Here at Kinman pickups we have been excited with the unfolding advent of our Gen-2 products.
The Gen-2 story actually started in 2009 with the introduction of our P-90 Hx, you know the one ,,,, the world beating collection of 206 parts that culminated in the most stimulating pickup known to creativity. Yup, the P-90 Hx was our first Gen-2 product although at the time we didn't call it a Gen-2 design, but that's what it was. The Gen-1 version was never sold because we felt it lacked a certain something that we had our hearts set on ,,,, that certain something was vitality, dynamic range, aliveness, expression. It was 9 years before boss Chris invented the solution and Patented it. And BTW now there is the redesigned P-90 Hx Gen-2 v3 which is shorter and fits in original cavities.
That one invention was a BIG TIME game changer.
We think it's one of "the most important" invention ever seen for pickups for it solved problems that Seth Lover discovered in 1955 and bought the P-90 Hx to life and opened the doorway to another technological & sonic universe that ultimately led to new Strat models, Jazzmasters, improved humbuckers, Telecasters, Jaguars and a bunch of other revolutionary pickups.
With the stunning success of the P-90 Hx it wasn't long before boss Chris began wondering what that wondrous device could do for Strat pickups so he began experimenting, low key at first because too many early failures kicked the enthusiasm out of him. See this device is so powerful it requires different thinking about coil design and that frontier soaked up lots of time. Still he persevered and eventually after 12 months and countless experimental pickups he started getting a feel for coil designs that worked synergistically with it. And as with anything totally new and different the knowledge and expertise came slowly at first and built up over time.
The first Gen-2 Strat pickup was the Impersonator 54
now renamed to the Impersonator MV, which was prompted by a request from Hank Marvin for a silent pickup that produced his 60's Shadows instrumental sound. Next came the Impersonator E56 (E for Enhanced) because Chris's favorite Strat pickups are the special much revered circa 1956 ones. Those had bell chime and ring and glassy highs to a higher degree than all other Strat pickups. He worked tirelessly for months in late 2014 perfecting that model and it became a game changer because hum-cancelling Fender type pickups had finally broke free of the noiseless stigma to the extent there was no argument about our accomplishment ... the critics had been silenced. Up until the advent of the Impersonator E56 it was considered impossible for a so-called noiseless pickup to produce the alive, twangy and snappy sound of a real '56 pickup when it was new (before the coil aged). Customers have reported our Impersonator MV has better highs than big name Strat noisy single coils, now that's not something you hear every day. Read that Report Card from Stuart - studio player and others here
Slowly but surely Chris perfected more and more pickups using the wonderful technology that he invented to bring the P-90 Hx to life. Take a look at our Products page and you'll see Humbuckers, Jazzmaster, Jaguar, Mustang and the Gen-2 Telecaster pickups, all of which were made possible by his wonderful little invention that focuses the magnetic field into the coil space with stunning consequences. See, focusing ALL the available magnetism into the coil space means lower coil turns count without sacrificing output voltage ... and in turn that means a great reduction in Parasitic Coil Capacitance and that's a really BIG BIG thing. For those that don't know Parasitic Coil Capacitance is the arch enemy of dynamic, free flowing sound ... aaaand the arch enemy of high frequencies. Our vintage Gen-2 models such as the Impersonator E56, the Impersonator MV and the Impersonator E69 are exemplary in this regard.
Find the Report Cards here and read about customers breathtaking experiences.
The Gen-2 story hasn't come to a halt though. Soon we will release our Gen-2 humbucker, the Converge-3 Les Paul/Strat binary humbucker. In another stunning world first Chris has come up with a splitting humbucker that produces loud authentic Fender sound (Impersonator MV) as well as beautiful variable humbucker sounds, both with Zero-Hum and the same loudness. How's that? That is our Converge-3 multi-sonic humbucker and what great Zero-Hum sounds it produces.
The Converge-3 is the epitome of mechanical and electrical ingenuity.
UPDATE: We now make Gen-3 Strat models under the the Magnum Opus umbrella. All your favorite Strat models are now available with Gen-3 technology.
