$135 USD

No ORDER Form on this site. Please place your order on the mobile site :

HSS with a new kind of H

If you are converting a SSS Strat to HSS you can avoid all the necessary modifications with our Kick-in-the-Arse Strat pickup, it sounds pretty much like a Kinman P.A.F. Plus humbucker, and it's just as loud.  This is a real Kick Arse pickup made possible with Kinman patented advanced technology. 

Do you love a humbucker sound in the bridge position but hate the idea of modifying your precious Stratocaster?

Well, here is your love/hate solution!!!  Our impressive Kick-in-the-Arse humbucker built into a Strat pickup.  No need to drastically modify anything ,,, just chuck it in and get screaming humbucker sounds from your Strat.  Your Strat will deliver a real kick in the arse.

Sonic performance:

• Normal version is intended for bridge position but also rips in the neck position:  All the growl, searing fluid highs, loudness and tone you expect from a quality PAF style humbucker and then some.  Best with a 500k volume pot.
• Heavy version intended for bridge position:  Similar to any good humbucker but better behaved with less mush, better dynamics, better clarity & more tone from the low wound strings, very similar to our full sized PAF Plus humbucker.

Outstanding aspects:  Humbuckers typically measure 4 Henrys of Inductance (the measure of magneto electrical efficiency) and Q Factor of around 2.8, this little powerhouse measures a whopping 5.6 Henrys with a Q factor of 3.4 and that means it''s a kick arse pickup ,,, and like our full sized humbuckers it's got Zero-Hum ... whoopeeee!!!

You'll transform your triple 'S' Stratocaster to a 'HSS' hero easily and won't onlookers be surprised when you start bashing out kick-arse screaming humbucker sounds without using pedals ...  and without Hum!!!

Does a set of 3 make sense?  You betcha it does, the position 2 and 4 sounds are unique and so usable, they still growl when the wounds are struck but with more mellow, chimey plain string sound.  The middle is far from redundant, it's got as much charisma as the bridge and neck.  A set of 3 might just be the best humbucker sound you've never heard.

Is it good for clean sounds?  the Kick sounds very nice in clean mode.  But after all it has the power and sound of a Kinman PAF Plus humbucker and it's a gutsy pickup and consequently will push the amp into distortion far easier when adjusted close to the strings than, say a Strat pickup will.  Like any humbucker, the amp volume must be kept low to maintain a clean sound.  Also adjusting the pickup away from the strings somewhat lowers the output and intensity of attack making it more conducive to clean sounds for soft n pretty passages in Jazz, Indie, balads and the like.

Feel the kick, it's available now .... click the BUY button above.

Now available in Standard 52.4 mm, Intermediate 51mm & Narrow 49.5mm magnet spreads.  Pot value recommendations are in  the technical section below.

Technical & Application info:

Under the hood of the Kick-in-the-Arse What you see is interesting but what you can't see is far more mysterious.	Specification nomenclature.

US Patents 5,668,520   6,103,986   8,791,351 B2
 

The string sensor is taller than our other Strat models so the coil is not compressed.  This design paid off with a massive inductance of 5+ Henrys, more Inductance than most humbuckers or P-90's.  The Kick-in-the-Arse produces the sound of a humbucker with surprisingly stinging highs … so sweet at low volume it can be used in Jazz .  But best of all is the HUGE output level, it will hold it’s own in competition with regular Humbuckers … now that’s amazing for a Strat pickup with Alnico rod magnets, with the bonus of Zero-Hum.  One of the amazing new generation hum-cancelling pickups coming from Kinman.

Adjustment requirements

The Kick-in-the-Arse has an advanced magnetic circuit and needs to be adjusted close to the strings to get it's most dynamic performance.  You can adjust the neck pickup as close as 1.5mm gap between bottom of E-6th string and top of magnet with string pressed onto the 12th fret.  Adjusted that close it really cooks, is very loud and sounds for all the world like our PAF Plus humbucker .... it's that close. 

Install requirements

At 24.5mm tall the Kick-in-the-Arse is 2.5mm taller than our regular Strat pickups and will fit most modern guitars but might not fit Vintage and Reissue guitars so check the cavity depth before ordering.  The pickup cavity depth should be no less than 19mm (3/4 inch) deep.  However a shallower cavity might be suitable if you shorten the special long mounting screws by up to 3mm, but some adjustment latitude will be sacrificed in this case.

Covers - included on pickups

• Standard Kinman cover with maximized height extender bushings. 
• Available in White, Black, Aged White.
• With and without Kinman logo.
• White covers can be tinted with food stains such as Coffee and Tea.
• Generic covers will not fit Kinman Strat pickups.  We sell replacement covers in three colors.

Connection means available

• Bare wires for soldering.
• Kinman connectors for plugging into any Kinman Goodbye-Soldering Harness.

Dimensions

• click for dimensions page

Pot & Capacitor values

• Sounds great with 250k (measured minimum) volume pot, even better with 500k whjich brings out the sting of the plain strings. 
• When a K9-H Goodbye-Soldering Harness is included with an order it will incorporate our selectable Dual Load 500k/250k volume feature.
• Stock pots can actually measure a low 175k.  Pots in our Goodbye-Soldering Harness are guaranteed to measure no less that 250k / 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 nice lead wires that result in a neater job.

Magnet spreads

• Standard 52.5mm, Intermedyate 51mm & Narrow 49.5mm

Pickup cavity depth:

• install into stock Fender cavities that are 19mm deep.  Cavities in genuine Vintage models need to made deeper, preferably to 21mm.

Hook-up cable

• 2 conductor shielded is standard.  Cut generously longer than necessary for the 3 stock Strat positions.
• Middle pickups when supplied with a K9 or TK4 harness have 3 conductor shielded.
• 3 conductor option when ordering.
• Custom lengths by request with Order.

Output Polarity: 

• in-phase with Gibson and Copy humbuckers
• in-phase with all other Kinman pickups
• opposite phase to Fender Strat

Mounting hardware included

• 2 Pan head mounting screws.
• 2 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.

*Stratocaster and Strat 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.