Thanks for the video. Appreciated the Fralin tour and meeting the gents. Good concept. Surprised I found myself liking the Orig pickups..maybe old time Strat bias..but their sound just fit the body (or my bias?) better...either way. Thanks and Best Regards and Best Wishes for 2023!

[@judihenderson1152]

Great vid! Super good sounds.

[@nellayema2455]

Cool guitar. I like the sound with either set of pickups.

[@AndyDion]

New pickups sound awesome 🤘

[@Markcio182]

I added a bright switch to my split blades, and when engaged, it sounds very singlecoilish specially on position 2 and 4

[@gibhopkins6919]

Sounds beautiful

[@MrBoze-TicoCR]

Awesome comparison video RJ!! As some have posted here, to my ear (through the understood YT compression) the Vintage Hot are what I would be looking for IF I wanted to get the vintage Strat with all the landmark check-in-box tones. But as you've mentioned, this wasn't your goal with the Idris-esp when you already have some gtrs for that. They look perfect for the model shape and the hum-free is always a driving factor to consider. On their own, I can't think that anyone in the same market who would say that @11:12 to 14:00 doesn't cover normal vintage to modern Strat tones. But @ 14:03 with some hard drive added, those pups are SINGING!!! Thanks, but you've just added another option to my hunting......Ultra Cool...

[@OllieLoops]

Nice video as always RJ! I’ve got a set of Split Blades on order. Can’t wait. Keep up the good work!

[@maxpeck4154]

This was neat to watch. I've ordered a couple sets of pickups from Fralin and they were excellent to deal with, responsive and informative. My Serus J came with the Fralin p90s and I'm not touching them. Something about a single volume and tone vs a Gibson style 4 knob configuration, or maybe the pots/caps Novo uses (or both) but I can set the amp somewhat dirty and roll the volume back on the guitar to about 5 or 6 and not only clean it up, but not lose any high end at all - very Tele-like with plenty of sparkle. Only guitar I've ever owned that has a truly useful volume control throughout the entire range.

[@ksharpe10]

Nice sounding middle pickup. I prefer the Hot vintage set.

[@tommc49]

The splits have more clarity to my ear, but seem somewhat less "stratty", which I think is what you were going for.

[@Shira2]

Very different sounding. I like the chime of the vintage hot.

[@Mudder1310]

I’m digging that pink. Pickups sound great. Blender is cool as hell. The only negative is the pickups don’t match the knobs.

[@fredvanderlinden8908]

A strat with Giants cojones. Great film super playing thx for sharing.

[@mikeatl4953]

The vintage sound is killer, but if you already have strats that will do that, I can see the split rails giving you a different and more flexible option. Thanks for another great video.

[@JLindebergful]

That guitar sounds amazing 😮👍

[@patshep68]

I’m looking at split blades. I am more a humbucker guy and love the ergonomics of a Strat. Appreciate this demo

[@frankadams4586]

I think I stumbled onto Fralin pickups in ‘96. A lot of boutique pickups have come out since then, but I have never gone away from Fralins.

[@eduardoprieto5267]

Your a true pro. Looking for clarity and purity buy rolling off the volume and setting pickup height just right. Blessings for all from tomato patch texas .

[@joybuzzer]

They're both great, but I really like the raspiness that the Vintage Hots have. I don't know how to describe it, but it's almost like the Split Blades are too perfect. I have Fralin Blues Special pickups in my own Strat, and wish I could do my own A/B comparison with Split Blades.

[@BrianSGuitars]

Sounds great!

[@wildeman1253]

Those blade pickups sound killer.

[@arthurgonzales4949]

Oh my god! RJ I am loving these tones! I have a guitar wired the same way and the tones kill me! I love it even with dead strings. I am seriously feeling this guitar! Oh and Split Blade pickups have a more open-airy kind of tonality than the Vintage High pickups. I actually like them more for having an awesome unique sound. KILLER GUITAR!

[@rz0svp]

Fralin Blues Specials are the best strat pickups on the market and Tyler is great to work with.

[@horrorview]

I have split blades in two of my Strats and Fralin vintage in my Knopfler-style build. I favor the vintage for clean or slightly overdriven bluesy stuff and chicken-pickin', but the split blades sound awesome with fuzz or meaty distortion. The dude makes some outstanding pickups and is way underrated.

[@jackjones46]

Which kind of split blades did you get?

[@horrorview]

@@jackjones46 Fralin - they're the ones where the blades split and one side points up and the other down.

[@j.rozman7016]

I only wish NOVO would have a dealer in EU! I would ordered IDRIS in a heartbeat: but with slimmer neck, SS frets and Quarter sawn flamed neck and dark rosewood fretboard! Awesome looking and sounding axe!!

[@Louis_Rain]

Cool vid man. Been wanting to try some Fralins. They both sound cool. The High Output aren't as clean sounding but that makes sense. I probably like the sound and look of the Hot Vintage a little better. It is so fun to try different combos with guitars. Great sounding Novo with either set!

[@lazvt8469]

Blown away by my Fralin Blues Special in a Squier CV50 Tele...every bit as great sounding guitar as USA Tele's I own.... Can't say enough about them... Tip: Disconnect neck pup from tone pot...improves clarity and output...love doing that.

[@PooNinja]

I love blade style pick ups 🤘🏽

[@lylecaine4833]

I think those split blades really compliment that guitar nicely.

those split blades appear to be amazing

[@va7242]

Loved the A/B and the inside view of Fralin's shop. Biggest wish is that the pickup portion of the Strat pickguard was somehow hot-swappable so that the hots could be swapped with the blades without much fuss. Sales of single coil pickups would explode.

[@the-LeoKnightus]

Nice. Hot Strat pickups for sure. Sounds nice. I would have never thought to my ear, that was a strat. I think that blender setup has a nice unique sound. Got a lil chirp and some nice harmonic content.

[@redbirdjazzz]

With the exception of Charlie Christian-style pickups, I don't usually care for the aesthetics of blade pickups, but these really suit that guitar visually. And they sound great.

[@Robowx]

Those split pickups sounded awesome. I was thinking of getting certain pickups for my Strat. But I think I’m going to go with those split pickups with the blender!

[@bryanherward4679]

Been wanting a set of these for a strat I have.....

[@samxday]

I like that novo. 👍👍👍

[@johnnyxmusic]

The split play pick ups, have a cleaner and more focused sound… But they do sound slightly compressed. The stock pic it sounds warmer with a wider tonal band. But comparing the two of them, I prefer the split blade.

[@johnandre5558]

I like them both. But the blades give you something new and I think they really suit the guitar well.

[@drewbarries]

I played the splits on a friend’s custom Lull and they sounded the same on here, they have a very clean polished tone but they do filter out a lot of the stringy quality that makes a Strat a Strat. I would choice the VHs over the Splits for my upgrade.

[@hermannmaier0]

i like the blades. They are rounder, clear and bold. I think the vintage hot set was warmer, a bit nasally/scooped??? I would appreciate both sets.

[@solomonsanchez1897]

You should definitely keep the split blades. They suit the guitar better in every way.

[@riniones]

not to spoil the party but I honestly liked the hot vintage set better... you may also have that sound covered with some of your other guitars so that's all good in the end if it works for you

[@Paul_Lenard_Ewing]

It really is great looking guitar. I have never liked the Nova guitars . They always looked like they passed their 'best before date' 20 decades ago. This one however looks beyond killer! I am strictly a vintage Strat PU guy. Your new PU's really are their own thing which looked at that way are very impressive.

[@carsgunsandguitars]

I love fralin pickups, they rule

[@bluzzjazz]

To my ear, the Split Blades had more note separation/clarity. Both sound good though.

[@stevenpipes1555]

Those pickups sound amazing in that guitar! I want some. And NO! to all of the "the guitar doesn't matter. its all in the pickups"crowd, No these wont sound the same mounted in a workbench!

[@joeblankenship377]

Nice. The bridge sounded like a big fat twangy Telecaster. I'm really curious about their single-sized p90s. Be awesome to get a little cheap tele and slap those in.

[@andreyzhuk1681]

Vintage Hots for the win! No comparison

[@richardharvey3630]

Great video! Did ya go to The Gwar Bar while you were in Richmond? :)

[@dasisgras3077]

Love that guitar and those pickups really make it sound the way you think it should from the looks. You absolutly shred on that thing. Just found out about you from the Hendrix episode about strings. Roger Mayer says the same thing in a newer Guitar World, but seeing you play it sure helps. You read all kinds of misinformation on the internet and in magazines. I know way more about amps but am choosing a tone pot cap for my 50's Japanese Strat that I got from a lefty Henddrix nut. I put a blend in it years ago from a drawing on a napkin Hendrix gave to someone, supposedly. I pust Klein 54's in it put once you go through the fuzz face, they don't seem to make as much difference and the originals were not that bad... Any advice for the tone capacitor?

[@FGg503]

I must say I'm liking the Vintage Hot pickups much more than the Fralins, which sound rather subdued to me.

[@finoroverato7640]

I dig the split blades i have them in two guitars. A road worn strat and a tele. R.J.? Can you disclose your pickup height measurements please

[@ksharpe10]

That guitar has the Hound dog taylor shape body.

[@18JR78]

Split Blade has more mids. Vintage Hot has a mid scoop. Both sound good but its all taste and application at the end of the day.

[@garygratzer9670]

What was your impression of the bridge/neck and bridge/middle/neck capabilities? Thx.

[@garygratzer9670]

RJ no one seems to be able to tell me how that works. What is telegram?

[@Matthew-e3u7r]

Vintage sounded crisper, more articulate. Split blade sounded a bit muffled, too.

[@jjboogie1]

They both sound awesome but I actually the original pickups better. Sweeter. More chime and clarity.

[@jjboogie1]

But of course how they sound on a KZbin video versus how they sound and feel playing them in real life are two completely different things. 😂🤘

[@damonstewart70]

I live in Richmond VA

[@dustinmylesdiou2649]

freakin sic 🤘

[@tyleranderson9190]

The split blades were great, until I heard the vintage hot, especially in the neck. The vintage hot have that great strat tone that’s hard to beat.

[@johnbrown4568]

I preferred the Split Blades

[@r0bophonic]

Are the Hot Vintage set the same distance from the strings as the Split Blades? Both sound killer but the Hot Vintage set sounds like it is closer to the strings.