$135 USD

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J-Bass Chameleon pickups ~ dynamic, gritty presence, Zero-Hum

Your rhythm section never sounded so good  as well as commanding dynamics for virtuoso tap, slap n smack style

Chameleon   J-Bass pickups   Zero-Hum

This order channel is for a single pickup.  Look above and choose Mixed Sets if that's what you want.

It's perfect for attention grabbing solos with dynamic tap, slap n smack techniques of the bass  virtuoso.  However they are a versatile multifaceted chameleon, and can easily step back into the rhythm section after the applause subsides.  And we did it without active electronics so, "look Ma.... no batteries".

Nobody steals your THUNDER.

Sonic Characteristics:  Your 'E' string in particular will have as much definition, lively dynamics and tone as a top end multi-scale bass such as a Dingwall which are reknown for their solid performance on the 'E' and the 5th 'B' string. 

The Chameleon produces thick, chocolaty sound that has lower midrange prominence and a detailed gritty piano-like presence with round wound strings so that it doesn't need to be played loud in order to be heard.  Both pickup turned up full yields a wonderful surprise, a hollow but chunky gritty sound with extra bounce and presence, our personal favorite bass sound ... even at low room volume.  Scooped Bass sound that lacks midrange must be played thunderously loud to be heard, even then it's felt rather than heard and it struggles with definition.

Surprisingly superior for slap n pop style.  But, when played finger style with the tone rolled back a bit you'll be delighted how close to an upright bass your sound is (the extra dynamics impart the "springy sound" you hear from an upright bass).   These pickups are versatile and you won't need a Glockenklang or any other Eq preamp or even series switching or fuzz pedals to get these sounds! 

Also we engineered the bridge version to be a perfect match for the P-Bass neck pickup in PJ Basses. 

And one more thing ..... does the odd nasal character of the G string annoy you?  Well it certainly annoys us so we developed a special coil winding technique that has two benefits ...

• aligns the sound of the G string with the other strings by negating that annoying nasal character.  Now walking bass lines that culminate on the G string have a natural and pleasing progression of tone and the G doesn't stand out like the proverbial dogs balls.
• gets rid of that horrible empty tinny sound of fresh wound strings, even with lots of treble on the front of your amp.

Why so long?  Bass pickups have unique sonic performance requirements and until recently the technology for passive high performance Zero-Hum single-coil bass pickups did not exist ... that is until Kinman invented it.

Technical & Application info:

US Patents 5,668,520    6,103,966    8,791,351

Signal chain requirements:  Any old cable won't do.  It is highly recommended to use a low capacitance cable to get the incredible performance of these pickups.

Some people will call these noiseless Jazz bass pickups but Kinman prefers to describe them correctly as Zero-Hum Jazz bass 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

*Precision Bass and Jazz bass* are a Trade Marks of Fender Musical Instrument Corp.  Kinman is not connected to Fender.

** Alnico-K is a unique proprietary rod magnet developed by Kinman in 1985.  It 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.

Covers

• Supplied with Black cover, with or without Kinman logo
• Interchangeable with Fender covers

Mounting hardware

• Supplied with mounting screws and silicon rubber tube springs

Magnet staggers to suit

• Fretboard radius 7-1/4” (Vintage & Classic models)
• Fretboard radius 9-1/2” (Player series, American Performer, American Professional, Warmoth 10” etc)
• Fretboard radius 12+” (Custom Built, Non-Fender etc)
• You specify the fretboard radius of your bass in Additional Questions email that we send after we receive you payment.

Covers

• Supplied with Black cover, with or without Kinman logo
• Interchangeable with Fender covers

Mounting hardware

• Supplied with special Kinman mounting screws and silicon rubber tube springs

Hookup cable

• 2 conductor shielded, for soldering to your existing electrics

Output polarity

• Opposite to Fender and copies, same as Gibson and all other Kinmans

Dimensions

• same as Fender original and fully interchangeable

Pot and Capacitor values

• Best with 250k Ohm (measured minimum) volume pot.  Noticeably less punch and brighter with 500k.
• 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.
• Normal tone cap value of 0.022uF, 63 ~ 100 volt Polyester.  Smaller uF value lessen the severity of Treble cut, higher values increase it.
• The voltage rating of Caps is not important but 63 ~ 100 volt have thicker lead wires that result in a neater job.

We highly recommend consulting the Install Guide in the Technical section even if you think you know it all.  Kinmans' sometimes 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.