Noiseless P90 Kinman vs. Fralin for Clean Jazz

[The Kid]

A buddy of mine is looking to put a P90 in the neck of his Eastman Archtop (Gibson ES175 copy) and doesn't want to deal with the 60 cycle hum. The guitar in question has one neck pickup.

I read on these forums that the Fralin P90 is more "polite" than the Kinman. Would this make the Kinman a better choice for clean tones in a jazz setting through a DRRI?

Thanks in advance!

 

[brianr0131]

If he wants real p90 tone....the kinman is really the only way to go. The others are really just humbuckers that are shaped like P90s for the most part. I've been through all of them too.

 

[gtrbarbarian]

+1 Kinmans are regarded as the best hum cancelling pickups that retain the vintage p90 tone. Lots of demos out there... They DO cost a bit though!

 

[The Kid]

Thanks guys.

He's also worried about routing out the HB slot to fit a P90. Would he be able to go back to a HB if he (for some reason) didn't like the Kinman?

I'm assuming that he'd probably need to get a pickup ring to cover the gap if he went back to a HB. Thanks again for all of the help!

 

[The Kid]

Man, now I'm thinking about buying an Eastman and putting a Kinman in it! That's what I get for helping out a friend. I guess no good deed goes unpunished... My wallet is going to get lighter very soon.

smdamnh.

 

[The Kid]

Thanks guys.

He's also worried about routing out the HB slot to fit a P90. Would he be able to go back to a HB if he (for some reason) didn't like the Kinman?

I'm assuming that he'd probably need to get a pickup ring to cover the gap if he went back to a HB. Thanks again for all of the help!

Any word on this?

 

[The Kid]

^^^ bump ^^^

 

[brianr0131]

Shouldn't be too hard but I think some wood is needed. A lot of people converted deluxes to HB in the 70s.

 

[The Kid]

Shouldn't be too hard but I think some wood is needed. A lot of people converted deluxes to HB in the 70s.

I'm not sure what a Deluxe is.

 

[feet]

unless he absolutely has his heart set on them, shouldn't he investigate the world of humbucker sized p90s instead? bg pups, lollar, duncan and others make some.

deluxe as in les paul deluxe, which came with minis stock.

 

[The Kid]

unless he absolutely has his heart set on them, shouldn't he investigate the world of humbucker sized p90s instead? bg pups, lollar, duncan and others make some.


deluxe as in les paul deluxe, which came with minis stock.

Ah, thank you. All I could think of were Deluxe amps!

He actually settled on a 57 PAF. All that for nothing. Now I want a Kinman noiseless in a hollow body. How did this happen???

 

[gtrbarbarian]

He should check out the Lollar Charlie Christian pickup in the humbucker size.. I have one in a tele that I use as my main jazz guitar, and sounds amazing...

 

[brianr0131]

He should check out the Lollar Charlie Christian pickup in the humbucker size.. I have one in a tele that I use as my main jazz guitar, and sounds amazing...

I think the goal was for hum free operation

 

[The Kid]

I think the goal was for hum free operation

Yes.

 

[Bandalero]

This thread is already a bit dated, but I'm going to resurrect it here with the addition of a quick +1 for Chris Kinman's Noiseless P90s.

I bought a new Epiphone (semi-hollow) Wildkat a few months back (how can you not for $500?), but the stock P90s 'sucked vapor' (they were painfully muddy), so I installed a set of Chris Kinman's Noiseless P90s, and I promised him at the time that I would follow-up with a full review, which I will soon do, somewhere.

Anyway, his Noiseless P90s are absolutely dead quiet, crystal clear and articulate, and full of gorgeous harmonics, just as advertised. In fact, I couldn't possibly be happier.

I've heard some say that sonically-speaking, P90s bear no resemblance to Dynasonics, and I think that for the most part, this is true. Dynas (at least in my limited experience) are edgier and lack the warm, rounder mid-range of a P90, but Chris Kinman's P90s are absolutely 'stellar' in bridging these two camps. They have the crisp, harmonic-rich highs typically associated with Dynas, while retaining the ballsy mid-range that is reminiscent of a '63 Firebird or a standard, overwound (fat strat) single coil without the muddiness. Basically, they've turned my $500 Wildkat into a +/- $2,000 guitar.

If they have any shortcoming at all, I would say the P90s lack the notably deep bottom-end that Dynas typically have, but otherwise, with Chris' Noiseless P90s, you get the nice crystalline highs of a Dyna, with the delicious mid-range bonus. Thus, they are well-worth the cost.

 

[jcs]

Not familiar with Dynasonics, what are these?

 

[Axis29]

Not familiar with Dynasonics, what are these?

Originally Gretsch pickups. They look a bit similar to P-90's and are similar in construction. They sound a little crisper, woodier. I think they also tend to hum a little less than P-90s, but are far from noiseless!

 

[Bandalero]

Or, for a completely different sound in a hollow body . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64fP_TMNSrM