Tonerider Alnico IV Classics (PAF) Set

mine is bridge humbucker, i got the zebra one. has 4 wires for coil tap

lower output than the gibson classic '57 i was using instead which was about 9.5+ .. the tonerider is more like 8.3'ish (read on)..

installed in a decent gibson sg copy (as my classic '57 pickup got damaged). i didnt want to spend a fortune on a new pickup so decided to take a 'gamble' with tonerider..

i'm a good candidate to review this pickup, as i was using a gibson classic '57 pickup before, which is very good and very expensive. so how did the tonerider compare? well believe it or not, i would say it is as good (and i'm very fussy). it's not quite as harsh and trebley as the gibson classic '57 (which is a good thing for me as i have a trebley amp (jcm900 all valve combo)). was the lower output from the tonerider a problem for me? not at all, and to be honest i didnt really notice any difference, as these days especially if your amp is capable of high gain output u can always adjust the gain a bit on your amp if u feel u are not getting enough from the pickup, or move the pickup closer to the strings on your guitar etc. the simple test to tell a good pickup from a bad one apart from just using your ears, is to play some chords etc with the volume quite low on your guitar knob, but then when you turn the volume knob right up to max, and then do the chords just sound all 'mushy' and you cant really distinguish the different strings/notes? with the tonerider, the pickup stays in control even at max settings, just like my classic gibson '57 did. excellent stuff ESPECIALLY for the low price. i also did the coil tap option and i love it, it's nice to swap between humbucker and single coil sounds. for the diagram though to help do the coil tap, i had to email tonerider, but they sent the diagrams quickly.

superb pickup. i would rate it as 9 normally as i dont give 10's, but the reason i am giving the 10 is because of the low price. my guitar tech used to say 'you get what u pay for' but there ARE exceptions to that rule, and the tonerider pickups are an example. i also put in a tonerider P90 in the neck position of my guitar, giving me a big range of different sounds my guitar can now do. the P90 gives a great tone by the way, just like the humbucker. you just cant go wrong with tonerider. 'nuff said!

Passive humbuckers. Manufacturer says 7.9k neck and 8.6k bridge.

Installed in an Ibanez SZ720FM.Both positions.The Ibanez is a very solid mahogany guitar similar in weight to the classic Les Paul build. Replacing stock Duncan/Ibanez humbuckers. Changed to the Tonerider Alnico 4 Classics to get a better vintage sound.

Good output levels.Not too high.Good for blues and most rock. Probably not for the true metal devotees. I play through valve amps - Laney LC50 and Fender Blues Junior. My effects are limited to Tubescreamers and Blues Driver type pedals.

Neck has a very smooth and clearly defined sound - no mud at all. Bridge is also very clear and articulate with great note definition.

Would replace if stolen. Great value for money. been playing for many years and have a USA Stratocaster,PRS McCarty,Yamaha AES620, Japanese Epiphone Les Paul, etc. These Toneriders come close to the PRS McCarty in sound quality.

We are all searching for the perfect tone. These pups may not be perfect, but if you can't sound good with the Tonerider Alnico 4 PAFs, then give it away and take up drums! Don't tell my drummer I said that!

2 Gold plated Alnico 4 humbuckers. Beautifully presented in clear plastic boxes, looked great with screws and springs included and a wiring diagram which wasnt great to be honest. I didint like the look of the pickup wires either, cheap plastic covering and very light strand, more of this later.

I installed these in an old 80s Burny LP custom. I replaced the 2 pickups, they werent originals, one was a Gibson and other I cant identify.

I used the 50s wiring(google it) and straight away were way better than the old pickups. Less strident and "hard" sounding, drove beutifully, really nice old school. Probably preferred the old ones for straight jazz though. Level a little lower and definitely noisier but I dont mind. It also seemed that the neck pickup was way louder but I think its just bassier/boomier. I adjusted pickup heights and I got a pretty good mix. Using a Fender Blues deluxe and a Peavey Classic 50 with H+K tube factor. Sounds great also with my Sunface fuzz. I would say its great for blues/rock, perfect for "Crossroads" by Cream or "
Red house" by Hendrix. Not great for strummy clean stuff, just drives too early..

Love these pickups, great for the price and perfect for the style I play. Playing 20 years and I know what I like at this stage. Not too versatile perhaps but I like them so much I'm buying a set of City Limits for my Tokai AST56 strat.Only other gripe would be the really cheap pickup wire which I had some problems with soldering. Otherwise top-notch quality..

Alnico IV Classics Set - AC4
Passive Humbucking pickups, nickel covers (sometimes called German Silver. Brass baseplates and 4 wires - coil tap potential)

Available in black or zebra, or with highly-polished gold or silver nickel silver covers. Four-conductor wiring as standard.
DC Resistance: 7.9k (neck), 8.6k (bridge) - this is a bit misleading as it is generally the inductance of a pickup that gives a more accurate view of output.
Pickups are fairly primitive technology and work on a well proven set of principles. That Tonerider can build these at a really good price is not surprising, what is surprising is that they have managed to capture some of the magic that appears in good pickups through careful selection of materials and a sound build process.

Fitted into a Tokai ES 130 ('58 335 clone). Bridge and Neck set - The Tokai pickups are fine units but have a more midrange honk with a subdued treble. They emphasise the woody end of the spectrum a little too much for my taste, overdrive the amp too quickly and are a bit less subtle than the Toneriders. I also fitted CTS pots, orange drops and Switchcraft sockets etc at the same time.

I like 335s for the sweet sound they can deliver as well as the woody stuff and the ability to get into funk and blues. A friend recommended these - he is their dealer in South Africa. He was spot on, they deliver a really sweet top end, some great jazz sounds on the neck and a characterful neck and bridge combination. Overdriven they can get raunchy with nice overtones coming through, sustain is as good as you would want and the chime is there when you want it too. I'm a big fan of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers so Mike Cambells guitar sound always hits the spot for me. These go there easily, sweet, chimey, jangly.
For the money these are really great value.

I would replace them if some dastardly person was to creep up on me at a gig and remove the pickups from under my nose. I am also convinced that Tonerider have got the right balance between low cost manufacture and quality materials - good job. A P90 is next on my list for a well-modded Squier Strat

Passive Humbucking pickups, nickel covers, Alnico 1V magnets brass baseplates high quality finishes. Can be coil tapped if needed. Very well made, I was impressed - comes well packaged with screws and springs and wiring guide. No mounting rings included with these. The best feature is the price which at GBP26 each is great! I took a chance on a recommendation and have been well satisfied. I asked a couple of questions of Andrew Cunningham - man behind Tonerider - he responded right away, very easy, nice approach.

Fitted into a Tokai ES 130 (335 type) Neck and bridge replacement of Tokai Mk11 Humbuckers. I switched as the Tokai pickups, although very well made and faultless were quite high output, more middle and less sweet top end. I was looking for a sound more in line with traditional early 335 sounds, some funk, nice clean sound. I was recommended these by a Luthier who is fitting them to all his custom build guitars - some high end instruments - and talked of the nice balance attainable from Toneriders.

Medium output, perhaps on the low side of average for modern pickups. I'm playing through two very different setups, Blues Junior for rehearsal and small gigs - A Rivera M60 for most gigs. These Pups have proven to be very versatile, they clean up very well as you turn the volume down and compress at full volume. I have used them for all types of music - covers band - all types of pedals seem good, Chorus, Trem, Zendrive clone, they even work quite well through Keeley Fuzz Head which I think is better suited to single coils. Output overall about the same as a Fender Texmex. What is really the selling point is the top and bottom ends, no mud whatsoever, clear highs and a mid range that is enough to create some harmonics but not enough to dominate. I'd say for the price they are remarkable and may be unbeatable. I have used most types of pickups over the years and have some experience with the normal brands you might find. I have only really been excited by a TV Jones that I have installed in a Tele and these Toneriders, How's that!

I would replace these like for like - I am considering another couple for another guitar I have as a spare Squier with a single humbucker.

Tonerider Alnico IV classics PAF humbuckers with metal covers

Neck: 7.9Ohm
Bridge: 8.6Ohm

Superb metalplating work. Gold is gold and chrome is chrome - very deep. The pickups has coil splitting options but I use those in a traditional way wireing.

I replaced the white Epiphone Les Paul Custom stock ceramic pickups after 10y of playing it. Also my Ibanez AFS-75T has the same set but in chrome. Both guitars are now set with Toneriders Alnico IV PAFs.
Since LP is solid and Ibanez is hollowbody I can strongly suggest those pups for both types of guitars-think Gibson Lucile for holowbody tone. It's PAF, period!!!!!! I'm not aware of the artist using those pups but there must be some since the pups are good. Even superb for the price. With my tone knowledge expanding I wanted to get the real tones out of my instruments so my guitars now bare Tonerider pickups.

The creator of the pickups warned me about the output of those pups since I told him that main music I play is punk rock but when I tryed them out I can say no worrys. pedals give me what I need but it's the clarity those PAF's are great for. They retain the clear note separation even with high gain wich I like the most. All my guitars are played through Fender SF Twin Reverb 1979 with Eminence GB12 speakers. I'm using Hughes and Kettner Tube Factor pedal and a clone of TS808 screamer. Tone is just great. Before I had some mud especialy in the Ibanez but now it's gone. It's up to me to decide and dial in the EQ if I want dark or bright. Pups are very responsive and sustain is great. I did change the bridge piece on the LP to GIBSON an both nuts are bone wich is what I'd recomend for all Epiphone users. Both pickups do well either clean and/or with gain. Nice solo tones from the neck under high gain. Both do nice warm clean tones but clear and balanced. Music I play is punk rock, rock'n'roll and blues. I's recomend it for blueas and rock'n'roll especially, for heavy stuff use pedals but pick them to match the pups and your amp. Not all are good.

If stolen or broken I'd not think twice to replace them with the same stuff. The price is just too great. I'w been playing for 15 years and I know what I want from my instruments. i have no expencive guitars os the Tonerider pups are making a difference. I would not hesitate to instal them even in much pricey Fenders or Gibsons though. I own Epiphone, Squier and Ibanez guitars and Fender Twin Reverb is the main amp. I have compared those pups ti stock Ibanez and Epiphone pickups but those are not a real match to Toneriders. It will be a though job to convince me that something is better. I'm not a pro so a 250$ set of pickups doesen't mean anything to me.....Toneriders have it all!!!

4 core Alnico IV PAF humbucker. Nickel silver cover. Doesn't come with mounting plate but does include screws and springs. It also includes a basic wiring diagram for humbucker mode - but no advice for coil tapping. Although 4 core 2 of the wires are soldered together.

Epiphone Les Paul Standard in transparent blue. I replaced the stock Bridge pick up with this and added a coil tap using a Gibson 500k push pull pot. The neck pick up is a Seymour Duncan Phat Cat (P90 in a humbucker sized mounting.

Initially it was wired with Red as positive and green as negative but found this was out of phase with the phat cat so we changed them over.

I changed pickups partly so I could have a coil tap (the stock were 2 core only) and also because I felt the Epiphones were not up to the standard of the rest of the guitar.

My amplification is Korg AX3000g into a Hartke G60 amp and into a Crate 4x12 cab. Plus Vox AD30vt modeling amp. Each with Clean crunch and overdriven settings.

Not especially high output for a humbucker BUT the clarity and tone is outstanding. And to me this was more important. On single coil my Les Paul becomes a Telecaster, and the combinations with the neck pick up are some of the best rhythm sounds I have ever heard on a Les Paul. The combination is quite unlike any standard guitar sound perhaps getting into the realms of a Gretsch or old Hofner.

The tapped sound is thin and cutting as you'd expect and of course substantially quieter than the humbucker. But that means you can use the difference to switch from rhythm to lead. There is very little hum or noise in single coil mode even quite close to the amp.

Very pleased with the sounds - I would recommend this for tone lovers, possibly not for those to whom gain is the only consideration. The guy who fitted the pick up for me was impressed enough to look into getting a full replacement for his strat and telecaster.

For the price you would be hard pressed to find better.

This is, of course, a PAF a like humbucker and is made to a nice but not quite vintage correct nickel cover.

I have the neck, it has a 7.9k reading.

Its gone into an Epiphone Les Paul Ultra in the neck position. I took out a humbucker sized P90. I have a Bareknuckle Mule in the bridge.

Output is PAF like

I use it with a Fender Blues Junior and a Vox AC30.

The tone - it is a touch too bassy and sometimes its a bit muddy but all in all the tone is very sweet.

I play hard blues and classic rock, this is a great match.

I wanted to try the Tonerider on the basis of the 10/10 reviews and the pocket money price. If it was stolen I wouldn't bother again as I would save up for a Bareknuckle. I would give my Mule 10/10 and in comparison I would give this 7/10.

That is very unfair, of course, For the money I rate this 10/10 - a set easily stuffs Seymour Duncans 59s or DiMarzios in tone and price. It is not, however, boutique quality - it lacks the 'air' and the harmonic detail that boutique pickups have. In saying that, its not far off - it costs me ??35 - on a tonal level I would have been happy if it had costs me ??65-??70, so you are getting at least double what your paying for.

So all in all well done Tonerider!

Passive Humbucking Pickups, I got Zebra, also avail. in Silver or Gold.
7.9k Neck
8.6k Bridge
Standard-spaced pole-pieces.

I installed the in an Epiphone Les Paul, replacing the dead stock pickups. The reasons are obvious. This was preferable to changing my pickup selector to read "Mud" and "Icepick".

The best way to describe the sound is to say it's a clone of the Seymour Duncan 59/JB combo. In my mind, it's the perfect PAF tone. Punchy, thick, slightly compressed, with each note so clear it sings.

The pickups are simply among the best PAF-Style Humbuckers I've ever played. Hands down. Wonderful warm, fat tone. I got them for an introductory price. Go to Tonerider.com and email them to get a pre-production set.

I would replace these in a heartbeat. I got them both for what ONE Seymour Duncan would've cost me.

This is my only Les Paul at the moment, and I'm not in a rush to get another now that I have these pickups. They are head and shoulders above the other pickups in this category (watch out Guitarfetish). Hell, watch out Seymour Duncan!

The only thing I wish it had was pickup rings, but the guy was apologetic that they didn't have any. Hey. I'm not complaining.