The neck is a Japanese All Parts made under Fender license. Bridge is an aged Gotoh made in Japan with vintage wider spacing and the machines are also aged Gotoh. Bourns 250k pots, vintage .47 mullard cap, CRL 5 way switch and swithcraft jack socket.
@@MikeyNewman1974 I can't ever get my hands on rotosound strings where I live, but I reeeeaaaallllly want to try 'em. I've been a lifelong D'addario user, but loads of folks I've gigged with have told me to try rotosound strings.
I've got a 1999 (I bought new) Fender American traditional strat. I swapped out the wiring for a blended wiring system, changed the bridge and trem to a callaham bridge and put these tonerider city limits pickups in it. That was about 5 years ago and I would never change that guitar. It's now my perfect strat, especially as I installed the lot myself, which kind of binds you to your guitar. It will never be sold. The pickups are 'kin great.
I've got a squier affinity strat, and I've done mostly the same. I just need to put a new bridge, tuners and pickups in it. Are these what you would recommend? And do you know if the bridge you mentioned would fit?
@@P_B_FR Hi - You've probably sorted this out by now, but the callaham bridge is definitely one of the best bridges you can get for a strat. However, I've just checked the prices in the UK and they are £178 (about $225 US). The Wilkinson bridge is another good option, so I would probably recommend that for the Squire. Whichever bridge you go for, you have to check the string spacing. They do 2 sizes - One modern and one vintage spacing. You need to measure before you buy. I know in the UK, the supplier said US strat and Mexican strat spacings, but my guitar has Mexican spacing, even though it is US, as it has the vintage bridge, so best just to measure. Also, you need to check if it is a 6 screw vintage bridge or more modern 2 point bridge.
Dave me old son!! this has got to be the BEST, Strat demonstration that ive heard on UA-cam!!. Put aside the great strat and pickups, which do add to it but, its just the majestic way you punch out those spin chilling tones of all the famous strat players. A pure craftsman at the highest level. Thank you Sir!!
Dave.. You've made my day. I've had just ordered a set of TR city limits SSS Strat pickups 30.mins b4 watching your vid... Well happy I did... Best wishes George. 😊
This is the best demo of these pickups that I've found after many attempts lol Unbelievable playing, you've sold me on these pickups. Now I just need your level 100 skills lol
Most people forget to set pickup distance according to the manual. (Very close 2-3 mm, even less for singles 1.8...). Often people have them too far and they sound bad. These vintage alnico pickups need to be very close. Manual says where to start after that adjust to taste.
Oh that Simpson Kid from down the road, tearing it up on the fret board again. On tonight episode of "Riders on The Tone", staring Danc-N Dave Simpson AKA "Indiana Tones" as he takes us on a sonic journey to the Pickup-O-Sphere. Made that last part up myself. LOL - sounds awesome as I've come to expect. You're my sunshine on a cloudy day 🌦, my bread for the butter & jam 🍞 , and lastly the cheese on my burger .🍔 And now its time for a snack ! ! ! 🍫 Happy Thanksgiving from Arkansas - USA
That's terrific on every level. Makes you think there's some nonsense talked about custom shops, vintage and spending mega money on this stuff. That guitar is a monster and you can play a bit too, young Dave!
In my limited experience, ToneRider pickups are really good value for money. I replaced a pair of P90s on a baritone with their vintage P90 set and am very impressed both with the sound but also the construction (look good and don't suffer noise issues - given they are single coils). I have some boutique and some vintage Gibson P90s on other guitars and the ToneRiders compare well at a fraction of the cost. I bought them just to see what they were like with the thought that I could sell them and buy more expensive ones if they didn't work out but no need, they are great.
I love them all, especially the bridge in this set, E A D pole pieces are A5 magnetically the pole pieces for GBe are A2, DCE is 8.9kohm and inductance is 3.8H, And like you said a mix of coil wire gague thinner on the bridge, I bought the TRS4 Alinco II Blues set a while back, stuck em in a partscaster and loved them instantly! So, Tonerider are now my no1 PUP makers for strats, naturally now that I'm putting together yet another strat, I'm checking out video reviews of the City Limits set, yours is the best one yet you know how to play and really get all the best points about pickups across by making em sing bro! Your enthusiasm alone on how these compare to the tex specials that obviously says A LOT! So I'm getting em! Another thing to consider about the competence of Tonerider as a company is that the people of Tonerider have been about for decades just not on one area of expertise, now they focus most of their specialised skills in making really good pickups, and really do a great job and not ripping anyone off while they're at it is another good point to consider, which sometimes, and I'm guilty of this too, most people will automatically think just because something is more expensive that it's better, in some cases yes obviously it's that way because it is a concept based on truth, but not everything costs an arm and a leg to make let alone materials and packaging, so hats off to Tonerider, no conformational bias here, they simply are very good quality, specifics in getting the character of a type of pup right like vintage and blues- theyve nailed that too! Materials are quality, craftsmanship too, their method of sctterwinding isnt just random because that would mean prety much every pup in the world ever is scatterwound no they have their own trademark technique that clearly shows in the demonstrations I've heard compared to say seymour duncan or whoever and i live seymour duncans theyve made a lot of great pups that you can say are iconic i mean if Tonerider were about before seymour duncan then they'd have paved the way and have had at it with the reputation of seymour duncan- end of the day its who gets there first, and the fact these are actually value for your money and you can buy a single pup or a set means they care about us the customer. a step way up above stock pups that come with your "soon to become a partscaster" squire or whatever. I'm all over them now so much so I've kicked my girlfriend out of her side of bed to make room for my Tonerider special City Limit edition partstrocaster. No remorse! although she is that beautiful I can play with her all day and all night and push her to the limits, in the city, chuckle chuckle... my girlfriend's not that bad either. Take it from this guy they really are good pups, I don't get 1000 word essay about just anything,
Hm, interesting with the different magnets for different strings. I just bought a set and I plan to put them in a Mustang. I wonder if it will work to reverse the bridge pup. I have a deluxe strat with fenders first generation noiseless pickups that I can try them in otherwise.
Dave!!!!! Talk about the right video at the right time! I was looking at some Seymore Duncan Texas Specials for my Squier Classic Vibe 60's Strat when i saw this. These sound epic and at half the price????? Really???? Just ordered a set! Thanks Dave!!!
I fitted the Tonerider Alnico II Blues pickups in a HSS conversion of a Sire S7 Vintage recently and I couldn’t be happier, the guitar retained its trebley character but now has the oomph that the stock pickups were missing. Very happy customer 😁
Finally, decent strat pickups that don't cost $500 for the set. And these ones are about as straty as one could ever want and then some. They could have been lifted straight out of a late '50's to '60's strat given how they sound. Their damn near perfect! It's like you somehow got ahold of SRV's Texas Flood guitar and rig and were just pretending this was an inexpensive pickup demo and review. Not even the Fender SRV sig guitar sounds this good. Thanks for this. I guess I should pay better attention to your vids as I am subscribed and have been for a while. I missed this one and came across it while doing some pickup research for tele pickups.
Put various tone rider pickups into guitars. Never been disappointed with them tbf. Good quality, Priced well. Shame theres not too many other companies not trying to rob us guitar nuts blind hahaha WOW when you plugged into the super reverb the thing opened up AMAZINGLY!
Well played with some great tones and really nice passages - was hoping to hear a bit more from the bridge pickup as this is the deal breaker on strat pickups for me. What I heard I liked a lot. - thanks for the demo
Tonerider make great pickups! I have an older Classic Vibe 50's strat which came loaded with TR "Surfari" pickups apparently. I loaded another strat of mine with a "Classic Blues" set which are super fat and nice. Good stuff, especially for the price.
Have the CV '60's that is said to have the Tone Rider alnico 5 pups in it.😃 If true, the name given to this set isn't known to me. If you know, I'd be uch obliged if you could pass on that information 😉😎👍 Out of my AmPro and Squier CV... the CV is my # 1😎👍
@@richardlynch5632 From my understanding the CV 60's have the "Classic Blues," the 50's have the "Surfaris." This is the older Chinese Classic Vibes as well. I believe the newer Indonesian-made have something different.
@@bumblefritzi replaced stock 2012 60s CV pickups with tonerider classic blues. They dont sound even close. So it proves again as the speculation floating around intnet. Toneriders clasic blues are hotter and a bit more on a dark side. Whatever was in that 2012 CV from the factory was a better sounding pickup actually. I put them back. They sound very close to what fender put now in their vintage II 61 strat.
Amazing!! Was looking for some new strat pups and came across this video by fluke. Never thought of looking at Tonerider pups before. These sounded exactly what I'm looking for. Can always rely on the gravy one to help you out with a amazing review. Thanks Dave and thanks for your amazing playing as always, you truly are a guitar 🥷
Good gravy. I'm thinking about putting these Tonerider City Limits in my Torino Red Squier SE Strat. Gorgeous guitar with bad pickups. This must be the solution to make it my nr 1 strat
Please do a shootout between these pickups and tex mex! Also would love to see you do a review of the other Tonerider strat pickups! Amazing playing as always👏🏾👏🏾
So Very Cool. Thankyou. Have recently Re- fallen in love with my first guitar a 1982 Fame by Hondo Strat Copy after 35years of sitting in the case. lol Cannot stop playing it. So much fun. Reborn my love for maple fretboard. Cheers
Tone rider city limits in my strat!!! I get compliments on my tone all the time. Totally affordable and better than the high dolla pu’s thank you Tone rider!! Hidden gem!
I'll say this Dave when ever you Demo something you Demo the hell out of it! Love this sound so much i've ordered a set of them pickups. I like gain too. Not all vintage pickups handle gain too well they can become fizzy and flabby. And you can always knock the volume and gain down with these pickups and still get a more mellow sound.
Ooooh yes Dave! fab sounding pickups, your playing showed these bad boys off to their best potential thats for sure! Just may have to try a set of these once I get a half decent strat to put them in. Great demo mate loved it thank you.
I built a high end partscaster a few years back with the plan to put some really expensive boutique pickups in em. Ran out of money so bought tonerider surfaris…. They’re still in my strat and whenever I think ok nows the time to upgrade I think, what would I change? What don’t I like? The answer is nothing so here they stay
What a fun, happy, uplifting song intro! Loved it! And I love Tonerider pickups. Put some Alnico II Classics in my Firefly semi-hollow and it will compete with anything.
The bridge pickup on the City Limits is the the best sounding of any pickup I have played ! Still has that strat sound but with more to it and not superhot sounding like many hot bridge pickups sound. I have a 70s Greco strat with this pickup in the bridge, Fender fat50s in the middle and a superhot 13k ohm pickup in the neck. Guitar really is Supersounds now ! Guitar is a 1979 Greco Supersounds ! I got a set of pickups from a Chinese CV Squier strat that I put on a Japanese e series strat. They sound soo bloody good. I had a 60s CV Squier strat with the Tonerider made pickups but sold it for the Japanese one. Way better guitar but the original ceramic pu's sounded dead compared to the CV pu's. I paid only 35 euro for the set !! Also had a Chinese CV 50s strat but sold it after getting a 50s Tokai and Greco strat. The Chinese Squier sounded better than the Japanese guitars. I was gonna get a set of the Tonerider Surfari that were on the 50s CV but instead got a set of handwound A3 single coils from some dude in Nebraska USA called Hatch pickup for little more money. Funny how pickups can sound soo differet from each other even with same spec ! The Hatch pickups are way more brighter sounding and lively in the inbetween settings. The thing about the 50s CV was the pickups sounded great on their own. I mean instant Hank marvin ! But the inbetween sounds were dead sounding. Anyway great tones there Davio sorry bout the long 'un !
The toneriders are great and i run the pure vintage models in a couple of different strats. Did you take out the original maxon excels to put toneriders in? The maxons that came in most grecos are one of the greatest strat pickups ever made. I have a 81 greco with them in it and i would never swap them out.
I have many Greco guitars that have the original pickups in but one i put different pickups in for different tone. The Maxon/Greco pickups sound fantastic. Also the U stamp pickups in a Tokai Springy Sound I have ! @@Elraurko
You e been practicing again haven’t you, your just too damm good mate, but I suppose you’ll have to live with it lol. Thanks Dave, this was awesome, top man. 👍
I don’t have anything negative to say about the guitar or the pickups 👍. Your friend did an excellent job putting it together. I’m kind of fond of partscasters although I don’t have one 🙁. Some people have a gift for getting those together and they are sometimes better than Custom Shop guitars. I love 💓 when that happens. I saw some hand wound Seymour Duncan reproductions of pickups he made special for Jimi Hendrix and I’m waffling on getting them for one of my Strats but it will set the savings plan for the 59 Custom Shop Reissue back a bit. You should have your friend just make you a whole new partscaster like that one for you. That would be awesome. Thanks for playing it for us out here in the TuboSphere. 👍☮️🌞🎸❤️🎵
So ......BIG question is ........how do these sound head to head with lets just say ...Seymour Duncan little 59 or little pearly gates ....or a DiMarzio pro track ???????...now ...not a .....FOR THE MONEY type comparison but just a TONE vs TONE??????? And just wanted to say I am a 52 yr young American BASS PLAYER for over 30 yrs ...and just NOW not even a month ago ...bought a new Les Paul Prophecy plus and a killer little 20 watt head and 2 x 12 vintage Celestions cab with some cheaper effects and I am going to learn to play guitar .....and to pin point ...and BLUES MAN!!!!...hahaha......but just wanted to say ...man I LOVE your channel and your playing and info .....well an inspiration!!!!!....you NEED some t-shirts and Hats with a special made DAVE logo of some kind!!!!!!!
Thank you very much for liking what i do. In regards to your question I’m not a big seymour duncan fan so i might not be the best person to ask. I prefer tone riders personally.
Great playing as always my friend! Tonerider have been my go to for about 10 years now. Would highly recommend you try out the Classic Blues (A5s) and also the Pure Vintage sets. The PVs are by far the best pickups I’ve ever tried 🥰
@@rfendlen I've tried both, but settled with the Pure Vintage as I found the City Limits were a bit too harsh for what I play. It really depends what type of music you play. The City Limits are a lot hotter and cause your tine to break up a bit earlier. Great from some styles, but I learn more towards clean neo-soul styles
@@alexstrums Thanks! Makes complete sense! I play mostly clean or at the edge of break up. Good to know the City Limits are much hotter.. That's not the type of pickup I'm after. I think I'll go with the Pure Vintage. I want that classic strat sound and I'm sure they'll sound great at low gain too! Thanks again and happy strumming!
Once again Dave you show just how you are blessed with the magic touch of guitar playing you are such a wizard.. I am looking at these pick ups to pair with a Jet JS300, I guess I should ask would they work well? I have never changed pick ups before so I don’t know what makes a Strat comparable regarding what pick ups will work and what won’t or are all Strat pick ups universal? I haven’t even bought my Jet yet but I am saving up money as I speak and looking to the future to enhance my guitar sound.. I know I have a problem right😂😂 Love your channel and by the way I have been doing research on the Jet guitars for some time but watching your video about your Jet pushed me over the edge to save up and get mine.. Craig A-Z Music Haven ( my UA-cam channel where I discuss music ( vinyl, Cd, cassette)
Great A** 🎸 pickups!!! Very impressive pickups too get spot on guitar tones . Awhile ago I mention I was getting new guitar pickups , well I finally got them and didn’t get time to install them yet .. After watching this video I’m going to install them after up coming holidays and I’m hoping they’re as good as that guitar pickups. I can’t wait to learn how to install them & adjust heights and all that. I have to figure out if I need to foil up pickup cavity area or not thou , I’ll figure it out.
That sounds lovely, Dave proves once again you don't need to splash hundreds of pounds on pickups, but also tells us that the magic is also with the player, I have been torn in taking my 3 P90 Vintage V6P and getting a loaded Tone Rider Stratocaster scratch plate through Northwest guitars, I like the P90's on mine but their not really a true P90 , the guitar is heavy with a solid Alder Body and a wonderful neck, it would make a killer Stratocaster, Dave your amazing guitar player, if you're ever playing in Newark again I will be there
Amazing vid, man. Would you recommend them over the tex-mex? I play SRV, Roy Buchanan stuff, but also Rory Gallagher, Jimi Hendrix and some stoner, like Radio Moscow. I´m looking for some pickups that "can do everything", and was thinking about tex mex or this. What are your thoughts? Thanks in advice and I just enjoy every vid from you, you're such and awesome player and cool guy.
@@thedavesimpson Dave - I followed your example and lowered my pups to the heights you suggested in your earlier video, and WOW does that make a difference! The pickups seem broader, more tonal depth and resonance, and the sustain is better. I am now doing this on all my strats. I also installed a set of these City Limits in one of my Affinity Squires, along with CTS pots, and that guitar is amazing now. Thanks for your videos! Great ideas!
If you like these, I can recommend the Surfari pickups from Tonerider. Alnico 3 magnets, I was sceptical at first, but to my ear the stratiest pickups ever 😁
Hello Dave, first of all great youtube channel. I bought those pickups but I haven't had the opportunity to install them yet, so let me ask you... What capacitor are you using for the tone knob? 0,022 or 0.047? Cheers.
I have the alnico 2 blues set in a hardtail partscaster. They are superb. Slightly less typically Stratty, especially the inbetween positions. A bit darker, more midrangey, but amazing tones.
Hi Dave! I absolutely love this demonstration of the pickups, I have a budget of about 300$, but those crisp tones only at the low price of a 100$ almost sounds too good to be true. can't believe I'm asking, but do you have recommendedations of another set of pickups which sound simillar to those at a higher price? I want to have a set that will satisfy my needs no matter the price. it's not that the ToneRiders are not what I'm looking for, I just want to check out more options. Thanks!
I know I'm a bit late to this, but I've LOVE TONERIDER PICKUPS, ESPECIALLY FOR THE PRICE! i'VE HAD THEIR HUMBUCKERS AND THEIR cLASSIC bLUES AND ALNICO2 STRAT PICKUPS. i think they're the best " budget" pickups around. Look the part too, all fibre flatwork and cloth wire, they don't look lower price at all.
Nice mate, altho I will never change my 59HW generally I think it should be a match between pickups & a guitar, if it feels right , than its pure magic 😀
yep , tonerider makes some nice pu's for a fair price , i have had several , humbuckers , PU 90's and single coils but i must admit i also like my fender tex mex pu's in my partcaster strat and pricewise they where about the same price as the toneriders , but anyway's the lesson again is : it does not have to be expensive to be good sounding .
Hi Dave, Hope you see this as I have a question for you. I'm interested in those Tonerider City Limit pickups and wonder how well those would work placed inside a Squier Classic Vibe 50's Strat and used conjunction with a Katana 212 series 1( first run) amp ?
Dave, which pickup set do you think is better for the SRV tone - Fender Tex-Mex or Tonerider City Limits? Fender Texas Special are damn expensive these days. You could buy a nice used Squier for the price of a new Texas Special set - that's just ridiculous..
I'm getting to the point where I have a hard time telling Dave's sunburst rosewood strats apart. Is this the ST62? Oops, guess I should have waited until Dave explained.
I love that I loved this entire intro jam The pickups should be reliced to match the patina of the pickguard and rest of the guitar? A little more era correct coffee and nicotine stainage would suit it perhaps the poopy brown burst era to be precise
@@MikeyNewman1974 ah! yes I definitely noticed the difference in contrast but my phone isn't capable of a bigger resolution so I didn't notice the relicness 😊 I stand corrected? I can't see... They sound pretty sweet though which matters most
The Tonerider Surfari pups go in all my strats now: very low output and A3 so really chimey. No harshness so I usually run them without a tone control. Gives you the classic Hank Marvin sound when clean (some very early 50s strats used A3 magnets), and give an amazing harmonic richness when gained up.
That's interesting. I put in some Surfari's and I hated them...the harshest sounding set that I have in any of my strats...and I'm not really that fussy.
@plantagenant Wow. Totally opposite to my experience. I tend to find A5 pups harsh in comparison. A3 seems to give that classic strat sparkle with an extra mid range honk. Of course how you play and your rig us also a huge factor. I use a really heavy pick attack and lots of vibrato. Either into a super clean tweed or with just a sprinkle of break up if needed, with loads of ambience (again, Hank Marvin). If you use more than a kiss of gain then I imagine the more scooped sound of A5s would probably work much better and you can control the top end with a less vigorous pick.
@@chriscolabella880 They seem to be popular with many people but they're the first strat pickups I've taken out because I didn't like them..I've got 7 Strats from the more expensive to squier strats and I preferred the pickups in the squiers! I play fairly heavy handed through a Marshall...mostly medium gain classic rock certainly not high gain. Anyway, I've no axe to grind they just didn't work for me. I'm thinking of getting a set from Bulldog pickups and see how they go.
@plantagenant No worries. There's no such thing as the right pickups. What you say explains perfectly why you dislike them. I definitely wouldn't play Surfaris for classic rock into a Marshall. I'd favour a LP or my 339 rather than a Strat too. But if I wanted a Strat tone for a clearer section I'd use one of my non Surfari strats. You're right about the fridge magnet pups in Squiers for that application: the ceramic magnets really keep a great edge when gained up. They also sound good for clean leads and even jazz. The only thing I have against them is the poor string separation. But if you're just blasting power chords or playing solos that isn't really an issue.
@@chriscolabella880 I just picked up a Les Paul copy....3 pickup black beauty with bigsby. I bought it because it looks so good even though I was told the middle pickup sounds is poor....guess what? I play it mainly in the middle position because I like it the most? Obviously I have cloth ears!
The neck is a Japanese All Parts made under Fender license.
Bridge is an aged Gotoh made in Japan with vintage wider spacing and the machines are also aged Gotoh. Bourns 250k pots, vintage .47 mullard cap, CRL 5 way switch and swithcraft jack socket.
The guitar is a beauty. I don’t own a strat, but if i did it would be exactly like that
What strings do you have on there?
@Don Stachovak 9 to 42 Rotosound Pinks my friend
@@MikeyNewman1974 Thank you!
@@MikeyNewman1974 I can't ever get my hands on rotosound strings where I live, but I reeeeaaaallllly want to try 'em. I've been a lifelong D'addario user, but loads of folks I've gigged with have told me to try rotosound strings.
I've got a 1999 (I bought new) Fender American traditional strat. I swapped out the wiring for a blended wiring system, changed the bridge and trem to a callaham bridge and put these tonerider city limits pickups in it. That was about 5 years ago and I would never change that guitar. It's now my perfect strat, especially as I installed the lot myself, which kind of binds you to your guitar. It will never be sold. The pickups are 'kin great.
I've got a squier affinity strat, and I've done mostly the same. I just need to put a new bridge, tuners and pickups in it. Are these what you would recommend? And do you know if the bridge you mentioned would fit?
@@P_B_FR Hi - You've probably sorted this out by now, but the callaham bridge is definitely one of the best bridges you can get for a strat. However, I've just checked the prices in the UK and they are £178 (about $225 US). The Wilkinson bridge is another good option, so I would probably recommend that for the Squire. Whichever bridge you go for, you have to check the string spacing. They do 2 sizes - One modern and one vintage spacing. You need to measure before you buy. I know in the UK, the supplier said US strat and Mexican strat spacings, but my guitar has Mexican spacing, even though it is US, as it has the vintage bridge, so best just to measure. Also, you need to check if it is a 6 screw vintage bridge or more modern 2 point bridge.
Dave me old son!! this has got to be the BEST, Strat demonstration that ive heard on UA-cam!!. Put aside the great strat and pickups, which do add to it but, its just the majestic way you punch out those spin chilling tones of all the famous strat players. A pure craftsman at the highest level. Thank you Sir!!
Sounds great Dave! Those pickups really bring out the Strats tones. Very cool!
Dave.. You've made my day. I've had just ordered a set of TR city limits SSS Strat pickups 30.mins b4 watching your vid... Well happy I did...
Best wishes
George. 😊
Dave, I've come to the conclusion that you could play a broom and make it sound amazing, Honestly, brother, I think your hands are gifted 👏😅
Dude is straight feelin it… He’s got the chops!!!!!
This is the best demo of these pickups that I've found after many attempts lol Unbelievable playing, you've sold me on these pickups. Now I just need your level 100 skills lol
Most people forget to set pickup distance according to the manual. (Very close 2-3 mm, even less for singles 1.8...). Often people have them too far and they sound bad. These vintage alnico pickups need to be very close. Manual says where to start after that adjust to taste.
That's amazing advice - thank you so much! I'll start with that, as you said - thank you!@@221b-l3t
Oh that Simpson Kid from down the road, tearing it up on the fret board again. On tonight episode of "Riders on The Tone", staring
Danc-N Dave Simpson AKA "Indiana Tones" as he takes us on a sonic journey to the Pickup-O-Sphere. Made that last part up myself. LOL - sounds awesome as I've come to expect. You're my sunshine on a cloudy day 🌦, my bread for the butter & jam 🍞 , and lastly the cheese on my burger .🍔 And now its time for a snack ! ! ! 🍫 Happy Thanksgiving from Arkansas - USA
Needed new pickups, this video came up like a message from the gods. All ordered 🤘
That's terrific on every level. Makes you think there's some nonsense talked about custom shops, vintage and spending mega money on this stuff. That guitar is a monster and you can play a bit too, young Dave!
In my limited experience, ToneRider pickups are really good value for money. I replaced a pair of P90s on a baritone with their vintage P90 set and am very impressed both with the sound but also the construction (look good and don't suffer noise issues - given they are single coils). I have some boutique and some vintage Gibson P90s on other guitars and the ToneRiders compare well at a fraction of the cost. I bought them just to see what they were like with the thought that I could sell them and buy more expensive ones if they didn't work out but no need, they are great.
I love them all, especially the bridge in this set, E A D pole pieces are A5 magnetically the pole pieces for GBe are A2,
DCE is 8.9kohm and
inductance is 3.8H,
And like you said a mix of coil wire gague thinner on the bridge, I bought the TRS4 Alinco II Blues set a while back, stuck em in a partscaster and loved them instantly! So, Tonerider are now my no1 PUP makers for strats, naturally now that I'm putting together yet another strat, I'm checking out video reviews of the City Limits set,
yours is the best one yet you know how to play and really get all the best points about pickups across by making em sing bro! Your enthusiasm alone on how these compare to the tex specials that obviously says A LOT!
So I'm getting em!
Another thing to consider about the competence of Tonerider as a company is that the people of Tonerider have been about for decades just not on one area of expertise,
now they focus most of their specialised skills in making really good pickups,
and really do a great job and not ripping anyone off while they're at it is another good point to consider,
which sometimes, and I'm guilty of this too, most people will automatically think just because something is more expensive that it's better, in some cases yes obviously it's that way because it is a concept based on truth, but not everything costs an arm and a leg to make let alone materials and packaging, so hats off to Tonerider, no conformational bias here, they simply are very good quality, specifics in getting the character of a type of pup right like vintage and blues- theyve nailed that too! Materials are quality, craftsmanship too, their method of sctterwinding isnt just random because that would mean prety much every pup in the world ever is scatterwound no they have their own trademark technique that clearly shows in the demonstrations I've heard compared to say seymour duncan or whoever and i live seymour duncans theyve made a lot of great pups that you can say are iconic i mean if Tonerider were about before seymour duncan then they'd have paved the way and have had at it with the reputation of seymour duncan- end of the day its who gets there first, and the fact these are actually value for your money and you can buy a single pup or a set means they care about us the customer. a step way up above stock pups that come with your "soon to become a partscaster" squire or whatever.
I'm all over them now so much so I've kicked my girlfriend out of her side of bed to make room for my Tonerider special City Limit edition partstrocaster.
No remorse! although she is that beautiful I can play with her all day and all night and push her to the limits, in the city, chuckle chuckle...
my girlfriend's not that bad either.
Take it from this guy they really are good pups, I don't get 1000 word essay about just anything,
Hm, interesting with the different magnets for different strings.
I just bought a set and I plan to put them in a Mustang. I wonder if it will work to reverse the bridge pup.
I have a deluxe strat with fenders first generation noiseless pickups that I can try them in otherwise.
I came for the pickups, I stayed for the lovely playing abilities. Great vid man!
Great demo/review friend! Toneriders sound great, I've got the "pure vintage" in my partscaster...
I ordered a Stratocaster kit and just ordered these pickups for it. Thanks for the fantastic video Dave!
Dave!!!!! Talk about the right video at the right time! I was looking at some Seymore Duncan Texas Specials for my Squier Classic Vibe 60's Strat when i saw this. These sound epic and at half the price????? Really???? Just ordered a set! Thanks Dave!!!
These tone riders are what comes stock in the squier classic vibes. 60's has classic blues and the 50's has the surrfarris .
I fitted the Tonerider Alnico II Blues pickups in a HSS conversion of a Sire S7 Vintage recently and I couldn’t be happier, the guitar retained its trebley character but now has the oomph that the stock pickups were missing. Very happy customer 😁
The stratiest strat that ever strated! Another awesome video, well done sir.
Best demo I've seen of these pickups! Definitely picking up a set for my strat!
You have convinced me. I just went to their website and purchased a set for a strat build. Only $90 plus shipping for the set!
Saint Dave has blessed us again 🙏🏼❤
absolutely stunning, your playing and the pickups, Tone Rider city limits sounding amazing,
Finally, decent strat pickups that don't cost $500 for the set. And these ones are about as straty as one could ever want and then some. They could have been lifted straight out of a late '50's to '60's strat given how they sound. Their damn near perfect! It's like you somehow got ahold of SRV's Texas Flood guitar and rig and were just pretending this was an inexpensive pickup demo and review. Not even the Fender SRV sig guitar sounds this good.
Thanks for this. I guess I should pay better attention to your vids as I am subscribed and have been for a while. I missed this one and came across it while doing some pickup research for tele pickups.
Thanks Dave loved the SRV jam.
Put various tone rider pickups into guitars. Never been disappointed with them tbf. Good quality, Priced well. Shame theres not too many other companies not trying to rob us guitar nuts blind hahaha
WOW when you plugged into the super reverb the thing opened up AMAZINGLY!
Well played with some great tones and really nice passages - was hoping to hear a bit more from the bridge pickup as this is the deal breaker on strat pickups for me. What I heard I liked a lot. - thanks for the demo
Tonerider make great pickups! I have an older Classic Vibe 50's strat which came loaded with TR "Surfari" pickups apparently. I loaded another strat of mine with a "Classic Blues" set which are super fat and nice. Good stuff, especially for the price.
Those pickups are some of the best I have heard !
Have the CV '60's that is said to have the Tone Rider alnico 5 pups in it.😃
If true, the name given to this set isn't known to me.
If you know, I'd be uch obliged if you could pass on that information 😉😎👍
Out of my AmPro and Squier CV...
the CV is my # 1😎👍
@@richardlynch5632 From my understanding the CV 60's have the "Classic Blues," the 50's have the "Surfaris."
This is the older Chinese Classic Vibes as well. I believe the newer Indonesian-made have something different.
@@bumblefritzi replaced stock 2012 60s CV pickups with tonerider classic blues. They dont sound even close. So it proves again as the speculation floating around intnet. Toneriders clasic blues are hotter and a bit more on a dark side. Whatever was in that 2012 CV from the factory was a better sounding pickup actually. I put them back. They sound very close to what fender put now in their vintage II 61 strat.
Amazing!! Was looking for some new strat pups and came across this video by fluke. Never thought of looking at Tonerider pups before. These sounded exactly what I'm looking for. Can always rely on the gravy one to help you out with a amazing review. Thanks Dave and thanks for your amazing playing as always, you truly are a guitar 🥷
That is a classic sound. Awesome Dave, it took me a minute to get back to your channel. Lots of love. /from another dave
Good gravy. I'm thinking about putting these Tonerider City Limits in my Torino Red Squier SE Strat. Gorgeous guitar with bad pickups. This must be the solution to make it my nr 1 strat
Please do a shootout between these pickups and tex mex! Also would love to see you do a review of the other Tonerider strat pickups! Amazing playing as always👏🏾👏🏾
So Very Cool. Thankyou. Have recently Re- fallen in love with my first guitar a 1982 Fame by Hondo Strat Copy after 35years of sitting in the case. lol Cannot stop playing it. So much fun. Reborn my love for maple fretboard. Cheers
My next set of pickups! Thank you, Mr Simpson.
Tone rider city limits in my strat!!! I get compliments on my tone all the time. Totally affordable and better than the high dolla pu’s thank you Tone rider!! Hidden gem!
Incredible clarity on them pups. Loved the rhcp bside & cheeky scar tissue 😂
I'll say this Dave when ever you Demo something you Demo the hell out of it! Love this sound so much i've ordered a set of them pickups. I like gain too. Not all vintage pickups handle gain too well they can become fizzy and flabby. And you can always knock the volume and gain down with these pickups and still get a more mellow sound.
Ooooh yes Dave! fab sounding pickups, your playing showed these bad boys off to their best potential thats for sure! Just may have to try a set of these once I get a half decent strat to put them in. Great demo mate loved it thank you.
Great Review and Demo. I am impressed.
Immense sounding pickups and great playing!🙂
Sold! Ordered.... Thanks Mr Simpson
Sounds great Dave well,done .I have some tone rider pickups and I love them .
You've sold me! Ordering a set!
36:39 that tone ❤
I bought a strat in Liverpool in 2019 that had these in when I got it- terrific pickups
I built a high end partscaster a few years back with the plan to put some really expensive boutique pickups in em. Ran out of money so bought tonerider surfaris…. They’re still in my strat and whenever I think ok nows the time to upgrade I think, what would I change? What don’t I like? The answer is nothing so here they stay
got a set coming to put in my sons squire, thanks for the review!
Dave put these pickups in your 1998 Affinity Strat and make a video, Thanks for your many hours of practice, and sharing with us !
Awesome buddy! that guitar has a good tone for solos
What a fun, happy, uplifting song intro! Loved it! And I love Tonerider pickups. Put some Alnico II Classics in my Firefly semi-hollow and it will compete with anything.
Great guitar player.These sound amazing.
Awesome pickups,Dave.That “Lenny” feel jam at the end was SWEET! Big question is... are they good enuff to go into Mr. White.???! 😉🎼🎸❤️🎵🎶
Thought you might enjoy this Dave. UA-cam, “In A Chilled Mood, ToneRider City Limits, Squire Classic Vibe (Oliver Schroder Channel) 😄🙏🏻♥️💐🎵🎶🎼🌅
Lovely tones and great playing...
Are you still playing these pickups?. Just stumbled upon this video. great playing!
I'm going to get them for future stuff, loved the metal sound they gave, and price!! A must buy imo..✌️
The bridge pickup on the City Limits is the the best sounding of any pickup I have played ! Still has that strat sound but with more to it and not superhot sounding like many hot bridge pickups sound. I have a 70s Greco strat with this pickup in the bridge, Fender fat50s in the middle and a superhot 13k ohm pickup in the neck. Guitar really is Supersounds now ! Guitar is a 1979 Greco Supersounds !
I got a set of pickups from a Chinese CV Squier strat that I put on a Japanese e series strat. They sound soo bloody good. I had a 60s CV Squier strat with the Tonerider made pickups but sold it for the Japanese one. Way better guitar but the original ceramic pu's sounded dead compared to the CV pu's. I paid only 35 euro for the set !! Also had a Chinese CV 50s strat but sold it after getting a 50s Tokai and Greco strat. The Chinese Squier sounded better than the Japanese guitars. I was gonna get a set of the Tonerider Surfari that were on the 50s CV but instead got a set of handwound A3 single coils from some dude in Nebraska USA called Hatch pickup for little more money. Funny how pickups can sound soo differet from each other even with same spec ! The Hatch pickups are way more brighter sounding and lively in the inbetween settings. The thing about the 50s CV was the pickups sounded great on their own. I mean instant Hank marvin ! But the inbetween sounds were dead sounding. Anyway great tones there Davio sorry bout the long 'un !
The toneriders are great and i run the pure vintage models in a couple of different strats. Did you take out the original maxon excels to put toneriders in? The maxons that came in most grecos are one of the greatest strat pickups ever made. I have a 81 greco with them in it and i would never swap them out.
I have many Greco guitars that have the original pickups in but one i put different pickups in for different tone. The Maxon/Greco pickups sound fantastic. Also the U stamp pickups in a Tokai Springy Sound I have !
@@Elraurko
@@malcolmhardwick4258 wow we must have the same taste for Japanese guitars. I also have a couple of Tokais with U stamps!
These sound amazing
You e been practicing again haven’t you, your just too damm good mate, but I suppose you’ll have to live with it lol.
Thanks Dave, this was awesome, top man. 👍
Loved this one !
I don’t have anything negative to say about the guitar or the pickups 👍. Your friend did an excellent job putting it together. I’m kind of fond of partscasters although I don’t have one 🙁. Some people have a gift for getting those together and they are sometimes better than Custom Shop guitars. I love 💓 when that happens. I saw some hand wound Seymour Duncan reproductions of pickups he made special for Jimi Hendrix and I’m waffling on getting them for one of my Strats but it will set the savings plan for the 59 Custom Shop Reissue back a bit. You should have your friend just make you a whole new partscaster like that one for you. That would be awesome. Thanks for playing it for us out here in the TuboSphere. 👍☮️🌞🎸❤️🎵
So ......BIG question is ........how do these sound head to head with lets just say ...Seymour Duncan little 59 or little pearly gates ....or a DiMarzio pro track ???????...now ...not a .....FOR THE MONEY type comparison but just a TONE vs TONE??????? And just wanted to say I am a 52 yr young American BASS PLAYER for over 30 yrs ...and just NOW not even a month ago ...bought a new Les Paul Prophecy plus and a killer little 20 watt head and 2 x 12 vintage Celestions cab with some cheaper effects and I am going to learn to play guitar .....and to pin point ...and BLUES MAN!!!!...hahaha......but just wanted to say ...man I LOVE your channel and your playing and info .....well an inspiration!!!!!....you NEED some t-shirts and Hats with a special made DAVE logo of some kind!!!!!!!
Thank you very much for liking what i do. In regards to your question I’m not a big seymour duncan fan so i might not be the best person to ask. I prefer tone riders personally.
Great playing as always my friend! Tonerider have been my go to for about 10 years now. Would highly recommend you try out the Classic Blues (A5s) and also the Pure Vintage sets. The PVs are by far the best pickups I’ve ever tried 🥰
Would you pick the Pure Vintage over the City Limits? I'm torn between the two! Help pleeease! 😂
@@rfendlen I've tried both, but settled with the Pure Vintage as I found the City Limits were a bit too harsh for what I play. It really depends what type of music you play. The City Limits are a lot hotter and cause your tine to break up a bit earlier. Great from some styles, but I learn more towards clean neo-soul styles
@@alexstrums Thanks! Makes complete sense! I play mostly clean or at the edge of break up. Good to know the City Limits are much hotter.. That's not the type of pickup I'm after. I think I'll go with the Pure Vintage. I want that classic strat sound and I'm sure they'll sound great at low gain too! Thanks again and happy strumming!
@@rfendlen you won’t be disappointed. They offer the classic vintage strat sound and also do the edge of breakup thing really well. Enjoy 🎸
have sufaris in a cv 50s strat. toneriders are no joke. great pups!!
Once again Dave you show just how you are blessed with the magic touch of guitar playing you are such a wizard.. I am looking at these pick ups to pair with a Jet JS300, I guess I should ask would they work well? I have never changed pick ups before so I don’t know what makes a Strat comparable regarding what pick ups will work and what won’t or are all Strat pick ups universal? I haven’t even bought my Jet yet but I am saving up money as I speak and looking to the future to enhance my guitar sound.. I know I have a problem right😂😂 Love your channel and by the way I have been doing research on the Jet guitars for some time but watching your video about your Jet pushed me over the edge to save up and get mine..
Craig
A-Z Music Haven ( my UA-cam channel where I discuss music ( vinyl, Cd, cassette)
We love Evil Dave!!!!!!
Tonerider are the nuts. I put one of their PU90's into the neck of my Vintage VS6. The thing sings
Beethoven... "Roll Over" ! Awesome (Dictionary: extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring awe)...Dave "Dun-it-again" !🤓... So glad you "Fendered" UP ... Everyone to his/her own... That's mine ...
Great A** 🎸 pickups!!!
Very impressive pickups too get spot on guitar tones .
Awhile ago I mention I was getting new guitar pickups , well I finally got them and didn’t get time to install them yet ..
After watching this video I’m going to install them after up coming holidays and I’m hoping they’re as good as that guitar pickups.
I can’t wait to learn how to install them & adjust heights and all that.
I have to figure out if I need to foil up pickup cavity area or not thou , I’ll figure it out.
very good sound. Have you tried the Tone rider Classic Blues ?
I have. Amazing pickups.
Dave owning that shit.
That sounds lovely, Dave proves once again you don't need to splash hundreds of pounds on pickups, but also tells us that the magic is also with the player, I have been torn in taking my 3 P90 Vintage V6P and getting a loaded Tone Rider Stratocaster scratch plate through Northwest guitars, I like the P90's on mine but their not really a true P90 , the guitar is heavy with a solid Alder Body and a wonderful neck, it would make a killer Stratocaster, Dave your amazing guitar player, if you're ever playing in Newark again I will be there
Amazing vid, man. Would you recommend them over the tex-mex? I play SRV, Roy Buchanan stuff, but also Rory Gallagher, Jimi Hendrix and some stoner, like Radio Moscow. I´m looking for some pickups that "can do everything", and was thinking about tex mex or this. What are your thoughts? Thanks in advice and I just enjoy every vid from you, you're such and awesome player and cool guy.
That is so awesome!!
Dave, I love the way these City Limits sound in your guitar. What pup heights are you using here? Can you share the measurements?
I don’t know the exact heights but there all very low.
@@thedavesimpson I found your video from June 24, 2019 with height measurements. Thanks!
@@thedavesimpson Dave - I followed your example and lowered my pups to the heights you suggested in your earlier video, and WOW does that make a difference! The pickups seem broader, more tonal depth and resonance, and the sustain is better. I am now doing this on all my strats. I also installed a set of these City Limits in one of my Affinity Squires, along with CTS pots, and that guitar is amazing now. Thanks for your videos! Great ideas!
I’ve got a set of Tonerider Birmingham pups in a PRS SE245 and they are awesome. Think you’ll really like their Humbuckers to
Fantastic! I've just bought a crush pro. I was wondering how do you set yours. Thanks a lot
What a beast ! The guitar I mean.
Let’s make this easy. Your playing is f en fantastic the pickups are nice too.
Still loving these Dave?
Great playing and sound. Any insight on your eq settings? Thanks
If you like these, I can recommend the Surfari pickups from Tonerider. Alnico 3 magnets, I was sceptical at first, but to my ear the stratiest pickups ever 😁
I used to have a guitar with those in. There great aren’t they. :)
Hello Dave, first of all great youtube channel.
I bought those pickups but I haven't had the opportunity to install them yet, so let me ask you... What capacitor are you using for the tone knob? 0,022 or 0.047? Cheers.
I have the alnico 2 blues set in a hardtail partscaster. They are superb. Slightly less typically Stratty, especially the inbetween positions. A bit darker, more midrangey, but amazing tones.
I put low output Toneriders in a £97.00 Harley Benton les paul a year ago. Best sounding guitar I have. Beats its expensive rivals in my collection.
Time twists us all brother... but it puts the blue in Blues!
Sounds like the strat sound on the classic Cold Chisel records.
Very nice to listen to!
Hi Dave! I absolutely love this demonstration of the pickups, I have a budget of about 300$, but those crisp tones only at the low price of a 100$ almost sounds too good to be true.
can't believe I'm asking, but do you have recommendedations of another set of pickups which sound simillar to those at a higher price?
I want to have a set that will satisfy my needs no matter the price.
it's not that the ToneRiders are not what I'm looking for, I just want to check out more options. Thanks!
Texas specials or tex mex by fender. :)
I know I'm a bit late to this, but I've LOVE TONERIDER PICKUPS, ESPECIALLY FOR THE PRICE! i'VE HAD THEIR HUMBUCKERS AND THEIR cLASSIC bLUES AND ALNICO2 STRAT PICKUPS.
i think they're the best " budget" pickups around. Look the part too, all fibre flatwork and cloth wire, they don't look lower price at all.
Mate what pedals arduous using at 28mins onwards ? Love that Chillies tone 👍
Boss ds2. :)
@ thanks for the reply mate , gonna buy one . Just been watching a few vids on it . 😁
Nice mate, altho I will never change my 59HW generally I think it should be a match between pickups & a guitar, if it feels right , than its pure magic 😀
yep , tonerider makes some nice pu's for a fair price , i have had several , humbuckers , PU 90's and single coils but i must admit i also like my fender tex mex pu's in my partcaster strat and pricewise they where about the same price as the toneriders , but anyway's the lesson again is : it does not have to be expensive to be good sounding .
Hi Dave, Hope you see this as I have a question for you. I'm interested in those Tonerider City Limit pickups and wonder how well those would work placed inside a Squier Classic Vibe 50's Strat and used conjunction with a Katana 212 series 1( first run) amp ?
They’d be amazing. :)
Dave, which pickup set do you think is better for the SRV tone - Fender Tex-Mex or Tonerider City Limits?
Fender Texas Special are damn expensive these days. You could buy a nice used Squier for the price of a new Texas Special set - that's just ridiculous..
Either to be fair. If your on a budget tone riders.
@@thedavesimpson Thanks mate. Cheers 🍻
I'm getting to the point where I have a hard time telling Dave's sunburst rosewood strats apart. Is this the ST62?
Oops, guess I should have waited until Dave explained.
You can’t go wrong with Tonerider pickups.
I comment in the hope I get just a mere 10% of your talent..it doesn't appear to be working.. Great tone, great playing, great channel and great guy..
I love that I loved this entire intro jam
The pickups should be reliced to match the patina of the pickguard and rest of the guitar? A little more era correct coffee and nicotine stainage would suit it perhaps
the poopy brown burst era to be precise
The pickup covers are relic'd my friend, they are however a parchment colour and the pickguard is mint green hence the slight difference in colours.
@@MikeyNewman1974 ah! yes I definitely noticed the difference in contrast but my phone isn't capable of a bigger resolution so I didn't notice the relicness 😊 I stand corrected? I can't see... They sound pretty sweet though which matters most
@@LilSirAxolotl They sound better when Dave plays them thats for sure!!!
@@MikeyNewman1974 we all love Dave
The Tonerider Surfari pups go in all my strats now: very low output and A3 so really chimey. No harshness so I usually run them without a tone control. Gives you the classic Hank Marvin sound when clean (some very early 50s strats used A3 magnets), and give an amazing harmonic richness when gained up.
That's interesting. I put in some Surfari's and I hated them...the harshest sounding set that I have in any of my strats...and I'm not really that fussy.
@plantagenant Wow. Totally opposite to my experience. I tend to find A5 pups harsh in comparison. A3 seems to give that classic strat sparkle with an extra mid range honk.
Of course how you play and your rig us also a huge factor. I use a really heavy pick attack and lots of vibrato. Either into a super clean tweed or with just a sprinkle of break up if needed, with loads of ambience (again, Hank Marvin).
If you use more than a kiss of gain then I imagine the more scooped sound of A5s would probably work much better and you can control the top end with a less vigorous pick.
@@chriscolabella880 They seem to be popular with many people but they're the first strat pickups I've taken out because I didn't like them..I've got 7 Strats from the more expensive to squier strats and I preferred the pickups in the squiers! I play fairly heavy handed through a Marshall...mostly medium gain classic rock certainly not high gain. Anyway, I've no axe to grind they just didn't work for me. I'm thinking of getting a set from Bulldog pickups and see how they go.
@plantagenant No worries. There's no such thing as the right pickups. What you say explains perfectly why you dislike them. I definitely wouldn't play Surfaris for classic rock into a Marshall. I'd favour a LP or my 339 rather than a Strat too. But if I wanted a Strat tone for a clearer section I'd use one of my non Surfari strats. You're right about the fridge magnet pups in Squiers for that application: the ceramic magnets really keep a great edge when gained up. They also sound good for clean leads and even jazz. The only thing I have against them is the poor string separation. But if you're just blasting power chords or playing solos that isn't really an issue.
@@chriscolabella880 I just picked up a Les Paul copy....3 pickup black beauty with bigsby. I bought it because it looks so good even though I was told the middle pickup sounds is poor....guess what? I play it mainly in the middle position because I like it the most? Obviously I have cloth ears!
Theres is a 10 way selector you can install to get even more tones