Kinman AVn-59 Single

Pickup features: passive single coil
Impedence or other specs: www.kinman.com for details

Model of guitar or bass: Yamaha 1221S
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: ibanez infinity.
Other pickups on guitar: Dimarzio air zone (bridge) Kinman AVN59 middle
Artists using this pickup: http://www.kinman.com/html/mediaCentre/reviews.htm
You musical style(s): rock/metal
Reason for pickup change: I wanted the neck + middle pickup combo for clean tones and I heard these were IT.

Perceived output level: middle of the road
Tone: bronze bell type of tone. (with sugar on top)
Sonic evaluation: yamaha 1221S -> digitech 2101 -> ada 200 microtube.
These pickups are just WOW, no... more than WOW. Strats -wish- they could sound this good. SERIOUSLY.
I had read reviews about these pickups and on a whim I ordered them without even hearing them first...quite a gamble for $80 (each) pickups but I hit the jackpot! I wanted a guitar with tones I could bring in to Church with me and these pickups delivered. Imagine if you could take an angel's halo and melt it down to use for pickup magnets...well I think Chris Kinman does this! Well worth every penny I paid. I think that I'm going to order the Hank Marvin pickups for another guitar though, you know...the one I don't bring into Church.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Style? YES.

Comments: My guitar has a natural bright sound (neck through) so I bought the AVN59 pickups to compensate for this and they did! Chris Kinman has the single coil sound -*NAILED*-. I'd bet millions (if I had them) that Fender wishes Chris worked for them!

Pickup features: Passive Single coil
Impedence or other specs: 6.4 kOhms

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Standard Stratocaster
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Stock Fenders
Other pickups on guitar: Kinmans AVn59 Middle, Seymour Duncan Custom Custom Trembucker
Artists using this pickup: Hank Marvin, don't know many others
You musical style(s): Blues, Rock, Alternative, Shred, Pop
Reason for pickup change: Well the pole pieces of the stocks were rusty and they looked like s**t. Sound wise, they're pretty okay. The hum was irritating and heard the buzz about the Kinmans so...

Perceived output level: Slightly less than stocks. Low compared to most "modern" single coils but it's not the lowest output Kinmans. Not the highest either.
Tone: Amazingly twangy for a neck pickup. Twangy but not overly. Has enough bass to sound woody but amazingly also retains that treble burst for the neck position
Sonic evaluation: To me, these pickups are exactly what Chris Kinman claims they are. Aged tone, lower output, softer attack. Clean, the neck pickups is woody, as a true neck single coil on a Fender should sound. At the same time, it's twangy but not overly. You can download song files from the Kinman Website. These pickups sound very much like the first Hank Marvin piece. Like I said above, there's that treble burst when you hit a note, something the stocks were missing I realised. I like the sound of the stocks but I like these better with that slight extra treble. This is especially noticeable when overdriven, kinda creates a fuzz-like effect but very slight. A very unique sound. I guess it does make your guitar sound vintage through modern effects.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Heavy Metal would probably be unsuitable.

Comments: I don't really kow what vintage sounds like and when I changed my pickups to these, I was just looking to silence the single coil hum without altering the tone of the stocks but I got a lot more than I asked for with these Avn.59's. They are very responsive to height adjustments and this can really alter your sound as Chris Kinman says on his site. Through my rig, which is the Fender Strat guitar, Daddy O, Boss Equalizer, Boss Reverb pedal RV3, the best way for me to describe it is that it sounds very much like Kenny Wayne Sheppards guitar tone in "In Too Deep". Clean, best way is to hear them is download the soundfiles from
http://www.kinman.com/html/mediaCentre/sounds.htm
and listen to the first guitar piece, the Hank Marvin one. Well if Kenny's guitar is supposed to sound vintage, then I guess my guitar can get that sound but I'm actually a modern player and I like how I sound with these pickups regardless of vintage tonality or not.

Pickup features: Passive single coil pickups. For strat styled guitar pickups replacement. Physical size of each pickup is exactly the same as stock pickup. Pickups are stacked configuration.
Impedence or other specs: Lesser power than the Fender Texas Specials PU.

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Standard Stratocaster(Mexico)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Fender Texas Specials
Other pickups on guitar: Kinman Avn-'62 in neck and middle position
Artists using this pickup: These pickups are made to sound like Hank Marvin early 50's tone.
You musical style(s): Rock, Blues and Pop
Reason for pickup change: Texas Specials too muddy and harsh(shrill), the NECK position is playable(good) but overall they are noisy and dark in character. Difficult to play clean. Hard for guitar players to be UNIQUELY identified. Pickup attack dynamics are not well defined. Just my 2 cents.

Perceived output level: Lower output than the Texas Specials. It is more than the Kinman Avn'62 pickup. This pickup has hot coil.
Tone: This pickup is meant to be installed on a neck position. It is recommended with the Avn'63(in mid and bridge) position. These 3 pickups made up the Hank Marvin Classic 50's sound. I wanted this pickup(in the bridge position) as it is powerful than the other 2 on my neck and mid respectively. It has fast attack, good dynamic range(picking variation), more clunk and pop. It's unbelievable how pinched harmonics can be THAT easy. Bridge position is usually a bit trebly, but the Avn'59 uses the brightness to its advantage. The highs are nice sounding, not like an ice prick in the ears. It has the bottom end, slim mid and cool highs. Playing clean riffs or rhythm on that position creates a cool funky attitude. It is very well balanced with the other 2 Kinman pickups.
Sonic evaluation: DEAD quiet, long sustain, creamy overdrive/distortion. It has a very nice high gain tone. It can get very heavy. You can still hear the strings ringing tone in distorted sound. It made the effects sound good(Effects are supposed to make guitar sound better but...) The best word to describe these pickups are VERSATILITY. I don't know what vintage sounds like but with these pickups in your guitar, you will be amazed with yourself on how much you can do. It surprised me how these pickups made my poplar body/maple neck guitar sounded NOT bright. My guitar has since becomes an incredible sounding slave.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Death Metal. They will not be able to sound very hard edge. It will/can/must sound from Shadows to Bon Jovi and I played Metallica songs with them, totally cool. You can make those riffs sound different with every stroke. It's amazing.

Comments: I don't have the talent to describe sound BUT I have played through stock pickups, Fender Lace Sencors, DiMarzio HS series, Seymour Duncan Hot Rod, Seymour Duncan Vintage, Texas Specials and these Kinman's pickups are magnificant. It define you as a guitarist and bring the guitarist out of you. It's versatile. You don't play a guitar because it helps you sound the way the guitar wants it to be. INSTEAD, you should play something that the guitar can bring out from you. The Kinman's let me do that and more. I haven't had a bad sound from these pickups. The pickups define a smooth tone, very pleasant to the ears, meaty(not fat, but sort of tender meat), clear highs, incredible mid sound like it's waiting to be slaughtered. The information on the www.kinman.com is accurate in defining the various tones from its many models. Check it out. These pickups suit me well. If you have the chance, try play these and make the comparison yourself. Again, it is not a miracle or whatsoever, it will not sound very extreme in one position or being one particular character but the pickups are created to be OPTIMIZED sound based on the guitar wood and your playing technique.