Quarter Pound Review

[ibanezrocks]

I just installed a Quarter Pound set in my Telecaster. I went with the RWRP Quarter Pound Strat pickup for the neck spot since I haven't really liked the Telecaster neck pickups I've tried with that thick cover on them (though I haven't tried the normal Quarter Pound for Tele neck).

I'm really liking what I'm hearing so far. It took a bit of playing around with the height to get the clarity I wanted, but now its fat and punchy and definitely has a P90 vibe to it, especially the neck pickup. The output is absolutely huge, and since my amp has way more gain available than I need I have to use the volume knob quite a bit to get more control over the sound, which means I'll probably do the treble-bleed mod to avoid losing the high end when the volume is rolled down.

 

[Micah]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

Glad you like it! Did you put a 500K pot in it or did you stay with the 250?

 

[ibanezrocks]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

I stayed with the 250K though that might just change later when I have time for experiments sake. It took longer to install than I really had time for because I had to sand the neck pickup route a little bit bigger to fit the strat single coil in there.

 

[Micah]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

I stayed with the 250K though that might just change later when I have time for experiments sake. It took longer to install than I really had time for because I had to sand the neck pickup route a little bit bigger to fit the strat single coil in there.

I hear you man! I put a 500K in with mine and it did make a great difference to my ear. More edge and a little more punch. Helps to balance the darker character of this pickup out a bit.

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

........ I had to sand the neck pickup route a little bit bigger to fit the strat single coil in there.

Are the poles still under the strings?

 

[Hellion]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

I LOVE the sound of a QP in a Tele. It just TWANGS so hard, and you get that Tele sound of a punch, then singing.

 

[EEF13]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

so this pickup has twang? can you get some heavy sounds like metal? I was thinking about this or the Hotrails

 

[MikeS]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

I found that with 500K pots I wasn't in need of a treble bleed mod. It wouldn't hurt, though. I would do it if there were room left in my tele's control cavity.

Are the poles still under the strings?

The string spread between a strat and tele is negligible, there shouldn't be an issue sticking any strat pickup in a tele neck slot. Even if it were, with the size of the poles on the QP it would surely be under the strings. It's the same reason they don't make a trem spaced Invader.

so this pickup has twang? can you get some heavy sounds like metal? I was thinking about this or the Hotrails

The pickup is more than hot enough to cover heavier styles. Keep in mind that it's a true single coil and that there will be hum, which is more apparent under higher gain. The pickup itself I find fairly devoid of twang, but in a telecaster will provide enough spank and a little twang (thanks to the bridge) to remind you you're playing a tele.

 

[ibanezrocks]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

Are the poles still under the strings?

Absolutely. It's not like a Strat single coil is radically different from a Tele neck pickup.

I'm still loving these pickups, my other guitars aren't getting much playing time anymore.

 

[95strat]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

I've got a QP on the way. I'm certainly not interested in twang. Hope I don't need to go for a bucker.

 

[Hellion]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

so this pickup has twang? can you get some heavy sounds like metal? I was thinking about this or the Hotrails

Well, I've been playing Ozzy, Zeppelin, Sabbath and Metallica on the same Tele for the last 15 years. I haven't had any complaints. The "twang" comment is more about attack than anything. You can play any kind of music with any kind of equipment. This pickup will be noisier than the Hotrails, because it's a single coil, but if you've got enough gain (and I do!), there's no problem.

 

[teleboydc]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

i put the matching quarter pound set on my tele. it's just a beautiful thing, man...

 

[PearlyHellhound]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

I found that with 500K pots I wasn't in need of a treble bleed mod. It wouldn't hurt, though. I would do it if there were room left in my tele's control cavity.



The string spread between a strat and tele is negligible, there shouldn't be an issue sticking any strat pickup in a tele neck slot. Even if it were, with the size of the poles on the QP it would surely be under the strings. It's the same reason they don't make a trem spaced Invader.



The pickup is more than hot enough to cover heavier styles. Keep in mind that it's a true single coil and that there will be hum, which is more apparent under higher gain. The pickup itself I find fairly devoid of twang, but in a telecaster will provide enough spank and a little twang (thanks to the bridge) to remind you you're playing a tele.

Hot for Tele set vs QP for Tele set?

 

[jeremy]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

the hot is more middy than the qp which has a bigger bottom but less mids than the hot

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

I've got a Quarter Pounder Lead for Tele in mine with a Phat Cat in the neck. I absolutely love the combination! It's thick and super powerful but still very much a Telcaster. All the Tele Twang is there & pairing it up with the Phaty gives you hum-cancellation & this absolutely beautiful, almost Jazzmaster P-90 tone?

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

I really love the QP in one of my Teles. But Iv'e got it wired to a 500k vol pot. I couldn't even imagine using it with a 250k. Man, you'd loose all of the delicious sparkle and high end spank. Plus you'll never get that Tele twang out of the 250k. Definitely try a 500k in there.

 

[JOLLY]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

Twangy is the last thing I would think of with a QP. However, mine is wired to a 250K pot. It has a huge bottom end and is almost scooped sounding. I love the pickup. It rocks like hell.

 

[elelpe]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

Hot for Tele set vs QP for Tele set?

Hot for tele is great when you want hotter than Broadcaster. It rocks but not it's not a beast like QP (that huge bottom is awesome if that's what you're looking for). I won't associate QP with twang. HFT still has some twang when you dig in. It's more responsive to playing dinamic than QP.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

Well, with the large mag poles and higher resistance of the QP, you are going to lose some twang compared to the stock Tele pup (the bottom end and bright highs contribute to the twang). But with a 250k pot you're going to rid yourself of a lot of the highs inherent in the QP and thus any remaining twang that you could have gotten out of it.

Jolly, you really owe it to yourself to try a 500k pot with your QP. It really brings a QP to life.

But I agree...the QP is a great, rocking pup. I totally love it (at least with a 500k pot).

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Quarter Pound Review

I really love the QP in one of my Teles. But Iv'e got it wired to a 500k vol pot. I couldn't even imagine using it with a 250k. Man, you'd loose all of the delicious sparkle and high end spank. Plus you'll never get that Tele twang out of the 250k. Definitely try a 500k in there.

I don't know? I'm running my Q.P./Phat Cat combo off the stock 250K Telecaster harness & it has plenty of spank, sparkle, & Twang! Then again, I prefer the Phat Cat running off 250K's. If I still had a SH-2 in the neck & a Rosewood finger board instead of Maple I'd probably be useing 500K or 1Meg pots? I guess it all boils down to taste & how muuh brightness you want in your signal? In any case, the Quarter Pounders are terrific sounding pickups in a Telecaster!!!