Tonerider Alnico II Classic

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 PAFs clones.

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

 
OPTIONS & SPACING
Colors & Covers: Available in black or zebra open coils, or with highly-polished gold or nickel-plated covers.

Wiring: All AC2’s come with four conductor wiring as standard for maximum flexibility.

Spacing:   99% of AC2’s we’ve made have a 50mm spacing (as measured from the center of the low E polepiece to the center of the high E polepiece). This 50mm spacing suits Les Paul and SG guitars well.

We are also now making AC2’s in F-spacing (52.4mm) for guitars with wider Fender trems or Floyd Rose units.

Baseplate: All AC2s are built with medium-length 9mm baseplate legs for easy installation in a wide variety of instruments. Baseplates are all Nickel-Silver with the Tonerider logo stamp.

DIMENSIONS
Regular-Spaced Covered Humbucker (Metric)
Regular-Spaced Uncovered Humbucker (Metric)
F-Spaced Uncovered Humbucker (Metric)

Regular-Spaced Covered Humbucker (Imperial)
Regular-Spaced Uncovered Humbucker (Imperial)
F-Spaced Uncovered Humbucker (Imperial)

WIRING
2 Humbuckers / 1 Vol / 1 Tone / 3-Way Toggle

2 Humbuckers / 1 Vol / 1 Tone / 3-Way Toggle / Push-Pull Coil Split (Vol)

2 Humbuckers / 1 Vol / 1 Tone / 3-Way Toggle / Push-Pull Coil Split (Tone)

2 Humbuckers / 2 Vol / 2 Tone / 3-Way Toggle

2 Humbuckers / 2 Vol / 2 Tone / 3-Way Toggle / Push-Pull Coil Split