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Stratocaster* .... sounds from the PAST and NEW sounds for the PRESENT & FUTURE


Crafted Excellence, Unrivaled Silence, un-equaled TONE - Kinman Leads the Way.

From pure vintage 50's tone to power-house P-90 and Humbucker sounds Kinman Stratocaster* pickups cover the most sonic territory and give you Pure Musical Energy without the usual compromises.

The pinnacle of pickup design and engineering on planet Earth. 

Finally, pure Strat* sound without all the down sides.

Experience the magic of Kinman's advanced technology and you too will discover what sonic magic really is.

Our Gen-2 & Gen-3 models produce pristine, genuine non-aged Stratocaster* sonic and attack performance without producing mains hum because these models have our patented super advanced silicon steel magnetic focusing device inside the coil.  It gathers all of the magnetic field, which is normally spread outside the coil, and concentrates it into the coil space.  This results in an efficiency boost of some 185% which allows us to wind our coils with less number of turns and thereby minimize parasitic coil capacitance which is the enemy of great sound. 

But this alone is not enough to reach the goal, the coil geometry and architecture must be conducive and after years of development we have hit the sweet spot with ours.  All of this gives rise to exceptional fast attack and gorgeous pure vintage sound with lots of piano-mid-tones.

One can't help being impressed with the glassy high end of some models, it's just magic.  As are the twangy lows, and that's a really BIG thing for any noiseless pickup played clean.

Kinman Gen 2 & 3 pickups produce the best, most fluent most dynamically responsive sound with the most pristine highs.

Our patented Gen-2 technology is what is known as an elegant solution and is what sets Kinman apart from anything else in production today and will place our Gen-2 and Gen-3 pickups at the pinnacle of the guitar pickup landscape for years to come.

And here are our reasons for believing, compared to Fender and boutique non-noiseless Stratocaster pickups our pickups have .....

  • the ultimate feel-good experience for you
  • absolute Zero mains hum (the most silence you won't ever hear)
  • are more alive and more present, better expression factor
  • better high end frequency response (can you believe it !!!)
  • wonderful Twang on the low wound strings
  • low strength Alnico-5 magnets for longer sustain and no Strat-itis string warble
  • no fret crash & buzzing
  • better dynamic range, definition & clarity 
  • graduated magnet spreads for perfect string-over-magnet alignment
  • magnet staggers to suit vintage, modern and Compound Radius fretboards
  • perfect string-to-string level balance

Experiencing is believing, order a set of magical Gen-2 or Gen-3 today and if they don't fulfill our promises send them back for a refund.

Upgrades & Improvements:

  1.  New baseplate design allowing 3 conductor hook-up cables circa 2010 
  2. Grounded magnets are now standard on all models as from July-2017
  3.  Gen-2+ compensation technology for Narrow and Intermediate magnets spreads introduced 8-Sept-2018.  Our CLCT-echnology restores the slight but noticeable, loss of composure and loss of attack & presence when the magnets are placed closer together to align with strings off a narrow spaced twin Pivot bridge.
  4. Grounded mounting screws to prevent buzz when touched -2016
  5. New Synergy baseplate that allows switching off Hum Cancelling as well as switching to 'Synergy' mode. Apr-2021

There are 3 ways to order your Kinman Stratocaster* pickups

  1. Buy a Named set of 3 pickups (click the Named Sets Tab at the top)
  2. Mix and Match pickups listed on the Singles Strat (Tab) as you wish, by using the Mixed set of 3 and Mixed set of 2 order channels.
  3. Click the BUY button for any single pickup listed on the Single Strat* pickups Tab.

In addition to our original models we make two kinds of vintage Stratocaster* pickups, according to our Glossary (see >Technical >Glossary >Sonic) which are ....

  • Aged Sound (Gen-1 models) - typically denoted as AVn & SCn, sounds and performs like gracefully aged pickups with softened attack, no high end brittleness and slightly lowered dynamic range (low peak) which results in earlier breaking into crunch yielding a thick & creamy distortion when over-driven and a sweeter treble when played clean.  Wound strings are well defined but not as crisp or twangy as the Non-Aged-Sound series.
  • Non-aged sound (Gen-2 models) - typically denoted as the Impersonator and Scoop series.  Like new vintage pickups, resists crunching under heavy pick attack.  Sounds highly transparent and some-what scooped midrange, rapid snappy attack & lots of dynamic range (high peak), crystal plains and crisp wound strings.   Wound strings are more crisp and twangy than the Aged-Sound models.  Performs like new pickups but sound far better with distortion devices.

In the Gen-3 Non-Aged Sound category are the ... (from lowest to highest output)

  • Magnum Opus '59  Hank Marvin
  • Magnum Opus '55 Joe Bonamassa
  • Magnum Opus '56
  • Magnum Opus MV (Modern Vintage)

In the Gen-2 Non-Aged Sound category are the ... (from lowest to highest output)

  • The Scoop  -less loud than 50/60's vintage
  • Impersonator E69  -vintage
  • Impersonator E56  -loud Vintage
  • Impersonator '54  -louder Vintage
  • Impersonator Fat 50  -very loud Vintage (discontinued 7-Nov-18)
  • Texas Jalapeno  -very loud Vintage
  • Big-Nine-O  -very very loud
  • Kick-in-the-Arse -very bloody LOUD

In the Gen-1 Aged Sound category are the ... (from lowest to highest output)

Singles

  • AVn-62  Vintage
  • AVn-59  Strong Vintage
  • SCn  Stronger Vintage
  • AVn-69 v2  quite strong
  • Hx-85 v2  very Loud

Sets

  • Traditional Mk-IV set comprised of these singles: AVn-59 / AVn-62 x 2
  • Blues set comprised of these singles SCn / AVn-62 x 2
  • Woodstock sets comprised of these singles: Hx-85 v2 / AVn-69 v2 x2

Named sets for Artist's sounds ...

  • David Gilmore's Blackie -  Texas Jalapeno bridge / Impersonator A56 for middle and neck.
  • Knopfler Impersonator 56 in all three positions
  • SRV- Impersonator E56 in all 3 positions
  • John Mayer - The Scoop neck, Impersonator E69 middle & Impersonator E56 bridge (2-Feb-19)
  • Jimi Hendrix - Impersonator E56 in all 3 positions
  • Hank Marvin's Modern -  Impersonator 54 in all 3 positions.
  • Hank Marvin's 60's Shadows sound -  Magnum Opus '59 in all 3 positions.
  • Richie Blackmore - The Impersonator E69 in all 3 positions

Pickup cavity depth:

  • Most models (except the Big-Nine-O and Kick-in-the-Arse) install into stock Fender cavities that are 21mm deep.  However, genuine Vintage and RI guitars will have limited height adjustment range which should not be a big problem since close to the strings yields maximum performance.

IMPROVEMENTS:

All Kinman pickups for Stratocaster* have our exclusive proprietary low-string-pull Alnico-5 rod magnets we call Alnico-K.  These unique magnets promote longer sustain due to less magnetic pull on the strings and minimize string crash (fret buzz and rattle) which also robs sustain.   Our Alnico-K pickups produce almost zero Strat-itis (warbling notes) and deliver purer notes with less clutter, especially from the wound strings.

Our Strat pickups are made with three different magnet spreads.  By choosing the correct one for the relevant position the magnets will align with the strings for perfect string loudness balance regardless of the bridge saddle spread being vintage 56.4mm or modern 52.4mm.  The magnet spreads may be specified to suit your type of bridge once your order is paid.  Kinman magnet spreads for Strat* are ....

  • Narrow 49.5mm now with CLCT
  • Intermediate 51mm now with CLCT
  • Standard 52.5mm

Our Gen-3 Magnum Opus Anti-TCS technology (TCS = torn cone syndrome) puts us in a class of our own because no other brand can do this, it's another one of our valuable  performance boosting secrets, there are many others too numerous to mention.

All Kinman pickups deliver very high quality sound without annoying mains hum.  Kinman has more high-value Patents for revolutionary technology relating to hum cancelling and tone enhancement than any other pickup maker and that puts us at the forefront of Hum-Cancelling pickup and regular sonic technology.  Kinman is the ....

All Kinman pickups deliver very high quality sound without annoying mains hum.  Kinman has more high-value Patents for revolutionary technology relating to hum cancelling and tone enhancement than any other pickup maker and that puts us at the forefront of Hum-Cancelling pickup and sonic technology.  Kinman is .....

"the King of Noiseless, Master of Tone and the Virtuoso of Expression"

Nomenclature:

Normal Strat baseplate for most guitars

 



Optional parallel baseplate for guitars without pickguard
and/or where the cavity is routed with parallel sides for EMG pickups.

Kinman reserves the right to change specifications from time to time as required for improvement or sourcing of component parts.

*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-into-fret crash and no Strat-itis string warble.