IronGear Jailhouse Rails

This is a replacement pickup for fitting into a Stratocaster-type single coil slot, except that its a high output humbucker. Visually very similar to the Seymour Duncan "Hot Rails", with four conductor wiring.

I was rebuilding an old Squier II Stratocaster (1990, I believe) and the stock pickups weren't doing anyone any good - but I've tried Seymour Duncan's Hot Rails before and didn't want to do that again (the Hot Rails are pricey, and I didn't like the sound of them). So I ran across Irongear's version on the internet and ordered two of them to replace the neck and bridge pickups.

The output level of these pickups is quite high, but they're also very nicely potted - a disturbing SILENT pickup when you're not playing. I ran the guitar through a Mesa Triple Rec solo head to try it out. They produce a very smooth, sustained sound, with just enough midrange in them to avoid sounding too different from the standard Stratocaster. They're also very sensitive - harmonics and tapping ring out very clearly without extraneous noise. They're just a little too "choked" sounding for me - I like a noisier pickup in general - but the tone is excellent. I don't know if I would only use these in guitars I play at live shows... I'd probably feel like I was missing something because they're so responsive, but they have been excellent for recording, especially when multitracking. I got an excellent sound on a cheap practice amp, too - and I always have every amp cranked, I play hardcore punk and I don't have much "in-between" when it comes to gain. Just for experimentation, I did take the Mesa down to a lesser channel and try playing fake blues, and I noticed that the same responsiveness was there - the pickup really brings out a strong, full-bodied sound to lead work. I actually had to install a bigger capacitor on the tone control just to tame them a little bit.

Again, I've tried their Seymour Duncan equivalents and I don't like them - very brittle, very harsh. The Jailhouse Rails are clearly superior. The only thing I don't like about them is that they're just a little on the unforgiving side - if your finger slips, the mistake isn't masked in harmonic hum! The strong, thick signal that comes from these also means that you don't have to fiddle with your amp's EQ forever to get a good sound. One thing I didn't get to do with this set was to try them with different switching operations - since I tend to wire all my stuff in series for extra push, I did the same thing here, and I'm curious to see what other options would yield. If the guitar I installed them in was stolen, I'd definitely consider these for other single-coil replacements. The price is hard to beat, since you get so much for so little.