Mike Martin

UNITED KINGDOM | 27-Feb-2024

Hi. 

Having 20 + electric guitars which I have almost completely modified with better pickups and usually a blend-pot in the search for my ideal sound I finally got my hands on a set of secondhand Kinman pickups. Why did I wait so long?! 

This a set described as the Blues set, with two AVn 62s in neck and middle positions, and an Scn in the bridge . I've set them quite high, and the sound is outstanding compared with any pickup I have ever used. Yes, they are noiseless but so, so much more. A fantastic range from bell-like top-notes to deep, organic-feeling bass just doesn't begin to describe the sound. Somehow it has a 3-D quality I have never heard before with any other pickup I've tried until now, and I include numerous Fender pickups which include the classic 57/62's that are now relegated to being my second favourites, and an unknown set of Fender Custom Shop pickups that are also very good.

I've just been playing these again this afternoon, and somehow they make even my (not professional) playing sound good!

Thank you for the hard work you put in when devising these marvellous musical instruments, because that is exactly what they are.

Mike Martin, England

Ralph Muller

I already have two Strats with Kinman Blues pickups installed. I recently bought a Fender Ltd Ed. Custom Shop Stratocaster and desperately wanted to play it at the biggest gig of the year but, due to bad noise problems at the gig, had to abandon it. That particular stage is notorious for noise problems for guitar players. I picked up my trusty Kinman-loaded Strat and voila...not a sound other than pure Strat tone! Phew!! I'll be stripping the Fender pups out of the Custom Shop Strat & loading it Kinman Woodstocks. I'm also the proud owner of one of Chris Kinman's legendary Blueprint Stratocasters. A wonderful instrument that i'll never sell. It's the go-to guitar that i play at home all the time even over my old '65 Strat".

Mike Swickis

After some time finding just the right heights for my Blues Set. I must admit, these pickups have the most touch sensitive tones of any strat pickup I have ever heard. They really are a different animal. That and the fact that they are noiseless make them one of the best sets of pickups i have ever heard. Its hard to put down the guitar when they have these pickups in it. Thanks!

Romain Bigeard

Good evening, just a little message to tell you that exactly 10 years ago, I had my custom shop Stratocaster fitted with an your Blues set and I haven't looked back since. You might want to check out the white Stratocaster on the videos here and on other posts of my blog : http://www.guitartoneoverload.com/2010/05/03/tube-screamer-alternative-the-bb-preamp/ Clean or overdriven, my Strat sounds like a really good Strat but without hum of course! I love it. Keep up the good work,

Tom Marshall

Well Chris - I have to tell you, I expected great things from your pickups before I received them based on hearing a set purchased at a W. 48th Street guitar shop in Manhattan. Theses are some stiff criteria for an initial judgement, especially considering that I have some 25 years experience as both a performer and studio engineer. Well I am a happily humbler man today, as I have been joyfully reminded that I don't know everything in this field that I have spent most of my life studying and perfecting. You have completely shattered all my previous notions about the "facts" of single coil use. My trusty Strat, a combination of a 1975 Alder body, with a Roadhouse Strat neck, now has the honor of sporting the Kinman Blues set of pups. I can't tell you what it means to finally, after going through at least ten sets of pups through the years, have this axe done! It is perfect - the biggest thing that I notice (aside from the fact that I cant tell if the volume is turned up or not - man these are QUIET), is the new uses for positions 2, 3 and 4. They were always the "ghost" positions, that never had enough guts for anything beyond quiet passages. That has all changed now. I spent a full three hours soloing in these positions alone, just to hear the unbelievable new ways I was able to approach songs I'd been playing for years. I am tempted to re-cut about a hundred solos because of this, it's like a different guitar. Which brings me to a point I want to share with other Kinman customers. I had come to know my Strat intimately with regards to both the good and bad tonal characteristics, and to some extent, subconsciously began to "play around them". I have a trained ear, and still I noticed something very obvious that I needed to do to correctly evaluate my new purchase, and give them the blank canvas they deserved to paint the beautiful tonal masterpiece that they did. After playing a set of hand wound Seymour Duncan pickups for the last year, my amp and effects board was set to accommodate THEM. Right off the bat - ZERO YOUR SETTINGS! Don't use the old settings of your gear for your new guitar. There is no resemblance whatsoever in the amp/fx settings between the two. Start with everything flat (unity gain) and go from there as if you just unwrapped the whole setup all at once. This is where the 's came quickly to life. My previous settings "choked" the sound that was trying to get out, a left over phenomenon from dancing around the noise issue, which is no longer a consideration. The gain before feedback of these pups is unprecedented, the microphonic qualities are unmeasurable, the note definition in the upper midrange and treble is without comparison. But don't unfairly judge these pickups with settings on your rig that are filtering out these very qualities that occupy the space previously claimed by NOISE. Chris please know that you have done what all others before have failed to do - I will do everything in my power to spread the word of this phenomenon to all in my neck of the woods. Well done, thank you doesn't even come close, but thank you anyway. This is truly a life changing experience - Best always From Toms website www.northmountaindigital.com >Links ? Kinman Guitar Electrix - The Genius Down Under! I don't even know where to start - but lets go from my favorite guitar of all time, The Stratocaster. Every inherent problem with regards to sustain, hum, buzz and all the things known as "Stratitis", are magically solved by this genius down under. A true tone wizard, Chris Kinman has a nice little operation in Australia that turns out the most amazing pickups I have ever heard. I got my first set in 2003 - and I am still in disbelief. Used by Bonnie Raitt, David Gilmour and too many others to name. The ultimate trade secret is out -pure, unadulterated tonal magic - and oh yeah... DEAD SILENT! This is the one site ALL Strat players MUST visit. Go, listen, then order... Flat out fantastic - my hat is off to you Chris, you changed my life!

Marcel

Netherlands

Dear Chris, Mail from the Netherlands here :) About 8 month ago, I made my own Strat. I purchased the best parts within my budget. I also had to decide what pick ups I wanted. I searched the internet and came across your website. I decided to buy the Kinman Blues set. At that time I had a Wilkinson Vintage Strat bridge installed. My Strat sounded wonderful after doing some tweaking with the pickups and thought I got out the maximum. Yes, thought........ That was, until I ordered a Calaham Vintage S bridge. Wow, what a difference that made! This bridge really shows, what your pick ups are capable off. I had much more clarity, bell-like highs and still having that aged, warm blues sound I like so much! I let a friend, also a Strat player hear my guitar and his jaw dropped almost to the floor. He said he wanted Kinmans as soon as possible. Chris, keep up the good work and I spread the word here in Holland! Regards,

Jeff Robb

USA

Mr. Kinman, I have had several other brands of pickups and you are the first I have ever felt the need to personally say thank you. THANK YOU!! I must apologize as I did not purchase my pickups directly from you but found a used set. I will say this, having played them, I would not hesitate to pay full price for your pickups. I originally purchased the Tele Broadcasters for a G&L ASAT Classic and fell in love with the tone. The guitar itself had too many issues so I purchased an American Deluxe tele and put your pickups before ever playing it! I was so impressed, that I bought a set of your strat Blues for my American Deluxe V-neck. I thought Fender did a good job on the SCNs as I A/B'd them to a strat with Custom 54's in it and they were very close. After putting in the Blues set, I realize I didn't know what I had been missing, they are over the top! They have a great tasty bite and snarl, not to mention the clarity. Now both my guitars sing! Thank you so much!!

Bob Becker

USA

Hello Chris and the whole staff at Kinman. I have just installed a set of Blues pickups in my custom Strat style guitar and all I can say is "INCREDIBLE!!". I built this guitar from scratch with only the best components but was always disappointed with the various pickups I tried. I had an opportunity to purchase a set of your pickups in left hand configuration no less and my search is over. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can finally put away the soldering iron and just enjoy the sound of these fabulous tone machines. And to top it all off they're noiseless. I think I'm gonna cry. Sincerely, Bob Becker

Chris Leadbeater

Shizuoka, Japan

Hi Chris, I received the pickups ( Blues set) exactly one week after shipping and installed them into my 57 re-issue lefty tobacco CIJ strat. I have been playing professionally on and off for 25 years and over the years have had many instruments. One of my rituals has always been to play a guitar with the stock electronics for a month or more to get a feel for the tone and then rip it all out and rewire it with whatever happens to be in vogue. I think you get a better evaluation of the tone improvement for each particular guitar that way. I have been pleased with every re-wiring project so far but I was not PLEASED with the Blues. I WAS BLOODY AMAZED!! Never before have I heard such a change in tone from one set of PUP's to another. I play teles most of the time but I can't put the strat down now. The tone is truly spectacular. I can't thank you enough for re-sparking my interest in becoming a better player. Thanks Chris,

Brian

Everytime I play out, be it in a club at a jam or just demoing amps at the music store (with my guitar of course) everyone comments how my guitar seems to sound so good--then I demo how quiet these things are, Gain and Volume WAY up and look...no hum. The tone I get from the Blues are just awesome! They would be worth every penny just based on the tone if they were not noiseless! Being noiseless in NOT the reason I buy Kinman PUPs. I buy'em because they sound phenomenal and they have GREAT feel. Very dynamic. The noiseless part is just the icing on the cake.

Bernie

California

Hi Chris, I've had my Kinman Blues set on my Jimmie Vaughn Stratocaster now for about three weeks. This guitar cost $525.00 and is worth a million $ now. I feel completely satisfied that I've already gotten my moneys' worth out of these pickups. The neck pick up is a blues dream. For the first time ever too, I love the sound of the middle pickup with the -62! I have been playing Strats for thirty years. Thank you!! You are "The Man On The Silver Mountain" !

Chris Basile

Though I know you've heard it all before, allow me to add my voice to the chorus and say that your pickups sound and play really *great*! Rich, subtle, sweet and responsive, and noiseless!. Also, I A-B compared my Strat with Kinmans with an all-original '54 strat (#0051) and I'd say you nailed the 'vintage' flavour just right. Many Thanks!

Patrick Brown

Ohio USA

Chris, I wanted to give it a full year before giving you any feedback on my -Blues to avoid giving an opinion just based on hearing something different than what I had, and also avoid being the person raving over something to make them feel better about their own investment. Let me make this a clear as possible to everyone. If you're making a purchase based solely on your internet research -like many of us probably have, it's like they say about rice. A million chinese cant be wrong. After I replaced the stock noiseless pickups in my American Deluxe Strat, it was the same feeling you get when you put new batteries in a dim flashlight. Anyone who hears my strat... hears my strat. It's nice to be able to say that the best sounding strat I've ever heard is my own. These things are tonally pure and also sonically dynamic. I use to have that insatiable quest for the perfect tone, but now the only thing I can do to further the search is try different amps... hey, Chris please don't start making amps next. Your going to make it too easy for us!!! Thanks for such a great pickup!

Stan Shields

USA

Folks- I just had to write: These pickups are WONDERFUL! I am re-discovering my instrument. The dynamics are great, I had forgotten how to "play" the dynamics, the feel is incredible. Thank you so much for a great product.

Andy Higgs

Australia

Hi Chris I own a number of Stratocasters and a Telecaster. I decided to make my own version of a ‘62 Strat. I purchased the neck from Warmouth with a rosewood board and Dunlop 6100 frets. By word of mouth I heard of your pickups and looked at your web site. They sounded too good to be true. I visited your shop late last year and after talking with you and trying your test guitar I purchased a set of Blues. I completed the guitar in January and it the sweetest sounding Strat style guitar I have ever played. Although it took many adjustments, mainly the centre pickup, it is now perfect. The bridge p-up is smooth and articulate without the normal strat thin sound. Not withstanding, the thin Strat sound can be acheived by just rolling the volume off. The neck p-up is full with a good balance not usually found in this position. This goes from a bluesy lead sound to a rhythm sound by just a slight decrease of volume. Chords can be played loud and full without being distorted. The middle p-up I have set slightly lower in the guitar and it achieves a great rhythm sound similar to a Tele neck sound. I had difficulty accepting that they could retain a single coil sound, but they do. A big advantage is that they are QUIET. They are so good that I don't pick up my other guitars. I can get sounds similar to Stevie Ray Vaughn first albums through to Corey Stevens. Chris, they are great. I can only hope that other guitarist purchase your pickups and get the pleasure that I have. Regards Andy Higgs

Josh Barokas

Dear Chris and all at Kinman, I have had my set of -Blues for about a month now and I must say that they are all that is promised and more. My American Strat never sounded so good! These pickups sound incredible in their solo settings! The '62 sounds so smooth in the neck position. The middle bites a little more and is perfect for the middle. The SCn is loud and twangy and perfect for the bridge. While the pickups sound great soloed, they provide the coolest hollow sounds when blended. The neck and middle together produce a perfect vintage rhythm sound that would make any funk/wah guitarist smile. The middle and bridge together mellows out the SCn's twang and adds a little warmth. I am highly impressed with these in-between sounds. Chris Kinman is a genius and should be recognized as the world leader in pickup development. At the same time, it is nice to have a Strat that sounds better than everyone else's. Maybe the secret should be kept! Just kidding! Everyone should know about these pickups! They are the real deal! By the way, did I mention that they are COMPLETELY NOISELESS!!! But that is just the icing on the cake! Thank you,

Maryland, USA

I just picked up my new Mexican Strat with the -Blues pickups installed. Wow! It‘s like I have a Blues Driver built into my guitar - except one that doesn’t degrade the tone! I'm sure glad I didn't spend $2400 on that Fender Custom Shop Strat I was looking at. Great work! Amazing value for money.

Stephen

Chris, Just put installed the blues set (w/the scn) in my '79 with your NoSolder install kit. I haven't adjusted the height yet, but HAD to see what it sounded like! It sounds like a completely different guitar, it made me feel good and play better just hearing the difference. Thanks for changing my world!

Leonard Miller

Chris, I'm sure you are used to hearing this at this point, but I just can't get over the difference in my Mex Strat since I installed your -Blues pickups! There is simply no way to explain how good they sound to someone. You just have to experience it for yourself. I can't thank you enough. The price for these pickups is very cheap for what they do!!! No more crappy tone and no more noise! Now all I hear is the sweet sweet sound of a single coil pickup the way it was meant to sound. If I ever buy another Strat I will just take the pickups out, and purchase a set from you. It's that simple. My next set will be the Woodstocks. Thank you very much for giving me a new instrument to play,

Peter Edert

Germany

Hi Chris, after long research I finally purchased a set of your -Blues for a '93 Fender Am.Std. Stratocaster maple neck and I really like them. The description on your webpage is pretty accurate. On my Tele ['94 Am Standard rosewood] I have had a set of Barden's Danny Gattons since '96 and I actually wanted his Deluxe Strat pups for the Strat. Turned out that virzually no store in Germany could deliver those, so I was searching for an alternative [hum free, genuine SC-sound and a little more punch] and I'm glad I came across your products. Wasn't really easy to get those, but I finally got them. The tone I was after stuck in my ear since the late sixties/early seventies, when my friends and bandmates played Strats from the CBS transition period or new ones from the early seventies. But I didn't want too much 'icepick' and I don't care for the 'brokeness' and slight 'out-of-tune-ness / Hendrix-syndrom oft the early seventies' Strats. On the other hand, having worked in a musicstore from '81-'91, I have played virtually every single-coil replacement PU of the time (Dimarzios, Duncans, Lawrence and so on), but none of them really had that sound I was after. Either too fat and dull or not enough muscle. Well - your pups did it. Thank you! Greetings,

Bob Watson

Blues Band, USA

Chris I put a set of your Blues pickups in a 57 reissue Strat. I have to tell you that they sound fantastic. I didn’t think a Strat could ever be this quiet and still have so much tone. I liked them so much that I bought a second set to put in my other Strat. Thanks,

Peter Schneiderhan

Germany

Dear Mr. Kinman. I bought a pickupset Blues at Soundland in Germany, Stuttgart. It was a commendation of the Guitar dealer there. His name is Rodrigo Blattert. I´m playing Guitar for 20 years now and had 5 Fender Strats in that time (between ´70 and ´79 built) but i never had such a juicy, dynamic, perfect feeling with them, as now, with your -Pickups. A perfect Alnicosound with absolutely no noise. Thank you for that!!! I love them. Very best whishes to you,

Bobby J

Austin, TEXAS | 2005-03-09

Chris, My Blue set arrived! I took the time to take ye olde Stratocaster apart and remove the old PUPS, and do some Strat tweaking. Now to be honest at first after i get them in, I was not happy--Iv been a single coil and Custom shop pickups kinda guy for years.....I put them in and they sounded ...well average, sorta brash and trebly. Then....I started tweaking pickup heights. Well after several hours I found the Holy Grail! I just have to document where I have them set now, for future reference. Oh, these are great pickups!!! Your web sound clips of the Blues set do not do them justice. They are very very sweet sounding pickups for that hot midrangy SRV stratty tone. Thanks again, Thanks very much! Best,

Jim Novak

USA | 2011-12-13

Dear Chris and the Kinman Team, I just received and installed my first "Blues Set" of Kinman pickups, in a K5 harness, and all I can say is Wow!!! My American Standard Strat has been transformed into something beautiful, something musical, something expressive and it's noiseless. Can this be right? I didn't know what to expect, since I've only heard sound clips on youtube, but I am completely satisfied. You have exceeded my expectations. Great Job! Thank You, Sincerely,Jim Novak

Phil

2012-05-19

The Blues set arrived. I installed them and gigged with them over the weekend. Didn't let the band know I'd made the switch and actually got complements on the tone from the sound guy and the DRUMMER...go figure. Great advise, they are very smimilar to the Lollar Blondes..........just better and no hum. I'm officially a fan! I appreciate the help. Definitely got the right set with your help. Great pickups and customer support. THANKS again!

Jeffrey Thompson

USA | 2015-09-07

My Blues set (installed around 2004) is the BEST SOUNDING singles coils I have ever had the pleasure of using. "Ideal tone" can only describe what my ears hear. I threw these in a USA strat with a factory installed floyd rose, and the tone is, without question, "ideal strat tone". The studio guys love the fact there's no hum, and I do too!!! Actually, they are more quiet than the (major aftermarket manufactured) humbucker that's installed in the bridge. That came as quite a shock. I have so many guy's asking why my strat with a floyd sounds so much better than theirs with standard trems. I am happy to point out the kinman's. I have used these for more than 10 years now, and I am still in love with them!! Thank you guy's, for making the best stuff available anywhere!!!! Jeffrey Thompson

Brett Kingman

2017-01-29

I just gave the Blues set a belt in front of 10,000 people and it ripped. Those pickups are ace, Chris!

Mark

USA | 2018-11-27

Hey Joe, Just a note to let you know how much I love these pickups. Most excellent! I took the extra step of shielding my guitar and now, with the Kinmans, it's dead quiet. And the tone ... Wow! Just Wow! Extraordinary.

Tom Marshall

30-Nov--0001

I don't even know where to start - but lets go from my favorite guitar of all time, The Stratocaster. Every inherent problem with regards to sustain, hum, buzz and all the things known as "Stratitis", are magically solved by this genius down under. A true tone wizard, Chris Kinman has a nice little operation in Australia that turns out the most amazing pickups I have ever heard. I got my first set in 2003 - and I am still in disbelief. Used by Bonnie Raitt, David Gilmour and too many others to name. The ultimate trade secret is out -pure, unadulterated tonal magic - and oh yeah... DEAD SILENT! This is the one site ALL Strat players MUST visit. Go, listen, then order... Flat out fantastic - my hat is off to you Chris, you changed my life!

Shayne Pruitt

I recently picked up another strat and put some Fender CS 69's in it. They sounded really good but buzzed - as they should. I have another strat with your Kinman Blues in it that I bought back in 2009 and decided to compare the two. They were both throaty but man, yours just sound sooo good and are dead-quiet. There was really no comparison. Just wanted to say that I am still SUPER impressed with your pickups! Keep up the good work my friend! I will buy more of your pickups - AFTER I sell my 69's!