Humbuckers · High output, rock & metal
Hammer Head
High-output ceramic humbucker with massive hex-head polepieces — built for down-tuned riffing, insane bends and serious metal tones, but with enough clarity to deliver crisp cleans from bridge and neck positions.
High Output Humbucker for Rock/Metal
The IronGear Hammer Head provides the same specifications as the fabulous Steam Hammer but comes with massive Hex Head polepieces that focus maximum magnetic flux under the strings and give a real punch to the bass performance of the pickup. It's perfect for those insane bends and excels at down-tuned riffing.
We've designed this pickup for driving the front end of your amp into really useable overdrive tones and retained enough clarity to make it flexible enough for crisp cleans from bridge and neck positions.
We make the Hammer Head with Black or White Open Coils.
Soundclips
Four soundclips by Aidan Roker — clean and dirty, bridge and neck. Hit play below.
Specifications
| Format | Humbucker |
|---|---|
| DC resistance | Bridge 15 kΩ · Neck 14 kΩ |
| Magnet | Ceramic |
| Coil wire | 44 AWG enamel |
| Conductors | 4-conductor (coil-tap capable) |
| Pole spacing | Bridge 52 mm · Neck 50 mm |
| Baseplate | Nickel silver |
| Dimensions | 70 mm L × 38 mm W × 24 mm H (incl. lugs) |
| Cover options | Black or White Open Coils |
| Recommended components | 500 kΩ pots, 0.022µF tone capacitor(s) |
| Included | Screws and springs |
| Applications | Rock and metal high-gain tones — plus great cleans. Excels at down-tuned riffing. |
What customers are saying
Twelve unedited reviews from real Hammer Head owners.
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We play a kind of filthy, down-tuned industrial death metal and a Hammer Head at the bridge is PERFECT. Insanely high output, killer low end that makes palm mutes hit like a ton of bricks, and the pinched harmonics practically pinch themselves. Through a Mesa Boogie this thing could take down walls.
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Dropped them into my BC Rich Warlock to replace the stock pickups. 30 minutes later my Warlock sounds like a higher-end Warlock for a fraction of the price. The best thing is they can grunt like two pigs mating quite happily all day long, but they also sound amazing when used clean — no loss of tone like my mate's Seymour Duncan Invaders.
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These Hammer Head pickups have totally transformed the sound of two completely ordinary guitars. I've got my “sound” — something I've been striving to find for the last 30 years. When overdriven, I can only describe the bell-like harmonics and note-for-note clarity as “spine tingling”. From this day forward, I'm an IronGear man.
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I just wanted to drop you a line to let you know how amazed and happy I am with the bridge and neck Hammer Head pickups I recently purchased. Fitted both humbuckers to my Jackson Dinky — the difference in tone and power was a joy to behold! Never again will I go back to using Seymour Duncan pups.
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Retro’d my Strat with the Hammer Head at the bridge position — just what I needed. An excellent value-for-money power pickup to complete my monster project. Versatile full-on sound I was searching for through my FX.
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Fitted two Hammer Heads, neck and bridge, to one of our ROG85A guitars. Coil-tapped both. On full humbucking mode these are fantastic — clear sound on the clean channel, but on distortion these ROCK. Really overdrive a tube amp beyond normal.
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Upgraded my BC Rich Bitch by installing a pair of VERY mean Hammer Heads. Awesome pickups at a great price, with fast delivery and superb customer service. Keep it up!
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I play de-tuned grindcore and death metal. Fitted the Hammer Head to my Jackson — the results were far beyond what I was expecting. A very big sound with lots of power, really transformed my guitar. You will be at the top of my list when recommending pickups to anybody.
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Fitted the Hammer Head bridge pickup into my Fat Strat — I'm blown away with it. The old pickup was dull and lifeless. I think it out-performs one of the Big Name pickups with a similar appearance and at less than half the price. I will definitely be using IronGear pickups in my next project.
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I received the Hammer Head today, and am completely blown away. This is amazing in all departments — build quality, presentation, look, and more importantly the sound. I am stunned. You have brought new life to a 12-year-old guitar.
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Linked up the humbucker with a DPDT switch so I could have it either series or parallel. The results are impressive — it really delivers a great output, mind-blowing clean tone. Overall, excellent value for money and definitely will be getting more for the next one.
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The Hammer Head in the bridge is a thing of beauty. Nice articulate cleans with loads of versatility when playing with volume and tone. Driven sound is AMAZING. 80s rock gain is fantastic, modern metal just melts your face for days. IronGear pickups aren't just great pickups for an affordable price, they are just great pickups! 10/10.