Telecaster Pickups · Classic single coils
Steel Foundry
Aimed at wringing the last ounce of tone from your Tele™ — hard-edged brittle tones with real warmth, depth and clarity. Loads of punchy twang at the bridge, fluid bluesy runs from the neck. Standard or overwound.
Classic Single Coils for Telecaster™
The Steel Foundry is an amazing traditional pickup for the Telecaster™. It's got loads of punchy “twang” and the neck pickup is outstanding for fluid bluesy runs.
The overwound versions provide a little more kick than you'd expect from a standard Tele™ pickup — really useful when you want to drive your amp that little bit harder for lead work.
For the bridge, you can have any colour you like — as long as it's black. Similarly for the neck, chrome or chrome is available.
Soundclips
Four soundclips — clean and dirty, bridge and neck.
Specifications
| Format | Single coil for Telecaster™ |
|---|---|
| DC resistance (Standard) | Bridge 6.0 kΩ · Neck 6.6 kΩ |
| DC resistance (Overwound) | Bridge 9.1 kΩ · Neck 8.1 kΩ |
| Magnet (Standard) | AlNiCo V |
| Magnet (Overwound) | AlNiCo II & V |
| Coil wire | 42 AWG enamel |
| Conductors | 2-conductor |
| Pole spacing | Bridge 53.5 mm · Neck 50 mm |
| Baseplate | Bridge: steel & fibre · Neck: fibre |
| Dimensions | Bridge 73 mm L × 38 mm W × 19 mm H · Neck 78 mm L × 20 mm W × 18 mm H |
| Cover options | Bridge: black · Neck: chrome · Standard or Overwound |
| Recommended components | 250 kΩ pots, 0.047µF tone capacitor(s) |
| Included | Screws and springs |
| Applications | Everything from country to rock to punk |
What does “Overwound” mean? Adding a few more turns of wire to the coil to increase output while retaining the essential character of the pickup — a little more “poke” to push the front end of your amp.
What customers are saying
Nineteen unedited reviews from real Steel Foundry owners.
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I felt I had to comment on your wonderful IronGear Steel Foundry Overwound pickups. Just fitted a set of bridge and neck pickups to my Mexican Fender Telecaster, and added your 4-way switch mod for the series humbucker-like tone. These Steel Foundry pickups are wonderful — I used it at a gig last night for the first time through a Blues Junior and I'm really impressed. Can't put this guitar down! The tone of these pickups is perfect for that longed-for Tele twang, with beefy tone when you want it. As good as any top-quality pickups you can buy, but probably better in my view, and much cheaper, so what are you waiting for?
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Put the Steel Foundry Overwound neck pickup on to go with the overwound bridge, and the guitar sounds fantastic. I upgraded my friend's Tele last week with the Fender N3 and there's not much difference between the two guitars — if anything the Steel Foundry ones are brighter than the N3. Very pleased with the outcome, and half the cost of the Fender pickups including changing all the pots and switches.
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What a difference from the stock “fuzzy” pickup sound. I wasn't particularly unhappy with the sound of the guitar but was persuaded to upgrade. I'm just disappointed I didn't do it before. I can't put the guitar down now. To all Squier owners with stock pickups who aren't sure whether it's worth upgrading: try these, you won't be disappointed. Great value for money that really enhances the sound of the guitar and, in terms of quality, far outstrips the price tag.
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Wanted to put together a Telecaster — had all the parts except pickups. Looked at all the well-known makes then found IronGear Steel Foundrys. They are excellent and sound great, hardly any hum, and about half the price I would have paid. Well done Axetec — 10/10 for quality and the best customer service around.
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Put the Steel Foundry bridge pickup in my Japanese Fender '72 Reissue Tele Custom, replacing the Fender. I found the Fender pickup very bright and a bit weak. The Steel Foundry has added the one thing missing from the guitar — that Tele twang. It sounds fantastic and is such good value.
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I just had to say thank you for these wonderful pickups. I've replaced many of my customers' pickups with all different types you've supplied, and I think they are all the dog's dangly bits. One of my customers couldn't believe his ears after replacing his Tele with your Steel Foundry chaps. Your Blues Engines are some of the best I've heard. I wonder what you are doing right? Please keep up the good work and the very wonderful prices.
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Finally got round to fitting the Steel Foundry into the neck position on my '62 RI Tele. Boy, oh boy, was this ever the way to go! Awesome tone, beautiful and clear as a bell, and turn down the tone a touch for some nice woody jazz — mm, nice. For this price, I just want to buy a new guitar simply to shop for more pickups.
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Took delivery of the Alchemist 90 and Steel Foundry pickups for an old Squier Fat Tele which I loved the feel of, but it never really had that sound. It sounds amazing now — the Steel Foundry sounds more Tele than ever, bright and cutting and super-twangy. The Alchemist in the neck sounds juicy, fat and mellow, but with enough treble to not be overpowered by the bridge in the mix. These pickups have transformed this guitar from one I wanted to like to one I unreservedly love.
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Bought an overwound Steel Foundry bridge to replace the vintage wound stock pickup in my Squier Classic Vibe '50s Butterscotch Tele — 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, brittle Tele bite on tap. Then ordered the overwound neck and it was the perfect match. Much more defined than the stock pickup. Both pickups do a very handsome clean, but they love overdrive and easily compete with the humbucker folk on stage. Not just very good for the price but very good full stop. Two extremely worthwhile purchases.
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Congratulations on supplying another cracking set of pickups — a wonderful set of Steel Foundry Telecaster pups. Finally found time to fit them — 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.
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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.
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Just a massive thank you for the best high-quality pickups, together with superb service and excellent prices. I've just installed the Steel Foundry and Alchemist 90 pickups within a Tele Thinline partscaster. I always have my guitars set up by a local luthier who over the years must have worked on most types of guitar — sufficient to say he was really impressed with both pickups. They complement each other and the tones are absolutely brilliant, far better than some of the far more expensive pickups available. It's a struggle to put into words just how good your pickups are. I wish you every success — please continue the good work.
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Hello from across the pond! Received the Steel Foundry Overwound bridge pickup just a few days after ordering. I installed it in my Telecaster and loved it as soon as I set the height to my liking. And thanks for including the hardware! That pickup gives off wonderful tone! I would recommend it to anybody looking for more bottom-end punch while keeping the traditional Tele tone. It's kind of like wearing a brand new pair of jeans but forgetting to wear underwear — may start off edgy and twangy but can get raunchy fast!
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Just wanted to get in touch to say how incredibly pleased I am with my Steel Foundry Telecaster pickups. They have completely transformed my Squier Telecaster, which now has some true Tele bite and a phenomenal, well-balanced tone, with great response on all frequencies. I still can't believe how good your products are — it's living proof that you don't have to spend £150 to get amazing tone. I'll be coming to you exclusively for new pickups in the future.
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Put a Steel Foundry Overwound in my Telecaster bridge position. The guitar has a humbucker in the neck and this pickup keeps up with it. Really nice cut and tone. Tempted to investigate putting the Blues Engine in the neck position. Excellent value for money.
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Got a set of Steel Foundry Tele pickups (overwound) — just had them fitted the other day. The Telecaster was a Mexican about 15 years old and was a good-sounding guitar to start with. With the new pickups and a 3-saddle bridge the transformation was fantastic. It was like a tadpole turning into a butterfly — sounds brilliant both clean and dirty. It sounds better than the USA Tele I had until not long ago, and when I play it a little smile appears on my face like a little boy at Christmas.
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Just purchased and installed my 3rd set of Vintage 6TS Strat pickups which are truly outstanding — perfect balance of sweetness, tone, chime and spank, and dirty up when cranked beautifully. To all the cork-sniffers out there, there is nothing better. I've had Bare Knuckles, SD, DiMarzio, Fender Custom Shop and numerous other brands. Do yourself a favour and try them — you will not be disappointed. I also have Pig Irons and your Steel Foundry in my Tele — again excellent. Thanks IronGear — top notch.
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These IronGear pickups are very, very nice. Put them in a Harley Benton TE30, a good and ridiculously cheap Tele-style guitar with an ash body. What an amazing upgrade with the Steel Foundry overwound pickups. They have punch and clarity when needed, and on dirty sounds they really sing. Very responsive to guitar volume and how you set your amp — a little tweak makes a big difference. For one set from a big-name brand you get 3 from IronGear, and quality-wise the sound and build are at least in the same league, if not better. Also have Pig Irons in a Vintage Icon Strat — very happy with them too. A buy recommendation.
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Purchased my Squier Classic Vibe butterscotch Telecaster about 18 months ago. Like most people I was very impressed with the quality, but I have to admit I found it sounded a little “tinny”. It's a “classic” old-school guitar fitted with vintage-type pickups — great twangy country and western sound, but lacking “oomph” for rock. Watched a YouTube video recommending IronGear, looked into them, good reviews, not very expensive — sounded like a win-win. I purchased a pair of overwound Steel Foundrys and an orange drop cap for the tone pot. Boy, was I impressed! It now does everything it did before but sounds like a Telecaster on steroids! It can do heavy rock no problem, but can still sound like a twangy country guitar when you want it to. Before, I rarely used the neck pickup — with any kind of distortion it lacked clarity. Not any more — I have found myself using the neck pickup as much as the bridge. All in all, an excellent upgrade for my Squier Tele. Well done!