Tonerider Hot Classics (bridge)

For those that wanna know:
High output passive tele pickup. Vintage style cloth braided wire, brass bottom plate, alnico III magnets, wax potted. Apparently scatterwound using CNC machines. Supposed to read 9.1K, although I didn't bother to check the exact output - lately I've decided people get WAY to hung up on specs and forget to use their ears. Construction is as good as any pickup I've seen, certainly doesn't look "cheap".

I put this in a G&L tribute Bluesboy. G&L pickups certainly have their own sound, and although I don't hate them they have a tendency to sound a bit harsh, maybe it's the ceramic magnets, maybe it's the low readings(4.7K but still LOUD!), whatever it is they kinda feel weird to play with, although they record well... I also replaced the pickups in my G&L US made ASAT classic with Fender texas specials for the same reason. I chose a hot classic over the vintage plus bridge pickup hoping it would balance well with the neck humbucker(the stock neck pickup was also changed, to a Tonerider Alnico IV classic). Having used Tonerider pickups before and been impressed I decided to try this.

Detail later - in a nutshell, this pickup is GREAT! I should also mention that if you have a tele with a humbucker in the neck, this is a perfect match.

Thankfully they are not too high in output, which allows them to still have that tele "twang" that we covet so much. The top end is tempered by a more prominent midrange and low end that smooths the pickup out without sacrificing clarity - this is as very nicely tuned pickup. I suspect the designer Andrew Cunningham, has VERY good ears. Being such a beefy sounding pickup, it's probably a great choice for an esquire style tele, or if you're going for that fat broadcaster tone. Compared to the Fender texas specials, I would say the Tonerider is somewhat sweeter with the midrange emphasis on a lower frequency than the Fenders. I dunno how Andrew does it, but every Tonerider pickup I've tried has a certain "sweetness" in the top end without sounding muddy and these are no exception. I suspect that nicely tuned top end is one of the reasons they work very well with overdrive or distortion. Although it's marketed as a blues and rock pickup there are no problems squeezing some chicken pickin country out of this. No, it won't have that super clear lightness that a lower output traditional vintage pickup would have but it doesn't sound so thick that twang is out of reach, so it's a pretty versatile choice. I can't give it a "10" only because there is no such thing as perfection - not even Amerie, although she's damn close. ;-)

FYI I'm running it through a Peavey Delta Blues 210 (wonderful low priced valve goodness!) and effects used are Vox V847 wah(modded) > Foxrox CC2 > Barber Tone Pump > Rat 2 > Korg DT-10 > Line6 Rotomachine > Biyang AD7 delay.

Basically this finally brought out the tone I knew was in my Bluesboy, but wasn't quiet happening with the stock pickup.

If it sounds like I'm working for the company or sponsored, no - but I wish! Truly, it exceeds any expectation of such a low priced pickup and I've even seen people compare these well to Fralins, which gives you an idea. Many pickup companies claim to give you "boutique"(geez I loathe that word when it comes to music gear) tone at musician friendly prices but Tonerider is a company that seems to actually deliver on that concept. I managed to replace BOTH pickups on this guitar for less than the price of a SINGLE Seymour Duncan without having to worry that maybe I should have spent more. Also bear in mind that the original pickups were US made, so take that cork sniffers! Taking into account the amazing price to quality ratio, I can't give these any less than a 10, which I don't like to do but c'mon - this is better than just "bang for the buck".

Been playing for 27 years, owned everything from vintage gear to digital over the years, for what it's worth. I won't bother with what musical style I play, cos us tele players know that teles are beyond that!

Single coil, Alnico III magnets. DC Resistance 9.1k. RWRP for hum-canceling in notch positions.
- Calibrated winding for even volume balance across all three standard positions.
- Laser-cut, hand-bevelled flatwork.
- USA-made vintage hook-up wire for easy installation.
- Latex tubing and nickel-plated screws are included with every pickup.
- Tradition string wound bridge with copper-plated steel base-plate
- Coils scatter-wound on 999-step CNC winding machines.
- Coils wax-potted to avoid feedback at high-gain settings.
- Noiseless operation in the "mid" position.

Installed this Tonerider Hot Classic on a lefty '69 Fender Tele partscaster in the bridge position. Replaced an older Seymour Duncan Hot Lead Stack. Neck position has a Fender Vintage Noiseless pickup installed.
I decided i wanted a more vintage look and sound after 20 years.

Fairly high output. I use this primarily with an Orange Crush 30R practice amp and early '80s Boss DS-1 distortion pedal.
Good tone, great Fender twang, lots of bite.

Very impressed, excellent value, great sound. I'd buy it again, as a matter of fact I am considering purchasing a set of Tonerider's lefty Strat Vintage pickups for my MIJ '67 RI Strat.
Excellent build quality. Polepieces are flat, so if you're looking for an exact vintage match with staggered polepieces, look elsewhere. If you want great sound at a low price, these are some of the best pickups out there.

Single coil Tele bridge pickup. AlNiCo 3 wound to 8.57k (measured in the guitar - 250k control pots installed). I don't remember exactly, but I think it ohmed out around 9k out of the guitar. Coil is wrapped with black yarn. Copper plated steel base plate. Cloth-braided leads. Wax potted. Very nice construction.

SX STL50 Tele clone. Maple neck/FB, alder body. Pickup is mounted in a Tele tray, but this setup uses individual saddles for the strings.

Output is on the hot side, but not overly so. Nice twang when played clean. The overdrive tone is great as well. It has a nice bite without being over the top. Sweet midrange for a Tele bridge setup. Nice complexity.

These are a fantastic deal! I would buy it again. This guitar is "done." It has a Fender Vintage Noiseless neck pickup and this Tonerider hot classic in the bridge. I love this setup. In fact, I just ordered a Tonerider AlNiCo 2 humbucker for another guitar.

Overwound passive single coil bridge pick up for Telecaster. Around 9k impedence ( from memory ) Available in black or white string

I purchased this pick up to replace the standard Jap vintage pick up in my 52 reissue Tele, not that the original pick up sounded too bad - it just never had the grunt to match the humbucker in the neck position. I needed a hotter pick up to counter the difference in volume between the neck and the bridge pick ups without sacrificing that vintage twang

The Tonerider proved to be a good choice. I must say that I was initially put off by the price of the Toneriders, I figured that any pick up that can be bought for under $60.00 AUD must be garbage - WRONG! This pick up is a cracker - great bass response, sweet mids and a top end that will cut your head off - great classic vintage Telecaster tone. I am predominantly a rhythm guitarist, and I rely heavily on dynamics, palm muting for driving heavy rock and blues rhythms and open ringing chords and appeggios for rock ballads. I also play alot of rolling stones stuff in open G tuning ( hence the humbucker in the neck position ) I play through a peavey classic 30 tube amp and the pick up combination sounds bloody wonderful for type of music I play - Its the sound i'm looking for.

Been playing 27 years, professionally on and off for 16 years. I own truckloads of acoustic guitars but I rely on 4 electric guitars for my band work - a U.S. standard Strat with stock delta tone pick ups, The afore mentioned Jap 52 reissue with Dimarzios as standard, The 52 reissue as per this review and a mexican 72 reissue telecaster Deluxe, which I have just fitted with, yep, you guessed it - a set of Tonerider Rock song humbuckers, but all about that in another review ( and no, I do not have any affiliation with the company )
I've not had a chance to compare the Tonerider to many other pick ups, other than my wifes U.S standard Tele, The Jap pick up originally installed on this axe when I first purchased it, and the Dimarzio on my other 52 reissue, but the guitar tech who installed it ( Steve Salvi from Salvi's fine guitars in South Australia ) was suitably impressed I can assure you