Kinman AVn Blues Set

Passive single coils - NOISELESS!!!

Specs are mentioned before.

Four years ago i replaced all the stock pu's (Fender Highway, first series - RW neck)
The stock pu's were a bith harsh and very noisy imo.
I play and practise a lot at home, near my pc in my studyroom, and the hum was very annoying.

At home i play through a VOX AD30VT practiceamp.
With the band i use a Laney LC30MKII all tube class A amp.
My pedalboard: VOX 847 Wah, Boss Tuner, Bad Monkey, Digitech Hot Rod Distortion, Boss Chorus C2, Boss Tremolo TR2 and a Boss DD-3.
Not the best and not the most expensive effects, but very reliable (never had an issue with these effects).
I play in a coverband (from Pink to The Eagles, 3 Doors down, Little River band, etc..)
I found these pu's sometimes a bit on the dark side in combination with the rosewoodneck (less versatile than the Kinman MKII set) wich i actually wanted in the first place.
The guy in the guitarshop advised these ones, (the MKII wasn't in stock at that time...).
Maybe i should have bin more patient.
Further, I found that the Kinman's sometimes do miss a bit of 'character' (when it has to get 'nasty').
Nevertheless, still good pu's! (IMHO)

If stolen, i would be very upset, Strat is gone too at that moment:-(
I'm very attached to it (deffinatly after the mods: Kinman's, Callaham bridge, Pearl Pickguard, customized tonewiring).
For the pu's, i wouldn't replace them, but try something else (maybe Van Vandts's or SD SSL1).
I've been playing for 20 years now (started late at the age of 24 after a serious sportsinjury).
I also own a Jimmy Vaughan Strat, (great axe too!) an Ibanez SA160 QM with EMG's (SA-SA-81) an Ibanez Artcore AM-73 (mini '335' style)
and a Yamaha LJX6 acoustic.
Il love the Kinman's because they are realy noiseless and not lifeless, but on the other hand i find them sometimes a bit too 'dark en boomy'.
I did compare them before with the Kinman's MKII, but as i mentioned, they weren't in stock at that time.
So, i'm still searching for that great versatile vintage true stratsound with enough bite:-)

One remark: I don't believe in the overpriced Customshop guitars are that much better than a customized MIM, MIJ or Highway strat.
It's all in the fingers. If your guitar is set up right, stays in tune and you have a decent amp, you're there.
People wanna hear music and have fun, they don't care about your gear when they have good time!

Three pickups, what can I say? :) K9 harness, now that's more noteworthy and is a very fine piece of electrical engineering indeed.

Handmade Japanese Bacchus Strat - excellent guitar, far exceeds Fender's dismal output these days. These pickups sing in this guitar. Angels pour honeyed love and adoration upon me and God herself winked in knowing acknowledgement one time. Even Beelzebub was impressed and offered 100 virgins. I declined.

Gorgeous, thick, eminently suitable for wilder excursions and yet gentle and sensitive when required. Through anything from simple valve circuitry to tone killing digital effects these pickups hold their own easily. Hum free is very important, I've been playing and recording for many years and hummy/buzzy noise in the studio is an absolute no-no.

I did get them again, both of my main strats are Kinman equipped. There are, of course, other fine pickups out there but I can think of little reason to bother checking 'em out since there puppies give me what I want. :)

Noiseless Strat single coils.....from Australia!

I installed these things (no solder K9 harness...just awesome) while wearing a leg cast and it was easy! I put them in a partscaster made from the CHEAPEST parts from ebay, mostly Mexican. The racist belief that Mexican is not as good as American does help my financing on such a project. Sad.

I wondered if a cheap guitar with great pickups would be like a crappy car with a Ferrari engine. Turns out....I was right!

Output on these things seemed a little lower than a newer Squier strat a student of mine was using. But they sounded so much better...louder? who cares?!?

I use it through a Blues DeVille, but mostly through a Fender Blues Junior. Best small portable amp out there. (I'll bet the Mesa Boogie express kicks ass.....but I can't afford that) I prefer blues, funk, rock, lead and rhythm.....these pickups are great.

Not a weak position...they rock.

I'd get a better stratocaster with the highest quality parts, or just one that feels great. I'd even build another warmoth partscaster. The pickups are not negotiable. They would HAVE to be Kinman and nothing else will do.

After reading reviews from the entire world, these things consistently got good reviews. A couple of maniacs got it wrong....but the masses seemed to love 'em

Kinman AVn HX Blues set
Passive

I had these installed on my 1975 Kasuga strat copy about 3 years ago.
The pickups I replaced were the originals.
Reason for replacement - Noisy and deterioration due to
much gigging. (beer spillages etc.)

Signal is stronger than the previous pups.
I've played this guitar through many different amps Marshall valvestate 150, Fender stage 1600 & Blues delux reissue, Peavy Express & Bandit, Ampeg SVT III, crate and a few others.
The tone from the kinmans is what i expected - great response across a wide range of frequencies and above all - noiseless.
Also you get a nice development of a sustained note which is very musical and pleasant to the ears.
I mainly play rock, blues, funk and church music and the Kinmans are great for all these applications (clean or overdriven).
I did have to spend a bit of time adjusting pickup height until I was totally satisfied with the sound but now it is sweet.
I supervise and coach rock musicians at a highschool so I get to compare my guitar with many other guitars fitted with a variety of pups - so far none of them have made me want to switch from the kinmans - they are all too noisy!

If i lost this guitar I would probably buy an american Fender strat and replace the pups with Kinmans - then sell the stock pups (which are quality but not as good as the Kinmans in my opinion)
I've been playing guitar for about 20 years.
Also - tone is a very personal thing, years ago when I was playing punk I would have loved noisy as pups that have attitude but now I just love those pure, sweet strat notes without the annoying hiss.

Blues Set with Vintage neck.

Highway 1 body with 62 re-issue neck. Replaced Highway 1 stock and replaced 62 re-issue pickups. 62 re-issue pups lacked sustain. Highway 1 were O.K. but a bit noisey. Were better soundwise than 62's though.

At first I installed the whole blues set. Great sustain. Bridge pickup very good balanced tone. Not icepicky. Kind of a Blackmore tone in Bridge position. Was using a Fender Blues Deville (not the newer hot rod version) which is something like a Bassman. Now using Peavey classic 50 410 and Peavy Delta Blues w/15spkr. The set overall has a S.R.V. tone especially between the neck and middle position. Sustain is very good with little overdrive. I now use the Fulltone Fatboost drive all the way, with output at 7 O'clock. Tone set at 12 O'clock. You get a good clean tone when guitar vol. backed off, with still with great sustain and not muddy when guit. vol cranked. To kick it up a notch I use a MXR Zak Wilde overdrive-with O.D. set about 7-8 O'clock. I play nothin but the blues and if you want to sound like the real deal and not rock this is the way to go. I'm 45 yrs old. Been playing since 12. Gave up on the t-s 808. It makes tone too thick. I also have a 77 Fender Strat. with Fat 50's. My singer and another guitarist told me the strat with Kinman's cut's through the mix better (I have to crank up the amp alot more when using the 70's Strat.) Well thats attributed in part that you can bring them closer to the strings. I changed the neck "blues" pup to the vintage neck version. The Blues neck sounded nice and fat great sustain and although the MXR Zac Wild O.D. helped it sound more vintage( MXR get's that nice squeel- brings out highs) it was too dark sounding to begin with. It had a strat sound but leaning a bit humbucker. The vintage neck has more highs- the way a strat should sound, and is still beefy. I think those that knock these pick-ups(usually vintage enthusiast) probably heard the one's that were the hotter set's and or have'nt experimented with different set-ups (amps type of overdrive etc...)

Let's hope these are not lost ot stolen to begin with. Even when I heard a live recording on a cheap cassete recorder switching guitars-although the Fat 50' sound great (especially the neck pup- it's total vintage), The Kinmans seem to have more defintition more clear. Cuts through well even if the band get's loud.

Features as described by everyone else...mine have the aged white covers...

Mark Knopfler Signature Strat. Ash body, maple/rosewood. Have had many different pickups in this guitar - Lollars, Suhr, Fender TS... Searching for the right ones.

I put a set of these in a Mark Knopfler Signature strat which has a fairly lightweight Ash body, maple neck with Rosewood fingerboard - and I added a Callaham tremolo assembly to replace the stock Fender one. I have tried Lollar Blondes, Suhr V54 in this guitar - both had great, tight bass response and are quality pups, but were just too thin and bright sounding on the non-wound strings for me. I must say these Kinmans sound very good and are just what I was looking for. More punch and fullness on high E and B strings, better balance.

I should also say that I have a set of Bill Lawrence pups in another strat (L280 in neck/middle and L290 in bridge) - and wanted to compare the two. First, I have liked the Lawrence pups in my other guitar...they have a nice musical quality to them and sounded very full and glassy. In comparison to the Kinmans, however, they definitely do NOT have as much of that "stratty" character. The Lawrence neck pickup, for example, has a very P90 quality to it -- as do the rest IMO. The Kinmans, while they don't replicate single coils 100% perfectly, come MUCH closer. The Lawrences just lacked some of the punch and clarity that the Kinmans have...and were an altogether different sound...not BAD, but different...and definitely not something that most Purists (or me) would call "stratty".

Moving on...the Kinman neck pup is very good...not overly bright but enough for my tastes - and a good range of tones with some adjustment. You can get a nice Jazz tone, mellow blues, etc... Middle pup is also very nice by itself, especially with some distortion - I imagine it would enable one to cut thru a band mix more. I don't play the bridge much myself - BUT I do have the wiring set up so I can blend in the Neck pickup with the Bridge and vice-versa (ACME Guitar Works blender wiring) - and these pickups respond well to that arrangement.

They are very sensitive to height adjustment.

Kinman references the "in between" positions as "acceptable in comparison to stock single coils". I think they are much better than that. They easily beat the Lawrence's for "quack" and I felt they nailed these sounds very well for a noiseless pickup design.
He also says these pickups are darker and would go well with Maple fretboards - that's probably true, but I've got them with a Rosewood Board and have no complaints. The darker and aged quality of this sound is GREAT for avoiding "ice pick" and harshness - especially with a bright amplifier (I run it thru a Fender Deluxe Reverb RI with Weber F150 speaker - a bright amp indeed). They are also quite sensitive and responsive to finger picking, which is how I play 90% of the time.

Oh, the hybrid magnet stagger is excellent as well - I should note that the Knopfler Strat has a vintage 7 1/4" radius - and these pickups are VERY balanced in it. Lower G pole and raised D string pole --- nice punchy bass/mids response and smooth highs

Overall highly recommend these pups to anyone looking to have at least one strat with noiseless pickups. They are easily the best sounding noiseless pups out there - but costly. If you're not too concerned about getting as "stratty" a tone as possible with a noiseless pickup, then the Lawrence's are a VERY good value for the money - but I will be taking my Lawrence's out of my other strat and getting some regular, non-noiseless pickups for it instead. Who needs two guitars with different sounding noiseless pickups? One of each, best of both worlds makes more sense to me...and Kinmans are the best for noiseless.

If I could afford to replace these I would certainly do it. Been playing for ten years - mostly bluesy/jazzy type stuff...all fingerstyle. I'm not a great player, but can hear good tone. Also own Gibson LesPaul, a vintage Ibanez artist semi-hollow body, another strat...

Single coil, with K9 no soldering harness. Check out kinman.com for extensive specs.

2006 Fender Custom Classic Stratocaster. Installed in all positions, and they replace the factory Fender pickups.

Although I liked the sound of the stock Fender pickups, the 60hz hum was enough to drive you to drink (especially at fairly loud volumes using a Marshall DSL 50 through a Marshall 1960AV cab)

The install is a complete no-brainer. All you need is a little patience, and some very basic electronic knowledge.

Output level seems comparable to the stock pickups, but I admit that after I put in the Kinman's, I took the time to set up the guitar properly, and experimented a bit with pickup height before I found the tone I like.

I tend to like classic rock, hard rock (no metal) and a little bit of blues. These pickups nail "the sound" of the strat, and are truly noiseless. I use this guitar through the Marshall mentioned above, as well as a Fender Supersonic. Although the amps offer very different coloration of the sound, the guitar now sports a much richer and full tone than stock. (If you buy, get the K9 switching system, and you'll make your strat sound like darn near anything you want)

If my Strat were stolen, I would absolutely buy another. The Fender custom shop relics and artists are ridiculously priced (for the most part), but the custom classic is a great axe for a reasonable price.

I have been playing bass for 32 years, and guitar off and on (usually off) for that time. I am in no way an accomplished player on guitar, but I know tone, and Kinman nails it.

I looked at a bunch of other pickups, but Kinman seemed to offer the best overall value (and the install was a breeze)

Single coil, noiseless pickups...passive...

2005 Fender Eric Johnson Strat
All positions
Replaced stock pickups.
Wanted noiseless pickups.

Very well balanced. Brought the twang back without the noise. I use guitars for recording and I need them absolutely noise-free and these pickups did the job. I own Dimarzio Virtual Vintage Blues and VV 54' on my other strats...The Dimarzios have slightly higher output...but as with most noiseless pickups they have a slight level of compression...The Kinmans have more headroom and more of a clear tone...I bought the K9 prewired set...and they were extrememly easy to install...Get the prewired set to experience Kinmans the way they were intended. I honestly believe some of the negative feedbacks are made by people who didn't install them correctly cuz these pickups sound excellent. Finally, noiseless pickups that sound better than stock...

I've been playing guitar for 22 years and been producing records professionally for 15 years...and I gotta say these are by far the best sounding noiseless strat pickups on the market. It retains all the characteristics of strat pickups without the noise...If I got these stolen I will definitely buy another set...or have to steal them from another guitar...find who stole mine and bury them...haha...I love Kinmans...got the Woodstock Plus set for my 70s strat...all I can say is "forgetaboutit"...Chris Kinman...You're the best!

See Kinman's website. I've measured myself the DC resistance an inductance of my pickups: the data provided by Chris are totally accurate (or the building of his pickups is precise enough to be really close to his data sheet).

Home made Strat with a (Fender) ash body and a (Chandler) Maple neck... Having bought a second hand pickguard from an American Strat with the "delta tone" system, I've rewired the "no load pot" with a 2,2 nanofarad capacitor: it gives me a passive mid boost. Two added switches allow to put the pups in series and to add the neck pup in the circuitry, whatever be the selector position. I recommend these mods, by the way.

After three years of use, I write this second review to say that I'm still totally HAPPY with these pups!
The bridge pickup sounds like a Telecaster "under diet pills"? Ah ah! Let's be serious. Of course, the Kinman SCN bridge model has more power under the hood than a typical vintage Strat pickup (2,96 Henry when a Strat pup gives 2,2 to 2,6 Henry). BUT Most of the contemporary Fender pickups for Strat have an increased inductance (3,5 Henry, sometimes) which make them sound even less "Straty" than the Kinman SCN model... And Fender single coils make MUCH more noise. It's logical since Kinman's make NO noise at all. I won't talk about the Fender samarium cobalt noiseless models, with their 3 Henry of inductance and their flat tone, lacking of clarity, without the bite of Kinman pups.
The AVN62 sound "muted"??? Another joke... They sound AGED, it's not the same. I mean: soft and mellow..."Blues", in other words, and even "vintage" (to compare, I have the REAL 1963 Strat owned by a lucky friend o' mine). If you want a peaky response, buy the AVN traditional mark II set (unaged tone).
Anyway, facts speak by themselves. with a complex gear, I've measured the "frequency response" of my Kinman's, compared to three REAL Fender single coil pups (from an American Standard): the shape of their response is THE SAME (minus the softer peak due to the aging process for the medium and neck pickups). And you know what? Kinman's have slightly more extreme high frequency than Fender single coils... You can turn back your tone pot to tame it if you want. You couldn't add this "presence" to a regular Strat pup without an external device. And it's what makes the Kinmans more ALIVE, even of the aging process eats a bit of their power.

I'd buy these pups again.
I play for 27 years in various styles and I'm happy with my Strat tone for three years only. Thanks to Chris Kinman!
I've tried before many other pickups, including for example a bunch of Seymour Duncan (SSL1, SSL4, SSL5, APS1... they are good but noisy).
Conclusion? There's probably some "boutique" single coil pups able to give an equally good tone. There's no NOISELESS model on the market able to match the Kinman's. At least, it's my opinion!-)

Passive single coil

G&L Legacy
All
Stock
Standard pick-ups produce poor sound compared to my other strats.

Perfect
Vox Toneworks SE
Mainly blues
I found these pick-ups with the K9 wiring harness ABSOLUTELT STUNNING. I have strats with REAL '58 & '63 pick-ups, these are in that league - FANTASTIC. I strongly recommend getting the K7 or K9 wiring harness that also replaces stock pots. Replacing the stock pots with Kinman's pots is a vital ingredient and makes changing pick-ups and pots yourself so easy.
The SEARCH IS OVER !!! Don't waste time trying many pick-ups as I have - buy Kinmans - they are simply in a league of their own.

I will only buy Kinman pick-ups now - they are that good.
Been playing 35 years
Love the quality and depth of tone.
Compared these to REAL '58 and '63 pick-ups. AS expected a little different as indeed they are different to each other but in reality just as good. Custom Shop Custom wound - no contest the Kinmans are miles ahead. Custom Shop '69 set - Kinmans by a country mile. Seymour Duncans - no soul like the Kinmans have.