JAILHOUSE RAIL II - Alistair Reese
"Got the Jailhouse Rail II to replace a railed pickup that cost more than twice
the price. What a difference, absolutely brilliant and goes well with the Seymour Duncan stacks in middle and neck. I reckon I'll
be replacing the Duncan's with Texas Locos in the near future though." - Alistair Reese. St Peter's Broadstairs, Thanet Kent (14/2/17)
HAMMER
HEAD + JAILHOUSE RAIL II - Ross Parfitt
"I just finished rebuilding an old guitar for a friend with most parts coming from Axetec.
It now has a Hammer Head in the bridge and Jailhouse Rail II's in the middle and neck positions. Wow. For the price I wasn't expecting
a lot, and originally planned these as a stop gap before getting some Seymour Duncans or DiMarzios. But now, my friend has no plans
of getting other pickups. These are amazing pickups. Hit so far above their price range. The Jailhouse Rail II in neck and middle
are beautiful and articulate in clean and can be great in low tone or have a nice chime with high tone. No hum or buzz, even on my
dirtiest channel there was no buzz or hum. And in high gain are brilliant! Great for lead and you can get a nice drive sound for riffing!
The Hammer Head pickup in the bridge is a thing of beauty! Nice and articulate cleans with loads of versatility when playing with
the volume and tone. Driven sound is AMAZING! 80's rock style gain is just fantastic, so much definition and full sound. Then in high
gain modern metal just melts your face for days! Both me and the friend who's guitar it went in were blown away! GREAT for grunge,
rock, hard rock and metal, and the clean is fantastic and versatile as well. IronGear pickups aren't just great pickups for an affordable
price, they are just great pickups! 10/10 will be buying more of these!” - Ross Parfitt, Australia (28/11/16)
HOT SLAG -Wouter Witten
"Your pickups saved an old guitar from being sold! It was equipped with Seymour duncan JB-Jazz, but the Hot Slags just
blew them away! Its bizarre how natural and open they sound while having such a huge output! I thank you and bow down to your company!
1000% would recommend!” - Wouter Witten, The Netherlands (21/11/16)
BLUES ENGINE - Andy White
"I received the Blues Engine humbuckers
which I purchased as per your recommendation for my epiphone sheraton and I am completely blown away. To say these are good is a massive
understatement. The pickups can easily go from BB King to brit pop to ACDC and everything in between. Plugging into my amp I'm instantly
met with beautiful clear responsive tone. I have two other 335 style guitars fitted with gibs and sd's (which cost at least twice
the price) and playing all three guitars back to back over all genres of music I'd happily say that 90% of the time the blues engines
sound better to my ears and my band members. I honestly could not recommend these pickups enough especially at the price. Thank you
IronGear from one very happy guitarist.” - Andy White, Newcastle upon Tyne. (27/10/16)
ALCHEMIST 90 - Jes Abbott
"Thanks for the
quick delivery of my Alchemist 90 set. Fitted them today in my G&l ASAT deluxe. The coil split humbucker pickups in the ASAT are
very good but I've recently bought another G&l (they are great guitars) so wanted to put some p90s into the Tele for a different
sound. Hunted around and almost bought a second hand pair of Bare Knuckles but thought what the heck I'll give the IronGear ones a
go as they were so reasonable and got great reviews. Wow, am I pleased with the results! The G&L is a great guitar and these Alchemist
90s suit it down to the ground. Plenty of punch and clang to them but also warm and not harsh like some p90s can be. Every note is
really clear also. Great job guys. Recommended." - Jes Abbott, Deal (25/9/16)
STEEL FOUNDRY - Ian Barrass
"I have modded
a Telecaster guitar with 3 pickups (wired as a Strat). I replaced the Tele pickups with IronGear Steel Foundry pickups and a Strat
middle pickup, wow! As well as the replaced Tele pickups having a nice bite to the sound, I have also got the Strat sound (best of
both worlds). I have tried other pickups on various guitars in the past (some more expensive) but never obtained the sound I wanted,these pickups are well worth the money and I would highly recommend them." - Ian Barrass, East Yorkshire. (24/9/16)
ROLLING MILL -
Dave Firman
"I’ve just installed a pair of Rolling Mill humbuckers into a very tired low budget Ibanez and the difference is astounding! If
anyone out there is on the fence about getting these because “they can’t possibly be any good for that price” , do yourself a huge
favour and just press the order button. Easily as good, if not better than pickups I’ve had from SD. IronGear pickups will be going
into all my guitars including the higher end ones. Superfast delivery too and a refreshingly honest postage charge. Top marks from
me.” - Dave Firman, Hemel Hempstead (28/8/16)
VINTAGE 6TS - Dave Gouldney
“I found Phil (Bristol Guitar Tech) randomly on the
internet, and he is certainly a great discovery! I have had a Warmouth parts strat for a couple of years but never been happy with
the pickups or the way it played. I took this guitar to Phil and after a good 45 minute chat about what I wanted from it, Phil suggested
Irongear Vintage 6TS pickups, new pots to match , a new nut and full set up and fret dressing. What a transformation this proved to
be. The guitar plays better now than any guitar I have ever owned (and there has been a few) and the pickups have exceeded my most
optimistic expectations. They are bright, articulate can funk or rock and actually sound much better than those in my American Standard
Strat. On top of that I sold the existing Bareknuckle pickups on eBay for twice the price of the new ones! I have already given Phil
two other guitars to work on and I can't praise him (or the pickups) highly enough”- Dave Gouldney (26/08/16)
STEAM HAMMER -
Steve Holt
"I have an ESP with an EMG 81 nice clean sound but very harsh and sterile sounding rock sound so I swapped it out for the
Steam Hammer ...wow totally unexpected. ....lovely clean ....bright focused articulate for rock and then when coil tapped I can sound
just like Richie Kotzen. Beautiful. I added the Jailhouse Rail in the neck position they go together fab. I’d really love to
try another Steam Hammer in the neck but I just don't want to cut a bigger hole. My new favourite pickup." - Steve Holt, Castleford
(25/7/16)
VINTAGE 6TS - Martyn Routs
"For sometime I’ve been looking to replace the pickups on my faithful old Tokai Strat (originals
lacked that sparkle). After getting in touch with Keith at Axetec who recommended a set of Vintage 6TS decided on a complete overhaul
so purchased PUPs and all new hardware. Rebuild complete in 4 hours plugged into my Blackstar HT 5 and wow what a difference, completely
blown away by what I was hearing. I now have the guitar I've always wanted thanks to the affordable, high quality components supplied
by Axetec. If only you made lager!" - Martyn Routs, Wickham Bishops (21/6/16)
METAL MACHINE - Nick Evans
"I just bought a Metal
Machine bridge pickup. First thing I noticed is the Quality on these are fantastic. The build on these look like Gibson's even the
maple spacers! Sound wise WOW O WOW. These are not fantastic pickups for the price.These are fantastic pickups at ANY price! How we
can pay so much more for big brands and these are easily as good. So much clarity, definition and BALLS. Keep up the good work guys!
I will be back for more." - Nick Evans, S.Wales (21/6/16)
BLUES ENGINE - Brad
"I took a chance in trying the Blues Engine set in
my 1999 Gibson ES335. As anyone who has changed pickups in a semi-hollow guitar can attest, it's a challenge. However, I needed to
do something about the dark, lifeless tones coming from the stock '57 Classics, especially the neck pickup. I can't state this strongly
enough, the risk was definitely worth it. The Blues Engine set has a depth and clarity that the stock pickups could never achieve.
I can now roll the volume off on the neck pickup and still retain some chime yet, when turned up full, has an excellent, fat lead
tone. With a decent overdrive pedal, think Warren Haynes. The bridge pickup is just as good, it really compliments the character of
the semi-hollow guitar. Where the stock pickups seemed to overwhelm the sound of the wood, the Blues Engines accentuate it and blend
perfectly with it. I've owned roughly 30 guitars over the years (I currently own 18) and of all the pickup changes I've done this
was the biggest difference and the most satisfying. When you guys said these were a good match for ES style guitars you weren't kidding.
I waited almost a year before I wrote this because I wanted to be sure it wasn't just because something was new and different. The
fact is, I can now plug this guitar into any amp, in any situation and it sounds great. These are, by a long shot, the best "bang
for the buck" pickups for vintage tones out there. Excellent job, guys." - Brad, Canada (11/5/16)
TEXAS LOCO - Barry Armstrong
"It
would be wrong of me not to spread the word about my latest purchase, a set of Texas Locos for my Fender Strat, ok, so american Strat
pickups are ok, these Texas Locos are so much better than the standard Fender fayre, powerfully woody lows and ringing highs, Hendrix
with these is a sinch as is EJ, SRV etc, brilliant clean and amazing with any gain setting, stop wondering and just buy ‘em! I honestly
mean this, your pickups are amazingly good.” - Barry Armstrong, West Midlands. (31/3/16)
STEEL FOUNDRY - Barry Armstrong
"Just
thought I'd drop you a line to congratulate you for supplying me another cracking set of pickups, a wonderful set of Steel Foundry
Telecaster pups. I purchased them 4 weeks ago and have only just found time to fit them into my Telecaster, well, what can I say?,
rich clarity and bell-like chiming sparkle all in abundance!... that may sound corny but it is exactly what you get with these pickups.
My Strat is going to be next on the list for a tonal upheaval!" - Barry Armstrong, Dudley (15/3/16)
STEAM HAMMER - Dave Keane
"Gobsmacked!
I fitted the IronGear Steam Hammer in the neck of my Les Paul Studio and I'm blown away! I Finally got rid of that awful Seymour Duncan
Jazz Blues, sounded like it was buried in a bucket of mud! Thanks. I would never have believed a pickup at that price point could
be so sweet!" - Dave Keane, Halesowen (10/3/16)
DIRTY TORQUE + BLUES ENGINE - Lee Gordon
"Amazing! I just received and installed
my IronGear Blues Engine and Dirty Torque for my PRS Tremonti SE. Thanks so much for yet another fantastic set of pickups. I contacted
IG a while back as i was unsure of spending £200 on genuine PRS Tremonti pickups for my Tremonti SE. I wanted those as a friend had
them installed on his, but as a long time IronGear customer I wanted to give them a try first. They advised me to go for Dirty
Torque bridge and Blues engine neck, and wow - they were right! I installed them tonight and they are on a par with, if not better
than my mates Tremonti Pick ups. They scream and you get the best of both worlds, from heavy rock through blues.I cant wait to let
him hear it now. As usual, build quality and customer service was spot on. Mark my words, SD, Dimarzio etc. had better watch their
backs because IG is offering a better sound at a cheaper price. I honestly think that one day, we will see signature models with as
IG as the preferred pickups." - Lee Gordon, Luton (5/3/16)
HOT SLAG - Tom Lynch
"I've just had a set of Hot Slags replace the
stock pickups in my Epiphone Dot. It's turned a slightly muddy sounding guitar into a ferocious sounding guitar. Cranked right up
on overdrive, they scream and snarl, which is exactly what I was hoping for! But dial it back and it has a really powerful presence.
Stick it on a clean channel and it sounds nice and clear. These are first rate pickups and a great price." - Tom Lynch, Newcastle
upon Tyne (1/3/16)
VINTAGE 6TS - Tom Clements
"Now on my 3rd pickup purchase of IronGear pickups, and wow. I had Dimarzios in
my Mexican Strat, which were great, but a little too hot. I found the new Vintage 6TS. I used to have SD AP2's in the guitar once,
but before I thought of going back to them, I noticed they didn't do a calibrated set. So I thought IronGear. These picks are superb,
the 2nd and 4th positions are just the sound I was looking for. When played through a tube screamer and a 6L6 valve amp you get some
very juicy but open tones. When playing clean these pickups offer great dynamic range and clarity. They are a steal at this price.
You will not be disappointed." - Tom Clements, West Stour, Gillingham (26/2/16)
STEEL FOUNDRY - Toby Liddle
"I recently bought
an overwound Steel Foundry bridge pickup to replace the vintage wound one in my Squier Classic Vibe 50s Butterscotch Tele because
it sounded too thin and bright to my ears. Wow...what an improvement! The SF bridge packs a punch with more bass and mids but preserves
the Tele twang. Lovely top end without the shrill icepick effect people complain about with some pickups and brittle Tele bite on
tap. Play with the tone pot and find your spot. Back off the volume pot and it cleans up and mellows very well. What a superb upgrade
over the stock pup, which to be fair wasn't totally unusable but was made for different musical genres. Then, the Steel Foundry was
overpowering the vintage wound stock neck pup I'd left in. The difference in note and string separation was huge,particularly on the
wound strings. I ordered the overwound SF neck pup and was a bit concerned that it may be a little too pronounced in the bass and
mids,but also didn't think the answer was another vintage spec wind. My Tele is one unusually heavy (about 10.5 lbs if we're talking
in a US fashion) ,dense guitar and is acoustically very bright. The neck pickup was the perfect match for the bridge and while bass
and mids were more prominent, they weren't muddy,mushy or overpowering at all...and amps have EQ for many reasons. Much more defined
than the stock pup. Just the extra output I was looking for and a tad brighter. Both pups do a very handsome clean,but they love overdrive
and distortion and easily compete with the humbucker folk on stage. For Tele players with more budget guitars (or big name expensive
ones) who lean towards blues,rock or punk and can't get enough oomph and sustain with circa 6k pickups,they should give these very
impressive SF overwound pups a try. Not just very good for the price but very good fullstop. They've really made a good guitar sound
much more like a hot Tele-style guitar should. Two extremely worthwhile purchases!” - Toby Liddle, Dorset. (18/2/16)
BLUES ENGINE -
Tom Clements
"Just fitted the Blues Engine set to my US ´91 PRS custom 24. I recently got the guitar by swapping it for another! Long
story! Anyway, I know most fit the Dirty Torque with the Blues Engine neck pup, but I love the Blues Engine bridge pup, still enough
to drive an amp but still has a really nice sweetness about it. With coil tap mode as an option these pickups have made this guitar
even more expressive than it was before. The previous owner had fitted Bare Knuckle Crawlers, and as nice as they were they were just
all mid and a bit one trick pony. Thanks again, great product. Keep up the good work IronGear!” - Tom Clements, Gillingham, Dorset
(10/2/16)
PLATINUM 90 - Dick Zoeteweij
"Hi Guys, happy with my set of Platinum 90's. Put them in my 1998 LP Special. Bought this
guitar with already P-90's in it. The guy delivered me also the original stacked Gibson P-100 with it. The PU's who where on it were
SD's. Bit too hot for my taste and the original Gibbies P-100 are dull. So I gave these Platinum 90 ones a try. Well they may stay.
Lively, good in balance ( The SD's were surely not.....) and the sound is quite vintage, Nice clean and growling when I put the volume
up. And that for this price....No need anymore for so-called "boutique”PU's. I use your Steel Foundry PU's too on several Telecasters.
Best I had ever. Keep up the good work guys...I love it!” - Dick Zoeteweij, Netherlands (3/2/16)
STEAM HAMMER - Dave Hunter
"I
simply had to send an email to show how amazing the Steam Hammer humbucker is. I've started doing some YouTube cover songs for fun
and a couple have required me to tune down quite low so I dug my old shitty Ibanez SA160 out (about £200 worth) and threw the Steam
Hammer in. It simply transforms the guitar. For proof here's the video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnYZDLrNSQ4. Listen to the
main riff. It's insane! Just pure power! This is a cheap old guitar which now sounds amazing. I've always lived by the motto 'you
get what you pay for'. But I've learned recently that there are exceptions to this rule and IronGear deliver massively. The pickups
are better than any Seymour Duncans I've tried, and trust me I've tried a few. I have numerous guitar builds on the horizon and I
know where I'll be buying my hardware and pickups. I can't recommend you highly enough, and more importantly - Isn't it nice to find
an honest supplier?” - Dave Hunter, Birmingham (2/2/16)
HOT SLAG - Rod Beasley
"I finally decided to buy some pickups from you
and settled for a matching set of Hot Slag Bridge and Neck for an SG double cut project I am working on. Fit perfectly and I was blown
away by the raw power of them. They are too good for the second rate electronics on the guitar so fitting good quality pots is a must.
Can't wait until this baby is worn in so I can get the best out of these amazing pickups. IronGear, YOU ROCK!” - Rod Beasley. Uxbridge
Middlesex (8/1/16).
DIRTY TORQUE + BLUES ENGINE - Barry Armstrong
"I received my Dirty Torque
/Blues Engine set today, they are
now installed in my Ibanez dc PRS lookalike...ish, these pick-ups have transformed it! It was a typically average output and average
sounding guitar, it has been transformed into a beautifully voiced instrument, either straight without gain or with overdrive,
the
clarity is awesome, easily beating most of the Gibsons I have owned in the past and indeed all the Ibanez pickups I have ever used,
(I've been playing over for 35 years). Suffice to say I'll be replacing the pickups in my 335 and Stratocasters with IronGear pick-ups
in due course. Many thanks guys and girls at IronGear and keep up the outstanding work :-)” - Barry Armstrong, Dudley, West Midlands.
(31/12/15)
ROLLING MILL - Kenny Hutchinson
"Just want to thank you for advice on Rolling Mills pickups for my prs se custom
24. The pickups sound fantastic. Big improvement on the stock pickups. Really warm sounding and not brittle or harsh. Really pleased
as my luthier had mentioned that he had already fitted a few sets of IronGear pickups and recommends them as an upgrade. That was
after I had got them and so felt vindicated for taking a punt on them over bigger names." - Kenny Hutchinson, Stirling (19/12/15)
HOT
SLAG - Gogsy
"I just thought I would send you a wee note to say thanks. I have just installed my 3rd Hot Slag and my guitar is absolutely
rocking. This is a great pick up. I didn't know which one to pick initially but I have found a wee gem in the Hot Slag. I ony have
1 problem. I have 14 guitars and its going to cost me to put them in them all :-)” - Gogsy, Edinburgh (11/12/15)
ALCHEMIST 90 -Gary Higgs
“I just wanted to let you know the Alchemist 90s are a revelation in my old ’89 LP Custom. The pickups have breathed new
life and clarity in a guitar that has always suffered from being dark-sounding (regardless of a multitude of pickup configurations
in the past), the dynamics and cut the Alchemists bring are wonderful. Keep up the awesome work as always (now to consider a pair
for my 335…….)” - Gary Higgs, Whitehaven (28/11/15)
VOLT ACTIVE - John Hoy
"I have three guitars. An old 90’s Jackson DR3, Gibson
Les Paul Studio with EMG 81 60, and a Epiphone Tony Iommi SG with the Gibson Iommi pups. My guitar of choice has been the SG. Great
for dropping and shredding . I thought I’d have a fun project and put some new pups into my DR3. After some researching I found IronGear
Volt pickups, which I have never heard of before. I thought they were very cheap, but sound good on the tone tests. After considering
my DR3 is only worth about £100 they’d be perfect. Now to the actual review. These pups are incredible. If I pick an individual note,
there is great clarity and definition. But, and this is one of the best bits. When I strum a chord they shred even better than EMG’s.
These pups will play anything from the rock of Ugly Kid Joe or GnR’s with ease and drop to the doom\death\groove metal of Paradise
Lost to Devil Driver or Fear Factory. I love these pups. And then if they couldn’t get even better they have a sustain that Jesus
couldn’t have made better. These hold a note so clearly and for so long like no other pups I’ve ever heard. I could sit and bend notes
listening to that awesome sustain for hours on these, and I do!! Now my old cheap £100 Jackson is my guitar of choice and I can only
thank IronGear for making these. Please do some seven string ones and give me a reason to buy a fourth guitar!” - John Hoy, Manchester
(22/11/15)
ALCHEMIST 90 - Paul Huxley
"You guys do an excellent job with your pickups and I thought I should add my name to the
list of people who are loving your products. I had a PRS copy with two good, vintage style humbuckers. But although they sounded powerful
(compared to single coils), they were always too warm, dark and muddy for my taste - so I always ended up playing my strat. Then came
along a pair of Alchemist 90s, providing a much meatier sound than single coils but with similar note clarity and pleasant treble.
I can't compare with other humbucker-sized p90 style pickups but this is now my favourite sounding guitar (and I've had a few)." -
Paul Huxley, Burgess Hill (11/11/15)
BLUES ENGINE - Cary Marshall
"I bought 2 Blues Engine humbuckers for my custom guitar
build and what a great choice! The tone and sustain are immense, the notes just keep ringing. I can't believe the quality (no I don't
work for them or endorse the products). I will certainly try another for my next build, not sure which one yet as that will depend
on what type of guitar I want but it will definitely be IronGear. Thanks for a great product for a great price, keep it up.” - Cary
Marshall, Bristol (28/10/15)
VINTAGE 6TS - Carl David Edwards
"They sound amazing !!!' Very very happy and will be ordering
another set shortly . Easily as good as my custom shop 69s" - Carl David Edwards, via IronGear Facebook Page (26/9/15)
TESLA
SHARK - Derrick Dixon
"A while ago I bought a custom guitar from China that had so-so pickups in it. I thought about putting Seymour
Duncan jb4 or pearly gates in the bridge, then found the Tesla Shark on your website. A mate had said they got good reviews but I'd
never heard of them prior to this. I chanced it however and I'm glad I did. They are Unbelievable for 36 quid! It just transformed
the sound. I was swayed by the bridge sample on your site, as it reminded me of the jake e lee badlands tone and even through my little
marshal it sounds titanic. I have several other guitars that I'm going to upgrade so you can count on my custom for a while….” - Derrick
Dixon, Stockton-on-Tees (17/9/15)
TEXAS LOCO - Tim Jones
"Quick review of my Texas Locos: I've already used an IronGear pickup
before as I have the excellent Rolling Mill 2 mini humbucker in my Nighthawk. I was working on a project guitar (an old Squier Strat)
and decided to use a set of Texas Locos in it. If you've got any doubts about these pickups leave them by the roadside. They're phenomenal. They
come very well packaged with an excellent wiring diagram. Then there is the sound. It's great. Everything is. Classic hot Strat! The
hum cancelling positions two and four are very useful. And they respond well to drive and become great blues pickups. Yes, you can
buy pickups at twice or three times the price; however, in my view they won't be any better than these!” - Tim Jones, Rayleigh, Essex
(4/9/15)
For more feedback, click on the pickup links to the right........