Kinman AVn Woodstock Regular Set

Single coil passives. I ordered the complete K9 kit (complete with solderless loom, pots and switch).

I have an '83 Tokai Silver Star Strat copy (if you know Tokais, you'll know this guitar). While there is something about the feel of this guitar that I fell in love with from the moment I first played it, the overall sound just wasn't quite as warm and full as I would have liked so I started looking into the posibilities of what replacement pickups might be able to offer. I don't recall exactly where I first heard of the Kinmans, but I do know that everything I read about them (including the reviews in here) was consistently very positive, so I wrote to Chris Kinman (he was a bit easier to contact via email at that stage) and told him the setup I was using and the sound I was after and he recommended that I try this set... with unconditional refund if it didn't work out. I couldn't argue with that!

My amp is a Gibson Goldtone GA-15RV. It's a great little amp, but verges on being a bit bright, even with its single tone control turned right down. This was one of the things I was hoping to balance out with the new pickups, and I wasn't disappointed. The Kinmans immediately gave my Tokai the warmth and body that I had been missing.

Interestingly, these pickups seem to be associated, by a lot of reviewers here, with BIG sound players like Hendrix, Gilmour and others. I don't tend to play much like that. I tend to prefer the cleaner, fingered sounds of people like Knopfler and Larry Carlton, and these pickups seem to suit my style. I love how responsive they are to touch. Mostly, I just turn my amp right up (a whole 6.5 watts in triode mode) and control the levels and dynamics through my fingers. I've never known a guitar I could do that with before.

With my old Strat, I often used a compressor to get the sustain I like. Now I don't. The sustain is all there. In fact, I rarely use any pedals with this setup at all, apart from a bit of Tubescreamer when I really want to get dirty. I just love the naked sound of this guitar/amp combo.

I tend to use middle and bridge mostly for the funkier stuff, and the neck pickup for lead, but one thing that has really grown on me with this pickup config, is the ability to run the neck and middle in series, giving an almost humbucker sound with awesome sustain. I never really liked the Les Paul to play, but this gives me something approaching that sound, while still having the Strat feel - nice combo and very handy at times.

I'm not all that good at describing the sound of these things. Do they have that classic Strat sound? Well, yes and no. To me, the sound is somehow "bigger" than other Strats I've heard or played. It's far more distinctive and has a personality all of its own. I guess I'd almost describe it as extroverted, but not in a brash kind of way. And yet, as I said, it's so responsive as to be very tame-able and subtle if played that way. It's a sound that people seem to notice and ask about, even when played "in a crowd".

I've been playing for close on 35 years. I'm not a great guitarist, but I think I'm reasonably versatile, having played in all kinds of covers and original bands over the years. I've owned Srats (with original Pups and then SD stacked 'buckers), Teles and a 335. This current amp/guitar/pickup combination is the first in all that time that I can honestly say I am completely happy with, and the Kinmans were the final element in the mix that made it. In fact, I've had them installed for over a year now, and I feel like I'm still discovering them somehow. Nothing about them has disappointed me. There is, honestly, nothing about the sound that I would want to improve upon (other, of course, than my own playing). ;-)

They're hum canceling single coils, I'll let you all debate the semantics of whether or not they are technically humbuckers.

* What model guitar or bass did you install this in?
-Standard Strat

* What pickup are you replacing?
-Stock

* Reason for changing the pickup?
-I was fairly happy with the sound of my stock pickups, but the level hum/buzz I was getting in live situations was getting to me.

* What's the output level like?
-As it states on the Kinman website, The height of these pickups greatly affects the output level and tone. I would say they're on par with the output level of the original single coil stock pickups. Maybe a little hotter depending.

* What amps and effects are you using it with?
-Fender Twin, TS-808, RAT, and an array effects...

* Tone - Bassy, middy, muddy, trebly, balanced?
-Very Balanced. They are definitely designed to replicate the late 60's Hendrix tone, and they do so very well. That said they are very balanced and wide variety of tones can be created. They are incredibly dynamic and (for better or worse) show a great deal of definition in your playing. Most likely if you're reading this you're a serious tone freak or audiofile type person... The one thing I'd like to get across in this review, is that these pickups will require you to adjust your settings across your entire amp and FX chain to get things sounding just right. Kinman states explains this on his website and he is correct. It requires some initial patience, however I am very pleased with the final results.

And yes, they're noiseless.. I have zero shielding in my guitar and these things are near dead quiet. It is very impressive.


* What style of music do you play? Is this a good match?
-Alt Rock. I'm A big fan of Radiohead and U2 guitar sounds. Most of this reviews seem like they're from blues guys, but these pickups work great in a rock setting.

* If it was destroyed or stolen, would you buy it again or get something else?
-I would buy again. The single coil sound plus the hum canceling is impressive.


* What do you love about it? What do you hate?
-The only thing I dislike about these pickups, was that process of buying them. Although the crew at the Kinman website is super helpful. It does take a while to get these things after you order as they are located in Australia. They are fairly expensive. The website is a little hard to navigate (and looks like it was designed 10 years ago). It does however contain a wealth of unique and helpful information. The sound clips are a little misleading, and honestly don't do the pickups justice. They are a small boutique company and they give you personal attention if you desire, which is very cool.

* Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?
-I bought them on their justified reputation.

* Anything else you'd like to share?
The solderless switching system is a must. Very cool.

Passive single coil

What model guitar or bass did you install this in?
- Fender Strat Japan (1986)
What position is it in?
- All pickups (AVn-69/AVn-69/AVn-69b)
What pickup are you replacing?
- Stock (not sure)
Reason for changing the pickup?
- have the sound

Output level is good, higher comparing to stock pickups.
I am using a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe with Jensen C12N speaker and JJ tubes.
In terms of effects, a Fulltone OCD for the overdrive and a Maxon AD900 for delay + MXR boost
I play blues / rock
All positions are excellent but my favorite are 2 and 4, but I use all position, so good.
The pickups are very good in clear mode and fantastic with crunch and overdrive, even you can have hi-gain.
I have never seen a so nice sound with a Strat (I am a Strat guy), and they are really noiseless (more that Gibson hambuckers), that is impressive.
If you like the '70 sound (SRV, Hendrix, Gilmour, Gallagher, ....) you will love these pickups. Everyboby in the band like them.
I recommend a tube amp, with my Hot Rod, this is a very good set.

If it was stolen, I will get another set.
I play from 10 years, I have an Ash American Deluxe Strat with SCN pickup and S1 switch and there is no comparison with my old japenese Strat with the Kinman, really. Actually, I am going to install a Traditional MK2 set on the Deluxe
Kinman pickups are the top, thanks to Chris to deliver so much fun.
In addition, www.kinman.com a very interesting site.

They're pickups, how do you rate the features? I have a Woodstock regular set, with the No-soldering K9 harness. For those that don't know, it's a prewired harness made by Kinman, that'll drop directly to your existing pickguard with very little work. Master volume, master tone, and an individual volume for the neck pickup that works on pickup selector positions 1-3 (bridge alone , bridge+middle, middle alone) and allows you to blend in the neck pickup in parallel configuration. I especially like (or use a lot) the neck+bridge and the all-3-on-at-once -settings. The 3 knob also pops out, and on position 2 (bridge+middle) connects those to pickups in series, resulting in increased output and a fatter tone. On this position too, you can blend in the neck pickup. I'll give the features a 10 however, as the knobs work beautifully. The pickups retain their great tone when turning down the volume (highs and attack remain), and the tone pot doesn't rob you of those important high mids. You can actually use it. If you should desire so, there's also a switch on the harness that allows you to choose a regular tone pot action.

The instrument is a 2005 Fender American Deluxe stratocaster, with 3 single coil pickups. I replaced the stock Fender SCN pickups on my 2005 Fender American deluxe (3 single coils) with these pickups. The SCN pickups were very quiet too, but I had problems with their tone. For me, they were undefined on the wound strings and turning up the treble on the amp resulted in an unpleasant, harsh tone. Finding a pleasing middle ground for that was a struggle. However, I didn't want to give up the noiseless feature, so after a while I ended up on the Kinman website. I read reviews, listened tone samples and after a long consideration, decided to take a plunge with the regular woodstock set.

Artists using this pickup-set: e.g. Gary Moore, David Gilmour

Output level: well, pretty high.

I had a grin on my face after 2 seconds of first playing with these after the (easy) installation. I started from the neck pickup..clear, defined and strong bottom (at last), with that ATTACK that great single coil pickups have. Next I tried the bridge pickup, as that is the one that usually gives me trouble on a strat. Result: more grinning. Awesome attack and aggressive tone, but not anywhere even approaching harshness. Warm, punchy and very detailed. I have never played a real vintage strat (mid fifties to early seventies), but that doesn't matter to me. These pickups just sound so damn good. I play almost all sorts of music, but my main love is the harder side of rock. I still don't like my pickups to be flamethrowers, they have to have TONE, be that a humbucker or a single coil. I use only as much distortion as I need to give me the sustain and crunch that I want. Too much distortion hides the nuances of your playing and your tone. with distortion, most of the time I use either the neck or bridge pickup alone. When playing clean, I use more of the given combinations. It's very hard to get these pickups to sound harsh, they just seem to get more aggression and fire as you turn up the highs on your amp.

The pickups are very dynamic and capture nuances very well. I'm often pretty heavy handed on my playing and I want it to be heard. Playing more lightly results in a different tone, as does picking on different points on the string. You can pick lightly and these pickups provide you with a softer tone that retains the character of your guitar and the way you pick and hold the strings. Or you can pick harder and hear the pickups SPIT the notes at your amp. Expressiveness is the word, and one more reason why I don't like too much compressed distortion.

The controls work beautifully, you can lower the volume on your guitar and the pickups retain the character, high end and dynamics while cleaning up. Wonderful. And the tone control just works..rolling down the highest frequencies while retaining those upper mids. For those used to the regular tone control curve, this might take a little getting used to.

I gotta give these pickups a 10. I don't mean that they are ideal for all conditions, no pickups are. They don't have the same amount of twang like a fifties-early-sixties strat pickup. Try the Kinman Traditional MK-II set for that. However, for a player wanting a true single coil spit fire attack and punchy, detailed but warm tone, these are THE pickups. That's what I wanted, and that's what I got. SRV, Blackmore..they're in there. Jimi of course, too. But most importantly..your own tone. However, take into account the characteristic of your guitar. I have alder-bodied strat with a rosewood fretboard. I did careful reading on the Kinman website when deciding which pickups to order.

They were worth the money. I would definitely buy this set again.

Single coils, passive, Vintage flavour, NOISELESS (they really are!).

Self built stratocaster-oid, alder body with spalted maple top and birdseye maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. This guitar was born with these pick ups, I ordered the set just for this baby.
I love (as everybody does) the classic strat sound and hate the boring hum.
It's whispered that H.M. David Gilmour himself was seen playing around with these pick-ups installed on a 57 RI Strat.
I e-mailed Chris Kinman to have some hints about the p.u. choice and he suggested the Woodstocks: Thanks a lot, Chris!

The sound is amazing; I can't tell about difference in output, as I didn't replace any other pick-up, but TONE is something you heard just in your sweetest dreams!! When used clean: Neck is beefy, fat sounding though clear; it doesn't lack in highs or mids, it's just BIG! Mid (this may come as some surprise!)becomes usable by himself as only SRV dared to do; it's well balanced, singing and highly defined; Bridge is PERFECT: tight low end, bell-like highs, lots of harmonic complexity. The in-between positions have a slight loss of volume, but are quacky the right way and toneful.
When used overdriven: Neck can cover any territory from Hendrix to Eric Johnson or David Gilmour (think of the "what do you want from me" solo); Mid is SRV resurrected; Bridge is incredibly versatile, spacing from Billy Gibbons in the Tejas/Rio Grande Mud age to Gilmour in The Wall and may even stand playng some harder stuff like Van Halen I. Lots of tone and pretty good sustain, but most of all NO noise and incredible definition in your sound.

I'm completely satisfied with these Pick-ups. I bought another set for another strat I'm gonna build. It just takes a while to find the right balance between the p.u.'s and it was a little boring in the first 2 weeks to try different adjustments in p.u. heights (I'm really picky about these things)but once I found my sweet spot I coudn't play with any other pick ups. I've been playing for 35 years and it's the first time I feel I found MY pick ups (I've been waiting for a 6 months to write the review, to cool down my Kinman fever, but it wasn't enough!). Add that Chris Kinman himself spent some of his precious time to answer my e-mails when I was in doubt and you can understand why I will never change...

stacked single coil

2006 G&L S-500 - replacing the scock MFD pups - the MFD pups are very dark sounding, noisy single coils, & lack the bite and attack you expect from a pup in a strat-type guitar. I wanted that great twang & bite that you only get from a true alnico single coil, but completely noisless -

good output level -- about the same as the MFD pups -- I play through a vox tube amp - no effects but a TS-9 tube screamer

The tone of the woodstocks is just as described on Kinman's website...for the most part. The woodstocks have a very well-rounded tone - very very even - powerful tight lows, strong mids - particularly pleasant upper mids, and clean highs. These pupus are definitely warmer than a typical alnico strat-style single coil -- they don't have the twang you might be looking for -- but if that is your goal, then try the Kinman MK-II set - those are spectacular in that regard.

the woodstocks - give you clarity and fullness and lots of punch - and all noiseless - without being lifeless like all the other noiseless pups I've tried. The woodstocks have been a joy to use in a live setting -- they take all the licks you can throw at them, and they really allow your guitar's sound to shine through. They are warmer sounding than the single coils I like best, and they don't seem to break up as much as I'd like. However, they have what no other brand of noiseless pups offer -- a true tone FULL OF LIFE -- these pups come to life when you play -- nothing dead or boring about them -- Kinman has figured it out. Best of all, kinman has a couple of different options depending on the noiseless sound you are looking for. I have not had an opportunity to hear all of his pupus in live settings -- his lengthy descriptions are pretty accurate, where the sound clips are a bit deceiving.

I've been playing guitar for 22 years -- I am completely sold on kinman pups -- I've always been a G&L lover, and have always put a good alnico single coil and my #1 pup -- but the noise/hum drives me nuts - it always has. The kinmans are very quiet, very good pups - kinman has done it right - these are well-balanced, strong sounding, clear, and full of life.

Again, kinman has a number of options depending on the sound you want -- the sound clips on kinman's sight do not do the pupus justice -- the Woodstocks don't break up as much as they do in the soundclips - but boy do they come to life in my ax. If you want the truest twang and shimmery highs, then go for Kinman's MK-II set - it is really a matter of preference. and you can't go wrong with either - Kinman makes high quality pups, well built, and heads & shoulders above the other noiseless competition.

Get the no-soldering kit -- makes set up a breeze.

kinman's site is full of useful information, and his customer service is great. I have absoutely no complaints.

With my S-500 set up perfectly now -- it is really the only ax I play out live - and it is pretty much perfect for shows -- but I must admit that I only gave these an overall 9 because if I had to do it again, I'd likely go for the MK-II set --

Bought a matched 'Woodstock' set consisting of AVn-69/neck & middle plus an AVn-69b/bridge. Passive stacked single coils. No stock 4-wire cable, PUs come factory-prewired with the coils in series. Did not use the 'no solder harness' as I have 20+ years of soldering experience :).

Original plan was to install the Woodies in my '91 Blade R4 (hard nothern ash body, maple neck w/ ebony fingerboard) so that I could mount its current Ultrasonic pups (Ref2/Ref2/Ref3) in a Blade Texas Standard pro (alder body, maple neck w/ rosewood fingerboard) I'd recently bought as a bargain (display model that some doofus dropped & damaged the paint - price down from 490 EUR to 350 EUR, whoppee :)). While I was very satisfied with the sound of the Ultrasonics on the R4, I now mainly use a dito Ultrasonic-loaded Parker NiteFly for 'HiFi sounding' parts & thought that my ashen beauty was in for a more traditional-sounding set of PUs. Plus the Texas' stock pups weren't anything to write home about, so that plank needed replacement PUs anyway.

The R4 is a bit of a tricky guitar & has seen quite a few PUs over the years - with the exception of the aforementioned Ultrasonics, none managed to bring out its focused, chompin' low end and its articulate, shimmering highs quite the way I wished. Previous PUs either sounded dull (stock Blade "Vintage" SCs, DiMarzios HS1/HS1/HS2, Duncan Cool Rails) or aenemic & edgy (Evans Eliminators, Duncan Vintage Rails, EMG SA/SA/S). I ran the 'sonics wired in parallel on 2 & 4, plus a series/parallel option for the neck & bridge pups.

A guy from a music store who I've known for almost 20 years (who normally is a dedicated stacked SC-hater aka "trve vintage SC snob") had recently made first contact with a Kinman PU equipped plank & recommended them as "the best no-noise SCs you can get, eat _everything_ DM & SD offer for breakfast, they even come close to Fralins". Woulda normally discounted that as sales blabber (hey, _every_ PU producer in history has _always_ produced the best possible pups ever :D), coming from him, though, this quip instantly put Kinmans on my radar knowing that a) this guy knows his stuff, b) knows me for far too long a time to try sale BS with me & c) isn't really a fan of stacked pups anyway.

So I checked the website, found the local distributor & ordered the above mentioned set, following the web site's advice that recommended the Woodstock set with a bright-sounding hard ash guitar.

Ampage: Hughes & Kettner TriAmp head, Mesa Boogie Mark III combo, Roland JC 120 combo I borrowed from a friend, Laney 2x10 cab, Marshall 4x12 cab, direct to mixer using a Reussenzehn Daniel D tube booster, direct to mixer using a BOSS GT-8 (clean w/o speaker sim, dirty w/ speaker sim), Intellifex, Ensoniq D/P 4.

I have to say that after mounting the pups & restringing the R4, I was a bit disappointed. The Kinmans sounded good, but not great - while they had a good deal more clarity than the Duncans & DiMarzios I'd used, they exhibited that upper-mid edgyness I've come to dread with other stacked pups, though significantly less pronounced than the Eliminators or the Vintage Rails did. Switching to from the 500k pots I used before to 250k pots did alleviate this somewhat, but took some high-end sparkle away. The latter was not much of an issue when played through the TriAmp or Mark III, but made the direct-to-mixer clean sounds as well as the JC120 sound a tad lifeless, forcing me to either constantly engage the Blade's active treble/bass boost circuit or inject some more presence via EQ.

Oh well. Sighing, to took the Woodies out of the R4 & connected the Ultrasonics & their old 500k pots again - lesson learned, never change a winning team. While toying with the idea of putting the Kinmans up on ebay, I (thank God!) remembered that my newly acquired Texas plank was aching for pups that'd do it justice. What the heck, I thought, let's see what "the world's best noise free stacked SCs" would do for this one. Off with the strings, off with the pickguard, out with the stock pups, mount the Kinmans, slap on strings again. Tune. Get cable, connect to the Mark III and...

...all along my watchtower the wind started crying Mary...

"Surprised" isn't quite what I felt, "completely blown outa my socks" is more like it. A metric ton of spank, spark, sizzle & jangle; I just had to get out that extra fat 2mm pick because the pick attack & letting the strings snap when digging in hard sounded oh so very good. All the quack on 2 & 4 you'd ever want. Warm & punchy on the bass strings, but not wooly or dark. Biting like a panther on PCP, but nowhere near edgy or thin. Enough output to kick the amp, but without adding extra mids or losing clarity. Very responsive to changes in picking style and right hand position.

After noodling blissfully for an hour or two, all thoughts of selling the Woodies again were gone - while they didn't quite work out in the guitar they should have gone into, they turned that meek 350 EUR bargain Blade into a super strat that eats stock Mexican or even American Standards strats for breakfast, asks for seconds & doesn't hum while at it. I especially dig the Woodstock set's added bite and punch - taming 'em for less spanky clean or warmer lead sounds is easily enough done by backing of the tone pot a bit (first time ever I found a practical use for a tone pot!! beyond "make the neck pickup sound dark so it sounds like a cheap jazz guitar").

All in all, a very, very cool turn of events - sound rating would be a '7' on the R4, and a heartfelt '10' on the Texas, so overall I'll give the Woodies nine points.

Buy again, yep, any minute, provided I want to equip an alder or swamp ash axe. If you are after a slightly more punchy & aggressive, but nonetheless 100% "stratty" sound without hum on such a guitar, the Kinmans indeed do a _vastly_ better job than any other "voiced for vintage" humbucking SC I've played. Seeing as DiMarzios & Duncans aren't a great lot cheaper than the Kinmans, the additional dollars / Euros / Rubles you spend are very well invested, IMHO.

As for the hard ash R4, I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that fate simply decided this plank wasn't meant to jive with "traditional sounding" stacked SCs - it now happily sports its Ultrasonics again & has its warm bass, sparkly highs "HiFi tone" back.

Beyond my experience & the "decent, but not great" sound on the R4 I outlined above, I have one more smallish gripe with the Kinmans - it would have been nice to toy around with parallel / series switching, even if Kinman advice against this. Whether you like the thinned-out parallel sound or not is subjective; not giving users the option to try it out (without the hassle to re-wire the pups themselves) is a wee bit overprotective. Hence an "8" as my overall rating.

- Single coil or humbucking? Active or passive?
Single coil sized passive stack pickup. Sounds like a overwound single coil.

- Impedance or other specs?
Bridge, Middle and Neck: Resistance 7.5Kohms; Resonance 3.2KHz; Inductance 3.4H.

- What model guitar or bass did you install this in?
Fender Stratocaster.

- What position is it in?
All.

- What pickup are you replacing?
Fender SCN set.

- Other pickups installed on the instrument?
I also have replaced the original alico single coil pickups to install Fender SCN before trying Kinman's.

- Any artists using this pickup?
No Idea.

- Reason for changing the pickup?
The original pickup set has hum. Fender SCN set is too bland.

- What's the output level like?
About the same as Fender SCN.

- What amps and effects are you using it with?
Playing with Fender Blues DeVille, Marshall Jackhammer, Electro Harmonix Small Clone, Dunlop Cry Baby Original and MXR Micro Amp.

- Tone - Bassy, middy, muddy, trebly, balanced?
Here is the point: Imagine Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple and SRV No 01 guitar. This pichup set nails these sounds. Sounds and feel like and overwound sigle coil pickup, with plenty of alnico character. Middy, dark, punchy, dynamic, with good quack on positions 2 and 4. The bridge pickup is perfect. Not trebly. It is possible to use it alone without bleeding your ears. It takes some experimentation with height adjustment until you get the sound you want. I spent two weeks tweaking the pickups and the amplifier to get where I wanted to. I bought with K9 switch, so it is possible to get the sound of bridge and neck (Tele sount), three pickups together (very quacky) and bridge and middle in series (P90 sound!). So my guitar is very versatile now. Kinman also added a slide switch which is possible to chose the cap tone. If you choose Hi-Def, the sound doesn't get muddy when you lower down the volume pot. In fact, it gets more presence.

- What style of music do you play? Is this a good match?
Special for 70's Rock'n'roll and SRV blues, which are the styles that I love to play, specially Hendrix.

- For which positions is this pickup (un)suitable?
Each pickup is made for a determinated position. It is not a good idea to swap positions.

- If it was destroyed or stolen, would you buy it again or get something else?
I would probably buy another set or perhaps the MK-2 set, that is more vintage sounding.

- How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?
I have been playing for 22 years. I am a Strat lover.

- What do you love about it? What do you hate?
I love everything about this pickup set. It is too expensive, though.

- Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?
I played all the models you can imagine, like Vintage 60's and 70's, Eric Clapton, SRV, Bonnie Rait, Mark Knopfler, Buddy Guy and others. I have no doubt that this pickup set sounds and feel like a dynamic single coil. I would like to congratulate Chris Kinman for this achievement. However, if you want the most quacky and sparkly sound, please try MK-2 set. Woodstock set is too middy and 70's sounding for vintage lovers.

Single coil noiseless p/u's specified by customer for new strat build.
We installed the solderless AVn Woodstock set for them.

As above - complete set for new custom strat build. Swamp Ash body, maple neck with rosewood fretboard. Typical late 1960's design with improved neck radius and spring steel saddles, trem block, and bridge from Callaham. The neck had a Corian nut installed by Warmoth.

We road-tested this axe through a tweaked Marshall SLP, a Budda 18w SD, and a 65 Amps London. We played Hendrix with lots of foot pedal action and feedback, blues (clean and dirty)and classic rock. These pups are the best-sounding noiseless models I've ever played on. There was almost no loss of dynamics that typically accompany noiseless single-coil designs. There is a company in the US that makes a similar product, but there is "virtually" no comparison to the Kinmans. If you are heading into the studio with a strat, these are THE ticket. Even if you are not heading into the studio, they sound damn special. Even the bridge position had tone instead of the usual brittle, harsh vibe. As the name suggests, they definitely have that plenty of that classic strat quack from the Woodstock era.

I've been playing 35+ years, and am a dedicated single-coil and tube amp player. I play mostly stratocasters and British amps or amps with British tubes. In the early 90's I started assembling guitars for myself because I was unhappy with off_the_shelf quality. Folks started asking, and I design and assemble strats at times on demand. I say assemble because I use pre-cut and shaped woods from Warmoth, for the most part. I prefer Fralins or Stephens Design for my own taste, but the Kinmans actually were in the same league. The fact that he can do this with a noise-cancelling design is truly remarkable. Kudos to Chris Kinman for a great product!

Pickup features: Single coil passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Bill Nash S Model
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Lindy Fralin's Reissue's
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Progressive
Reason for pickup change: The quest for 'tone' heaven.

Perceived output level:
Tone: So balanced you could use a fork, but use a spoon.
Sonic evaluation: Vox AC30 with blue celestions. All Fulltone pedals except for the Carl Martin compressor which is not seeing much action after these Woodstocks were installed.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable:

Comments: After stumbling onto the web site and reading every page on it I thought it was worth the gamble to buy a set. Heck, people are paying OVER his web site prices for USED older model Kinman's on eBay (go figure), so there was little need to worry if they were a bust, I could dump'em and be ahead a few bucks. But I digress, I bought mine with the 'solderless' kit after reading his insights on 250k volume pots...7 days later and after 20 minutes of easy install I plugged, played and immediately ordered another set for my James Tyler Strat. This guy is onto something really big for us single coil devotee's. Don't waste your money and time buying the Dimarzio's, Fralins, Lollar ect. ect. buy a set of Kinman's and enjoy the fruit of this man's labor. Noiseless, vintage, dead on Strat nirvana...it's not 'crock hunter' hype, he's nailed it. In fact I installed the new set on my Tyler and order another set for my Clapton. Yep, three set's in a month... man is my wife pissed but when I play 'You look wonderful tonight' she smiles that smile...btw I love the question, 'If it were lost or stolen would you buy it again?' NO, I would ask myself 'why does gear keep getting stolen or lost'and then find new friends and venues to play at. There's that!