Need Guidance: Hot for tele or Quarter pounder

[TheTelePunk]

Hey all! I am looking to change out my emg tele pickups to a passive pickup set (like passives more than actives personally) I am trying to pick between a set of Quarter pounders or a set of hot teles. I want something that can clean up but also drive an amp AND is versatile. I’d mostly be playing with Mild to chunky distortion with some clean mixes in there. I’ll take any help I can get! And if anyone has any insight into other pickups to check out send them my way! It would be going into a 2016 MiM tele with Maple neck!

 

[jeremy]

Re: Need Guidance: Hot for tele or Quarter pounder

the bridge qp has a bigger bottom and a grittier tone than the more mid heavy hot bridge. both are great if you dont care about the traditional tele twang and want a single coil with good output. i dont love tele neck pups so i always use a strat pup or firebird or mini humbucker in the neck so cant really help with the neck pups

 

[TheTelePunk]

Re: Need Guidance: Hot for tele or Quarter pounder

the bridge qp has a bigger bottom and a grittier tone than the more mid heavy hot bridge. both are great if you dont care about the traditional tele twang and want a single coil with good output. i dont love tele neck pups so i always use a strat pup or firebird or mini humbucker in the neck so cant really help with the neck pups

Definitely don’t care about the tele twang! I’ve heard that the quarter pounders sound more like a mix between a p-90 and a tele bridge pickup. Which is probably why it sounds grittier. Both sound good but I might go for grittier.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Need Guidance: Hot for tele or Quarter pounder

i dont know if they sound all that p90 like but they dont sound like a vintage tele pup for sure. its a great rock pup, both are but the hot is more middy and smoother on top to my ears

 

[TheTelePunk]

Re: Need Guidance: Hot for tele or Quarter pounder

i dont know if they sound all that p90 like but they dont sound like a vintage tele pup for sure. its a great rock pup, both are but the hot is more middy and smoother on top to my ears

And in terms of cleans, which one has better ones? The qp or hot.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Need Guidance: Hot for tele or Quarter pounder

they both sound ok clean, neither is great but few pups with strong output are. i dont know if i have a preference for one clean over the other. maybe the qp?

 

[TheTelePunk]

Re: Need Guidance: Hot for tele or Quarter pounder

they both sound ok clean, neither is great but few pups with strong output are. i dont know if i have a preference for one clean over the other. maybe the qp?

Ok cool. Do you know if there’s like a pickup that’s a good medium between drive and cleanliness that I should look into?

 

[hamerfan]

Re: Need Guidance: Hot for tele or Quarter pounder

If you don't care for traditional looks either, look into Hot Rails Tele.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Need Guidance: Hot for tele or Quarter pounder

both the hot and qp sound ok clean, just not great. the middle setting on a tele with a qp bridge and ssl2 in the neck sounds great for clean tones. to me there is always a trade off between good dirty tones and good clean tones since few pups excel at both. for me the jd tele pup does both really well but the jd isnt overly hot or high output, its still pretty vintagey but a little warmer. the hot rails is a good pup but i think the cleans of the qp are better

 

[TheTelePunk]

Re: Need Guidance: Hot for tele or Quarter pounder

both the hot and qp sound ok clean, just not great. the middle setting on a tele with a qp bridge and ssl2 in the neck sounds great for clean tones. to me there is always a trade off between good dirty tones and good clean tones since few pups excel at both. for me the jd tele pup does both really well but the jd isnt overly hot or high output, its still pretty vintagey but a little warmer. the hot rails is a good pup but i think the cleans of the qp are better

Yeah! Makes sense to me! I was actually curious about the JD as well. So that widens the field a little more!

 

[elelpe]

Re: Need Guidance: Hot for tele or Quarter pounder

JD is pickup for twang player who wants to rock. Built based on Donahue's vintage blackguard, it's a sort of broadcaster type pickup. JD pairs well with Phat Cat or APS-1 in the neck.

The Hot is for a rocker who wants some twang. It's Duncan Broadcaster on steroids I'd say - and sits in medium output territory. SM-1 mini pairs well with it. I like it's clean and dynamic better than hotter QP's.

Judging by your username only, QP would be great for you. It pairs well with P-90. For versatility, get the tapped version coupled with P-Rails in the neck.

If it were me, I'd go with the Hot.