Kinman P90-BUCKER Demo

[onelife]

As a fan of Kinman pickups - I have them in a tele and a strat - I'm interested in his take on the P90 --> Humbucker idea.

 

I like the sound of these pickups in the strat in the demo and I'd like to try them in a Les Paul or an ES of sorts.

 

[video=youtube;YtJTFPPkfGI]

[wankdeplank]

I can't hear much difference myself. My Gibson sounds a little more compressed with buckers but my two US Hamers with buckers have at least that much clarity and dynamic response.

[onelife]

What pickups are in your Hamers?

 

Do the guitars sound different that the Gibson unplugged?

[billybilly]

I'd love to try them, here is some info from another site, not the bucker P90's but probably similar...

 

For background, the guitar is a 2004 chambered reissue R6 that i play through a 2 amp setup (BFDR and Tweed Deluxe clones).

 

Stock Gibson P90's: great sounding pickups, really has that raw, out of control sound. A bit boomy on the bass, a bit sharp in the upper mids, with not so even string separation - but - a great raunchy P90 sound.

 

Fralin Noiseless P90's: A very smooth, sweet and "polite" sounding pickup. Much better string separation than the stock pickups but just too "smooth" sounding for me. It felt more like a humbucker doing a really good P90 impression. High end sounded great, low end lacked that real depth and clarity that a good P90 has. A great sound but defininately has its own sound. No hum as advertised.

 

Kinman Noiseless P90's: what can I say except easily the best of the 3. They keep the "single coil" sound. Bass strings sound exceptional - deep, clear. As per Kinmans site, they really do sound "piano-like" on the bass strings. Note separation is fantastic and and the string to string volume is very even. High end has plenty of sparkle but not painful in any way. Also no hum. One disadvantage is that they are a deeper pickup than the stock pickup or the Fralin. I had to get my pickup cavity routed a fraction deeper which i was reluctant to do, but now am very glad I did. Seem to have more output than the Fralin's and similar to the stock pickups. While the stock pickups sound raw and the Fralins smooth, the Kinmans sound sweet and powerful.

 

All are great pickups and obviously each will suit some players better than others, but for me the Kinman is the clear winner. (YMMV)

[wankdeplank]

Both Hamers, a 93 HB Special and a 98 Mirage II came stock with a 59 in the neck and a JB in the bridge. They sounded great in this configuration but to get a little more jangle out of the middle position, I changed out the bridge in the Mirage II with a Dimarzio Breed (F spaced neck), this actually makes for an interesting combination with the 59 and gives me more variety and jangle. The Special got two boutique PAFs that were put into the LP originally but increased the lacquer static issue in that guitar and so they went into the Hamer where they are as quiet as a church mouse.

 

Unplugged, yes, the Hamers have more bass response for one thing. All of these guitars have great clarity and string to string separation, but I just feel like my Gibby is not the best option for totally clean playing. Just sounds better with a little hair on it.