Tonerider Classic Blues

Single coil Strat pickups. Resistance: 6.1k neck, 6.5k mid, 7.0k bridge Alnico V magnets.

Idea was to replace the stock pups in a spare MIJ Strat - since they are too bright.

Definitely more output than the stock, which is a plus, and basically a well balanced set - and the build quality is super!. BUT overall they have a very dull and undefined sound, and the sound is the opposite to the stock MIJ pups - even though brightness is missing they can sound harsh.

I've been playing on and off for 25 years, in bands and touring. Just wanted to check the out based on the rave. There are other cheap alternatives - Wilkinson, Swineshead - that are more spot on in the budget price range. I am very happy with the Swineshead Dragonfly I have mounted now. I'm not going to try the other Tonerider pups, since the official description was so far off the sound in reality.

Toneriders Classic Blues set of single coils for Strat

Bridge: 7 Ohm
Middle: 6,5 Ohm
Neck: 6,1 Ohm

White, black or cream covers option. Special stagger by Tonerider. Adjusted B string pole piece.

I've instaled these pickups in my Squier Cherryburst Stratocaster with alder body and rosewood fingerboard. All positions. I replaced the Bill Lawrence Keystones I had in. In this case the Toneriders are just more Straty pickups. Keystones are good but lack the stratines becouse they are hotter pups.

Out put level is medium so the pickups shoud be run through some kind of boost for more saturated tones on clean amps. With Marshals aor EL84 operating ams these are just fine directly into amp. I use a Fender SF Twin Reverb with Eminence GB12 speakers. Hughes and Kettner Tube Factor and TS808 clone for overdrive. It's a clean monster so I have a bit more job to do it right. Generally all my guitars love EQ with little or no Middle knob. Turn up bas with these pups and there will be a revelation of tone. I even play punk rock with my Strat, no problem. Pickups are suitable for all three positions. Keep middle set low and the other two high and you will have great 2'4 positions with plenty of quack.

I would emidiately replace Toneriders with Toneriders if stolen or broken. Quality pickups and materials used are high end. I've been playing for 15 years but Strat only for last two. Toneriders are in for the last six months and I realized how mouch I do love the Stratocaster after installing them. Pickups are just wound hot enough to be OK clean and with gain. I belive a more vintage winding would result in not so great overdrive. Especialy on my amp. I love the neck pup for the blues....bridge is great for distortion too but pick your effects right. Not all are good/suitable. For now this is the end of modding my existing Strat for new Squiers I'd concider Toneriders again. Cheap but superb quality pups.

Single coil, non humbucking. Middle pickup reverse wound and reverse polarity for noise cancelling in positions 2 nad 4.

Put a full set of these into one of my 2006 Mexican Strats to replace the Fender vintage noiseless that I had in there previously. Wasn't happy with the note definition of the noiseless pickups, particularly when using the neck and middle positions.

I am using these through a Vox Tonelab and into a full range PA type amp (a great way to get a good tone from any amp modelling effects processor!)
Let me first say that I wasn't really sure about these pickups. I hadn't heard much about them, in fact can't even remember how I came across them...but all the HC reviews were really positive. I found the website and thought I would write to Toneroder and get some recommendations about what I was looking for sound wise. I got an amazingly helpful, and quick reply from Andrew at Tonerider, and as a result bought the pickups he recommended.
These things are exactly what I was after - note definition with high gain amps is substantially better than the previous pickups, each individual note in a chord is still very disticnt, not just a "wall of noise", and they had even more of that "classic" Fender tone than the Fenders did!

been playing for 20 odd years, all sorts of guitars, currently playing a couple of mexican strats in a rock covers band situation.
I have been through a fair whack of Seymour Duncans, dimarzio and fender pickups before I found these and must say that I am happiest with the sound of the toneriders....sure noiseless would be a plus, but hey, hendrix never had noiseless pickups and he did ok... :)
Overall a great pickup from a great company...and I will be replacing the pickups in my other strat with these as well!

Single coil, non humbucking. Middle pickup reverse wound and reverse polarity for noise cancelling in positions 2 nad 4.

Put a full set of these into one of my 2006 Mexican Strats to replace the Fender vintage noiseless that I had in there previously. Wasn't happy with the note definition of the noiseless pickups, particularly when using the neck and middle positions.

I am using these through a Vox Tonelab and into a full range PA type amp (a great way to get a good tone from any amp modelling effects processor!)
Let me first say that I wasn't really sure about these pickups. I hadn't heard much about them, in fact can't even remember how I came across them...but all the HC reviews were really positive. I found the website and thought I would write to Toneroder and get some recommendations about what I was looking for sound wise. I got an amazingly helpful, and quick reply from Andrew at Tonerider, and as a result bought the pickups he recommended.
These things are exactly what I was after - note definition with high gain amps is substantially better than the previous pickups, each individual note in a chord is still very disticnt, not just a "wall of noise", and they had even more of that "classic" Fender tone than the Fenders did!

been playing for 20 odd years, all sorts of guitars, currently playing a couple of mexican strats in a rock covers band situation.
I have been through a fair whack of Seymour Duncans, dimarzio and fender pickups before I found these and must say that I am happiest with the sound of the toneriders....sure noiseless would be a plus, but hey, hendrix never had noiseless pickups and he did ok... :)
Overall a great pickup from a great company...and I will be replacing the pickups in my other strat with these as well!

This is a set of passive single coil strat pickups. Resistance: 6.1k neck, 6.5k mid, 7.0k bridge (they were each a hair under, I guess they rounded up). Magnets: Alnico V in Modified Vintage Stagger

I just replaced the stock pups in my '95 MIM Strat, which were meh.

These have a bit more punch than the stock, which is a plus. they are Well balanced set. I think one reason they sound more powerful is that the harmonic spectrum and/or frequency response is much broader and more complex; they are very "musical." Overall they have a lot more treble than I am used to, and can sound too bright or harsh, but I think it's because there is more presence in the upper frequencies, which is good. I'm glad it's there if I need it. I can always dial it back! They really emphasize the attack of a note. I mean they are really responsive and articulate. Good for aggressive rapid picking and at the same time they can ring on held notes. Yes, I think they may have a wee bit of "TONE."

I've been playing on and off for 30 years. Played out in bands as a yoot. Mostly off(frickin procreation!) But I've been back at it for 6 or 7 years now. I've played my share of classic vintage pieces, and I've built a few electric guitars(from scratch I'm talkin - not partsocasters). 'Course, I love the vintage mojo as much as the next guy, but it' not in my budget. These, at the price, stuck in to my cheapo MIM Strat, made a keeper out of it. Beats the hell out out of paying thousands for a vintage ax you worry more about damaging than playing (not that I still wouldn't want one!). I'm so pleased with these I'd like to try out the other flavors;"Pure Vintage", "City Limits," even the "Surfari"(I used to have a '68 Jag).

Single Coil Strat Replacement/Upgrade Pickups.
See Tonerider.com for specs.

These went into a 2004 USA Strat.
Full set to replace the standard pickups.
I don't know of any artists using this pickup, and don't know why not either, they are great.

The output level is similar to the pups I replaced, but it is more balanced across the pickups and across the strings.
I play through a Fender deville 60watt.
Tone is not something I am good at describing. But I would put this as a late 60's/Early 70's tone, but perhaps better definition.
I use this guitar for blues and 60's/70's pop. Works a treat. I can't afford a 60's strat, but this is pretty close.
I wouldn't recommend buying individual pickups - the set is the best option.
I give them a 9/10 for me, because they suit what I do and nothing gets a 10/10 - there is always room for improvement.

I would replace these with the same, or maybe one of their other sets.
I have been playing non - professional for 20 years, and thus have lots of mid-range gear.
I love the look and the tone of these. I love the price. I don't like the typical single coil hum that surfaces from tim to time. (I just move myself to another position.) I think this goes with the territory.
I am satisfied with these, especially for the price.
I don't know what the last reviewer was talking about - must have been a dud set or a bad installation. Should have got them replaced - they have a 5 year warranty - according to the website.

Sinlge coil strat type clones.

fender strat closet relic. I installed all 3 positions replacing stock. NO artists use these and I guess I know why.I changed to these to check them out after the reviews they had had elsewhere. BIG MISTAKE.

Erm.....great tone BUT.....terrible background noise. Not too bad overall sound but pretty THIN. No matter how they were shielded, they hum like a spaceship on steroids. The over all sound is quite chimey, not a deep warm tone but does handle blues ok if you want to run your amp bass control right up or tone down on your ax...but only if you can stand the noise. MAYBE I GOT A BAD SET...but Im not too impressed. I took them out and put back in the stock ones for now.

overall? I took them out and replaced them. They a cheaply made in china......and I guess you really do get what you pay for. I might have got a bum set so Id be willing to try another one day. You cant go by the sound files as ANYTHING can be engineered sound wise to sound shit hot as you know.....just think about some bands that sound great on cd but pretty poor live. I did compare these with 4 other sets and hands down these were the worst overall sound wise. Go into a store that stocks these and TRY first.....!

Single coil set
three different output level
reverse-wound - humbucking effect - silent 2/4

I replaced the cheap crappy pickups in a strat kit with no name

I liked the sound through a small practice, pretty damn fantastic, but I haven't yet put into a loud amp and cranked up the volume.
So I can't give a complete evaluation yet.

plus the quality of the sound will depend so much on the amp. I have a crate palomino class A tube amp, which is a great amp, but not good for pickup evaluation because any crappy pickup sounds decent through this thing.

I haven't done a good job providing info above, but let me summarize.

If stolen, I would buy these again, again, and again.
I've been playing over 10 years, but only recently started to appreciate quality and difference of pickups.
Pickups have nice single coil tone, warm and smooth in the neck, thin jangly sound in the bridge.

The main reasons I decided to write a somewhat incomplete incoherent review.
1. The product makers are honest about sources of parts - it's crafted in China with Chinese magnet, but high quality wires from US and Japan
2. Guitar tech who installed the pickups were surprised at how nice the pickups were considering he'd never heard of them. He said he could tell not just by the sound, but also quality of the materials used and the craftmanship. the quality, it seemed to him, close to, if not just as good as brand name US-made pickups

Single coil strat set.

A friend installed these for me on my custom built Warmoth strat. I've had Duncan and Lace pickups on here before. I've had good luck with Duncan pickups in the past, but replaced them with Lace due to noise issues in the crappy clubs I played. The Lace pickups worked well for me over the years, but after hearing a set of Tonerider pickups in a friends strat, I decided to take the plunge. I always thought my guitar sounded good as it was, but the improvement with the new pickups is huge.

The blues designation put me off at first. I thought they might be like Texas style hot. While they do have more output and my guitar is louder, it retains the beautiful vintage strattiness I so dearly love. These are wonderful sounding pickups.

These pickups are quality all the way around. They look great and best of all, they sound great. Even my wife has noticied the difference. I would buy them again if anything happened.