You see, though it hasn’t yet warranted intervention from family and friends, I’ve been known to exercise questionable judgment in taking on new bass-repair projects. But the Reagan-era ESP you see here drew little more than the typical bemused sighs and raised eyebrows when it joined the Fox family of misfit basses, freshly liberated from the cluttered home of a San Francisco undertaker (cheers, craigslist.org!). It was in mostly good shape, though someone had seen fit to jam in an aftermarket J-style pickup, making the bass look sorta goofy and buck-toothed. In short, it fit perfectly in my cherished collection of oddball basses. I’ve used the bass on a number of gigs, and to good effect—its grunty low end sat well in a number of pop-rock rhythm sections, and the mahogany and maple seemed to cooperate for the right combination of resonance and snap. But in recent months, the ESP’s public appearances had become less and less frequent. Like a middle child doomed to watch my attention shift toward new arrivals (a Frankenstein Jazz Bass, a Gibson Les Paul clone), this underloved ESP was in danger of being overshadowed by its more exciting siblings. Then along came the Fralin ’51.
The pickup itself arrived dressed for success: cloth cover surrounded the wire, and Fralin potted the pickup with a wax coating to reduce microphonics from the winding around the Alnico magnets. Fralin offers single- coil and humbucking split-coil versions of
LINDY FRALIN PICKUPS ’51
P-STYLE REPLACEMENT (SPLIT COIL) List $120 (single coil: $80)
Pros Thick, fleecy tone; hum-free operation
Cons None
Bottom line Those seeking gut-rumbling low end and warm, woolly tone will likely love the Fralin ’51.
Made In U.S.A.
Warranty Ten years
CONTACT
(804) 358-2699
www.fralinpickups.com