They're awesome! The shop that I work out of from time to time were a Fralin distributor, I have Fralin Pure PAF's in my ES335, and a PRS 22, and i love them. We hot rodded my friends Strat who ownes the shop; Put in the Fralin Blues, changed to pots to 500K, and then replaced the WHOLE tremolo, base plate, spring claw, and block with a high mass macined brass tremolo. We got them to make the block an ounce and a half heavier than the standard weight. The 500K pots made the pickups a bit brighter, but it does open them up. The brass hardware was great with it because it gave you some harmonic overtones you dont typically get from a strat. It also had a really nice warm sustain, and the brass allowed all the highs come through, but without the harshness you would typically hear. I have a Callaham trem in the strat I built, but playing his strat, im using the brass, i really loved what it did to the tone.

Anyways, we have a big Folk Festival that happens yearly, so there are alot of musicians around. We opened the shop from noon-5 on Sat (which is never done), and had a great turn out. The shop is kind of limited for space, and there were a couple pre-World War II acoustics; a Gibson and Martin, so we had to get people out of the shop. Everyone gathered in the hallway of the building, and played. We had 7 guitar players going at the same time, laying down bluegrass(which I dont really play) and blues, and just jammed for a few hours. Anyway I was using my friends Strat w/ the Fralins, plugged right into just a Blues Jr, and EVERYONE commented at how good the guitar sounded. Bear in mind this was an older MIM strat, made with Basswood, but between the Fralins and the Brass hardware, it sounded so great, we ended up being able to get rid of the last 3 sets of Fralin Blues single coils.

They're along the same lines as Texas Specials, or at least the same idea.

A friend of mine put a set of Fralins in his Tele and even though it wasn't my kind of Tele sound, he loves and they did have some honk to 'em. They are well made and if I remember right they are warranteed for life. Hard to beat that!

T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.

I have some of the Fralin Blues Specials in a '57 Strat RI,they sound good but I like the Lollar pickups that I have in another one a little better...it's personal taste.

So here's the "scoop,"
This is all based on opinion and therefore biased. The epitome of Stratocaster tone to my ears is based on 2 variables. An original American made Stratocaster made pre CBS, and a good handmade amp.
The average Joe like myself can afford neither of the two. However, this is what makes the Fralin BS's valuable. When I was a kid, my parents bought me a beautiful American strat. I am still blown away by the gesture. Problem was, it never sounded like a strat should to my ears. An old man at the local guitar shop suggested the Fralin Blues Special set and said "These make the strat sound like it should!" No truer a sentence was spoken.
I have read good things about Lollar's single coils though having never heard them, cannot say Fralin's are the best. I sure do enjoy hearing the noise they make though. They make my modern strat sound like the originals my ear is drawn too. Looks like you already ordered them, so I guess this post is for the wife who can't justify allowing the purchase of a $220 set of pups. Just reassure them that it is much cheaper than a 1962 strat and a Dumble amp!

A set of Blues specials, Fender Deluxe and a Zendrive "dumble in a box", and you're in SRV/Robbin Ford heaven. I played a Fuch's overdrive amp, and my uncles Dumble that he's had since being a sessions player, god, 25 years ago or something like that, and they were pretty close, except for price.
But a Fender and Zendrive pedal is a good poor-mans dumble sound.

Like Rebelsoul, I have the Fralin Blues set in my '57 AVRI. Unlike Rebelsoul, I think they are the cat's meow. But he's completely right in that it all comes down to personal taste; and that should govern.
One of the things I like about the Fralins is how you can get some really great sounding grit by digging in close to the bridge. It's kind of an overdriven sound. The pickups are very responsive to EQ changes, and any brightness can easily be tamed. I play through both an upgraded DRRI and a 64 Custom Vibroverb with the D130F. All I can say is that I'm real happy with my Fender-Fralin tone. Another strat is on it's way to my door (50s Classic Series). That will get upgrade pickups too. What kind? Time will tell. Best of luck.

Right now,Klein pickups have caught my attention,I've been listening to the sound clips on the site which are hard to judge on computer speakers,but they've got my curiosity going strong....might have to order some someday.
If I get them they would go into a Strat that now has VanZandts,which I like...man,I might have to toss a coin.

The Klein '65 set I have in one of my strats sound amazing... I think they're the best sounding strat pickups I've ever tried... I certainly haven't tried a ton but probably 10 different sets of pickups in various guitars over the years. They are perfect to my ears.

Having said that, I happen to have 2 Fralin BS's teamed up with a Dimarzio 36th Anniv PAF in another strat. I like them fine... they have a very clear quality to them played clean...I don't really know how to describe it. While I have no intention of replacing them, if I were to build another strat I'd probably try another set of Kleins. I did just put some Fralins in my latest tele project but I haven't had a chance to play them yet....still at the shop getting worked on

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Dust off those rusty strings just one more time...

For more info on my gear, visit my blog at http://www.jgsguitargoodness.blogspot.com