Dirty Torque
A high-output Alnico V bridge humbucker, wound to 16.4 kΩ — crystal-clear cleans, biting overdrive, brutal high-gain. Voiced to pair with the Blues Engine in the neck for a balanced rock/blues set.
From £37.95inc. VAT · Free UK shipping over £50
For destinations outside the UK, VAT @ 20% is deducted at checkout.
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Dirty Torque is a bridge-only humbucker — for a recommended neck pickup, choose Blues Engine in the position selector above.
Pickup Overview
A hefty kick of output power from a bridge pickup with traditional Alnico V design — wound to 16.4 kΩ and voiced to work perfectly with the Blues Engine in the neck.
This combination delivers power and refinement together. With bags of flexibility, it can cover high-gain rock to blues and gives you crystal-clear cleans alongside outstanding overdriven tones. The Dirty Torque has more subtlety and warmth than the Hot Slag but provides enough brute force to drive most amps into submission.
Available with Chrome, Nickel or Gold covers, or in Black or Zebra coils.
Sound Clips
Bridge clips: Dirty Torque · Neck clips: paired Blues Engine (both played by Ainsley Stones).
Bridge — Clean
Bridge — Dirty
Neck (Blues Engine) — Clean
Neck (Blues Engine) — Dirty
Specifications & Supporting Information
Technical Specifications
- DC Resistance (Bridge)
- 16.4 kΩ
- Magnet Type
- Alnico V
- Coil Wire
- 44 AWG enamel
- Conductors
- 4-conductor (coil-split capable)
Build
- Format
- Bridge humbucker (high-output)
- Pole Spacing
- 52 mm
- Baseplate
- Custom etched nickel silver
- Supplied With
- Mounting screws & springs
Recommended Components & Applications
- Recommended Components
- 500 kΩ pots, .022 µF tone capacitor
- Applications
- Hard Rock · Modern Rock · Heavy Blues · designed to pair with the Blues Engine in the neck
What Players Are Saying
"The Dirty Torque is brighter, ballsy and a natural sibling to the Blues Engine. It adds a snarl and scream in the midrange which is brilliantly defined." — Mitchell, Salford
"The Dirty Torque really delivers. It growls perfectly but mellows nicely by rolling back the volume a bit. Compared to a Seymour Duncan JB on a Jackson Dinky Pro this is far, far superior — makes the JB lack grunt and sound pretty muddy." — Mark M, London
"Fitted into a relatively rare Tokai John Sykes model Les Paul — the stinging, singing tone is mad. Pinched harmonics fly off the strings, and the ability to exact controlled feedback is incredible. Whitesnake's 1987 to a tee." — Michael H, Penwortham
"I replaced the BurstBucker 3 in my Les Paul BFG. 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. About a third of the cost of a replacement BurstBucker, and just as good if not better." — Marc, Pontefract
"Beautiful aged finish, great sounds from pristine clean to metal filth. Extremely dynamic. Makes my SD JB seem inferior. As good as the Blues Engine bridge sounded, I always wanted a bit more bite — this is it." — John Greenhill, Bristol
"Drastically clearer and brighter with much more character. Spent the first ten minutes just slowly strumming chords in amazement — finally heard the individual notes clearly. With the gain turned up, it kicks out that bluesy Led Zeppelin / Peter Green sound without getting muddy." — Epi LP Standard owner
Read more customer reviews
"I recorded clips with my Fernandes Ravelle: previous Seymour Duncan JB and Jazz, then Dirty Torque + Blues Engine. The new IronGear pickups were in a different dimension altogether. The Dirty Torque and Blues Engine is the best combination I've ever heard." — Rob, Awsworth
"Last year I fitted a Blues Engine to the neck of my Heritage 535 and last week your Dirty Torque in the bridge. The Heritage is a classy guitar and it sounded good before with the stock Schallers — now it is an absolute delight, and looks the part too with the nickel covers." — Kevin Morris, Bradford
"Bought a Blues Engine for the neck and a Dirty Torque for the bridge of my Epiphone SG. These pickups have given a huge lease of life to my SG — the Dirty Torque just gives so much more growl and ooomph! Pinch harmonics fly out of it where I couldn't get a bean out of the old pickups." — Andy, Leicester
"Fitted the Dirty Torque in my hot-rodded single-pickup Strat. I got it running through a single push/push volume pot wired series/parallel and I'm amazed at the tones. Custom UK pickup with vintage vibe but the capability to make my guitar and amp scream — sweet and dirty and blue." — Adey, Cornwall
"You can play super-clean arpeggios on the neck pickup and jump to a perfectly balanced overdriven tone without any pedal or amp settings change — just flip the pickup selector. The Blues Engine + Dirty Torque combo is the most versatile pair I've ever had." — Les Paul player
"Bought the Blues Engine + Dirty Torque combo for my Epiphone Les Paul. The Dirty Torque in the bridge really 'sings' and is so easy to dial in — it doesn't have the harshness so many bridge pickups have (including the Burstbucker Pro in my Gibson)." — Peter Taylor, Colne
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