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| I have often yearned for the tones of a humbucker, but with very rare exceptions I am consistently frustrated when gigging by the lack of 'touch' these pickups normally possess. The 'tone' is often there (although more often it's not!), but that essential dynamic quality that good single-coils have is almost always missing. And over 35 years, I have tried countless humbuckers! So, when I heard that Chris Kinman was working on the development of a humbucker design that addressed these inherent shortcomings, I simply had to let him know I'd be interested in acquiring a pair. After all, I was a total convert to his single-coils, having various incarnations of his pickups in most of my gigging guitars (including, of course, my much-loved Cargill Tele® - and also see the Hamer XT I installed a pair of Kinman P90s in here). At that time (mid 2011) I was also looking at having a Telecaster body specially built to my specs to accept 'normal' humbuckers, as for me this would be the ideal 'bucker guitar to use. I specified a standard Tele control plate, but reversed (as I prefer the volume knob to the front, selector switch to the rear), through-body stringing, and a special short bridge. I also planned to use standard Fender amp knobs, for quick visual reference on stage what my settings were, and also the grooved plastic surface I have found perfect even for sweaty fingers to set quickly and accurately, and to do volume and tone swells using my little finger while flatpicking or fingerpicking (hence my long-term preference for the reversed control panel). Just as I was about to place a quite expensive order to have a body and neck specially made, I became aware of Fender's then-new Mexican 'Blacktop' series, which amazingly was laid out exactly as I'd specified for my custom build! So, the custom build order was abandoned, and a brand new Mexican (something I'd sworn would never happen) Fender Blacktop Telecaster was purchased. Straight out of the box, the Tele was a mix of mostly good and a little bad. Lamentable setup (really, do Fender expect people to play these things?), but surprisingly good finish, tonewoods, pots, wiring, and most hardware. Neck fit in the pocket was exemplary. My only criticisms would be the pickups (OK, I dislike most humbuckers anyhow, but these were quite 'grainy' and unbalanced, if offering a surprising amount of bite and even a smidgin of good old 'tone'), and possibly the tuners, which in fairness are very smooth, very good ratio, and probably just need a bit of time to become less 'sticky' - once in tune they'll stay in tune through a set of extreme bending without any worries. A surprising package for the money, and even out of the box a serious bargain. By late 2011 the Kinman humbuckers were ready for the market. Chris is a perfectionist, and nothing is released onto the market until absolutely everything meets his high standards. My pair of Kinmans - a Clean Skin (4.87k) for the neck position and an Extra Vintage Astound (5.1k) for the bridge - arrived in the post, both with very low serial numbers, and both simply stunning in their level of detail of workmanship and finish These were fitted to the guitar, and I also fitted an aftermarket Bigsby copy and did my own modifications to the bridge (after much deliberation - and it works perfectly!) - the result is everything I wanted plus a lot more. This guitar is a serious tone machine! Fantastic power coupled with perfect 'touch', lovely clear highs, no grain whatsoever. These Kinman humbuckers are truly a revelation, and I can heartily recommend them. This is presently not for sale.
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