Pro Response → Why Players Trade In
“Thanks for taking my trade, Randall. For years I struggled with Gibson, Fender & Seymour pickups....flat and just not very expressive. Now I finally have the tone I’ve been chasing. Proud to be part of the ToneSpec family.”
— Mike Gallaher (Guitarist for Joe Cocker, Leon Russell & many others)
“Trading those old DiMarzio pickups for ToneSpec was the best thing I ever did. Now my guitar is ALIVE! Thanks for your help, buddy!”
— Mark Whitfield (Legendary Jazz Guitarist)
“Randall, your pickups have taught me a thing or two. For years I thought Lollar and Fralin were the answer… the hype is strong, but I was never really happy with those—just too stiff.
Thanks to you, I don’t have to worry about getting great tone and amazing feel from my builds. And your trade program helped me unload that junk drawer of over-hyped boutique pickups.”
— John Lackner (Guitar Builder)
Randall’s Obsession → Your Opportunity to Level Up
“You know something's not right when you've changed pickups three times and your guitar still doesn't inspire you. I've been there myself....buying expensive sets & being disappointed. That's why I set out to make the best pickups possible.
The next challenge was to make them accessible to players on a budget. But, there was no real way to it without sacrificing tone, which is a non-starter for me.
That’s why I created the Trade-In Program: to help players unload pickups that aren’t working for them and move up to something that solves professional tone problems. Based on the response, I’d say we hit the mark.
Reach out, we'd love to talk to you. Sometimes we are able to offer more than what you paid for those old pickups you no longer use.”
— Randall Van Dyke (Founder, ToneSpec)
How the Program Works
1. Contact us to start a trade 👉 Contact Us to Start a Trade
2. We will respond with value of your unwanted set(s).
3. You ship in your old pickups & we send you the best pickups on the planet.
✅ Top Pickup Brands We Accept
1. Seymour Duncan
• JB
• Jazz
• Pearly Gates
• 59
• Antiquity
• Custom Custom
2. Tom Holmes
• H450
• H455
• H450/H455 sets
3. Gibson (Modern & Vintage)
• Burstbucker
• 57 Classic
• T-Top (vintage)
• Dirty Fingers
• 490R / 498T
4. DiMarzio
• Super Distortion
• Tone Zone
• Air Norton
• Evolution
• PAF Pro
5. EMG
• 81 / 85
• SA
• 60
• HZ Series
• Retro Active
6. Fender (Modern & Vintage)
• Custom Shop '69
• Fat 50s
• Pure Vintage
• Noiseless
• Tex-Specials
7. Lollar
• Imperial
• Special T
• Blackface
• Novel 90
• P-90
8. Fralin
• Blues Special
• Vintage Hot
• P-92
• High Output
• Pure P.A.F.
9. Bare Knuckle Pickups
• Mule
• Riff Raff
• Black Dog
• Nailbomb
• Warpig
10. Suhr
• SSV
• SSH+
• Thornbucker
• V60LP
11. Fishman
• Fluence Modern
• Fluence Classic
• Strat/Tele Sets
12. PRS (Paul Reed Smith)
• 85/15
• 57/08
• Dragon II
• HFS / Vintage Bass
13. Peter Florance
• Voodoo '59
• Voodoo TE-50
• Voodoo ST-60
• Custom Wind Models
14. Abigail Ybarra (Fender Custom Shop)
• Hand-Wound Strat Sets
• '69, '54, '60s Style Tele & Strat
15. Xotic Pickups
OTHER BRANDS WE ACCEPT
If you are unsure if we accept your brand, send us email. We want to work with you to make your guitar sound as amazing as pros in Nashville, Austin, LA & NYC.
Here are other brands we accept: Throbak, Ron Ellis, Kinman, Don Mare, Mojotone, Rewind, Old Glories, Fred Stuart, Xotic, Arcane, TV Jones, Wolfetone, Tyson Tone, GFS, Alan Hamel, Virgil Arlo, Creamery, Shed, OTPG, D Allen, Tonerider, Bootstrap, Planet Tone, BYO, Onamac & Stew Mac.