IronGear Blues Engine

"In a word... Amazing. I have two custom shop historic's with burstbuckers of various flavours and these Blues Engine pickups sound as good if not better..! The Gibsonesque sounds from each humbucker are very much what I was looking for, and the split coil Fenderish tones are way beyond what I expected, having been disappointed in the past with week split humbucker sounds from other pickups. I recently sold on a pair of Seymour Duncan Antiquities as they just did not sound good in either of my Gibsons. I am tempted to try the Blues Engines in one of my custom shop guitars, they are that good.. ! Excellent service, excellent pickups." - Paul W. NE England

“Well, I have to say you've done it again! Last year I fitted a Blues Engine to the neck position in my Heritage 535 and a bit later a Dirty Torque to the bridge position. I had been happy enough with the stock Schallers, but having bought a Dean Hardtail USA with a Pearly Gates in the bass position and a Jeff Beck in the treble position, it made the Heritage sound a little flat. Only problem was- with the Heritage now having the most subtle and detailed sound of any guitar I've ever played, the Pearly Gates in the Dean Hardtail was suddenly the pickup that sounded flat and uninspiring.The solution? Another Blues Engine and the Dean Hardtail sounds like the classy instrument it deserves to be. Today it got its first outing through a Carvin Nomad with a twelve inch Elecrovoice speaker and frankly, the guitar is transformed. I play a lot of arpeggios. Now they spring out with this wonderful detail and I only have to dig in to solo- in the clean channel- to obtain a sound with that lush slightly compressed authority. The Blues Engine is a staggeringly good pickup- versatile, responsive and capable of making even very good guitars sound better. We live in a very cynical age, where anything that is inexpensive is likely to be dismissed by many as cheap, but your pickups are quite astonishing to me. There are many reports on your site of people transforming mid-priced guitars by fitting your pickups. My experience is that they are capable of transforming high end instruments as well. I really wish the music press had the courage to cover your pickups far more widely because they really deserve to be much more widely known.” - Kev Morris, Bradford

"I have just had 2 Blues Engine chrome pickups fitted professionally by Tomson Guitars of Wigan (who recommended them) to my Gordon Smith Graduate (Les Paul), to replace the DiMarzio and Schaller humbuckers that had both failed recently. The improvement in the sound quality and tone is incredible, and has attracted numerous positive comments already. Well done!" - Richard Hart, Wigan

“I just wanted to drop you a quick e-mail having installed the Dirty Torque / Blues Engine pickups into my Epi Les Paul this weekend. On trying them out, I was blown away by the sound these things churn out! The Blues Engine is very impressive and has that classic flute like tone the Les Paul neck setting is famous for. In addition to this, there's none of the muddiness often associated with many neck pickups. The Dirty Torque also really delivers. It growls perfectly but mellows nicely by rolling back the volume a bit. Compared to a Seymour Duncan JB I have on a Jackson Dinky Pro this is far, far superior and makes the JB lack grunt and sound pretty muddy. The description on the website stating that the combo is designed to work together is spot on. This is the first time the middle selector position using both pick-ups has really been used on this guitar and has transformed this cheap guitar into a completely different instrument. Overall, most impressive. I will certainly be recommending these and plan to buy further IronGear pick-ups for my other guitars.” – Mark M, London

“I put the IronGear Blues Engines into an Epiphone 335 after taking out a set costing three times the price. What these pickups bring is character as before the sound was clean but clinical and did not move me. The sound is far more in keeping with a 335 and that “woody” sound that it is noted for comes through now. I guess all guitarists are looking for a quality sound it is just surprising that paying a lot more for pickups did not get me a better sound.” - Clive, Kent

“Hi. Just a quick thank you, I got a pair of Blues Engine pickups from you recently for a Les Paul I was building. Wired it all up, Plugged it in, Could not believe the sound. Damned thing squeals like a banshee in heat swinging an angry cat, More Balls than an army of Rambo's !!!. Really nice clean tones as well, especially in the middle position. These were my first pair of pickups from you guys. I am so impressed I have since bought 3 more sets, I think that says it all really. Needless to say I will be having more of these.” – Paul, AEolian Guitars, Dublin

I wanted to drop you a line to say thanks for getting the Blues Engine pickup to me so rapidly – it arrived on Monday morning having been ordered late on Friday night! A quick cup of tea and a couple of blobs of solder later it was in – into a really nice Tokai Love Rock. This is a guitar that I swapped the rear pickup for a Bare Knuckle Riff Raff that I already had in a little played guitar a week ago. Anyway, I was really impressed with the Riff Raff – and had planned to stick a “Stormy Monday” into the neck...until I saw the Blues Engine. I am so glad that I didn’t order the Stormy Monday. The Blues Engine is simply stunning. It wasn’t a surprise that it is absolutely perfect for blues, but it also sounds fantastic for the more rocky Gilmour/Floyd stuff that we play – singing like a bird and sustaining forever. I love it – thanks so much and no doubt I will be troubling you again in the near future for more! – Mike H’, Preston

“I bought a Blues Engine from you a few months ago for a Heritage 535, their take on the 335. I was delighted with the subtlety of the sound in the neck position and last week I fitted your Dirty Torque in the bridge position. The Heritage is a classy guitar and it sounded good before with the stock Schallers. Now it is an absolute delight and it looks the part too with the nickel covers.” – Kevin Morris, Bradford

"Hey Guys, noticed the Blues Engine on your site a month or so ago and decided to pounce even though there was no feedback or reviews yet. I've tried the Hot Slag and Alchemist 90, so wondered what an extra £10 would get you… Well, mucho mojo is the answer. I put it in one of those cheap single pickup travel Hofners and WOW! Fantastic dirty, gritty blues, but with complex harmonics - I'm in slide heaven. Love to see a coil tappable version in the future. Congrats on a wonderful pickup." - Andy, Banbury

"Great service/great product and I love the 'Blues Engines' they've brought my Epi Dot to life!...thanx Axetec" - Steve, Edinburgh

“I fitted the Blues Engine in place of the Hot Slag in my Epiphone LP and all I can say is wow! The tone and sound is just superb when played through my RAT Hot Rodded Amp. I am very impressed with the Blues Engine, I like the Slag and that'll be put to use in another guitar, but the Blues Engine has to be the best pickup to sit in the bridge position of a LP I've heard.” – Simon, New Malden

“Predictably superb pickups………..as ever……but the Blues engine is a step further on!” – Tom, Telford

“Well, I woke up this morning & my dog had died, and my lady ran off with the garbage man.... Still, not to worry my Blues Engine neck & bridge pickups have arrived (wow, that's fast) & I've put 'em in the old Gibson, a Challenger 2 from the early 80's. Think Les Paul Junior with a bolt-on maple neck, it's lightweight, it's scruffy but it plays like a dream. Put back together & plugged in, the big question. What do they sound like? These things bark like my old dawg used to but still retain perfect clarity & definition. Very nice indeed. Even though my old dog is dead, my woman has legged it with the garbage man, my house has burned down (forgot to unplug the soldering iron) & being born under a bad sign (on the wrong side of town also), I don't have the blues no more. These pickups are good, very good. I just hope my woman comes back soon (the bin needs emptying).” – Neil Houghton, Bolton

“Hi, put a pair of [Blues Engines] in my Ibanez AL73 Artcore which is a semi-acoustic 335 look alike. The stock pickups were a bit trebly and didn’t give a good rock sound. The guitar is sweet beautiful neck and great sustain. With a pair of Blues Engines in this is now a real 335 beater, sounds fabulous and so versatile from rock through to jazz. The pickups have a wide dynamic sound with a good mids which suits blues type rock.” – David Acklam, Brighton

“I had heard a lot of good things about IronGear pickups on various guitar websites and forums so decided to give them a try. I ordered a Dirty Torque pickup for the bridge which arrived within a couple of days and I got it all soldered it into my Epi LP Standard. I couldn't believe the difference when I plugged it in, it was like playing a different guitar. The sound is drastically clearer and brighter with much more character. I spent the first ten minutes or so just slowly strumming chords in amazement because I had never been able to hear the individual notes so clearly before, it has really brought what was before a tonally dead sounding guitar to life. With the gain turned up, it really kicks out the bluesy Led Zeppelin/Peter Green kind of sound that I wanted without getting muddy. It surprised me was how responsive the sound is to how hard you strum and even what pick you use, before with the stock pickups it sounded lifeless and samey.
After being so impressed I decided to upgrade the neck pickup but couldn’t decide between the Rolling Mill and the Blues Engine, so I called IronGear for advice who were extremely helpful and friendly. I ordered a Blues Engine pickup for the neck as they are supposed to make a great set, and I wasn't too bothered about coil tapping. I never really used the neck pickup on this guitar before much simply because it sounded awful and muddy even with the volume backed off so I had high hopes for another miracle like with the Dirty Torque. I wasn't disappointed. It absolutely sings, and with both pickups on it sounds unbelievable with the ringing treble of the Dirty Torque complimented by the warm bass of the Blues Engine. Like the Dirty Torque it changed from mud to clear tones with a gorgeous warmness to it and nice round fat bass. Even though the Blues Engine is low output and the Dirty Torque is a high output, they are really well balanced and work really well together. These pickups are unbelievable value for money and are at least as good as the much more expensive makes.” – Richard, Widnes

“I thought you might like to know that I gave the pickups some intensive testing yesterday. I recorded some clips with my Fernandes Ravelle with the previous pickups (Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz) and then once I'd removed those and replaced them with the Dirty Torque (bridge) and Blues Engine (neck) I recorded new clips with the same settings and listened to them using our studio headphones to compare them accurately....What a difference! I had concerns that nothing special was going to happen, however I found that going back to the SD pickups, the recordings captured a lot of rumbling 'background' noise from the JB and Jazz, as though they were going through a spring reverb tank that was being knocked about, even though it was off on my amplifier. The sounds were vague and washy at the edges, particularly in overdrive, clean was bright but still had the associated washy/vague sound at the edges. The new IronGear pickups were in a different dimension altogether. I've seen/heard some people say that the Jazz and JB combination is the best but they're way wrong as far as I'm concerned, the Dirty Torque and Blues Engine is the best combination I've ever heard. The recordings showed a much smoother, more controlled signal pattern, much more defined and tight without clipping the tone. Dirty or overdrive on the neck, bridge and middle positions sounded sweet, crunchy and with plenty of sustain. Clean and clean reverb settings were also excellent especially on the Blues Engine in the neck position. In the past I never really favoured the neck position on my Ravelle because it was muddy, fat and vague, but the blues engine has opened new doors for my sound and I will definitely be making use of them. In other words, I've joined the ranks of more-than satisfied customers even though I had my doubts originally, as I'm sure people do, but the best thing to do is just buy them and find out!” – Rob, Awsworth

“I just had to say thank you for these wonderful pickups, I‘ve replaced many of my customer’s pickups with all different types that you have supplied and I think they are all the dogs 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 fitted a pair to a Gibson LP and they sound as good if not a bit better than the originals. I wonder what you are doing right? Please keep up the good work and the very wonderful prices.” - Mike Webb, Ramsgate

“I’ve rewired my Epiphone Les Paul and replaced the stock pickups, which I found muddy, for a Blues Engine Bridge and an Alchemist 90 neck. Once I got the wiring correct and plugged in I was bowled over with the tone of the Blues Engine and then fell immediately in love with the Alchemist 90. They combine really well and make the Les Paul a much more versatile guitar. I’ve only been messing around for a few days but am very impressed and have found the middle setting great too. I used the Axetec pots, caps and wire and have noticed a massive improvement in tone settings, giving much more choice when turning the dials compared to the cheap Korean wiring harness. Thanks again.” - David Bristow, Morecambe UK

"Well I must say, I’m impressed! I asked for your help in deciding which pickups would suit my Epi Les Paul Custom best, and you suggested the Dirty torque and Blues Engine. Ordered them Thursday, got ‘em friday, fitted them Saturday, and despite not being the best solderer in the world, did it ok, restrung it while I was at it, and WOW! It really is a different guitar now. Before it was muddy, now I can hear every note, even got that Stratty bell like chime on clean, so I won’t be bothering buying another strat, but I will be buying some more pickups for my other Tokai Les Paul. Thanks again, you have another convert!! Can’t remember if I mentioned I was gonna lay out £160+ on some Slash pickups from a major dealer, but I am really glad I didn’t., and have no intention of doing so.In the words of Arnie-I’ll be back!" - Mervyn, Bradford