Humbuckers · One of the original Big Three
Steam Hammer
There are hot pickups, and then there's Steam Hammer. Stunning, controllable performance — bolt everything down, turn up the wick and hold on.
High Output Humbucker
This pickup excels at high-gain rock sounds. It has real power in the midrange and plenty of top-end to really cut through with superb note definition. The Steam Hammer (along with the Hot Slag and Rolling Mill) is one of the “Big Three” humbuckers introduced back in 2007 — the pickups that brought IronGear to the attention of thousands of guitarists in the worldwide community. Since then, it's gone from strength to strength and remains a firm favourite.
Also check out the Steam Hammer's sister pickup, the Hammer Head. They share very similar specifications apart from the pole pieces — where the Hammer Head wins on bass response, the Steam Hammer has the edge on clarity.
The Steam Hammer is available as open coils in Black, White or Cream.
Soundclips
Four soundclips — clean and dirty, bridge and neck.
Specifications
| Format | Humbucker |
|---|---|
| DC resistance | Bridge 15 kΩ · Neck 14 kΩ |
| Magnet | Ceramic |
| Coil wire | 44 AWG enamel |
| Conductors | 4-conductor |
| Pole spacing | Bridge 52 mm · Neck 50 mm |
| Baseplate | Nickel silver |
| Dimensions | 68 mm L × 37 mm W × 22 mm H (incl. lugs) |
| Coil options | Black, White or Cream open coils |
| Recommended components | 500 kΩ pots, 0.022µF tone capacitor(s) |
| Included | Screws and springs |
| Applications | Balls-out high-gain rock and metal — capable of subtle clean tones too |
What customers are saying
Eighteen unedited reviews curated from years of Steam Hammer owners.
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As a long-time user of IronGear pickups, having regular use of the Hot Slags, Texas Locos, Pig Irons and Jailhouse Rails, I thought I'd write again to tell you how amazing your pickups are — in this case the Steam Hammers. Replaced a Lace Sensor Dually with an HSH set up using Steam Hammers and a Texas Loco in the middle. It never fails to amaze me how easily I forget how amazing these pickups are for the money — just when I think about going out and spending a hundred quid on a Bare Knuckle, I play one of yours for £25 and am astonished. The Steam Hammers are awesome rock pickups with great clarity and bite. They compare favourably to my Suhr Aldrich humbuckers at £90 a pop and sound remarkably similar. Next time I buy pickups, I really need someone to remind me that I'd be throwing my money away buying anything else.
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Man, no words. Just put the Steam Hammer straight into my amp (hand-made inspired by Diezel/Bogner/Soldano) and a TS9. The BEST MID/BASS RESPONSE EVER HEARD! Tight, punchy, extremely clean. Great punch also on shredding, still hot, creamy and fluid, I can hear perfectly each stroke. No words... brutal, extremely brutal. Thank you for this amazing war machine.
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IRONGEAR STEAM HAMMER — THE GOD OF METAL. Bought a battered ESP MH-50, impressed with build quality and hardware except for that bridge pickup. Dropped in a Steam Hammer. Wow. Just wow. The Steam Hammer has twice the gain of the stock pickup, is less harsh but yet somehow tighter, clearer and more defined. I seriously hope people stop viewing IronGear pickups as good budget pickups, because they aren't. They are damn good pickups full stop. They annihilate every pickup I've tried with only the exception of the Bill Lawrence L-500 — they are both about equal.
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Fitted the Steam Hammer humbucker into the neck position of my USA Fender Stratocaster (H-H configuration) to complement the Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge, and I am in love with the tone it produces. I mainly use it for clean/slightly overdriven work — cleans up very nicely, beautiful tone through my Marshall DSL100 into a 1960B 4x12. Will definitely be using IronGear pickups again!
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After looking at many pickups for my one-off mother-of-pearl and abalone bullseye Flying V, I thought I would give a matched pair of white Steam Hammers a go. I shouldn't have worried — these pickups are the poodle's privates. Clear, bright, and when cranked up they'll bite your friggin' head off. Might just have to get a pair of Rolling Mill 2s for my next project. Keep up the good work.
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Bought a Steam Hammer bridge pickup to slap in an Ibanez RGR321EX. It came with 'Designed by EMG' pickups (plain shite), then I had an EMG 81 & 60 set (too harsh) — the Steam Hammer was a revelation. Smoother and fatter by far for clean and lead work than my EMG 60, and annihilates the stock pickups manufacturers ship. £22 and I got an awesome pickup which actually looks killer too, and you guys even ship them in cool boxes. Legends, the lot of you.
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Finally got my pair of Steam Hammers installed into my Epiphone SG... WOW! Nothing prepared me for the leap my instrument has taken since the Steam Hammers have taken up residence. They are aggressive and have bite and awesome sustain but are also incredibly versatile for the mellower end of the spectrum. Fantastic service from first enquiries to delivery.
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Replaced the stock pickups on my Hamer — HOLY SHIT! These babies are hot and sing like a metal choir, but back off on the gain and you're in flavour country, oh the redneck blues. The bridge really brings out pinched harmonics and the neck is just sweet fat heaven quite frankly. Clean they are very punchy. I can't believe that a pickup that costs so little compared to the “big boys” can sound so f*cking good.
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Shocked at the price-to-performance ratio. I would gladly pay 3 times the online price for one of these babies. The combination of the Steam Hammer with my down-tuned fixed-bridge mahogany Ibanez creates a roaring metal tone worthy of a price tag far higher than advertised. I'm over the moon with my purchase and will seek to put these great pickups in all my future guitars.
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Wanted something for my Tele (with a humbucker in the bridge position) that could remind you of country twang yet unleash the power of Satan. Plunged for the Steam Hammer after listening to sample after sample, and I can report that in this scenario it's a real hit. From clear cutting cleans with an edge, to biting leads, and crunchy rhythm — it seems to do the lot, and is very responsive to tone controls. Great stuff.
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Dropped a Steam Hammer into the bridge of my Ibanez RG to replace the Infinity 3. WOW! I can't get over how good this pickup sounds and what a difference it has made to the tone. Tons of crunch for heavy rhythms and amazing overtones on leads — almost like controlled feedback as the note starts to decay. Sustain has improved significantly. Until now I thought DiMarzio was the way to go for aftermarket pickups but I'm a lifelong IronGear man now.
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I was quite sceptical reading the posts on your site — I suspected Axetec had posted them themselves. I seriously can't believe how good the Steam Hammer is and I've been playing through all sorts since 1989. If you play the likes of Priest, Dio, Anthrax, Saxon or Slayer, I highly, highly recommend this. Best spend ever — you couldn't beat it with a big stick.
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Just fitted a Steam Hammer into the bridge on my guitar — the difference is wow. I'd been looking at a DiMarzio Super Distortion but didn't have the dosh. I'm utterly blown away by the sound, just what I was looking for, and I saved a fortune to boot. Seriously, if you're looking for a top-quality pickup, look at IronGear.
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Bought Steam Hammers and fitted them to my Dean ML Noir — wow, so impressed. Bought numerous Seymour Duncans but wasn't entirely happy with them, and didn't want to spend the outlay on DiMarzios or Bare Knuckles. After reading some reviews and listening, I decided on Steam Hammers — through my Bugera 6262 they're just awesome. Got the crunch and saturation I was after, right amount of highs, mids and lows. Will certainly recommend IronGears.
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Fitted a set of zebra Steam Hammers in my Epiphone SG400 for a classic/hard-rock covers gig. Through my Orange OR50 I ended up using the SG for the whole gig — took the Schecter Hellraiser just in case but didn't need it. The Steam Hammers were amazing, certainly high output, very middle-range heavy. Thick, articulate, clear, punchy, with loads of sustain. And the pinch harmonics were flying out! Very happy.
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I love my ESP Ltd. 103QM but the standard humbucker was thin and brittle, so I got a Steam Hammer. Boom. I actually cannot say enough good things about these pickups. I play through a POD XT and had to completely change my patches to accommodate the roar of these things. Amazing. Loaned out the Hamer I upgraded to a fellow band member — he couldn't believe how good the Steam Hammers sounded. I love you guys.
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I simply had to send an email to show how amazing the Steam Hammer humbucker is. I dug my old shitty Ibanez SA160 out (about £200 worth) and threw the Steam Hammer in for a tuned-down YouTube cover. It simply transforms the guitar. Pure power! This is a cheap old guitar which now sounds amazing. The pickups are better than any Seymour Duncans I've tried, and trust me I've tried a few. Isn't it nice to find an honest supplier?
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Had an ESP with an EMG 81 — nice clean sound but very harsh and sterile for rock. Swapped it for the Steam Hammer. Wow, totally unexpected. Lovely clean, bright, focused, articulate for rock, and when coil-tapped I can sound just like Richie Kotzen. Beautiful. Added the Jailhouse Rail in the neck position — they go together fab. My new favourite pickup.