What's the current noise regards noiseless? Pg5 Jag & JM review

[gibs]

Man I just wish I could decide which set would work for me. Not looking at the thickmasters, I know that much. I have a squier CV that I actually like the stock pickups in them. Just have noticed noise being an issue from time to time. It’s running 500k pots (I replaced the stock pots with S1 switches, for series/parallel and to allow me to go between stock rhythm circuit, and being able to use the toggle switch in the rhythm circuit. If they made 1meg S1 pots I would’ve gotten them). My understanding is that the stock CV pickups lean more towards the 60s era, so I’d think surfmastars would be my choice, however I’ve never felt like they sounded terribly harsh or over bright, even when it had 1meg pots, so maybe the fat masters would be a better choice? Wish there was a good comparison video of the 3 JM noiseless pickups.

[softcopymusic]

What were your thoughts on the Brandonwounds? They are right in the pocket of the $ I was looking to spend and sound relatively accurate on the online demos I could find

I purchased some Brandonwounds for my Squier Baritone Jazzmaster and I was quite happy with them and would buy them again.

Do I know what the Kinmans sound like? No.
Do they sound like Jazzmaster pickups? I think so, yes. The Brandonwound pickups sound like satisfying, jangly single-coil pickups with low end.
Are they noiseless? Oh hell yes.
Are they the right price? Absolutely.

[GreenKnee]

I wish I hadn't read this post as now I'm looking at some Kinman Jag pickups for a MIJ I want to save from being ignored


Edit: found them for sale in UK here for decent prices?
https://www.soundpad.co.uk/guitar/guita ... er-pickups

Edit edit: Punk, Surf and Mod all have pretty much the same description on the Kinman site

[Embenny]

I wish I hadn't read this post as now I'm looking at some Kinman Jag pickups for a MIJ I want to save from being ignored


Edit: found them for sale in UK here for decent prices?
https://www.soundpad.co.uk/guitar/guita ... er-pickups

Edit edit: Punk, Surf and Mod all have pretty much the same description on the Kinman site

I have the "blues" Jag pickups. They're great. Apparently, as of a month ago, they're now called "mod Jag" pickups on the Kinman site. Gosh, I hate how often he changes names. It doesn't make it easy to tell things apart, that's for sure.

So, the thing to know about the Jag pickups is that they're based on his Strat pickups, but with a special claw that doesn't mess up the magnetic field (a standard Jaguar claw would not be compatible with his design).

The Mod Jag is the MV strat pickup, which used to be called the Impersonator 54. I mentioned that because it's a model you can actually find demos of online.

The Surf Jag is the Impersonator 56 strat pickup, which is brighter with less mids.

The Punk Jag is the Texas Jalapeño strat pickup, which is an overwound, high output single coil type of tone.

Strats don't sound like Jags, but at least by listening to strat demos you get some sense of the differences.

I picked the Mod Jag for my '62 Jag because the original flat-pole pickups in the '62 were higher output, darker, and had more mids than the staggered-pole pickups in my '66. I figured I'd buy a set of Surf Jag pickups for that one, and preserve the natural differences between them.

And that's exactly what I got. Definitely louder and darker with more midrange than my '66, and not that far off from how the '62 sounded already.

The Surf - Mod - Punk trio for Jaguar is like the Surf - Fat - Thick trio for JM. And while not totally comparable, it's similar to the SD Vintage - Hot - Quarter Pounder trio that served as the only game in aftermarket Jaguar pickups for quite a number of years.

If you like Marrguar/AVRI type low output Jaguar jangle, stick to the Surf Jag. If you like your high end but want something just a bit thicker, go with the Mod Jag. And if you like Fender-sized P90s, go with the Punk Jag.

My eventual plan is to put Surf Jags in my '66 and Punk Jags in my Marauder type II, but I'm only 1/3rd of the way into that process.

One thing to know is that the Kinmans are ever-so-slightly oversized. I had to do a bit of gentle sanding of my pickguard to get them to fit, which would have sucked if it was a vintage guard. Fortunately, I had a modern plastic guard on it already, so I didn't mind at all, but I'll mention it because it might turn some people off.

In fairness, it was a Chinese replacement guard and not a vintage or AVRI part, so for all I know it might not be an issue for everyone, but the Chinese guard fit my old pickups just fine so I figure it might happen to anyone.

I should pull out my Jags for a side by side comparison again to remind myself of the differences, but I use the Kinmans 99% of the time because they sound so good and are noiseless (and they're also installed in my favourite/dream Jag) and they do everything I could ask of a Jaguar.

Like the Fatmasters, I'm using traditional 1M pots though. I could see them sounding much less like vintage pickups if you dropped the pots to 250k like Kinman personally suggests. But I like that the middle-output ones can still cover vintage territory when paired with bright pots.

[GreenKnee]

Thanks for the great run down, really appreciate that.

I have a '62 Jaguar that sounds fantastic; lots of bite, girthy mids and no ice pick treble. It's good to know the Kinmans can replicate that sound but for now I have that base covered with the stock pickups.
My AO Jag has Mojo Goldfoils which are spectacular and my favourite sounding pickup I've heard.
The MIJ Jag I'm going to have a play with and bring back to life currently has the AVRI '62 pickups installed. They're fine in their own right, but they don't sound like my actual '62 Jag that much at all, and so I might as well swap them out to cover a different tone and give myself options with my 3 Jags. Perhaps I'll look into the Kinman Punk some more and find some demos of the Texas Jalapeño pickups as this will be the biggest change from my current selection of sounds.


Edit: did I really just write 'girthy mids'!?

[DeathJag]

THANK YOU for this awesome post! I didn't USED TO have GAS for these...

So did the names change again? Are there still Fatmasters and Thickmasters?

Here's a question - do the Surfmasters resemble AV65 pickups? I find AV65 pickups to be way way too bright.

[andy_tchp]

Edit: did I really just write 'girthy mids'!?

You did.

Are they haunting though?

[Veitchy]

All this praise for Kinmans has me wanting a set now The fact he's an Aussie makes me want to double-down on a set.

60 Cycle hum has never bothered me much because I don't play with others as much as I'd like and all the places to play round here have interesting power to say the least. That said, I've rarely seen such a consensus on a product before and the explanations given for the JM pickups certainly sound like the sort of voicing I'd be into.

[JSett]

I wish I hadn't read this post as now I'm looking at some Kinman Jag pickups for a MIJ I want to save from being ignored


Edit: found them for sale in UK here for decent prices?
https://www.soundpad.co.uk/guitar/guita ... er-pickups

Edit edit: Punk, Surf and Mod all have pretty much the same description on the Kinman site

This is galling considering I've just forked out £350 inc shipping* for a pair of Jazzmaster ones direct from him.

*and will have to pay import taxes on top

[GreenKnee]

I wish I hadn't read this post as now I'm looking at some Kinman Jag pickups for a MIJ I want to save from being ignored


Edit: found them for sale in UK here for decent prices?
https://www.soundpad.co.uk/guitar/guita ... er-pickups

Edit edit: Punk, Surf and Mod all have pretty much the same description on the Kinman site

This is galling considering I've just forked out £350 inc shipping* for a pair of Jazzmaster ones direct from him.

*and will have to pay import taxes on top

Yeah that's shitty, I've no idea why the prices are so reasonable from soundpad, I've never even heard of them? Their selection is limited though, and for Jazzmaster they only have bridge pickups

[JSett]

Yeah that's shitty, I've no idea why the prices are so reasonable from soundpad, I've never even heard of them? Their selection is limited though, and for Jazzmaster they only have bridge pickups

My only guess would be they bought them a long time ago when they were possibly cheaper and the exchange rate was more in our favour. Either way it's a kick in the nuts.

I have ordered a pair of Jaguar ones though, those are $150 each on Kinmans website!

[sal paradise]

Yeah that's shitty, I've no idea why the prices are so reasonable from soundpad, I've never even heard of them? Their selection is limited though, and for Jazzmaster they only have bridge pickups

My only guess would be they bought them a long time ago when they were possibly cheaper and the exchange rate was more in our favour. Either way it's a kick in the nuts.

I have ordered a pair of Jaguar ones though, those are $150 each on Kinmans website!

Yeah, I’m wondering whether to order some of the JM ones anyway after all the positive noise (lol) here.

That’s just FOMO. I’ve got no problem with the creamery vintage set in mine. Compared to the stock MIJ pickups it was a complete transformation in tone.

[JSett]

Yeah, I’m wondering whether to order some of the JM ones anyway after all the positive noise (lol) here.

That’s just FOMO. I’ve got no problem with the creamery vintage set in mine. Compared to the stock MIJ pickups it was a complete transformation in tone.

Well, I also have Creamery's in mine (obviously, they're the best) so I can give you a full run-down on the difference whenever they arrive and I get them installed

[sal paradise]

Yeah, I’m wondering whether to order some of the JM ones anyway after all the positive noise (lol) here.

That’s just FOMO. I’ve got no problem with the creamery vintage set in mine. Compared to the stock MIJ pickups it was a complete transformation in tone.

Well, I also have Creamery's in mine (obviously, they're the best) so I can give you a full run-down on the difference whenever they arrive and I get them installed

Ah, that would be amazing. Thanks!

[ryanthellama]

Yeah that's shitty, I've no idea why the prices are so reasonable from soundpad, I've never even heard of them? Their selection is limited though, and for Jazzmaster they only have bridge pickups

My only guess would be they bought them a long time ago when they were possibly cheaper and the exchange rate was more in our favour. Either way it's a kick in the nuts.

Sounds like this is pretty much what happened. They used to have the neck pickups too and I emailed them to see if they’d be getting more and they told me they had purchased all the UK stock when the distributor decided to stop doing it and they’re basically just running through what’s left of that right now. Seems like they’ve had some talks to take over distro but that hasn’t happened yet.