I’m not typically a big user of single coil pickups. All of my guitars are equipped with either H-S-H or H-H configurations, and if I engage the single it’s usually in conjunction with a split bridge or neck humbucker. Being a prominent humbucker pickup user I’ve always found single coils to be too weak on their own for what I play. I started looking for a middle single coil option that might be able to keep up volume-wise on it’s own with humbuckers, and asked for advice from Seymour Duncan. The recommendation was for the Quarter Pound Flat. The specifications certainly sounded good to me, so I went with it.

With its full resistance resistance of 13.3K, 1/4″ Alnico 5 pole-pieces and an EQ curve of 5 (bass) – 4 (middle) – 6 (treble), the Quarter Pound a scorching hot single coil. The Quarter Pound is available with the option of an extra wire which allows you to tap the pickup to roughly half its output, making it sound a little more like a vintage single coil.
I loaded the Quarter Pound Flat into my 1995 Ibanez RG470, which has a basswood body, maple neck with rosewood fretboard and retro-fitted Edge bridge. This guitar currently has a Duncan Custom in the bridge (check out my review of the Custom), and a Screamin’ Demon in the neck. As usual I tested this setup through my Blackstar HT-5 head with Celestion Vintage 30 loaded 1×12″ cabinet.

Starting on the dirty channel of the HT-5 I was curious to see what the Quarter Pound was capable of, and if it could keep up with a hot pickup like the Custom. What came out of my speaker really was a lot bigger than I ever imagined! The Quarter Pound is a single coil that has eaten too many burgers. It’s big and fat, and for a single coil it really screams. It almost feels like a P-90, but it still retains a single coil vibe.

The Quarter Pound is a very clear-sounding pickup which has a great bit of twang and spank when hitting single notes nice and hard. Play a little softer and the Quarter Pound becomes a little more polite and warm. Power chords have a really nice percussive attack that even when overdriven hard retains a very clean tone. Roll your guitar’s volume back and the Quarter Pound cleans up beautifully. Chords have a nice shimmer when strummed softly, but there is still some bite if you dig in a bit. Notes sustain really well for a single coil too thanks to the Quarter Pound’s high resistance. One thing to remember though, the Quarter Pound is a single coil pickup, and it brings with it the standard 60 cycle hum. If you want to use some fairly high gain tones you’ll probably want a noise suppressor of some sort in your signal chain.

Switching over to the clean channel, the Quarter Pound has a commanding presence. That big fat tone is there in spades, but never sounds dirty. Everything is clear and defined. Whilst a little less prominent, the twang and spank on heavily hit single notes are still there too, and power chords retain their percussive tone. The Quarter Pound responds well to touch, with picked notes sounding bold with a hard attack, and finger picked notes sounding polite and warm with a soft attack.
The Quarter Pound works really nicely in conjunction with split bridge and neck humbuckers. The split Custom and Quarter Pound provided really nice in-between Strat tones, with heaps of twang that never gets too sharp or shrill. Combining it with the split Screamin’ Demon made for some awesome bluesy percussive tones.

If you’re after a single coil that can keep up with some hot humbuckers, or just want some big fat heavy rollin’ singles that will be great for blues, rock of all forms, and even some metal styles, check out the Quarter Pound. It’s a commanding single coil that never sounds thin or wimpy, and will really give you the power you are after while still retaining that single coil vibe.