Tonerider AC2 Alnico II PAF Humbucker Pickups

THE "IMPROVED" 50S HUMBUCKER

The Alnico II Classic is a superb set for guitars that need more warmth, fullness and sustain. The earliest Gibson Patent-Applied-For (or "PAF") pickups used a range of magnets, but PAFs made with Alnico II have always held a special place in many a guitarist's heart.

If you have ever heard someone describe a PAF as "flute-like" or "more like a single coil than a humbucker" - that's the Alnico II working its magic.

At higher gain settings, the Alnico II Classic really nails the fluid distortion sound of players like Slash, who use the smooth attack and longer sustain of the neck to great effect during solos, and the tighter, fizzier tones available from the bridge for rock rhythm work.

DESIGN NOTES

The Alnico II Classic began life as a custom OEM order for a high-end UK guitar company, and we worked with their techs to get the wind just right. Cries of "more scatter!" were heard over and over again, until we got down to less than 30 turns per layer for the neck and bridge pickups - about half the number of turns per layer on vintage PAFs, but much more in line with the current best in class handwound PAF clones.

We made a few of these pickups back in 2007 - they quickly became favourites - and launched them into our standard range in 2008. The Alnico II Classic set in Nickel is currently our bestselling humbucker.

OPTIONS & SPACING

Covers: Available in black or zebra open coils, or with highly-polished gold or silver nickel covers.

Spacing: All AC-series humbuckers use 50mm spacing, as measured from the center of the low E to the centre of the high E polepieces.

Baseplate: All Tonerider humbuckers are built with medium-length 9mm baseplate legs for easy installation in a wide variety of instruments.

TECH SPECS

Resistance (Neck): 7.6k
Resistance (Bridge): 8.5k
Magnets: Alnico II
Bobbins: High-gloss deluxe bobbins - no other humbucker on the market has the same lustre and shine.
Winding: Scatter Wound
Potted?: Yes
Hook-Up Wire: Four-conductor wiring is standard on all models
Screws/Springs included: Yes

Calibrated winding for even volume balance across all five standard positions.
All coils scatterwound on our 999-step CNC winding machines.
All coils wax-potted to avoid feedback at high-gain settings.
All parts are custom-made for the best tone possible - no standard parts are being used

Please click here for Wiring diagram

If you are a fan of the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Slash and such like, with those creamy-fizzy lead tones, then this is the place to start. No need to spend large amounts on the overpriced big brands. I'm a big fan of Tonerider pickups, and these Alnico ii's just ooze quality, they remind me very much of a set of S.D. 59's i once had, and would highly recommend them to any guitarist.

Tonerider AC2

Fantastic neck Humbucker.

Tonerider AC2 Alnico II PAF Humbucker Pickups

Bought a cheap (Squire Sonic) Esquire as a project guitar and after the usual time spent smoothing the frets was impressed with the build but found the sound a little dull, Hence the pickup upgrade which has been well worthwhile and has livened the sound up a lot. Will change the nut and maybe saddles but that's all. Pickup excellent value at £50 ish and clear instructions included enabled this non-tech to do the swap in under an hour - good experience all round.

Pickup review

I enjoyed these. They sound as detailed as I need playing live. I play a Marshall in a tribute band and need something to thin out the front PU of my Gibson Murphy Lab. I swap the front PU for a Tonerider and added a push-pull. Sorted. Allows me to split the coils and I keep the parts to return the axe back to standard should I need to sell it.

Great value humbucker!

I bought the neck version of the Tonerider alnico 2 humbucker for a Telecaster neck pickup swap I was doing for a friend. I have to say it pairs really well with the Tele bridge pickup. This is a good quality pickup and doesn't feel cheap or flimsy. I had to swap the wires and resolder as in its normal orientation it was out of phase in the 'middle' Tele switch position. Once I'd done that, it was all good to go. Nice vintage humbucker sound that works well as a replacement for the standard Tele neck pickup.