I haven’t tried the Tesla sharks, but I have the steel foundry tele pick ups, the blues engine HB, and in one of my teles I have a blues engine HB in the neck paired with an overwound steel foundry in the bridge, and it is fantastic. A really great pairing, from twangy country to growling blues. I love iron gear pickups, me and my friend have road tested them against more expensive pickups from UK makers, and they are easily comparable with little difference in some places. Really hold their own.
Even my untrained ears could hear the difference between the Iron Gear pickups & the Bullbuckers John. It's like night & day! I've got a set of Vanson 57 Alnico II's that were going to go into my Ibanez ART120QA (LP shaped thingy), however I'm tempted to put them in my Artist TC59 now and put the Bullbuckers into the Ibanez 😉
Colin you've given me a mad idea ... get a left handed Artist Tele - I'm dithering over pulling the trigger. Drop some Vanson 59 Alnico 5's in it and put the Bullbuckers into my Harley Benton EX76LH Explorer! 👍
Hi John. Glad you like the Artist guitar and the new pickups. I noticed Artist is putting out new versions of that guitar now with a belly cut, arm cut and weight relief routing. It's available as SS, HH, or SH pickup configurations.
The Iron Gear pickups do sound excellent. I haven't tried them myself (yet!) but Alnico 2 magnets are far and away my favourites. I have found Entwistle pickups to be really good too---their HV-59 Alnico 2 which are about the same price as the Tesla Sharks, are also well worth a look.
Glad you played clean to compare with the originals, these Sharks sound great clean or dirty. Had the phase switching deliberately wired in on a few guitars now, and I love having that extra tone. Al2s really hit the vintage sound nicely, I have Al2s in my Twangbanger (in a Lead II) and I'm really enjoying the tone they produce. Still love my Al5 P-90s, but I'm warming up to Al2s more.
John, You've wired the neck out of phase with the bridge which is why you are getting that honky Peter Green typre tone. Had another crazy idea ... if you want more of a Strat mix quack tone, try dropping a 10nF (0.010 uF) between the red wire and earth for the neck pickup. The capacitor passes treble to earth but blocks the bass from going out of phase, giving a POOP Partially-Out-Of-Phase sound.
Just a note: you can dramatically change the tone of a pickup by unscrewing the pole screws a few turns. Just try to match to the radius and how it sounds to your ear.
When I stumble on a previous video I always have a chuckle. Why? Well, usually John is telling us about a new “keeper” guitar. We all know the truth. There are more guitars that go to (and subsequently leave) a certain address in Redcar than most guitar retailers 😂😂😂 . I reckon there is a revolving door in the goods in / out at Robson Towers.
Sounds great with the pickup swap. Glad to hear it ranks right up there with your other guitars now. I love my TC59, but with the Bullbuckers for heavier riffage. The playability and quality is simply outstanding for the price. Cheers from Australia 🍻😁 🎸
John, I'm in the market for some new Alnico II pickups and I'll be interested to know which sound better - the Vansons on your signature guitar or the Tesla Shark pickups.
Very Cool. Looks and sounds like you are really enjoying playing The Artist TC59. Such a Stunning Guitar. I love my TC59 such a pleasure and fun to play. Enjoy. Cheers
Sounds great. They're relatively inexpensive pickups John, at around £80, but they're a lot more than the Vanson's in your signature guitar at around £35 (have I got that right?). How do you feel they compare?
I got the Tesla Sharks because I was curious about them. Are they twice as good as the Vansons? It's hard to say because I'm happy with the Vansons in my Signature guitar, but they sound a bit "toppier" than Iron Gear pickups. Is that down to the pickups or the different guitars they're mounted in? Anybody's guess, to be honest. Bottom line... If I wasn't making UA-cam videos & I just wanted some alnico ii pickups for this guitar, I'd probably have bought Vansons for it 👍
@@JRobsonGuitar Cheers John 👍I've done a common Harley Benton CST-24 upgrade for someone by replacing the Roswell humbuckers with Vanson 57 Alnico 2 humbuckers and they sounded better (prefer vintage open tones). Alnico 5 tend to be toppy compared with mellower Alnico 2. I was surprised how much I like the sound of your Teslas, but there is no wrong answer really as both Vanson and Iron Gear are great pickups and I can also vouch for the user support from Vanson Guitars too.
@@PeteMOBie1 agree on both, got some Vanson 57's in a Harley Benton, and the Blues Engine/Dirty Torque Iron Gear combo in a benton SG. Highly recomend that latter pairing for anything rock towards ac/dc territory, they clean up very well too.
You need to try them in a mahogany guitar like an lp or a prs with a bit more gain, I put them in a prs se I have and found them similar to the duncan slash sig that I had in an old lp, you should try them in youre benton lp John 😉
Which Iron gear pick ups would you put in the Artiste 62 strat version ie to replace their stock Wrangler ones? Crackin video and playin of course John!
Great sound John. Along with John Mac's comment What would your take be comparing the Iron Gear Alnico 2 Teslas to Vanson V59 alnico 5 please? Would you say they were a step up from the Vansons, or just different? So far, I prefer a vintage, bright open sounding Vanson V59 for humbuckers, but am open to experimentation as always.
@@JRobsonGuitar Thanks again. I want to install these on my Harley Benton cst-24 which has the Roswell neck pole spacing of 50 mm, and 52 mm at the bridge. The spacing of the Sharks is 50 mm. Would it be ok to have that 50 mm pup in the 52 mm bridge space? Or should I just install the 52 mm BE in the bridge and the Shark in the neck? Apparently the Shark size is 50mm only.
Oh dear...I'm going to say something controversial here...sorry John! ☹️ But...I preferred the other, original, pick-ups. Horses for courses I suppose. I actually like Warman pick-ups as replacements. Dirt cheap...yet sound great.
Not counting the original Fender 1974 Seth Lover designed CuNiFe Wide Range Humbuckers? These were made specifically for the Tele by the guy who designed original PAFs for Gibson. They sound like a Fender should but they are HBs. You an get reissued CuNiFes now. The Vintera Teles have WRHB designed just like the originals with larger bobbin and reflector plates, but with Al5 magnets. Player series and Squier WRHBs are regular sized HBs inside a wax spacer and a large cover so nothing like originals.
I haven’t tried the Tesla sharks, but I have the steel foundry tele pick ups, the blues engine HB, and in one of my teles I have a blues engine HB in the neck paired with an overwound steel foundry in the bridge, and it is fantastic. A really great pairing, from twangy country to growling blues. I love iron gear pickups, me and my friend have road tested them against more expensive pickups from UK makers, and they are easily comparable with little difference in some places. Really hold their own.
+1 to this. I actually prefer them to many stock big brands now. Tesla Shark, Blues Engine, Dirty Torque, and some texas loco's here.
Even my untrained ears could hear the difference between the Iron Gear pickups & the Bullbuckers John. It's like night & day!
I've got a set of Vanson 57 Alnico II's that were going to go into my Ibanez ART120QA (LP shaped thingy), however I'm tempted to put them in my Artist TC59 now and put the Bullbuckers into the Ibanez 😉
Colin you've given me a mad idea ... get a left handed Artist Tele - I'm dithering over pulling the trigger. Drop some Vanson 59 Alnico 5's in it and put the Bullbuckers into my Harley Benton EX76LH Explorer! 👍
Hi John. Glad you like the Artist guitar and the new pickups. I noticed Artist is putting out new versions of that guitar now with a belly cut, arm cut and weight relief routing. It's available as SS, HH, or SH pickup configurations.
The Iron Gear pickups do sound excellent. I haven't tried them myself (yet!) but Alnico 2 magnets are far and away my favourites. I have found Entwistle pickups to be really good too---their HV-59 Alnico 2 which are about the same price as the Tesla Sharks, are also well worth a look.
Ditto your comment about Alan Entwistle's HV-58 Alnico II a nice low output for the bridge and it plays well with other pickups too.
Glad you played clean to compare with the originals, these Sharks sound great clean or dirty. Had the phase switching deliberately wired in on a few guitars now, and I love having that extra tone. Al2s really hit the vintage sound nicely, I have Al2s in my Twangbanger (in a Lead II) and I'm really enjoying the tone they produce. Still love my Al5 P-90s, but I'm warming up to Al2s more.
John, loved the parrot skit reference 😁. These sound really nice, thank you doing the review.
I need this song on my Spotify! Flippin' fantastic playing there John
John, You've wired the neck out of phase with the bridge which is why you are getting that honky Peter Green typre tone. Had another crazy idea ... if you want more of a Strat mix quack tone, try dropping a 10nF (0.010 uF) between the red wire and earth for the neck pickup. The capacitor passes treble to earth but blocks the bass from going out of phase, giving a POOP Partially-Out-Of-Phase sound.
Just a note: you can dramatically change the tone of a pickup by unscrewing the pole screws a few turns. Just try to match to the radius and how it sounds to your ear.
Great sounds from a handsome and well played guitar!
When I stumble on a previous video I always have a chuckle. Why? Well, usually John is telling us about a new “keeper” guitar. We all know the truth. There are more guitars that go to (and subsequently leave) a certain address in Redcar than most guitar retailers 😂😂😂 . I reckon there is a revolving door in the goods in / out at Robson Towers.
Sounds great with the pickup swap. Glad to hear it ranks right up there with your other guitars now. I love my TC59, but with the Bullbuckers for heavier riffage. The playability and quality is simply outstanding for the price. Cheers from Australia 🍻😁 🎸
I'd love to try a pair however they are hard to find outside U.K.
John, I'm in the market for some new Alnico II pickups and I'll be interested to know which sound better - the Vansons on your signature guitar or the Tesla Shark pickups.
Very Cool. Looks and sounds like you are really enjoying playing The Artist TC59. Such a Stunning Guitar. I love my TC59 such a pleasure and fun to play. Enjoy. Cheers
The Tonerider AC2s are worth a shot as well. Awesome pickups. Replaced the Burstbuckers in my ‘04 LP Std with them.
What a suprise - nice nice Video and fine Guitar!!! - Greetings from Germany Thomas
John,
Those pickups sound excellent 👌👍
Sounds great. They're relatively inexpensive pickups John, at around £80, but they're a lot more than the Vanson's in your signature guitar at around £35 (have I got that right?). How do you feel they compare?
I got the Tesla Sharks because I was curious about them. Are they twice as good as the Vansons? It's hard to say because I'm happy with the Vansons in my Signature guitar, but they sound a bit "toppier" than Iron Gear pickups. Is that down to the pickups or the different guitars they're mounted in? Anybody's guess, to be honest. Bottom line... If I wasn't making UA-cam videos & I just wanted some alnico ii pickups for this guitar, I'd probably have bought Vansons for it 👍
@@JRobsonGuitar Cheers John 👍I've done a common Harley Benton CST-24 upgrade for someone by replacing the Roswell humbuckers with Vanson 57 Alnico 2 humbuckers and they sounded better (prefer vintage open tones). Alnico 5 tend to be toppy compared with mellower Alnico 2. I was surprised how much I like the sound of your Teslas, but there is no wrong answer really as both Vanson and Iron Gear are great pickups and I can also vouch for the user support from Vanson Guitars too.
@@PeteMOBie1 agree on both, got some Vanson 57's in a Harley Benton, and the Blues Engine/Dirty Torque Iron Gear combo in a benton SG. Highly recomend that latter pairing for anything rock towards ac/dc territory, they clean up very well too.
You need to try them in a mahogany guitar like an lp or a prs with a bit more gain, I put them in a prs se I have and found them similar to the duncan slash sig that I had in an old lp, you should try them in youre benton lp John 😉
Which Iron gear pick ups would you put in the Artiste 62 strat version ie to replace their stock Wrangler ones?
Crackin video and playin of course John!
Texas loco’s
@@bluesdude1194 Cheers fella ...they.re well reviewed.
Great sound John. Along with John Mac's comment What would your take be comparing the Iron Gear Alnico 2 Teslas to Vanson V59 alnico 5 please? Would you say they were a step up from the Vansons, or just different? So far, I prefer a vintage, bright open sounding Vanson V59 for humbuckers, but am open to experimentation as always.
See my reply to John Mac 👍
Excellent! Cheers from Anjou in France
Got some alnico 2 for a Tokai Vee, I much prefer the sound of them
Sounds great John
The one I tried in the Artist show room was reasonably light. The one I actually bought is 10.1 pounds! Great guitar though.
You’ve lucked out there. This guitar is destined to be your guitar with a real life Peter Green tone by accident!!!
How do these compare to the Blues Engine pups?
I prefer these 👍
Thank you, sir. For both the neck and bridge? What do you think of a Shark at the neck and a Blues Engine at the bridge?
The BE is a little darker sounding so that could work OK
@@JRobsonGuitar Thanks again. I want to install these on my Harley Benton cst-24 which has the Roswell neck pole spacing of 50 mm, and 52 mm at the bridge. The spacing of the Sharks is 50 mm. Would it be ok to have that 50 mm pup in the 52 mm bridge space? Or should I just install the 52 mm BE in the bridge and the Shark in the neck? Apparently the Shark size is 50mm only.
lol I noticed the Peter Green tone 🙂
So did they send another pickup ? or did you tell them you fixed it ?
I cancelled the return/replacement as I was happy with how things turned out.
@@JRobsonGuitar Nice !
Well that was a worthwhile mod in anyones book.
Impressive tones for a very small bit of money.
Oh dear...I'm going to say something controversial here...sorry John! ☹️
But...I preferred the other, original, pick-ups.
Horses for courses I suppose.
I actually like Warman pick-ups as replacements.
Dirt cheap...yet sound great.
I have Warman mini humbuckers on one of my guitars. I love them!
I find that generally regardless of your gear you sound like you. I’ve been playing a long time and the same goes for myself.
👍🏻👍🏻
Well now. Yep T style sounds like a LP: done!
i put irongears in all my guitars
When is a telecaster not a telecaster? When you stick humbuckers in it.
@@Codzilla71 same with a strat, stick humbuckers in it and it's no longer a strat.
Not counting the original Fender 1974 Seth Lover designed CuNiFe Wide Range Humbuckers? These were made specifically for the Tele by the guy who designed original PAFs for Gibson. They sound like a Fender should but they are HBs. You an get reissued CuNiFes now. The Vintera Teles have WRHB designed just like the originals with larger bobbin and reflector plates, but with Al5 magnets. Player series and Squier WRHBs are regular sized HBs inside a wax spacer and a large cover so nothing like originals.
No, no - the neck pickup was just resting...