Modern Vintage set
Impersonator MV ..... a versatile Icon, from Marvin to Malmsteen and everything in-between and beyond.
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A real '54 Strat - an Icon of twang, but now there's the Impersonator MV |
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A Kinman Gen-2 Strat* pickup
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Brett shows of the MV's versatility |
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 Andrew Farnham enjoys the fabulous top end bite in this boppy cruise around the fretboard. And yup, these are noiseless ... so why is the sound so unexpectedly better than non-noiseless? How is that possible when everything you heard about noiseless pickups being dull and lifeless?
The answer is in the Report Cards (above).
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This new Modern Vintage set is comprised of 3 x Gen-2 Impersonator MV pickups. The remarkable MV is Kinman's unsung hero and it's about time we put it in a set of three. It might just be the perfect Strat pickup for you.
It's louder than regular vintage and it has more of just about everything, certainly different to the Imp E56 and Texas Jalapeno. It's sound is strong but "pretty". Balances well with a bridge vintage humbucker or P-90.
The outstanding characteristic that we enjoy about the MV is the large amount of, what we call Piano-mid-tones (the words transparent midrange or simply TONE can be substituted). These are evident all the way down to the open bottom E, even on the neck pickup. It's attack characteristic is strong but not overly so, a happy medium. Boss Chris says it has a Gentlemans twang, meaning the same thing.
The word "Lush" has been used to describe the feel of our P-90 Hx because it infers a sensual feel, deeper or more intense response than other pickups. In other words it's very responsive to touch.
The Plain strings stand out, and they have a nice bite that's pleasing and not too aggressive, but with judicial height adjustment this characteristic can be manipulated and balanced to taste.
Our premium Gen-3 Magnum Opus MV shares two commonalities with this lower tier Gen-2 model, more bite on the plains and increased touch sensitivity and the big one ... tamed Torn Cone Syndrome (TCS) where upstrokes on the bottom 'E' don't cause noticeable TCS. The Magnum Opus MV is an heirloom pickup.
Features Kinman's proprietary Alnico-K** rod magnets.
Dramatically extended versatility with a K9 Goodbye-Soldering Harness.
Technical & Application info:
US Patents 5,668,520 6,103,966
News Apr-2021: Now with our new Synergy baseplate that allows switching off Hum Cancelling as well as switching to 'Synergy' mode for those that think hum is part of Fender sound.
Signal chain requirements: Any old cable won't do. As with any pickup it's a good idea to use a low capacitance cable to get the maximum incredible performance of these pickups.
Some people will call these "noiseless" Stratocaster pickups but Kinman prefers to describe them correctly as Zero-Hum Stratocaster pickups. That's because there are 2 types of noise, Hum which is cancelled in the pickup and Buzz which can only be minimized by shielding the wiring cavities (refer to >Technical >Perfect Guitar >Shielding for newer guitars
** Alnico-K is a unique proprietary Alnico rod magnet developed by Kinman in 1985. It is Alnico-5 but has 40% less string pull than Alnico-5 so sustain is longer and there is much less clatter from string crash and no Strat-itis string warble.
* Fender, Stratocaster, Strat and Big Dipper are registered Trade Marks of Fender Musical Instrument Corp, Inc. Kinman is not associated with FMIC but they kindly permit us to refer to their Trade Marks to reference our products.
Covers
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Standard Kinman cover without height extender bushings included.
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Available in White, Black, Aged White.
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With and without Kinman logo.
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Can be tinted with food stains such as Coffee and Tea.
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Generic covers will not fit Kinman Strat pickups. We sell replacement covers in three colors.
Connection means available
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Bare wires for soldering.
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Kinman connectors for plugging into any Kinman Goodbye-Soldering Harness.
Dimensions
Pot & Capacitor values
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Best with 250k Ohm (measured minimum) volume pot. Less punch and more bright with 500k.
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Tone pot is usually the same value as the volume but for a little more top end brightness can be 500k, 1meg or a No-Load.
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Stock pots can actually measure as low as 175k. Pots in our Goodbye-Soldering Harness are guaranteed to measure no less that 250k.
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Normal tone cap value of 0.022uF, 63 ~ 100 volt Polyester. Smaller uF value lessen the severity of Treble cut, higher values increase it.
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The voltage rating of Caps is not important but 63 ~ 100 volt have thicker lead wires that result in a neater job.
Magnet spreads we normally ship (ensures magnets align with the strings in each position)
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Narrow 49.5mm
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Intermediate 51mm
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Standard 52.5mm
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Option to specify your magnet spreads of sets and singles in our 'After-Order Supplementary Questions' email we send you.
Magnet Staggers
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Normal improved Stagger to suit 7" ~ 14 inch uniform radius fretboards including USA Custom Guitar Compound 7-1/4" ~ 9-1/2
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Flat Stagger 14" ~ 20" for specific compound radius fretboards (Warmoth 10 ~ 16 inch and Post 2010 Fender Deluxe 9 ~ 14")
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Option to choose your magnet stagger for sets and singles in our 'After-Payment Supplementary Questions' email we send you.
Hook-up cable
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2 conductor shielded is standard. Cut generously longer than necessary for the 3 stock Strat positions.
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Middle pickups when supplied with a K9 or TK4 harness have 3 conductor shielded.
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3 conductor by request with Order.
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Custom lengths by request with Order.
Output Polarity:
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in-phase with Gibson and Copy humbuckers
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in-phase with all other Kinman pickups
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opposite phase to Fender Strat
Mounting hardware included
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Pan head mounting screws.
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Silicon Rubber tube springs.
We highly recommend consulting the Install Guide in the Technical section even if you think you know it all. Kinmans' require specialized knowledge and sometimes there is updated info. There is also a handy wiring diagram available.
We also highly recommend consulting the Adjust & Set-up page in the Technical section so you get the best out of your Kinman pickups.
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