Alnico 4 Classic

Classing up my ’93 Gibson Les Paul Studio

I have a 1993 Gibson Les Paul Studio custom shop. They came, originally, with the Gibson 490R and 498T humbuckers in them. They sounded good but were too eager to breakup into distorted tones. After doing some reading, I opted to buy a set of the Tonerider alnico iv classics. They have a lower output than the stock pickups and offer a bit more headroom in my sound. Warm and rich, they do exactly what I wanted them to do. I can run clean with a reverb and embellish in a jam, or I can put them through any sort of distortion and rattle teeth. I have enjoyed playing them in my rig. My preferred signal chain is: Guitar to tuner into distortion pedal(s), into a clean boost, into a toneking imperial preamp that is direct into the sound system. I also have a chorus, a delay, and an ambient reverb in the effects loop of the Toneking. The Tonerider Alnico IV Classics have performed well in every situation I’ve had them in.

My favourite pickups

These pickups sound amazing. They have that beautiful true PAF sound I was looking for. Very articulate and harmonic. They rival any of the far more expensive pickups I've used in the past, Im more than happy with them, I will only ever use tonerider pickups, they sound incredible, they're excellent value for the money and the customer service is second to none. 10/10

Alu Baritone AC4

The ToneRider Alnico 4 absolutely nailed it for my aluminium baritone tuned to Drop A. I’ve tried a lot of pickups before settling on this one — including the SH-6, Octane, and Schecter Apocalypse, SH-5 — but the Alnico 4 just sits in the perfect spot tonally - also put it into my Ibanez AS 7328 - great!!. It’s incredibly articulate, even under high gain. Notes stay clear and defined, chords don’t turn to mush, and palm mutes hit with authority without getting overly compressed. What surprised me most is how balanced it feels: tight low end, rich mids, and enough top-end bite without sounding harsh or sterile. For a baritone, especially aluminium-bodied guitars where pickups can easily become too sharp or too dark, this pickup delivers exactly the right character. Aggressive when pushed, but still dynamic and musical. If you want clarity, punch, and high-gain performance without losing feel and articulation, the ToneRider Alnico 4 delivers.