57 Classic substitute

robdynamite

well it appears i've opened up pandoras box haha

Henrytwang

TheGuitarWeasel said:

There are literally dozens of alnico 2 PAF style sets from a whole host of makers about. It's a shame that the Irongear Tesla Shark is overwound ... as it's a good pickup ... and I can't even buy the parts to make one for the price those are sold for. I've heard good reports (though not tried) the Irongear Blues Engine ... right wind ... but unfortunately alnico 4. If you were into messing about with pickups ... a set of Blues Engines and a pair of alnico 2 magnets to swap would cost you less than a pair of second hand 57 Classics ... and probably sound better.

Irongear pickups are amazing value for money. I’ve used them in several of my cheaper guitars and they sound really good. To be quite honest I consider them to be in the same class as Seymour Duncan pickups for a lot less cash, they are well made and even have nickel silver baseplates which is rare in a bargain pickup. I would imagine that swapping  the magnets is pretty easy as long as you’re careful. I’ve done it with other makes without any problems.

OilCityPickups

Henrytwang said:

TheGuitarWeasel said:

There are literally dozens of alnico 2 PAF style sets from a whole host of makers about. It's a shame that the Irongear Tesla Shark is overwound ... as it's a good pickup ... and I can't even buy the parts to make one for the price those are sold for. I've heard good reports (though not tried) the Irongear Blues Engine ... right wind ... but unfortunately alnico 4. If you were into messing about with pickups ... a set of Blues Engines and a pair of alnico 2 magnets to swap would cost you less than a pair of second hand 57 Classics ... and probably sound better.

Irongear pickups are amazing value for money. I’ve used them in several of my cheaper guitars and they sound really good. To be quite honest I consider them to be in the same class as Seymour Duncan pickups for a lot less cash, they are well made and even have nickel silver baseplates which is rare in a bargain pickup. I would imagine that swapping  the magnets is pretty easy as long as you’re careful. I’ve done it with other makes without any problems.

Were I going to buy a pair of Irongears to do a magnet swap I'd buy uncovered ones ... so as not to have the hassle of removing the covers in order to do the swap. Then if I wanted covers I'd buy a pair of aftermarket ones ... a lot easier to just put on ... rather than have to break the solder joints and contend with gloopy potting. 

Experts tip: if you have to get potting wax off the inside of a cover you want to refit ... so that it sits down nicely ...
put your cover in a bowl and cover with boiling water ... the wax will float off in blobs ... then fish out the cover with tongs ... and dry with a paper towel. Clean off the old solder from the inside edge of the cover ... and you are ready to refit :-)