This is the pickup that Dave Cohen (RIP), founder of Equilibrium Guitars was compelled to say "Not only do Kinman make the best noiseless pickups, they make the best pickups, period! The E56 is absolutely the most outstanding Strat pickup I have ever had the pleasure of playing."
The Impersonator E56 represents a major milestone in the evolution of Fender type pickups as it has taken about 25 years of inventive and innovative thinking to get here. The Kinman P-90 Hx and this model re-affirms Kinman as the King of noiseless and the Master of tone.
Our boxed set contains non-aged sound Impersonator E56 for all 3 pickups. Inspiring, stimulating and exciting. Sound with a nice glassy bite and a Bell-like ring. Zero-Hum. Full description of the Impersonator E56 can be viewed on the Single Strat Pickups TAB.
Clapton's Brownie was a 1956 Strat with original 56 pickups considered by many to be the best sounding Strat pickups from Fender. The original Blackie reputedly had early 70's pickups which a lot of players report have an unexciting, somewhat bland but bright sound, which we have no desire to emulate. The Impersonator A56 has outstanding response and we added some nice dynamics and some nice glassy bite and Bell-like ring and twang that genuine 56 Strat pickups were known for. We think Blackie would have sounded even better with the Impersonator E56.
Fender's Clapton's Signature Strat has Vintage Noiseless pickups according to Fender's Website. Everyone knows how good those pickups are.
It must be borne in mind that our pickups are versatile and under different amplification environments and in the hands of different artists can deliver a wide range of sounds and that's the reason you'll see the same models included in various different Artist sets.
Apr-2021: Now with our new Synergy baseplate that allows switching off Hum Cancelling as well as switching to 'Synergy' mode for those that think hum is part of Fender sound.
Signal chain requirements for best tone and dynamic performance: Like any pickup it's not a bad idea to use a low capacitance cable to get the incredible performance of these pickups and hear all the nuances you and your guitar can muster. Learn why here Any old cable won't do.
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 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
** Alnico-K is a unique proprietary Alnico rod magnet developed by Kinman in 1985. It is Alnico-5 but 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.
* Fender and Stratocaster and Strat are registered Trade Marks of Fender Musical Instrument Corp, Inc. Kinman is not associated with FMIC but they kindly permit us to refer to their Trade Marks to reference our products.
Introduced Dec-2015
US Patents 5,668,520 6,103,986 8,791,351 B2
Frequently seen Forum comment “Noiseless Strat pickups sound different to genuine single coils” Until recently that did have an element of truth in it, but not anymore.
The Impersonator A56 represents a major milestone in the evolution of Fender type pickups as it has taken about 19 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.
Covers
Connection means available
Dimensions
Pot & Capacitor values
Magnet spreads we normally ship (ensures magnets align with the strings in each position)
Magnet Staggers
Hook-up cable
Output Polarity:
Mounting hardware included
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.
