Kinman AVn Blues Plus Set

Single coil

Music man SSS is the guitar
all positions full set
replaving Stock musicman single coild

Many Artists using these around teh world

They are just great

Out put Level is just incredible for a blues set or aimed at the texas blues things,, not rated high but very punchy in a good amp

I use a BASSMAN which is highly modded a nd punchy with Eminence red white and blues
play jazz funk country rock

No other pick up for me if stolen all FANTASTIC
been playing27 years
own ULBRICK amps.. BAssman,,, BADCAT

They are so detailed,, so quiet!! and they Kil everything elese ive treied andbelieve me ive tried some pick ups out they are so good i bought soem woodstocks for my red hot strat and now installing some av9 69s to match my humbucking eqipped music man


i only wish we could have a tapped version in the bridge but for now im happy and caryy 2 guitars to each gig

Pickup features: Noiseless Single Coil
Impedence or other specs: extra hot bridge pickup

Model of guitar or bass: Fender American Series Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock Pickups
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: Hank Marvin (different model) lots of others...
You musical style(s): Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk etc.
Reason for pickup change: Needed noisless.

Perceived output level: slightly hotter than stock
Tone: Very balanced, smooth, warm. Bridge is amazing, as fat as my tele. Middle is juicy and poky. Neck is a bit too warm for me but great for Clapton-type blues. In-between positions lack some of the clucky character of good strat tone but you can coax it out. All in all these are SMOOOOOTH pickups.
Sonic evaluation: Vox Tonelab, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 40W. These pickups are incredibly quiet - NO BUZZ!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: These are great if you only have one guitar because they can be thick and sound amazing overdriven but if you want the more traditional nasal sounds, go for the AVn Traditional set or some Bareknuckles or something...

Comments: If they somehow evapourated from my guitar I would buy some more typically stratty vintage pickups, but when I bought these I only had one guitar and needed a more general sound and they did the trick. They sound like studio professionals, too perfect for some, but great if you want that smooth tone.

Pickup features: Single Coil
Impedence or other specs: Passive

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Mexican Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock pickups
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Rock, jazz, country folk
Reason for pickup change: Unhappy with sound of the pickups, thin and harsh

Perceived output level: Good depth and warmth, output level is better than stock
Tone: Just about anything you want
Sonic evaluation: Mexican strat using a Hendrix wah into a Pod 2 and Peavey Special 130

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Rock, pop, jazz, blues. I used to own a classic 70s start so I wanted to recreate the sounds I used to get on it albiet with the Mex Strat. I like the raw edge I still get and the pickups add a lot of character that was missing.

Comments: I think these are great pickups with a strong warm sound and no noise. They really soar with edgy rock-blues sounds and straight rock n roll. Jazz sounds have a raspy edge to them (which I like) but this is certainly due to the cheap strat. I bought them to get a good sound out of a the cheap strat rather than buying a new Fender and it worked. Chris Kinman even made them to fit my bridge as the string gaps were smaller than normal, great service.

Pickup features: Single coil, passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 2000 American Standard Stratocaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock pickups.
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues, Jazz, Funk, my own stuff.
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level:
Tone: Balanced, with more low end than standard strat pickups. Still has that chime.
Sonic evaluation: Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue, Vox Valvetone overdrive pedal, occassionally a Boss CH-1 Chorus.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This is a fantastic blues pickup, with plenty of treble but very full and powerful bass. They grunt and sing.

Comments: This is just an update of my review from November 2001. The flab I heard on the bass E string was due to the GHS Nickel Rockers strings I used at that time. It all went away when I switched to DR Pure Blues strings. After playing the Kinmans for sometime now, I have been very hard-pressed to find a better pickup for my strat. (Indeed, I have found none.) I recently put my stock Delta-Tone pickups back in my guitar, just to see if I would be grabbed their straight ahead and humming tone. There was no contest. The stock pickups could not compete with the Kinmans. I put the Kinmans back in, with one slight change. I put my SCn bridge pickup in the middle position. The Scn is hotter than the Avn 62s that make up the rest of the set. Putting the hotter pickup in the middle position gave me a much more hollow quack in both out of phase positions. The previous alignment, with the SCn at the bridge left me feeling a little disapointed with the quack in the neck/middle position. Putting the hotter SCn in the middle also cut down on the volume drop that occures when going out of phase on a strat. This is a very untraditional way to instal the Kinmans, and I wonder what the manufacturer would think of it. But I love this sound.
These are great single coil pickups with no hum, nice and beefy but still chimey. They eliminate the wall of hum that does not allow you to hear the pure beauty of a stratocaster plugged into a tube amp. (I have a 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue.)
They sustain and they have mojo to spare. Worth the costs.

Pickup features: Noiseless stacked single coil, passive
Impedence or other specs: The Avn Blues series is AVn 62 in neck, AVn 62 in middle and SCn in bridge

Model of guitar or bass: 2000 American Standard Stratocaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: stock Delta Tone pickups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues, Rock, my own creations
Reason for pickup change: The Delta Tone pickups were too noisy, especially in the bridge position when distorted. They were also too bright and brittle.

Perceived output level: Slightly hotter than stock Delta Tones
Tone: Bassy and at times flabby on the bass E string.
Sonic evaluation: I use a Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue with an Ibanez TS-7 Tube Screamer. At times, I also use a Zoom GFX-8 pedal board.
As other reviews have stated, these pickups are very musical. The notes are very responsive off my fingers and as leveled from my picking hand, so much so that I have to be measured at times in my attack. They're fat. They got mojo. They make me want to play. There is no hum in any of the positions and the Strat still retains the liquid tones it's famous for, espeically in the neck position. On the bridge, the SCn pickup is not as annoyingly high as the Delta Tone bridge pickup. Clean, the Scn brige is merely mortal. With distortion it is creamy and exceptional. The only problem I have encountered is that the neck pickup gets flabby on the bass E string. This can be eliminated if you lower the pickup away from the string, but then you lose some overall fatness in my opinion.
The pickups were easy to install with Kinman's instructions and he does personally answer all e mails. (Thank you again, Chris.) But there was a slight mix up with my order, which was partly my fault because I flip flopped from his Avn Traditional series to his Avn Blues series. The short of it is he sent me the order I finally decided upon, but they were his Avn Blues "Plus" series, as opposed to his Avn Blues series. Not able to find any reviews for his Avn Blues Plus and not seeing the specs on his web site, I was a bit upset. I still wonder if the specs of the Avn Blues Plus are contributing to the flab I hear on the low E string.
He did however, send me pickup covers without his logo, as I requested. (I don't like looking down at my strumming hand and seeing an advertisement.) And because the Avn Blues Plus are nearly perfect, I decided to keep them. Though, again, I still wonder if Avn Blues would be THE sound I'm looking for. Chris told me he'd be glad to send me Avn Blues if I was not satisfied, and I imagine he'd still adhere to this. He seems a man of his word.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: The pickups are a good match for the style of music I play and are remarkable in all positions. The neck is still pure Fender, even with that little bit of flab. The middle has a nice bold tone to it that just wasn't there with Delta Tones. The bridge has a cutting quaility that doesn't shatter glass. The in-betweens are there, particularly the bridge- mid. It quacks like you won't believe.

Comments: If these pickups were stolen, I'd probably check out Bill Lawrence's noisless single coils. They're a lot cheaper and have just as good a reputation as Kinmans. (Though I do hear that availability is a problem with BLs and shipping takes some weeks.) In my early 30s now, I've been playing seriously about a year and a half, after noodling for a few years when I was a teenager. I love that these pickups have a full, dark sound to them. I can feel the music when I play them. I don't hate anything about them really. But I do wonder if there is a way to deal with that flab I keep harping on.
I should say however, that I do think Chris Kinman truly believes his product is the best and will do anything in his power to make you believe the same. He'll accomodate you, and listen to your concerns. And since I'm still in the home playing stage, I cannot be the best judge of these pickups. I've never played them live, with a band and an audience. I will try their powers, and mine, in that setting soon, however. I'll get back to Harmony Central about this product then.

Pickup features: Single Coil Passive
Impedence or other specs: Noiseless

Model of guitar or bass: 1988 Fender '57 Reissue Stratocaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Replaced Joe Barden Strat Deluxe Pickups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Not quite sure
You musical style(s): Rock, Blues, Funk
Reason for pickup change: All other pickups i've owned were just not doing it for me

Perceived output level: Hotter than normal extremely balanced
Tone: broad range of tones all very musical
Sonic evaluation: '57 reissue strat, tech21 trademark 60, crybaby wah, boss tremelo pedal

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I guess you could describe my playing as Blues-Rock with a percussive Funk edge and this pickups work great for me

Comments: These pickups are the very best i have played (been playing for 14 years). They are extremely dynamic and musical. If you are a true tone player these pickups will inspire you. I never knew that a pickup could have so many textures that ring through with such musicality and balance. When playing these pickups, you truly hear things that other pickups don't detect. Pick them soft and they are smooth. Pick them hard and they almost seem to compress with such balance. Grind a note and hold it, and the sustain has that musical harmonic resonance. Damn these things are good. Plus they are noiseless! The SCN bridge pickup is absolutely amazing and the Avn-62's are a perfect match for the middle and neck. My search for the best pickup is over. Chris Kinman delivered big on this product. He deserves much praise. Thanks Chris