Kinman AVn Classic Set

Pickup features: Noieless Single Coils, (2 Avn56 and 1 Avn59)
Impedence or other specs: 5.7 Kohm (I believe, check out Kinman's website)

Model of guitar or bass: G&L Legacy
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: G&L Alnico 5
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues, Funk, Rock
Reason for pickup change: At first I really dug the thinner sound that the G&L pickups produced but after playing out a few times with this guitar I realized that I needed something that would cut through the mix a lot better.

Perceived output level: On par with vintage single coils
Tone: Big low end, a little more mid than expected, bright but lacking the shimmer of good single coils
Sonic evaluation: I installed these in my G&L Legend (Swamp Ash body, maple neck w/ rosewood fretboard). Usually I plug directly into my Traynor YCV80 (80 watt 2x12 tube combo). This amp sounds very Fenderish when clean and somewhere between Mesa Boogie and Marshall when overdriven. For my evaluation I am only going to rate these pickups on their performance with crystal clean settings and slightly overdriven/crunchy (blues sound). I did try them with heavy distortion just for the hell of it but that is what full sized are made for in my opinion. When played clean they sound very strat-like at first but after awhile I started to notice the lack of air/sparkle/whatever you want to call it that is associated with single coil pickups. In Kinman's favor there is a lot more there then Duncan stacks and the like. A lot of people trash Dimarzio's virtual vintage line but I honestly think that although the kinmans are better, the VV's are a very similar sound albeit with an edgier midrange. I thought perhaps they would do a better job in the blues crunch department, but no, it wasn't happening. The midrange is not characteristic of your typical strat single coil and the extra gain really made this more apparent. To me it sounded like a thin P-90 without most of the complexity. I tried all the different positions, adjusted the pickup height up and down, messed around with different pots and capacitor values thinking that I must have missed something. Just to make certain that I was not at fault I wired the neck pickup directly to hot (bypassed all volume and tone controls) and it was still the same average sound. I plugged my US Masters LeGrande (Strat) in to the amp just to make sure everything was Kosher and it certainly was.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play a lot of different stuff but my main style is blues and funk oriented rock. Jam music, ya know. These weren't doing it for me regardless of the type of music.

Comments: I ended up selling these with no regrets to this day. There seems to be some kind of religious following to these little bastards and I just can't understand why. It must be folks that just can't stand 60-cycle hum because if you can live with it, there are much better solutions out there. I ended up replacing these with Van Zandt Vintage+ models. I can't say enough good things about the VZ's but that?s another review. I have tried too many different pickups over the years, most of which were disappointing and a waste of money. I think I would have to say the same thing in regard to the Kinman's. The price that these sell for is not justified. I only paid $180 on eBay for the set, otherwise I would not have purchased them. I think that they go for $230 direct from Kinman. For a moment lets try to keep in mind that pickups are magnets with copper wire wrapped around them sitting on a plastic or fiber bobbin. If you like the idea of noiseless pickups on a strat, check out Bill Lawrence's products. His don't sound exactly like a true single coil either, but he doesn't advertise them as such. Between these two brands I find that Lawrence's are just a lot more pleasing to the ear and a lot more musical. Not to mention that you can get a whole set for less than $150!!! There is just too much hype these days about music gear. If you like the sound that a strat produces then you like the sound of SINGLE coil pickups. Unfortunately they make NOISE! Shield your guitar cavity with copper tape, rewire it with star grounding, and load it with some good pickups like Van Zandts or Fralins. You will have a fairly quiet beast that sounds better than any guitar with noiseless pickups.

Pickup features: Passive single coil
Impedence or other specs: Noiseless

Model of guitar or bass: Various Strats
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Texas Special, Gold Lace Sensors, Japanese stock
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Rock
Reason for pickup change: Unhappy with Texas Specials

Perceived output level: Same as standard pickups
Tone: Balanced, but particularly shines in the treble
Sonic evaluation: My problem started with a Custom Shop 1960?s Strat that just wouldn?t sound the way I wanted it to. Looking for the reason suspicion fell on the Texas Specials. My Japanese Strat always sounded better, had more of that genuine ?Strat sound?. One day I played the two for a friend. He just stood there, paralyzed, when he heard how much better the cheap Japanese sounded. One hour later we had swapped pickguards and largely swapped sound too. The CS Strat sounded better with cheap Japanese stock pickups than it did with the Texas Specials.
I decided to get Kinmans, so I email him and asked which ones to get that Mark Knopfler sound. Traditional set he said. Got them, but wasn?t sure so I also got a traditional Hank Marvin set to try (the dealer kindly allowed me). This is how I ended up with 56 neck, 56 middle and 59 bridge, known as the Classic Set. The 59 is a bit hotter than the 62 in the Traditional Set. This makes the bridge position more useful, and I could still get that Mark Knopfler ?Sultans of Swing? sound when using the in-between position. Particularly when rewiring as shown in Kinmans website (and the instructions for the pickup installation), except I make the bridge pickup blend in. That way you can fine-tune the desired sound when mixing middle and bridge pickups.
Kinmans helped my CS Strat a lot. For fun I tried them in the Japanese Strat, but wasn?t impressed. Maybe I didn?t spend enough time adjusting? Anyway, a few months later I still wasn?t happy with the CS Strat, so I restored it to original and traded it in, buying a Les Paul and a Clapton Strat.
Now the Kinmans are in the Clapton Strat with active electronics and all. And this gives me the most classic Strat sound I have ever had. Yes, in a Clapton Strat! Don?t even play any of his music, don?t want his sound. This guitar is just basically a maple neck Strat and can be used as such. The Lace Sensors were okay, but the Kinmans are better. Due to the active electronics it cannot be rewired and fine tune for that in-between sound, but I still have what I consider the Mark Knopfler tone from his earliest albums. Can?t be better. And my friend who helped me start this agrees.
I have used this set-up for over 6 months and am still happy as ever with it. (I have too often found that people who write these reviews do so immediately after purchasing and then change their minds some months later).
When playing Strat I play through a Silverface Twin Reverb, usually without any effects except the spring reverb.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play classic rock/pop. The Kinmans can be used for anything you would use a Strat for.

Comments: I have played for 40 years. So I was there when those "vintage" Strats were what a lot of people played. I think Kinman nails that sound. At least the one I have in my head.
I would rate his pickups 9.5, had it been possible. Mainly because I don't really trust those who hand out 10's. There are two many 10's all over this place. For comparison I would have given the Lace Sensors around 8. They sounded okay, but were not completely there.

Pickup features: passive Single Coils
Impedence or other specs: 5.75k ohms neck, 5.75k middle, 6.4k bridge

Model of guitar or bass: 1993 American Standard Stratocaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: all stocks
Other pickups on guitar: none
Artists using this pickup: David Gilmour, Bonnie Raitt, Gary Moore
You musical style(s): rock, blues, funk, jazz, trip hop
Reason for pickup change: stock p'ups were noisy, weak, shitty sounding and uninspiring

Perceived output level: A bit louder, clearer and punchier than stocks but very adjustable w/ pickup height
Tone: Warm, balanced, clear, clean, powerful attack, fat lows & beautiful trebles w/o brittleness
Sonic evaluation: Amer. Std. Strat w/ rosewood fretboard into a '69 Super Reverb, through a Vox wah>MXR Phase 90>Vintage Rat>FullDrive2>Fulltone '69 fuzz>Boss Chorus>Boss Delay. Went with the Avn-Classic Custom Set on Chris Kinman's recommendation and I couldn't be happier with these - these pickups are incredible, everything I've been looking for in strat tone! The hype is true IMHO, besides being totally quiet, these sound amazing. Very full and rich, great harmonics, unbelievable sustain, warm, balanced, expressive, I could go on all night...I've had these about a month and I'm still blown away every time I crank up my amp, these suckers really SING, totally inspiring to play. I never knew how lame the stocks were until I tried these! The Avn-Classic set has the Traditional '56 model in the neck and middle for great woody beautiful soul and blues tones, and a '59 in the bridge for a little more output and midrange than the '62 in the Avn-T Traditional set. The Classic set is a great option b/c it's warm and fat but extremely VERSATILE, not the SRV thing at all (not that that's bad if you want it, I just like a little more tonal variety). Clean tones will make you weep (the Super Reverb doesn't hurt either ;), beautiful in all positions, neck & neck/middle think Jimi, bridge think Gilmour & Jeff Beck, but mainly think YOU, b/c these will bring out the soul in your playing! The Kinmans make all my effects sound so much better, the notes sustain and blossom and remain very clear and powerful even with lots of crunch and fuzz from the '69 or Rat. The bridge is VERY useable by itself without the dreaded bloody icepick of most single coils...In fact the bridge pickup with a high gain sound is quite heavy and thick, with luscious controllable feedback and snarl, whistling harmonics, etc. - but clean it up and it sounds almost tele-like, rich and twangy in a good way...I can't say enough about these, overall this is the best improvement I've made in my sound, all my friends have commented on how good my tone is now...Thanks Chris! Most of all, these pickups are inspiring, they really bring sounds out of my head and make me want to push my playing to another level, which I know no piece of gear can really do but when you go for it and your sound is right there with you, what more can you ask for? Oh yeah, I almost forgot, they're totally noiseless too!!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play funky bluesy jazzy trippy rock (also straight blues, country, reggae, rockabilly, rootsy shit, you know?) These pickups sound great for anything I can think of, probably not the best choice for pure jazz or metal, but you already knew that didn't you

Comments: I would absolutely replace these if anything happened to them, in fact I can't imagine using anything else now. Haven't touched my 335 since I put these in...I've been playing for 17 years, and I've never been truly happy with my Strat tone until right now. Over the past 12 months I've upgraded my amp and all my pedals, but still wasn't quite where I wanted to be, these pickups were the missing piece and they bring the best out of all my other gear. I just want to quit my job, drop out of school and play my freakin' strat all day long! But then I couldn't afford another set of Kinman's for my backup strat, hmmm.....Seriously, Chris Kinman has really done it, the quality and craftsmanship of these pickups is extreme, even the packaging and the installation hardware and instructions is top notch. And besides that, you can support an inventor and a small company that is raising the bar for quality, and help to F*&$ the mega-corporations that are selling us second-rate shitty products made from cheap components for the same price!!! Don't take my word for it, check out the bench test between Dimarzio's Virtual Vintage and Kinman's stuff at http://www.kinman.com/multimedia/sosUnedited/Kinman&DimarzioPickups.htm and compare the pictures of the two pickups. The Dimarzio's look like mass-produced crap and from all accounts sound like it too, but they tried to squash Kinman and sue him to keep him out of the U.S. market - F*&% 'em!! Thank you