HOT SLAG + ROLLING MILL
"I bought a used Musicman Silhouette last year and was told it had been fitted with IronGear p/u's - Hot Slag
and Rolling Mills. My first thought was to ditch these cheap p/u's that I'd never even heard of and put something expensive and 'decent'
in instead. Anyway, I had some rehearsals with a covers band I was helping out and used the Silhouette live with them. I simply
could not believe the sound I was getting from the guitar, and it was very versatile with a coil-tap - 2 x singles and 1 x hb with
coil tap allows you to do pretty much anything. I decided to delay rushing to purchase replacements and continued to use the
Silhouette with one of my main bands for rehearsals only, intending to use my Gibson Les Paul for the shows. But the more I
played with the IronGears, the more I became aware that they not only easily match up to high-end p/u's but surpass them in some ways,
least of all the cost-point which is quite frankly astonishing! So, a year on and the Silhouette with IronGears has now become
my 'go-to' workhorse guitar (I even took it on holiday) and I now plan to start putting these on some of the others in my collection
of fifteen. If anyone is in any doubt as to the quality of these, all I can say is just go for it, you will NOT be disappointed.
I've been playing for over 45 years and did not know at first what these p/u's were, all I knew is that they sound amazing for the
money! Keep up the great work guys! - Stevie Savage (Danielle Dax, The Roadholders, Alien Sex Fiend, Crash74 (ex-Sparks),
and others) (14/7/15)
TEXAS LOCO
"I bought a set of Texas Locos for an old Squier Strat that I picked up dirt cheap, it
plays really nicely so wanted it to sound better, fitted these pick ups and haven't put the thing down, I play mostly blues through
a small Laney cub 10 valve amp these pups are brilliant lots of oomph and lovely range of tones, really impressed. There is a lot
of bull out there about pups and how much you have to pay but yours blow most of the expensive ones out of the water both for sound
and value. I also found the tech support really helpfull. I will certainly recommend IronGear pick ups to anyone. I will be upgrading
my other guitar soon and I will definitely be using a pair of IronGear humbuckers for this. Many thanks. - Chris
Farmer, Hockley (13/7/15)
ROLLING MILL
"Since my last review I have gone from 8 guitars to 13. Of all my humbucker guitars,
the IronGear Rolling Mill pickups are still my favorite of the bunch. I have guitars with the following pickups: Genuine Gibson
57 Classics, Epi 339 Pro stock pickups, GFS Alnico II Classics, Bare Knuckle Stormy Mondays, Carvin, GFS dual-lipstick buckers,
and IronGear Rolling Mills. All sound great, and all are a bit different, but the Rolling Mills are just a cut above.
I play almost exclusively blues. And the Rolling Mills take me to I woke up this mornin sick an tired of bein sick an tired
and my woman runned off with the garbage man after months of too many dirty dishes in the sink an my dog pissed on my guitar an
Im broke again an this ol body gets a wedgie every time it pays attention to its 20 year old brain better than any of the others. There is just so much FEELING in the Rolling Mills! - Jim Kubitza, Lacey, Washington USA (2/6/15)
BLUES ENGINE
"Just
had a couple of Blues Engines installed on higher end Epiphone Les Paul, removing the stock Gibson Classic 57s. The existing
pups were inarticulate and bass heavy. I was at the point of moving the guitar on - which would have been a great shame since the
guitar itself is a lovely player. Anyways decided to throw the dice one last time but did not want to spend too much cash on the usual
variety of pups i.e Seymour Duncan or another Gibson Variety. Well all I can say is these are a great match. Where as I had a
muddy bottom end before I now have clarity. The mids and highs are also nicely balanced clear but not ice picky. I now feel that I
have guitar that is much better balanced with my other guitars and hence can use in a live situation. Good job - Jim Stock,
Chesterfield (25/6/15)
ALCHEMIST 90
"Wow, what a set of pickups! I am completely surprised by the value for money. I
took a punt of the Alchemist 90s because I needed pick ups for a cheap guitar, however they have helped turn it in to a superb Guitar
to play live. Fitted to a Strat type guitar, these pickups have bite, clarity and the standard amount of power. I have compared them
to another brand, and they can easily complete against more expensive brands. Gigged with them for the first time last week, I received
compliments about the sound. Also in the studio, these pickups are really versatile. Well done IronGear, I too am spreading the word!
- Tom Clements, Gillingham, Dorset (22/6/15)
TEXAS LOCO
"I have used your pickups before with great success (e.g. Hot Slag and
Rolling Mill pair in a chambered guitar giving about the sweetest clean tone from a set of humbuckers I've ever heard), and this time
a Strat needed the IronGear treatment. It wasnt getting enough work because it didnt fit the jobs at hand as well as something else. Wanted
was a range of real classic Strat tones. The guitar started with Seymour Duncans in it, in this case rocky ones - JB Jnr in the bridge,
Hot Stack middle & neck. This was all too rock oriented for what was wanted now. Clean wasnt all that sweet, and the 2 and 4
positions lacked the classic pop. Which ones? Pig Iron maybe? Pig Iron Overwound? Well, looking at your notes on them, it really
had to be the Texas Locos. The results? Predictably superb given my experience, but still surprised how excited it made us about playing
the guitar! Something about them still exceeded our expectations. Ignoring the very low prices its great, add them into the equation
and it feel like a steal! Sweet tones but still with bite might seem like a contradiction, but its not. Like a really good sugar
coated sweet that has a sour tang to it, you feel like you are getting it all in one go! Include the fact that a small switch is fitted
to the guitar to add the middle pickup to either the neck or bridge in a humbucker style wiring and the tonal range is quite staggering.
- Karn @ SussexGuitarRepair (16/6/15)
PLATINUM 90
Re: Platinum 90. Just wanted to drop a line regarding these
fantastic pickups, seeing as how there are not many reviews of these. I built my take of '54 Les Paul Gold Top (Spanish cedar body,
maple cap, mahogany neck, rosewood board) and wanted a great P90 sound. I have played P90's ranging from Mity Mite to Lollar and Fralin's.
These pickups sound incredible; the bite and aggressiveness are definitely there. They sound amazing both clean and overdriven.
Think of any great artist who uses them and these sound like that. Thanks for bringing great tone to the masses. - Brian T.,
Austin, TX USA (24/5/15)
VOLT ACTIVE
"Ok, after some research and deliberation I took the plunge and bought a set of Volts to
put into the bridge and neck position on my lefty
Jackson Rhoads Sharkfin. The stock pup's (imho) lacked the output to coax enough
gain out of my valve amp. I did consider the Metal Machine range, but have always liked aesthetics of closed face pups like the EMG
81's and also wanted to see what all the fuss was about with actives. IronGear Volts not only look the part but sound absolutely monster.
I've recently recorded some new tunes with my band, the rhythm guitar parts were recorded exclusively with my Rhoads. To say I'm happy
with the guitar tone would be a disservice to these pups. They sound absolute killer and I couldn't be more pleased. I've even had
to turn down the gain on my amp." - Ste Peters, Wolverhampton, West Midlands (18/5/15)
TEXAS LOCO
"I'd just like to say how absolutely
incredible the Texas Loco Strat p/ups are. Just fitted them to a classic 3 tone SB , MN Strat I've been building and they are awesome.
It was either these or a set of Fender Vintage Noiseless that I've got - they're now up for sale on eBay! (seriously). Classic Strat
tones with real bite and attack which is totally controllable." - Graham Smith, Wolverhampton (12/5/15)
ALCHEMIST 90
"Just to
let you know how pleased I am with the pair of Alchemist 90 pickups I've just fitted to my Hagstrom Super Swede to replace the original
humbuckers. What a difference they've made to the guitar. The original clean sound through my Belcat Tube 20R was dense, muddy and
unpleasant. Problem solved in style. The tone is now bright and full and I've lost none of the lower end richness. Overdriven the
sound is superb and they look stunning on the guitar. I'll now set about renewing the electrical bit and bobs and taking the tone
controls out of the wiring equation and see what that does. The Hagstrom now sounds as good as it looks and plays. Thanks you." -
Ian Evans. Abergavenny (6/5/15)
DIRTY TORQUE + BLUES ENGINE SET
"I just wanted to say thank you for an altogether fabulous purchasing
experience. Super fast delivery and a simply stunning product. I bought the Blues Engine/Dirty Torque combo for my Epiphone Les Paul.
I have a PRS Custom 22 and 2008 Gibson Les Paul Standard and I wanted to try a Floyd Rose equipped LP. I couldn't stump up the nearly
3 grand for a Gibson so bought the Epi version on Ebay. It's a fab guitar, great to play and beautiful to look at, but good as they
are, the stock Epi pickups were a bit muddy and lifeless - a definite come down from my other guitars. I'd not heard of IronGear,
but discovered them on an internet search and was blown away by the reviews. The excellent reviews gave me high expectations, and
now I've got around to fitting the pickups, I couldn't be more pleased. Both pickups complement each other perfectly. The Blues Engine
in the neck position has a lovely warmth and clarity when used both clean and overdriven. It's a real quality high end sound.
The Dirty Torque in the bridge position really 'sings', and is so easy to dial in - it doesn't have the harshness that so many bridge
pickups have (including the Burstbucker Pro in my Gibson) which then needs tweakage to sort out. Sonically, now by Epi sounds as good
or even better than my other guitars. These pickups are very good value and are not just incredible for the money, they are just incredible
full stop! Well done to all at IronGear, and keep up the good work. If I was a high end pickup manufacturer I'd be worried. Very worried!"
- Peter Taylor, Colne (6/5/15)
