Kinman 'Woodstock' noiseless pickups

[SteveD]

I've been hearing some great things about these and was wondering if anybody had any experience with them.

[TonyC]

Based on my experience from the Kinman Traditional sets (Mk-I and Mk-II) I have no doubt that the Woodstocks are great as well. I didn't like the Mk-I so much, but he Mk-II were truly great. Very powerful sound without being hot, great for overdrive. I found that everything Mr Kinman claimed about the sound was very true and I'm sure that goes for the Woodstocks as well. And no noise.

There was just one little thing that bothered me,,, they were a tad too quacky for my taste so I changed to Fender Vintage '57/'62 pickups which I still use. But the Kinmans are not far behind, and I keep an eye on the development of his pickups.

-- Wed May 25, 2011 12:36 am --

Some reviews:

http://www.harmonycentral.com/products/123408

http://www.harmonycentral.com/products/104876

[Papus]

Based on my experience from the Kinman Traditional sets (Mk-I and Mk-II) I have no doubt that the Woodstocks are great as well. I didn't like the Mk-I so much, but he Mk-II were truly great. Very powerful sound without being hot, great for overdrive. I found that everything Mr Kinman claimed about the sound was very true and I'm sure that goes for the Woodstocks as well. And no noise.

There was just one little thing that bothered me,,, they were a tad too quacky for my taste so I changed to Fender Vintage '57/'62 pickups which I still use. But the Kinmans are not far behind, and I keep an eye on the development of his pickups.

-- Wed May 25, 2011 12:36 am --

Some reviews:

http://www.harmonycentral.com/products/123408

http://www.harmonycentral.com/products/104876

You can never have enough quack on a Strat!!!!

[TonyC]

You can never have enough quack on a Strat!!!!

I don't mind positions 2 & 4 having quack, but I don't like the bridge pickup alone being quacky. I want bell from the neck and bridge pickups.

[SteveD]

Thanks Tony. I may just pull the trigger on a set of Woodstock regulars (I don't want the hotter bridge pup of the 'plus' set). I can balance them by setting the heights.

I've been getting some further valuable feedback from various sources and it's all good. I've had a set of Seymour Duncan noiseless 'Hot Stacks' on a Mexican Strat for years which I quite like, so I want a more traditional alternative on one of my other guitars and the Woodstocks are looking good.

I'll be sure to let you know what I think when I've played with them.

[slowpokerhino]

Hey Steve, Give these a look before you buy anything. Lots of good videos on YouTube and I've only heard good things about them.
I'm going to be doing a pickup swap in my Strat soon and will go for the 59 pickups if I decide to stick with single coils.

http://www.kleinpickups.com/c-2-stratoc ... ckups.aspx

[TonyC]

I'd be very interested to hear what you think of the Woodstock regulars if you get them. All of the noiseless Seymour Duncans I've tried sound good, but I'm sure you''ll find the Kinmans more "strat like". They are also more responsive and lively. I was about to get the Woodstocks but decided on trying the 57/62 and have been happy with them so far. But if I find another really good strat I'll probably get them to have the option of having a fatter, but still strat sounding guitar.

Slowpoke, I liked the Klein 1959 very much from the sound demos. The S-7 weren't too bad either.

[robbo]

I have a set of Woodstocks on my Warmoth strat ..IMO great pickup! ..great strat tone without the 50hZ single pole noise ..built as vertically stacked humbuckers.. a tad pricey but worth it .. (no more riding your volume control in between songs ..I'll never look at another Texas Special again.. heheh

[SteveD]

Hey Steve, Give these a look before you buy anything. Lots of good videos on YouTube and I've only heard good things about them.
I'm going to be doing a pickup swap in my Strat soon and will go for the 59 pickups if I decide to stick with single coils.

http://www.kleinpickups.com/c-2-stratoc ... ckups.aspx

Nice but I'm looking specifically at noiseless pickups.

-- Thu May 26, 2011 6:58 pm --

I have a set of Woodstocks on my Warmoth strat ..IMO great pickup! ..great strat tone without the 50hZ single pole noise ..built as vertically stacked humbuckers.. a tad pricey but worth it .. (no more riding your volume control in between songs ..I'll never look at another Texas Special again.. heheh

I'm glad to hear it because I've just pulled the trigger on a set.

[TonyC]

I'm very excited to hear what you think of them.

[SteveD]

They arrived on Friday but I won't get a chance to fit them until some other stuff that I have coming turns up.

I'm going to install a couple of 'no load' pots in place of the regular tone controls. One (the one furthest from the volume control) will act as a master tone control for all three pickups while the other will be in series with a treble bleed cap. If I don't want the treble bleed then the 'no load' pot will be able to disconnect it when I set it to maximum. :dance Likewise if I want the option of disconnecting the tone control, again I simply set it to maximum.

On close inspection the build quality of these pickups is excellent. I can't wait to get them installed!

[TonyC]

I also had my Kinmans wired like that, but I had no 'no load' pots so I could never get the treble bleed completely out of the circuit. I actually ended up removing the treble bleed. It was just to bright when turning down the volume. But the master tone control was really nice.

Take your time and be sure to find just the right pup height. The description is right in that they are more sensitive than other pups in this regard. When you find it it, you'll know it

[SteveD]

Yes, I've always used my ears to adjust pickup height on all of my guitars throughout the years. In my opinion it makes a significant difference getting them optimised and balanced.

Usually I have a master TBX tone control in my guitars (but not a treble bleed) but with the availability of the 'no load' pots these days i have decided to go that route.

[TonyC]

In my opinion it makes a significant difference getting them optimised and balanced.

Agree 100%. A quarter of a turn on the screw in either direction and the specific character you're after is gone.

[robbo]

They arrived on Friday but I won't get a chance to fit them until some other stuff that I have coming turns up.

I'm going to install a couple of 'no load' pots in place of the regular tone controls. One (the one furthest from the volume control) will act as a master tone control for all three pickups while the other will be in series with a treble bleed cap. If I don't want the treble bleed then the 'no load' pot will be able to disconnect it when I set it to maximum. :dance Likewise if I want the option of disconnecting the tone control, again I simply set it to maximum.

On close inspection the build quality of these pickups is excellent. I can't wait to get them installed!

Steve..
Here's an interesting review outlining the positives of Kinman P/ups:

http://www.ratcliffe.co.za/reviews/kinman.shtml

btw gotta add they sound absolutely great through your VM !