IronGear Dirty Torque

“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 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 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

“It is with a draining sense of déjà vu I feel compelled to write to you regarding the pickups that you sold me earlier this week. Even though the Dirty Torque is a style of your pickups that I have not fitted before, the installation was straightforward, and the instructions exemplary. Having bought so many IronGear pickups now – I think it’s more than 20 – I should not have been surprised that the sound quality just blew me away. They have gone into a relatively rare Tokai John Sykes model Les Paul, and the stinging, singing tone is mad. Pinched harmonics fly off the strings, the ability to exact controlled feedback is incredible and the tone through a cranked JCM 2000 TSL is Whitesnake’s 1987 to a tee.” – Michael H, Penwortham

“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 recently bought a Dirty Torque pickup to replace the BurstBucker 3 in my Les Paul BFG. The original pickup had served me very well over the years, but had started to go microphonic, and was beyond economical repair. Having been pointed towards IronGear pickups in the past by my friend Paul (Dragondreams in Normanton), I thought I'd try the Dirty Torque. Once fitted, I found it very, very difficult to make any negative comments about the pickup. It has all the bite, power and clarity I needed - and then some. Add to that the fact that it cost about a third of the amount a replacement BurstBucker 3 would have, and was just as good, if not better. Thanks for offering this great product, and also for the extremely quick turnaround of the order.” - Marc, Pontefract

“Beautiful aged finish, great sounds from pristine clean to metal filth. Extremely dynamic. Makes my SD JB seem inferior. As good as it sounded, I always wanted a bit more bite from The Blues Engine bridge.....This is it. IronGear have done it again.” - John Greenhill, Bristol

"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