Kick In The Arse Singlesets - Zero-Hum Guitar Pickups

Kick-in-the-Arse (a new kind of 'H' in HSS)

There's a bigger Elephant in the room ...... our little powerhouse Gen-3 Strat replacement pickup that sounds similar to one of these >

a Kinman P.A.F Plus

There's a bigger elephant in the room ... do you love a humbucker or P-90 sound in the bridge position but hate the idea of modifying your precious Stratocaster?

Well, here is your love/hate solution!!! The gloves are off with our impressive Kick-in-the-Arse that looks like a regular Strat pickup. No need to modify anything ,,, just chuck it in and get screaming P-90 / Humbucker sounds from your Strat. Yes, your guitar will deliver a real kick in the arse and you'll walk the lines between heaven and hell.

Sonic performance:

Standard version sounds more like a P-90 and is intended for bridge position but also rips in the neck position: All the natural dirty growl, searing fluid highs, loudness and tone you expect from a quality P-90 and then some. Roll the volume down and it turns all sweet and pretty. There are customers who prefer a 250k volume pot to tame it's wild side a little bit but we think it's best with a 500k volume pot that maximizes it's dynamic punch and searing highs. It moves a lotta air.
Heavy is a bridge variation for smoother heavily distorted Heavy Metal. In response to suggestions from customers to further distance it from single coil sound we've tamed the pick-click of the ferocious highs and softened the piano mid-tones of the low wound strings giving it a more conventional rounded sound of a humbucker . The Heavy has the same 2.8 Q factor as a regular bucker. To go one step even further use a 250k volume pot instead of 500k that we recommend.
With maple necks naturally the standard variant sounds more like a P-90 crossed with a humbucker and that's what our P.A.F Plus sounds like anyway. Customers say it's a very good thing.

Outstanding aspects: Humbuckers typically measure 4 Henrys of Inductance (the measure of magneto electrical efficiency) and Q Factor of around 2.8, this little powerhouse measures a whopping 5.6 Henrys and 8.1K Ohms with a Q factor of 3.4 and that means it's a kick arse highly dynamic pickup ,,, and like our full sized humbuckers it's got Zero-Hum ... whoopeeee!!!

One customer reports they are a little bit louder then a Duncan 'Pearly Gates' humbucker but he prefers our Kick-in-the-Arse for it's lack of mud low down.

You'll transform your triple 'S' Stratocaster to a 'HSS' hero easily and won't onlookers be wide-eyed when all hell breaks loose and you're ripping with kick-arse growling n searing humbucker sounds without using pedals ... and without Hum .... from a Strat!!! Yup, you're gonna get questions.

Does a set of 3 make sense? You betcha it does, the position 2 and 4 sounds are unique and so usable, they still growl when the wounds are struck but with more mellow, chimey plain-string sound. The middle is far from redundant, it's got as much charisma as the bridge and neck. A set of 3 might just be the best humbucker sound you've ever heard.

Is it good for clean sounds? the Kick sounds very nice in clean mode. But after all it has the power and sound of a Kinman PAF Plus humbucker and it's a gutsy pickup and consequently will push the amp into distortion far easier when adjusted close to the strings than, say any other Strat pickup will. Like any humbucker, the volume must be kept low to maintain a clean sound. Also adjusting the pickup away from the strings somewhat lowers the output and intensity of attack making it more conducive to clean sounds for soft n pretty passages in Jazz, Indie, balads and the like. That is the heaven side of the line.

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.

Feel the Kick, it's available now .... click the BUY button and receive your awesome little powerhouse within 2 weeks.

Now available in Standard 52.4 mm, Intermediate 51mm & Narrow 49.5mm magnet spreads. Pot value recommendations are in the Technical section beside this Tab.

News flash Apr-2021: Now with our new Synergy baseplate that allows switching off Hum Cancelling as well as switching to 'Synergy' mode.

Under the hood of the Kick-in-the-Arse
What you see is interesting but
what you can't see is far more mysterious.

Specification nomenclature.

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

The string sensor is taller than our other Strat models so the coil is not compressed. This design paid off with a massive inductance of 13+ Henrys, more Inductance than most humbuckers or P-90's. The Kick-in-the-Arse produces the sound of a humbucker with surprisingly sweet highs … so sweet it can be used in Jazz at low volume. But best of all is the HUGE output level, it will hold it’s own in competition with regular Humbuckers … now that’s amazing for a Strat pickup with Alnico rod magnets, with the bonus of Zero-Hum. One of the amazing new generation hum-cancelling pickups coming from Kinman.

Adjustment requirements

The Kick-in-the-Arse has an advanced magnetic circuit and needs to be adjusted close to the strings to get it's best performance. You can adjust the neck pickup as close as 1.5mm gap between bottom of E-6th string and top of magnet with string pressed onto the 12th fret. Adjusted that close it really cooks, is very loud and sounds similar to our P90-Bucker Heavy bridge.

Install requirements

At 25mm tall the Kick-in-the-Arse is 3mm taller than our regular Strat pickups and will fit most modern guitars but might not fit Vintage reissue guitars so check the cavity depth before ordering. The pickup cavity depth should be no less than 19mm (3/4 inch) deep. However a shallower cavity might be suitable if you shorten the special long mounting screws by up to 3mm, but some adjustment latitude will be sacrificed in this case.

Covers - included on pickups

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

click for dimensions page

Pot & Capacitor values

Best with 500k volume pot to bring out the dynamics and the sting in the plain strings.
Many Strat pickups sound best with a 250k volume pot.
- Our Goodbye-Soldering Harness can incorporate our Auto-Change device which provide both 250k and 500k for either neck middle, bridge ... or any combination when mixing different requirements.
- If you don't include a Harness, for additional $25 we will include the parts and instructions for our Auto-Change device with your order.
Stock pots can actually measure a low 175k. Pots in our Goodbye-Soldering Harness are guaranteed to measure no less that 250k / 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.
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 nice 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 - Neck
Intermediate 51mm - Middle
Standard 52.5mm - Bridge
Option to specify your magnet spreads of sets and singles in our 'After-Payment' Additional 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 Additional Questions' email we send you.

Hook-up cable

2 conductor shielded is standard.
Middle pickups when supplied with a K9 or neck pickup with a 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 (match phase with 3 Conductor hook-up cable)

Mounting hardware included

2 x Pan head mounting screws 6-38 UNC x 18mm.
2 x 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.

Brett says >>>WOW. I think this is a contender for best HSS set ever.
Kick-in-the-Arse Heavy

and today he said " Man, this pickup is seriously great "...
Kick-in-the-Arse Standard

Andrew Merchant

UNITED KINGDOM | 22-Sep-2024

The pickups (Kick-in-the-Arse / Big-Nine-O), they're just superb, that's an understatement. My expectations were high but were swiftly surpassed. The second or so day after installation, after I'd taken the time on the first day to sit, enjoy them and listen intently, I compared them side by side with the Big Nines just to see if I could really spot differences and nuances in tone and output and it's true, the Big Nine pushes the amp just a little more, but the Kick in the Arse has that "growl factor" you mentioned previously, it's definitely a little more unorthodox of a single coil but it has tons of power, presence, saturation, grit and does exactly what it's supposed to. I think it's right at the sweet spot of pushing an amp into overdrive, a masterfully balanced and versatile yet screaming pickup that can match the meanest humbuckers in output and aggression if it wants to.

I can't decide which I like more between the Kick and the Big Nine, both are easily in contention for best noiseless single coil to my tastes and I've tried them all. I don't know the secret sauce or how you guys do it but Kinman noiseless single coils have never failed to deliver and have never disappointed. Also, the aged white looks beautiful on my parchment pickguard against the backdrop of the Mystic Aztec Gold finish of my Strat. The guitar is now a fire breathing beast with a super addictive playing feel and zero hum to boot thanks to the Kick in the Arse.

Anyway, enough gushing, I just wanted to say thanks again for answering my questions about the pickups, keeping in touch throughout and all the rest. Kinmans were actually the pickups that sent me down the rabbit hole of pickup mods when I was dissatisfied with a set of N3 Noiseless single coils in one of my Fender Strats back in the day and I couldn't believe the transformation when all was said and done so buying from here always makes me a little nostalgic. All the best to you, the team and the big man himself and big thanks one more time for the killer pickups.

Kind regards, Andrew Merchant

Felipe Cruz

28-May-2019

I've been very happy with you Kick-In-The-Arse pickups. I've gotten a lot of compliments from guitar players and luthiers alike on how unconventional (in a good way) they sound. The most consistent observation I've heard from other players is that it sounds like a crossbreed of P-90 and humbucker and that's probably due to the maple neck on my ESP guitar.

I'm really impressed how full sounding the pickup is for a neck position. It's definitely a fuller sound than the mini humbuckers that Seymour Duncan & Dimarzio offer. I think the unique sound of the Kick-In-the-Arse pickups are surprisingly great and I'm so impressed.

I just ordered another set of 3 Kick-in-the-Arse for neck and bridge and Big-9-O for the middle for my Kiesel Strat. I included the harness option too. Take it from me that my new purchase implies how happy I am with your great Kick-in-the-Arse pickups.

Matt Barr

UNITED STATES | 17-Aug-2021

Chris and Team,

I just wanted to drop a line to say Thank You.

I am simply awestruck, speechless with these pickups (Kick-in-the-Arse bridge and Texas Jalapeno middle and neck)

From the very first note that leapt from the amp it was obvious that your pickups aren't just 'next level', they are peerless (meaning without equal).

Thank you again. I'm looking forward to placing another order soon.

Best, Matt Barr, Indiana, USA

Ken Brogno

01-Jul-2019

I installed the full set of 3 Kick in the Arse and am very pleased. Like the Jazzmaster Fatmaster pickups that I orderd last year, Kinman pickups are everything they claim to be. The non-existent string pull makes a big difference over other pickups. It's not as sublte a difference as you would think, both in terms of string feel and the Stratitis out-of-tune wolfe-tones. The overall tone is very full and pure, but there is so much adjustment that I can stil get a single coil type of tone out of them if I want. Two thumbs up big time.

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Kick in the Arse

Express Order Channel

Full Option Order Channel

Kick-in-the-Arse (a new kind of 'H' in HSS)

Andrew Merchant

Felipe Cruz

Matt Barr

Ken Brogno