Octane

I put this pup into a Harley Benton Guitarbass VS, which is basicly a Bass VI ripoff. Couldn't think of a better upgrade for a Meshuggah-style tuning (F). Extremely happy, no mud, very tight with lots of attack. Love the sound and i use it in my latest recordings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvh1RVV_4e8.

I recently upgraded my Chinese-made Tokai Love Rock with a set of Tonerider Octane pickups / wiring with 500k cts pots and the transformation has been nothing short of astounding. These pickups have breathed new life into this fantastic budget friendly guitar, elevating its sound to a whole new level.
If you're looking to upgrade your guitar, I highly recommend considering the Tonerider Octane pickups. They offer exceptional value for money and can dramatically improve the sound and performance of your instrument. With their rich tone, versatility, and excellent build quality.

Fitted in a Jackson Soloist it is super clean and tight, shovel the gain on and it eats it up like your feeding it chocolate buttons; I feel this pickup could handle the filthiest hi-GAIN amp around and not break a sweat...in other words you really need to pump the GAIN to get the big gain sounds unlike a SD Hot Rails which rios FAT Juicy Gain with little or no knob turning.

I think the Octane would be great with Joe Satriani, Chris Broderick (Megadeth), Technical Extreme Metal, Virtuoso instrumental list or PROG players and anyone who seeks articulate pickup first & foremost.
If choosing bewteen IronGear's STEAMHAMMER or Tonerider Octane which are so damn near identicle I's go for STEAMHAMMER for its better ceramic distortion but every bit as tight...Octane Alnico 8 gives slightly less bass in the distortion but tigher and cleaner. BUY both!! They'll handle many genre but are built to shine in Rock to METAL Genre's.
I think a good 7.8k - 11k P90 for the neck asan alterative to the matched NECK Pickup.
For me its a £45 new keeper! Out performs a 2nd hand £80 SD...if you can get any SD pickups for less than £80 BUY EM' their the best Brand in the world & simply cant go wrong! These Octanes are pro-level for the fincially challenged musician.

I've lost count of the pups I've put in my custom build and never been really happy with,that's all changed now,this bugger isn't coming out,I've spent hours fine tuning the distance from the strings,then slowly setting the pole pieces for a good balance and now my search is over,well for the bridge anyway,the problem I've now got is the Alnico 2 in the neck is woefully quiet even as high up as I can before it starts warbling,ho hum looks like it's time to speak to Mr Tonerider about what will pair well with it,I don't particularly want an Octane in the neck but we'll see

The Octane is very powerfull, well balanced.
Perfect for Rock, Hard Rock and Metal genres.
Those pickups have nothing to fear against the ones by major brands. Highly recommended.