This Is How Easy A Pickup Swap Should Be - Kinman Magnum Opus 59
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ต.ค. 2024
- In This video, I install a set of the new Kinman Magnum Opus 59 pickups into my Fender Strat.
Thanks to Kinman for providing the pickups for this test.
Here is what Kinman says about their Magnum Opus pickups.
Sonic characteristics: if you know genuine '50's Stratocaster* sound you'll immediately understand our Magnum Opus '59. Super fast attack response (snap) which is great for super fast picking (and yes, even shredders will love it), outstanding presence factor with crystalline pristine highs, low mid scoop and crisp, sharp twangy lows all the way down to the open E-6th. Outstanding clarity and transparency. 3D dynamics and highly touch sensitive. Exceptional note separation and beautifully balanced string levels. Absolutely authentic Knopfler-esque position 2 & 4 sounds ,,,, all of that with absolute Zero-Hum and none of the traditional nasties such as warbling notes, buzzy string crash and icepick and overpowering G-3rd string. In esssence, 50's Strat sound perfected ,,,, what more could you want from a vintage pickup? Hum you say, well, with our Synergy baseplate you can have that too.
The story behind the magic of the Magnum Opus It is our Pièce de résistance, our masterpiece; the most memorable accomplishment of one's career or lifetime, our Magnum Opus of Stratocaster* pickups. The year is 1959 in England and Hank Marvin of The Shadows was given a ’59 Fiesta Red Stratocaster* by Cliff Richard. Hank and The Shadows went on to become world famous with their brand of instrumental rock and Hank became a living legend because of his distinctive sounds and skills and finesse on lead guitar. Guitar heroes of the caliber of Dave Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, Joe Bonamassa, George Harrison and countless others believe Hank is one of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century.
Hank’s distinctive twangy sound sprang from his ’59 Stratocaster*, it turned heads at the time, and still does. Hank knows ’59 Strat* sound like the back of his hand and he hates mains hum. Although he waited patiently for years, Hank says our Magnum Opus is the finest ‘50’s Stratocaster* pickup he’s ever heard and he and his inner circle now prefer it over any other Stratocaster* pickup regardless of brand or price (noisy or noiseless). That’s because it boasts an incredible list of refinements, plus, with our TSC inhibiting technology, we solved the Torn Cone Syndrome that Strat* pickups suffer from. It’s an unpleasant, messy distortion-like sound that occurs with a strong sharp upstroke in the lower register of the E-6th. Listen to mild TCS here TCS audio clip
More importantly, listen to this Play List of Shadows tunes and listen to the wonderful sounds of our Magnum Opus ‘59 pickups. There is no greater test for 50's Strat sounds than Shadows tunes. Since the pickups sound this good in these tunes you can be assured they sound equally great in your guitar for what ever music you play.
The Studio Rats are core band members Paul Drew on guitar/production/mixing, drummer James Ivey and Dan Hawkins on bass. They collaborate with singers and musicians to produce radio-ready songs.
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Those Kinman's sound smashing good !
Love the original pickups and pickguard. Just need another humbucker to my traste. Great video and PLAYING
Please do a video with finding/testing humbuckers that would mesh better with the original neck and middle. Your video clarity is fantastic and would really shine a light on the humbuckers. Cheers
The tone difference is astounding. The Kinman pu's are super balanced across the range of frequencies. The old pu's (what are they?) have a luscious unique tone personality - at least this is how YT presents the tones. Really well done tonal demonstration. I would love to see(hear) more pu swaps to understand why pu's send the way they do.
I had a set up Kinmans in Fender Custom Shop Strat about ten years ago -I sold it and wish I hadn't! The kinmans sounded amazing.
Kinman Impersonator E56 gives that Strat glassy tone even more so than the original Strat pickups. This demo was done with a different model which was designed to produce a different sound.
Sounds terrific, and it’s amazing how much the new pickguard changes the look of the guitar.
Sounds very different. I liked the glassy sound of the original pickups, but, if you want a fuller sound, the Kiman‘s do the job. Cheers
Cheers Rene
I have Kinman fat 59’s in my Strat. Love ‘em. Great live too with no hum. Great vid.
I like those Kinmans, very versatile and handle gain with authority.
Hi Paul, wonderful demo mate. Any chance you could reveal what the original neck and middle pickups were? Cheers
Brilliant video and demo Paul. I watched and for some reason was thinking you were installing the Kinman "Blues Set", but these Opus 59's are awesome too. Not sure which to go for but either way it is bound to be spectacular!
Veryy Coolll Pickup, Hum Canceling and Cycle 60 Hum.. Great Pickup 🎸🤟👍
I would have gotten a new tortoise shell guard as well. It goes fantastic with that green.
One little hint from me : Next time tune down the strings , put a Capo on the 10ths fret, unmount the Neck from the Body and you're good. You can change everything and keep the strings between body and Neck.
That’s a bloody good idea 👍
Upgrade projects are always fun :) If you ask me though, I'd keep the old config, I much prefer your old neck & middle vs the Kinmanns. What I would personally do is grab a Suhr SSV or a Thornbucker and a mega switch, and wire those up following a Suhr diagram. Those are brilliant and solve the resistance issue with 250k pots, single coils and humbuckers. Give it a try if you are willing to rewire again at some point!
PS. I also never bonded with the JB humbucker.. was always the first thing to go ;)
Cheers for the tip Tomasz
I got the Blues set of Kinmans on my guitar and i love them! Now I can do quieter recordings with a strat, the hum drives me nuts!
very cool Paul. I already went to their site and checked out the wiring harnesses. I think Im going to try the same one. sounds great thanks
Yeah i preferred the original pups. I thought the neck was glassier and more open in the original. It's all a matter of taste, eh. I like the concept that Kinman use with the harness etc included, and easy plug in change for pups. That's an excellent idea if you like to try different options. Thanks for the demo 👍
My first DIY pickup swap was also with a wireless harness. I used an ObsidianWire piece, and it works the same way as the Kinman system-you just plug bare wires into the little slots. A simple, clean, easy system. All guitars should be wired that way. It would incentivize more people to buy more pickups. // In this case, i preferred the stock CS "60s" pickups, though. More nuance and character. I was planning to get Fat 50s for my next Strat build, but now i have to investigate these CS 60s. I hope they're not the same as the CS 69s i had once. I didn't care for those and changed to Lollar Blondes, which are niiiiice.
Don't settle for the pickup height/position right away, very small movements can change the tone, so you might re-adjust later for kicks/giggles
But the tortoise shell on green looks awesome
Great content, great quality, thank you
Subbed!
Sounds good. Kinmans rule
The overdriven sound with the bridge Kinman SC sounds really great. What Amp do you use for that sound? Best
The pickups sound great overall. However, I am looking for that glassy sound, I currently have a set of EMG S pickups in my 1990 American Standard strat (bought it that way from a buddy) and they sound kind of like the Magnum Opus pickups in some ways: flatter, more balanced, less piercing in the bridge, but what they lack is the glassiness that I WANT from position 4. I am looking for the SRV Lenny "Live at the El Mocambo" sound without having to use eq to get there. I think there are other Kinman Gen-3 pickups that are "Non-Aged" sounding, and if whatever I have gathered is correct, Chris has probably nailed the sound of a 59 pickup, which has more mids than later 60's pickups... I want that scooped quack with the glassy top, and even the original set of 1990 pickups and electronics that my buddy sold with the guitar don't do it. I think the 90's single coils were geared more toward the tones of the time which were a lot of high gain stuff, so they are more midrangey... I played a 2022 Fender Player Strat at Sam Ash the other day, and even a Classic Vibe 60's guitar, side by side with my EMG S 1990 Strat, and with a Squier I put the original 1990 Am Std pickup set into, and both the Classic Vibe and the Player nail the lenny sound through a Deluxe Reverb Reissue amp, and neither of mine do.
I believe Chris Kinman has a set of the new Gen-3 (or maybe it is a Gen-2, perhaps only the Magnum Opus is gen3) pickups called the Gilmour set, which have glassy 60's style non-aged pickups in the neck and middle, with a slightly hotter and more midrangey one in the bridge. That I think would be perfect for me.
Thanks so much for the demo, because I might have dumped well over 600 bucks into your exact set and harness sight UNHEARD.. and though they are great and sound great, they are not nailing the one tone I am still missing..
Cheers!
Nice setup. For what is forth I don’t think the JB is inherently dark, probably Fender just wired it to 250k volume pot giving priority to the singles. It is strange they went for the JB as Duncan has other hum-buckers that work better with 250k and balance a little better with singlecoil output like the Custom Custom or the Screaming Demon
these pickups would sound fantastic on a pau ferro or even an ebony fingerboard. For your rosewood board I'd go for the impersonator 56 or 54
gilmour mode with yngwie kind of pickups because the pickup name is much like one of the album of yngwie's in 1995
I prefer the original singles, but the kinman works well in the bridge position.
Did that set go 59-59-63? This is what i have in my std strat. I did not buy them they were in there when i purchsed the guitar. Nice vid by the way.
Great demo Paul , but how do you not get 50 cycle hum from your original single coils?
I do but it doesn’t bother me.
For me the Kinmans are too dry sounding, they are more balanced, but I would prefer something between the custom shop and Kinmans tonally. If you decide to go back to a humbucker pickup in the bridge check out Creamery Sweet 14 humbucker.
Hi Paul, id like to ask you whats the gap/ space between string and pickup in milimeters on each pickup...? Thanks
How in the world that bridge pickup sound so full (humbucker) like that! Seriously how to do get a fat tone out of your rig.
Hello,,,this pickups can be used without this specific electronic? in it case, the pots are 250 or 500k ?
The Kinman's sound similar to mine. But there's a world of difference between those and say the EJ singles. Single coils have a more open sound - but of course you deal with buzz/hum. Just depends on what you like.
I'll take the hum, for that Airy chime. The only systems that preserve the True Single coil Tone, are the Suhr & the Ilitch. (dummy coil)
@@michael_caz_nyc yeah I installed a set before. It did reduce the hum.
I want those pickups they sound fantastic, where did you get them from and how much? Please.
Hey Paul… I love this guitar!
What is the colour called?!?
Might be my favourite colour for a strat and would love to know
i think its candy apple green.
Say what you will, but the kinmans do the job and sound fantastic ckean crunch and stupidly overdriven too. Also they're very very sensitive to height, you can bring them much closer due to the incredibly low magnet pull and then you also get glassier.
Great vid as usual! In a previous video you mentioned that you loved the Silver Sky pickups - can I ask why you wanted to change them? I ask only coz after watching that video, I bought the same Silver Sky model as yours :) Thanks.
I didn’t want to change them, the kinman pickups were sent to us to review so I needed a guitar to do the swap.
My neuroses would never be able to adjust to the color tone differences between your pick up covers that are white and your knobs with your vintage cream lol
I so much prefer the tone of original single coils! All makers of noiseless pickups claim that their pickups accurately reproduce that chimy vintage strat tone, but all demos show that it is just not true. Kinmans sounded good, sure, suitable more many styles, especially for playing with distortion, but they don't give that glassy stratty tone :(
You are not aware that the pickups used in this TH-cam are just one of 12 different Strat pickups that Kinman makes. The Impersonator E56 in the Knopfler set most certainly gives that glassy Strat tone you crave.
I definitely prefer the look with the white gaurd, the tort gaurd with the black humbucker is a bit visually confusing..
The original pups sounded better, and maybe a lower output humbucker. JBs are pretty hot.
that Kinmans have been to the dentist pearly white
I reckon you might return to the glassy set with a vol pot change for the humbucker…
Maybe consider having vol, vol, master tone , whack in a 550k vol for humbucker only, regular 250k for single coils and a lowish value capacitor say 0.001uF to tame the glassiness.
The glassy tone once it’s gone.. it’s gone.
The Kinmans are great, I have the ‘62 set.. but the pickup covers.. yuk 😀
The JB likes a 500K pot. How about three volume pots on a strat?
My own personal taste: The original neck and middle had THE classic Stratocaster sound in spades. The replacements just sounded like nice single coils. I’d be happy with either, but if I got a guitar that had the Kinman set in it and I had the other ones on a shelf, I would switch the opposite way you did, because the other ones sound like vintage Strat pickups to my ears.
A lot of people don't realize how much hotter 50's Strat pickups were wound than the later ones. Both pickups sound like vintage Strats, just different eras. Check out the Kinman Impersonator 69 if you want the spanky 60's sound. I've been lucky enough to own pre-CBS and early-CBS Fenders and the older pickups are definitely hotter than people realize.
What model was the original neck singlecoil?
Your fender custom looks really nice ! is it candy lime green color ?
I think you’re right it is candy lime
What about the earth? Doesn’t that require soldering? Or am I missing something. I have a Duncan JB in my 71 Strat reissue. I’m putting a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the bridge instead.
The earth goes into a terminal on the harness, no soldering required
Ahhh OK. Thanks for that.
Normally, that Earth is connected to the bridge
Does anyone know what the original single coils are as i don't think mentions it.
I wanna know too!
What were the original pickups in the center/neck?
The turtle shell scratchplate looked much better
2:51 single coil neck
7:08 Kinman neck
any experrience with the fishman fluence?
Hi Paul, curious what amp was used in this video?
It was some time ago but I think it was an axefx3
Классный звук!
any pickguard brand recommendation, paul ?
Fenders are the only ones that seem to fit perfectly
what am did you use for the demo ?
No comparison . The original pickups are the Strat sound. Beautiful, glorious. Kinman in this case is downgrade. Listening on Focal speakers.
Not for me...i like the sound of the CS PUs much more. Sounds more familiar and fragile. Just my 2 cents.....
What style of reverb is that?
Yeah, sounds like the humbucker is out of phase with the middle pickup. (REAL out of phase, not what everyone calls “the Strat out of phase sound”, which is not really out of phase).
I put Kinmans in my Classic Vibe Thinline, and while they are extremely quiet and sound pretty good, the stock Alnicos sound better despite the hum. I also find the Kinmans to be a bit hot in a strange way- almost like an unpleasant clipping. The next noiseless I'll try are Fluence. i've got a Strat that the previous owner put older Fender Noiseless in, and they are OK but lack that glassy Strat magic. I'll try Fluence at some point.
I think I like the first set better. The new set is too bright. The first set had a more bluesy sound IMHO.
A mechanical only connection isn't as good as a solder joint and might cause problems down the road when corrosion starts. I much prefer the original pickups btw, the new ones sound too dull for a strat imo
Is that a Seymour Duncan "Jeff Beck" or a "JB" because JB stands for Jazz Blues...
Exactly...JB is JAZZ AND BLUES..Its not JEFF BECK..
@@claudionovaes5849 it's a well known story by now...the jb was an experimental pu made for Jeff...or he used for long time or something like that. Now if you don't want to pay the royalty (or rights or whatever it is) you can use any name you want. Really you play jazz with those pick ups? Great Paul
The old pickups sounds to me more into youre face..more balls....like that more...i dont think its an upgrade..if it comes to tone..but he ..thats my taste!
like the original set better. quack and glassiness
Agree 100%
Kinman are the weirdest. They do the harness but their pickups don't fit their harness unless you buy them adapted for it. I think their pickups must be the only ones in the world that don't actually fit their own harness. In addition to that they are a nightmare to solder into a guitar. They use pvc - don't wave the iron at it, and they have a thing where they run the ground in the same wire and then have a breakout about half way up. It's a horrid soldering job for a novice to do.
Weird.