NEWS Flash 18-August-2022: We now supply our new 'Universal' soapbar covers in genuine Gibson Cream, White, Parchment, Aged White and Black, click the option when ordering. A must for Gibson guitars!
Big News: No more routing cavity floors, the new shorter Gen-3 version has arrived and fits most P-90 guitars, the exceptions are those with cavities shown in these pictures. Same sound, same performance as the original Gen-2.
More Big NEWS May-2021: Gen-3 bright upgrade to v2 Hum Sensor
C&B Neck (Crunch and Bite)– With the v2 upgrade it's extra presence produce beyond excellent definition and note separation at room volume and crunches easily on all strings when played a bit harder & louder. Resounding warm and deep bass and prominent midrange. Also the Bright C&B Neck is least inclined to mush and blurr on the wound strings at loud clean volume compared to regular P-90's. Great for Country Rock and any application where a nice bright presence and sweet harmonic bloom along with a nice crunch (mild distortion) is required. Also great for Jazz when picked under the onset of crunch. Both-on-together with a Nasty 90 produces amazing and most intensive 'c-luck' sound, more impressive than any known pickups.
The C&B is louder and crunches easier and therefore it balances and works very well with our Nasty 90 in the bridge position. Both-on-together produces amazing and most intensive and dynamic 'c-luck' sound, more impressive than any known pickups. This pair also really packs a wallop.
For replacing humbuckers with a similar sound look at our P90-Bucker in the Humbucker section.
You will have a lot of fun, enjoyment and satisfaction exploring the extended sonic dimensions of this remarkably advanced pickup.
The C&B neck is a Zero Hum P-90 pickup. Some people will call these noiseless P-90 pickups but Kinman prefers to describe them correctly as Zero-Hum P-90 pickups. That's because there are 2 types of noise, Hum which is 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
Kinman P-90 Hx can be ordered with the optional 2 wire and 5 wire Gibson Quick Connect circuit board connectors shown below. Check inside the control cavity.
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Upgrades: Grounded pole screws are now standard on all models as from July-2017
Pickup adjustment
As with all Kinman Gen-2 pickups these are very sensitive to height adjustment. A good starting point, so the neck and bridge pickups balance, is with the two E strings fretted at the 15th fret, adjusted as follows ...
Installation
When replacing an original Gibson 480 two new screw holes must be drilled in the floor of the cavity because our 580 has the mounting screws of a P-90. Cavity for original Gibson 480 is suitable, no modification required. We use Alnico-K** rod magnets, not Alnico-5 blocks as the 480 has.
Consider including our optional non-magnetic mounting plate kit, it makes install fast n easy because you don't have to drill holes in the precise position for the pickups mounting screws in cavity floors. Do NOT use original Gibson mounting plates, being magnetic will dramatically compromise the hum cancelling ability of the P-90 Hx.
Epiphones
Kinman’s will bring your Epiphone to life because they achieve the maximum sonic potential of the guitar, and are easier to install than practically all other brands too because of our Easy Install Kit for f-hole guitars. Comprehensive, easy to do step-by-step instructions provided. Refer to the Overview Tab >Epiphone f-hole talk. More in Pole Spreads, next item ....
Connections
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Output Polarity:
Pot & Capacitor values
Cavity depth
Pole spreads
Hook-up cable
Mounting hardware
Covers
Listen to the sublime highs of the Bright C&B Neck
Bright C&B Neck and Middle and a Bright Nasty 90 bridge
I have been enjoying my new p90hx pickups (Sweet Neck and Clean Bridge) which I installed in a 2021 Gibson SG Special, but yesterday they got their first real test, playing with a full band. The ad copy is true. My SG no longer hums, even with a cranked amp .. and these pickups are also much more open, present, and articulate than the stock set. They are incredibly versatile, going from jangly clean to roaring and distorted, which still maintaining clarity between strings.
This guitar has now moved into my number one spot. The one thing it had holding it back before was the hum in certain situations. With that obstacle out of the way, plus their versatility to tackle many different styles, there's a good reason for this it to now be my number one axe.
Kinman were also very responsive and helpful regarding some questions my tech and I had, despite a major difference in time zones. I'm very glad I took the plunge on buying these pickups and I would highly recommend them to anyone who loves p90s but doesn't love buzz & hum, and wouldn't be satisfied with a "p90" that was in reality a stealth humbucker. Thank you for these marvelous pickups, Kevin.
I played my new Gold Foil for a long time this morning and wanted to tell you that it sounds awesome. Really brings out the natural tone and resonance of my guitar. Super responsive. Sweet highs. Woody. Just great stuff. I think that this has officially become my favorite electric. Thank you so much for you ingenuity and great customer service. PEACE! ~A Adam Reichmann
Two P-90 Hx in an Epiphone dot (replacing humbuckers) I have seldom seen a guy so pleased with a product. He was in heaven. Just great versatile sound. I have to design a new model guitar for a set of these pups! I wouldn't know if they should sound better, but both my custumer and I, are VERY pleased. Thanks guys! BR Peder (Guitar artisan, Denmark www.artist-site.dk)
Hi Chris, Thankyou for these wonderful pickups. They have transformed my Les Paul Special formally fitted with P100's into the most versatile Gibson one could own. Flat out they provide a big power chord and solo sound. The neck pickup has excellent articulation and sparkle around 3 to 6 and just explodes into this thick lead tone on full. Bridge sounds great also. These really are tonefull pickups. Great character like the P90's of old but without the noise that put's everyone off using them, I mean silent!!! I think it has now has less hum than any guitar I've owned. I've always been a huge Pete Townsend fan around the Live at Leed's time with his P90 equiped SG. These pickups put you right in that zone, makes a 50 year old fella want to go out and buy a Hi Watt amp and a couple of Hi Watt cabinets, turn up to 11 and play Pinball Wizard!
Hey Chris, The project turned out great and the guitar sounds fantastic. I’m in the process of making recordings now and will likely do a video too and post it on YouTube. I tried a couple different Strat pickups for the middle position, and ended up choosing the AVn-63. It only figures into the 2 & 4 position tones anyway since I have the #3 position offering the two Hx P-90s together. So the guitar offers a great palette of tones. I ended up using the maple body as my alder body rout is going to need to be just a bit deeper for these pickups. But the maple body rout was plenty deep, so I just went with it because I had a set of Vintage Vibe P90s in it before and it sounded really good. And the tones with your P90 Hx pickups are just as good, so I’m very pleased. You know, I sold my 4 sets of Vintage Vibe P90s because I just couldn’t deal with the noise. As much as I loved the tones, with the way I play I just couldn’t make it work very well. I had to cut the beginnings and ends of all my recordings very close or you would hear too much of the noise. So there’s no need for that anymore. You did very well with these, I must say. Sure is a lot of fun to play these. Follow this links to hear all that wonderful nasty P-90 vibe (fat and focused) in spades… http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=868554&content=songinfo&songID=8755328 http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8619949 and http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=868554&songID=8604826 Cheers,
Joe: The Kinman P90 is the best sounding pickup of any guitar I've ever owned. It's unbelievable to me how good this sounds. I have it with the new Tele Bridge Blaster in a Chinese Telecaster knockoff guitar, and the tone is out of this world, and it is absolutely dead quiet. I can't for the life of me figure out how you guys do this!! I don't know what to do now....the guitar I put it in is a "beater" that I keep in my office for noodling and playing, and now I want this tone in my other guitars. As for the new Tele Bridge Blaster bridge pickup, it balances nicely with the P90, and has nice twang as well. I think I want Kinman pickups in all of my guitars now.......
Well there are a couple of things that really struck me when I got the pickups. 1. The packaging is really nice. Now I know that it doesn't really add to the sound, but the boxes appeared like they'd look great on a shelf in a store. The packing job was first rate; very nicely done as well. 2. The pickups themselves are very substantial; I think they're the heaviest pickups I've ever seen. I took the cover off for a peak at the inner workings and I could see right away that they were like nothing else on the market. I have no idea what was going on in there, but it looked like there was a lot of time invested in the design and I can see where the extra cost comes from. Very complex looking device. 3. The sound is EXACTLY what I was hoping for. They clean up and sing sweetly and they get very rude and have that nice krack sound when you drive it hard and beat on the guitar. As good as the sound clips were online these surpassed my expectations. I couldn't be happier. 4. They are a tight fit for an SG, but they do fit which is all that matters. 5. I've recommended them to just about everyone I can think of. Yes, there are a few other options out there that are cheaper, but they are just sideways laid humbuckers. These P-90 Hx are something unique and are not a compromise to the P90 tone. Fantastic pickups!
Thanks and I love them!. So glad I choose your P-90 Hx! Just used the guitar with your pickups for Dunkin Doughnuts national radio ad. Killer!!!
Im absolutely delighted with the P90 Hx's. They are amazing. The quietness is one thing, but the tone out of these is just rediculously good- especially the neck pickup. Major improvement over the stock boomy, mushy Gibson P90s in my SG Special. So glad I got these in January -12 !! Thanks Chris these are great! And thanks Joe for all the support along the way! So now Im curious about your other pickups.
Hi People like you make the difference in this crazy world! Thank you for your devotion! I use your P-90 Hx and what a fantastic pickup!! greetings from Munich Gremany!
Hi Chris and staff, just a quick note to tell you my experience with the P90 HX set. Service,shipping and handling were great and delivery by Fedex excellent. The pups were easily installed following your instructions and I have to say that they sound every bit as good as your description and I must say better than I expected. I was afraid I might lose the real P90 tone but I actually prefer the sound of your P-90 HX set and they will be with that guitar for life. I'll be back for something else I'm sure.
Single P-90 Hx in bridge position of a Tokai LP Jnr replica Hey Chris. The P90X is fabulous. Love it. Responsive, has "quack", is touch sensitive. Whenever you have a large HB sized version, I'll take a pair. Thanks mate.
P90-hx sonic horizons. All I can say is WOW! And thank you! I just received my p90hx and installed it right away. It sounds better than I ever thought it would. I will definitely spread the word to anyone looking for any pickup! I installed the bridge pickup and I love how creamy and full sounding it is while still attaining bridge pickup qualities. Thanks again. Cheers!
Single P-90 Hx in bridge position of a PRS Features Noiseless P90 with a 600 Ohm low impedance “noise sensorâ€. Technically, it’s impressive to see: far from two plain coils stacked on each side of two bar magnets. The Kinman has two coils of different shapes mounted on a complex structure and several shielding screens. According to the builder, there’s 202 individual parts (where a “real†P90 includes 13 parts only). The rounded shape of the upper coil accepts various types of covers. The whole pickup is taller than a standard P90, like most noiseless devices. Electronically… I won’t mention its DC resistance because it doesn’t mean anything : the power of a P90 depends on its inductance. Of course, the inductance of a pickup is generally related to its DC resistance. That’s why current noiseless P90’s loose their powerful sound to a higher DC resistance, translating in an altered tone (the sound of a humbucker). But here it’s not the case: the P90Hx has a low resistance and 6,13 Henry of inductance, according to my measurements. It’s not the highest possible value for a P90. But it’s already huge (the same inductance than many high gain humbuckers) and it gives a strong attack, without that compressed and muffled tone often due to an excessive resistance. Instrument: I had already five electric guitars : home made Strat with Fender pickups, ash body and maple neck Fender Strat Dlx with Kinman Blues Set, Gibson LP Std with Duncan SH55’s, Variax500 with an added Duncan SH13, Charvel CH4 with active electronic… I’ve bought a PRS SE one especially to mount a noiseless P90 Hx in it (bridge position, a single volume pot). I’ve therefore dug the single cavity of the guitar because it wasn’t deep enough… but it’s worth the effort. Although made in Korea, the PRS has an extraordinary bright resonance, that the P90Hx enhances with much soul and natural. Sound: Playing since 1980, I’ve always considered the P90 as a perfect crossing between a single coil and a humbucker. The Kinman reproduces this tone without the huge hum traditionally generated by P90’s… but with all these nuances that a good P90 expresses and that other noiseless clones tend to flatten. As I’ve kept the capacitor against treble bleeding mounted by PRS, the sound doesn’t darken when I lower the volume: in the crunch or drive channel of a tube amp, it gives many interesting tonal shades… Roll off your volume pot around 2 or 3: it sounds clean, jangly, twangy. The sound of the sixties, almost more than through my Strats. Rise the level around 7 or 8 and play with your fingers: the guitar literally speaks with a sensual voice that I’ve rarely heard elsewhere. Almost more “woman tone†than my beloved Les Paul itself. Crank up your pot: you now have a creamy sound, with a strong attack and that wonderfully “morphing†release that single coils or high inductance pickups generate (you can hear something like vowels while the sustain decreases: if you don’t know what I mean, listen Roy Buchanan and say to yourself that the Kinman does it effortless thanks to its single coil architecture AND high inductance). The SH13 mounted in one of my other guitars doesn’t seem more powerful, without having that harmonic complexity due to Alnico magnets. Result: I’ve been able to play Eddie Cochran, modern blues, mainstream pop as well as Metallica with the P90Hx… and with a single amp setting if needed! Another good surprise is the ability of this pickup to handle bottleneck licks without noise : nor hum nor fret buzz. Just that thick tone that a bottleneck requires. Now to mention how it behaves plugged in a Boss acoustic simulator: thanks to its dynamic, the Kinman gives many room to such an emulator. Volume full up, it sounds like a nylon stringed guitar. Pot rolled down, it produces a thinner and brighter tone, like a standard country axe… My Variax could collect the dust in a near future. Conclusion: exceptionally rich sounding and surprisingly versatile for a single pickup with a single pot! Overall rating: Outstanding. Not the strongest P90 available but just enough powerful to give serious balls and clear enough to translate perfectly the subtlety of your playing as well as the original resonance of the guitar. Not the kind of pickups whose hegemonic tone hides anything else than itself – IOW: the contrary of a DiMarzio X2N, for example, although the Kinman doesn’t seem weak compared to it. The P90 Hx sounds open, strong and alive. Furthermore, not only it delivers a convincing noiseless P90 tone, but mounted as it is in my SE, it’s in itself one of the most versatile pups I’ve ever played, and maybe the most inspiring. For these reasons, this pickup is a milestone in my already long guitar trip. The owner of my favorite music shop, who is also a friend, is accustomed to high quality gear: he owns 13 American PRS’s. And he’s sold too!
Pair of P-90 Hx in a Gibson Les Paul Gold Top Hi Chris, Got the P90s on Monday (thank you very much!) and put them in my Gibson Gold Top that came with P-100's. Here's my first impressions. Tone: Clear as a bell, both front and back and really well rounded sounds. The bridge pup has a really nice snap to it and doesn’t sound honky, (don’t know what you discovered but it works!) and it has what I can only describe as a fidelity to the sound. You could say it’s a bit more refined than a normal P90, however it is punchy, it is clear but when I turn it up I get a great growley sound as well. The neck pup again has a really nice well rounded warm tone but still really clear for a neck pup and nowhere near as woofey as a normal P90. They are a pair of little cream chameleons, turn them down and they are nice and pretty and clean, open them up and whoa they get all dirty and nasty. And the bridge really, really growls. As a gnarley old Tele player, I love their tones as they have the clarity of a good Tele but they also have a bit more of the meat and grunt of a good humbucker if that’s possible? Installation: Both went in easily and your instructions were very clear and helpful as I did have to use the existing Gibson covers as yours were too tight in the corners to fit in my Gold Top. BTW, the trick of putting in the additional rubber at the back of the cavity to change the pup angle is a little gem!! I also had no issue with my pup cavity as they were already deep enough having P100s. One thing I was really impressed with was that the balance of the pole pieces were spot on straight out of the box. I had to do no adjustments on both pups in terms of balancing the pole pieces. Well Done! Packaging: Loved the plastic boxes, messages and what you provided as everything necessary to do the installation (extra rubber, screws etc.). Noise: As you stated on your site there is a tiny bit of incidental noise, however, let me clarify what I found. On the Bridge position there is no noise at all! Man it is dead quiet! On the neck position there is a tiny bit of background noise that disappears when you touch (ground) any part of the guitar. On the middle position, (both pups) the noise is slightly louder for some reason but still disappears when you touch (ground) the guitar. I have to stress it is still VERY quiet. My Gold top has the proper grounding, proper wiring and shielding in the pup cavities and control cavities and the noise level is not that noticeable nor is it anywhere near a normal P90, so a huge tick for noise reduction! Thanks again for a great set of P-90 pickups, I can guarantee that the Gold Top is going to get more action from now on. I never took it on stage with the P-100's as they did not inspire me to play well. Cheers, Butch
Pair of P-90 Hx in a Hamer P-90 heaven. Chris, I would just like to say how impressed I am with the new P-90's. They are without a doubt the best sounding noiseless P-90 pickups ever made. They have turned my lowly Hamer into a snarling, biting giant killer. It is now my most aggressive sounding guitar, in a very good way. It absolutely shreds for rock, and they clean up nicely for more dynamic blues based playing as well. The neck pickup is especially fine for high gain soloing ... what a tone!!!! I have 3 other guitars with humbuckers. A '02 Gibson LP sunburst, an '07 Gibson 339, and a '94 Hamer Koa Studio (with Gibson Burstbucker Pro's) and the new Kinman P-90 Hx's smoke them all. Not that the other guitars sound bad at all, but these are on another level both in gain and tone. I would say if I was recording a ballad or something light, I'd be more inclined to use one of the other guitars. This P-90 Hx equipped Hamer is just a very different animal. I like that, because it gives me some variety. The three other humbucker equipped guitars sound very sameish and don't have as much tone as the Hamer with the Kinmans. The noiseless P-90 pickups I've had before are Seymore Duncans which replaced the Dimarzios I had a couple years ago so the Kinmans are actually my THIRD set of noisless P-90's. I'm very very happy! Many thanks,
Pair of P-90 Hx in a Gibson Les Paul Gold Top Hi Chris, I used the Gold Top with the P-90 Hx on the weekend gig. MATE ….. you were absolutely right! They certainly have the growl of a ‘normal’ P90 when you open them up without any of the associated noise that usually accompanies P90s. The sound guy in the Casino was very impressed as when we were doing the sound check we both stood right next to my amp which was turned up quite loud and even he couldn’t believe the lack of any noise coming out. The bridge pickup had all the bite and growl of a P90 with a really nice midrange sort of tone without being too honky. However, I was surprised that it still had the clarity I spoke about last week when you back off the volume a little which I always do and in a live situation it had just the right amount of clarity but with its own bit of fur around the notes (tone heaven). When blasting through my pedalboard and the associated overdrive pedals is just rocked and screamed like you would expect but it maintained a real creaminess to the notes. The neck pickup also had the same characteristics as the bridge pickup in that when you turn it up it is really nice and fat and exactly what you need in a neck pickup. However, I guess the best test of any set of pickups for me is the in-between position and I can only say that my personal reference point is always the guitar sound in Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Green Riverâ€. That is John Fogerty playing a Les Paul with P90s (I’ve seen him in concert) using the in-between position and these little puppies nailed it completely! All in all, a complete success. These guys are taking up permanent residence in my Gold Top, which I have never used in anger with the P-100's in it. Cheers, Butch
Greetings, Just wanted to shoot you a quick msg regarding your P90's. I bought a Sweet Neck & Nasty 90 bridge from you guys a couple of months ago and waited until now to msg you as I wanted the honeymoon period to pass before finalising my thoughts. The difference these pickups make to my Reverend Jetstream 390 (now a 290 as I'm just running neck and bridge) is unbelievable! The stock pickups weren't bad (they weren't awesome but they did the job) but I couldn't use the guitar because the P90's in it were so noisy that they overpowered my playing and you could always here the hum, they were also abit woofy and overly focused in the mids and lower mids so the guitar had a nasal, strangled kind of sound. I loved the feel of it but not the sound. These Kinman pickups are amazing. They have absolutely brought this guitar to life so that now it sounds as good as it feels. The neck pickup is warm, smooth and sweet without being overly dark or muddy, it's the most beautiful neck pickup I've ever heard.
The bridge is fantastic by itself, it's got the perfect balance of depth and bite that where I used to primarily play with the bridge combined with another position, I'm finding myself playing a lot more on just the bridge pickup, it sits perfectly in the mix with just enough edge that I can drive break up with pick attack while still coaxing sweet cleaner sounds with lighter picking that just wash perfectly and fill out space with delay and reverb. Both together is absolute bliss. The perfect balance I've always wanted and for how I play, an amazing combination. So much warmer than a Tele in the middle position but still incredibly articulate and responsive to my picking. I've been able to use this guitar now without issue (and have played it continuously for weeks now without picking up another guitar) plus I've gotten more comments on how killer it sounds than any of my other guitars. Chris, thank you so much, I love P90's but never could use them because of the noise and interference, these are absolutely glorious!!!!! Thank you!!!! Judd Manley-Breen.
Thank you for your great sounding, quiet P90 Hx Clean Bridge. i played a country gig the other night with it in my SG Junior & it was the best sounding Tele i've heard (laugh).
As much as i always loved the tone, i had given up on P90s until now, your P90 saved my SG.
Thank you.
