In the 60s Strat pickups changed – they got a bit hotter, the magnet quality improved and started to provide a bit more snap and attack. The Classic Blues set from Tonerider nails these late 60’s tones, whilst also offering the benefits of a calibrated wind for more even volume balance across all five positions. The grey fibreboard flatwork completes the 60’s look.
Due to advances in string technology and the wider range of modern guitar necks, the Classic Blues set uses our unique “Modified Vintage Stagger” polepiece magnet array allowing for near perfect string-to-string balance on the greatest range of instruments possible. The famous “Greybottom” tone, look and feel has never been easier to get.
OPTIONS & SPACING
Covers: All singles and sets come with white covers as standard. Any Fender compatible cover can be used (52.4mm, or 2 1/16in).
Polepiece Spacing: All position are 52.4mm, or 2 1/16in, just like the originals.
Dimensions
Wiring
3 Single Coils / 1 Vol / 2 Tone / 5-Way Blade
3 Single Coils / 1 Vol / 2 Tone / 5-Way Blade (Bridge Tone Mod)
Andrew Osborne –
Great sounding pickups as always from tonerider. Not just for the price….Great sounding, period. Much more rounded than Texas specials which I guess are the benchmark for this type. Bridge pickup especially captures a strong biting tone without being shrill or harsh sounding like so many others. I love these pickups. For me they nail just what I want every time. Great basic tone, leaving plenty of room to let your playing skills and amp setting knowledge to develop and produce the real magic. Some guitar products try to do too much I believe, but these are a real ‘players’ pickup. Only one tiny quibble…. The wires on the neck pickup were a little short to get all the way round the rout to the controls. I had to solder an extension wire on. No biggie at all, but maybe one to think about.
Keith Wickens –
I ordered these for a mid 90s MIM Strat a couple of months back and have been sat on them since. It had always been a good guitar in terms of feel, action, playability, but lacked sparkle in the sound dept.
As I had been having issues with the volume pot and pickup switch, I decided to replace all the electrics at the same time and went with an Orange top cap ( .047uF) and a tone bleed circuit on the volume pot (tone isn’t diminished as volume is lowered – Pet Hate!-)
Well last night I stripped it down, applied copper shielding tape to the pickguard and cavity and rewired. Took about 4 hours as my eyes are nowhere near what they used to be. New strings tuned it up, plugged it in and played till 4am. I just couldn’t put it down.
The sound is fantastic. Through a Vox ValveTronix modelling amp, trying a range of models, (Fenders, Vox and Marshall Plexi – JCM & all the high gain stuff isn’t my territory), clean & crunch, classic rock, blues, country and funk, it has it all and minimal hum (but just enough to keep it a Strat !-)..
And I would swear it makes it sound like my c**p playing has improved, or maybe being so inspired it actually has! I am now considering modding my Epiphone Sheraton and splashing on some cheap second hand MIM / Squier Strats and Teles to upgrade, as well as investing in a small tube amp. Yep, no word a lie, these TRS3s already feel like a bit of a life changing experience a few hours in!
If you are considering these, take the plunge, you won’t regret it!
Mike M –
Needed replacement for Squier Classic Vibe 60’s pickups ( robbed out by rogue ebay buyer-thank you ebay for your non-support!), and these are identical. Brings back what the buyer destroyed-but at least ebay gave him all his money back. Good to know ebay don’t give a damn about sellers these days…..
F. Murray –
Bought these to replace the pickups in a Chinese 70’s reissue strat that really poor on output and tone.
I can honestly say that I have never so impressed with a purchase before as I have been with these pickups. They are fantastic in all respects, output, tone, attack sustain etc etc etc. And I get the sound I have always struggled to get with other strat/pickup combinations. I have tried numerous different configurations from Seymor Duncan to BareKnuckle and these Tonerider pickups beat all the major players hands down.
These have transformed a very mediocre guitar into my number one strat (I have a number including USA Standards). The pickups are so good that in my honest opinion they sound better the pickups in the US made guitars by a huge margin.
They are so good I am now going to swap the pick ups out on my other strats for these beauties. If you are looking to upgrade a cheaper lower end strat or get your standard to sound a whole lot better, but these for sure.
Michael John Beckett –
I got these for my mim strat but when I got them it was hard to tell which order they went in.I got in touch with tonerider and they helped me out and I really like these pickups.I struggled to put them in because my soldering iron packed up but I did it and they sound great as good as the more expensive ones in my other guitar. I think there might be more to come because of my bad installation so I’ll sort that out and see. I will definitely get these again if I need another replacement highly recommend.
John odonovan –
Fitted these to a mim 90’s strat I also fullly rewired same guitar and the difference is astounding so many more rich tones without losing definition. I also own two USA strats and this guitar sounds as good if not better than both of them so much so that I’m planning on changing the two USA strats over to tonerider pickups
rblievanos (verified owner) –
Bought them for a 2016 MIM strat that has very bassy ceramic pickups. I installed the Classic Blues set and oh my, the guitar came to life. Now it sounds just like a Strat should sound. Think Frusciante or Hendrix. The Neck and Middle pickups are very articulate, They retain clarity when using overdrive and distortion, with a very pleasant chime in the upper mids. The Bridge pickup is a little bit hotter, but the Alnico V magnet avoids losing that nice chime. The bridge sounds awesome with distortion for lead tones while every note rings with clarity and punch.
Haluk Koudsi –
Bought this one few months ago for my original Fender Stratocaster and replaced the Texas pickups. I played a lot of gigs now. Sounds great. Amazing. Thank you for this quality.
Cam –
Just leaving a five star review to cancel out the one star review from Opie Cunningham who didn’t actually buy the pickups, just complained that the price has gone up, as if the price of everything hasn’t gone up because that’s what happens in an inflating economy.
Johnny Crowe –
I just swapped out a £350 set of Duncans to put the Classic Blues in my strat. Maybe its how the Toneriders go with my amp/set-up, but they just sound more alive and have character than the big named brand. These pickups really are underdogs and well priced.
chusss –
I received this set a dew years ago and never really had a chance to install them, I was also very hesitant to replace my original fender pickups. 6 months ago I made the decision to test them and I have been really satisfied with the sound I got from those pickups. My strat never sounded that good, The bridge has a nice bite to it and the neck is rich and smooth. I love this set and I have been really enjoying new tones created with the help of this set. If you want my honest opinion, you really need to test these pickups yourself.