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Impersonator MV ..... a versatile Icon, from Marvin to Malmsteen


 

 A real '54 Strat - an Icon of twang, but now there's the Impersonator MV

 

A Kinman Gen-2 Strat* pickup


 

Brett shows of the MV's versatility

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 was about noiseless pickups being dull and lifeless?

Impersonator MV (Modern Vintage - formerly Impersonator 54 (v5) with Kinman's patented Gen-2 technology

Stuart says ..."These Kinman Impersonator MV (54) pickups sound very similar to the Bare Knuckle 63 Veneer 64's – but better. There’s more clarity, and there’s more top-end. Honestly, the Kinmans are making my other Strats sound dark – and they’ve got true single coil pickups in them.  Noiseless pickups aren’t supposed to have better top-end than true single coil pickups but these do."  (read the Report Cards for more from Stuart)

Outstanding sonic characteristicsYou can expect a sound comparable with the best Fender Strat* pickup you've ever heard but with more presence from the  plain strings, greater clarity and more overall girth, especially in the bridge position.  Produces a very nice twang with heaps of piano-mid-tones from the wound strings, and very nice high note glassiness ... more so than other Strat pickups (play the YouTubes above).  Better dynamics and note separation than a real Strat and more bounce from the E-6th low wound.  More intense Position 2 & 4 Knopfler-esque ‘cluck’ sounds.  

Customers report the MV is the most outstanding bridge pickup of all time, especially for Hank Marvin's sound because we've hit a sweet spot that's not as sharp as regular Strat pickups and is packed with beautiful piano-mid-tones.

Enoyability factor on a scale of 1~10:  Twelve, with the best Fender non-noiseless Strat pickup being 10.

Additional benefitsThere is 40% less magnetic string pull than regular Strat pickups so consequently there is no Strat-itis frequency warbling and string crash, just sustaining pure musical energy alive like you've never heard before.  Like all Kinman Fender genre pickups the MV has balanced G-3rd string loudness.

Loudness Noticeably louder than the Impersonator E56 making it the optimum companion for the E56 in the middle and neck. 

Tech stuffThe Gen-2 models have taller magnets and taller coil with Kinman's patented tone and attack enhancing magnetic focusing device incorporated which means it's a highly responsive pickup.  In concert with a squashed 600 Ohm hum-sensing coil all these new features produces non-aged sound.  As of 10-Sep-2018 the pickups that have narrow and intermediate magnet spreads incorporate our (CSCT) coil spread compensation technology which restores the slight but noticeable loss of attack & presence when the magnets are placed closer together.

OpinionAnd not just our's, "Kinman makes not only the best noiseless Strat pickups but the best Strat pickups period"  Dave Cohen (RIP) - founder of Equilibrium Guitars in Boston.

Signal chain requirementsAny old cable won't doAs with all pickups it is best to use a low capacitance cable to get the incredible sonic performance of this pickup.

You will also appreciate the absence of Ice-Pick and our proprietary Alnico-K** rod magnets for low string pull and no Strat-itis pitch warble.

Released 1-Dec-14
 


Technical & Application info:


 

Under the hood of the Impersonator '54
but not all is visible

 

 

Impersonator '54's 3rd incarnation nomenclature

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

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 99.9% 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

Works well in any Kinman Goodbye-Soldering Harness for Stratocaster.

This model represents a major milestone in the evolution of Fender type pickups as it has taken about 26 years of inventive and innovative thinking to achieve. The Kinman P-90 Hx and this new model re-affirms Kinman as the King of noiseless.

 

Kinman, like no other noiseless Strat pickup, has broken through the compression / transparency barrier.  Now you can compare Apples with hum to Apples without hum. Introducing the 2nd generation hum cancelling Stratocaster pickups, the world’s first non-aged hum-cancelling Strat pickup and the finest Strat pickup money can buy.

Height adjustment:

With the 12th fret closed the neck pickup gap between top of magnet and bottom of E-6th should be 2.2mm and for the E-1st it should be 3mm.  This is our experience and a good starting point but might need to be tempered somewhat for different amps, strings and guitar responses.

Mixing and matching with other Strat pickups: Some players will love the Impersonator MV in all 3 positions (bridge, middle and neck) to get nicely balanced authentic vintage sounds from all 5 positions.  The new Texas Jalapeno Extra, surprisingly, has higher output, and makes a good companion bridge pickup and pos 2 is reasonable authentic Knopfler-esque.  But if you prefer an even hotter bridge pickup the Big-Nine-O is powerful, sweet, thick and loud, a perfect companion at the bridge if growl is your thing.  However position 2 sound will not produce authentic Knopfler-esque sound but will sound good anyway with a lot of retained attack.

Covers

  • Standard Kinman cover without height extender bushings. 
  • Available in White, Black, Aged White.
  • With and without Kinman logo.
  • 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

Pot & Capacitor values

  • Best with 250k Ohm (measured minimum) volume pot.  Slightly less punch and more bright 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.
  • Stock pots can actually measure as low as 175k.  Pots in our Goodbye-Soldering Harness are guaranteed to measure no less that 250k.
  • 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.

Magnet spreads we normally ship (ensures magnets align with the strings in each position)

  • Narrow 49.5mm
  • Intermediate 51mm
  • Standard 52.5mm
  • Option to specify your magnet spreads of sets and singles in our 'After-Order Supplementary Questions' email we send you.

Magnet Staggers

  • Normal improved Stagger to suit 7" ~ 14 inch uniform radius fretboards including USA Custom Guitar Compound 7-1/4" ~ 9-1/2
  • Flat Stagger 14" ~ 20" for specific compound radius fretboards (Warmoth 10 ~ 16 inch and Post 2010 Fender Deluxe 9 ~ 14")
  • Option to choose your magnet stagger for sets and singles in our 'After-Payment Supplementary Questions' email we send you.

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 by request with Order.
  • 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.