Pick-up Upgrade (2 Guitars :1xStrat + 1xHohner GT-2)

V8

Hi All,

New to forum, would like your opinion on an impending guitar pick-up upgrade.

I've got two electrics I'm really fond of:

1. 95' Jap Strat. 3x Stock Fender Single Coil pickups, in process of getting re-fretted, graphtech bridge & saddles & string retainers fitted, new pickup guard, gotoh locking tuners.

Love the twangy single coil tone, the bridge pickup cuts through anything, the 2 & 4 positions 'quack' funkily and the neck pickup is as close the dynamics of an acoustic nylon string I've heard on a 'standard' guitar. However the 60hz hum is driving me crazy! I really enjoy the dynamics of the single coil as well as the variety of tones from the 3 single coil configuration. Want to preserve this Strat sound & dynamics.

2. 80's Hohner GT-2 headless guitar. 2xStock Passive Humbuckers (EMG Select's). Steinberger bridge, etc... It's heavy and rockin', pickups get a muddy and indistinct though.

I play pretty much every kinda music, mainly Blues (Clean and Dirty) and Rock/Metal (Loud, Heavy).

Am thinking to setting the Strat up for the bluesy/clean stuff and the Hohner for the Metal/Heavier Rock.

After much reading (here and harmony-central) I was thinking of setting the Strat up with DiMarzio Area's (61 in bridge, 58 in middle&neck or maybe a 67 in the neck) And custom wiring up a Neck/Bridge tone and maybe the 'All 3 on' tone. The dimarzio's are availabile locally @ Marshall - heard/read interesting things around the Australian "Kinman' pickups?

For the Hohner I was thinking of going for a pair of Semour Duncan P-Rail SHPR-1's I saw last year. I like the idea of versatility in these pickup's - Not obsessed with the ultimate metal tone as much as a versatile heavy rock tone (ala AC/DC), & I do enjoy easily getting pinch harmonics!

Running everything through a POD X3 Live into a flat(ish) PA system. Took 12mths of reading & screwing around to get decent sounds out of it, but even the tone-maestro guitar teacher is impressed the versatility :?

Anybody running these pickups? I saw Alan (!Guru!) has played pretty much everything ? All comments welcome!

Thanks

Meron

AlanRatcliffe

I've been a Kinman fan for years and have just reviewed the DiMarzio Areas for the last edition of Muse magazine.

I was pretty impressed with the Area 61-58-58 combo, for a vintage-style dynamic, bright, quacky, Knopflerish tone with a touch more grunt in the bridge. Comparable to the Kinman Traditional MK II set tonally, and if anything slightly more dynamic (the Kinman's are much better made though, but more expensive and must be ordered from Oz). Unfortunately I didn't have a '67 for review, but on paper they are even more bright and percussive than the '58s, so I wouldn't go for those unless the guitar was very dark.

Trying for a slightly hotter, darker, bluesier sound, I tried the 61 in the middle with a Virtual Vintage '54 at the bridge and kept a '58 at the neck. The '61 didn't sound as good in the middle position and killed the quack in 2 & 4. The '54 worked well in the bridge as a singlecoil with a lot more grunt, so if I wanted a hot bridge pickup and didn't mind losing the quack from position 2, I'd be happy with that and a pair of '58s. So for a Bluesier tone, the Kinman Blues still work best for me (they are what the guitar started out with - and they ended up back in there). The Blues are overall the same as the Traditional MKIIs, but slightly hotter and a little warmer - still with slightly more grunt from the bridge and very well matched for quack.

The Duncan P-Rails I haven't tried myself yet, but from all the clips I have heard, a fine choice for flexibility with good P90 and decent humbucker tones. The single-coil sounds are not very convincing to my ear, but the parallel coil humbucker sound makes up for that with a unique, bright and very articulate humbucker sound. I wouldn't hesitate to try them in a GT-2, but you are going to be pressed for switch space, so choose wisely. Also bear in mind that the P90 and single-coil settings are not hum cancelling.

V8

Whew, thanks for the advice Alan - I value your opinion & experience over the manufacturer and harmony-central users reviews! Just trawled the Kinman site and I was very impressed - the wiring harnesses are a stroke of "Plug 'n Play" genius!

So after some virtual retail therapy @ Kinman, I saw the pick-up set's with the wiring harnesses. Works out to (imho) incredibly reasonable R2800 for pick-ups + R800 for K5/7 Harness or R1300 for K9 harness. Shipping shouldn't be too silly - probably R500...Waiting for pay-day =(, but compared to the DiMarzio's (R2200 for a set of 3 - best local price I can find) it's too good to resist. Chris Kinman is definitely passionate about sound - And I havn't seen a bad review of the kinman's yet.

Looks like I'm gonna have to do some more research on which set of Kinman's to go for - SInce the SD P-Rails hum in P-90 mode and single coil mode (Thanks again Alan, I didn't check this), then I'm better off getting the Strat sounding sweet first with a set of kinman's + K9 setup and leave the GT-2 for the moment (and stay within budget!).

I started drooling @ the woodstock plus set...being able to back off the volume to 8 get a cleaner sound, then crank it up to 10 and get the dynamics from just a volume pot - I'm liking this thinking...still get some quack with the K9 harness, but also get a big kick from the bridge pick-up, anyone tried this setup yet? Seems like I should be able to get 90% of the sounds I'd want just from this setup (besides extreme hi-gain metal)

Meron

AlanRatcliffe

Chris charges a flat rate of $42 for shipping a set IIRC.

I've got Woodstocks in one guitar (Regular, not Plus though) - a great blues/rock set, quite warm and still punchy with quack on 2 & 4. Awesome bridge pickup for drive - one of the best I've ever encountered. They work best in a bright guitar (mine is ash body, maple board), or if you want a warmer, fatter tone over a standard Strat. If you put them in a dark guitar they might be a bit too warm for you, depending on what you want. Gareth at Marshall Cape Town has a set in an Alder body, rosewood board and we both find it to be a little dark.

The Plus bridge pickup is a notch up in output and darkness over the Regular. It's not quite a Strat pickup, but still sounds like a single coil - works where you want a jump in volume at the bridge pickup and don't mind losing some position 2 quack. Chris compares the tone with a P90.

MoJo-JoJoe

V8

Heya,

I had to have a good look at my Strat. It's been re-finished from a ugly turquoise metallic blue to a 'natural' wood finish w/light coat of lacquer. It was (imho) a pretty good job, I went googling tonewoods and the best results was on...http://www.ratcliffe.co.za/articles/bodywoods.shtml - Thank You Alan!

From my reading: Apparently the Japanese used a lot of basswood in their bodies, this one 'matches' the description of basswood (soft, light wieght, light colour). It's also got a rosewood fingerboard.

Tonewise, I find the sound less jangly than the few Strat's I have played - unamplified it's quite a resonant thing, even comparable to my Martin Backpacker ?. I'll chat to Gareth when he gets back from leave (Monday, apparently) See if he'll let me test drive his Strat =)

I went through all the sound clips off Kinman.com - The clean tone Avn Blues clip was seriously smokin', but the distorted tone Woodstock Plus clip got me jumping out my seat...!

MoJo-JoJoe

AlanRatcliffe

MoJo JoJoe wrote Gareth's Strat now has Fender Vintage Noiseless and Clapton boost circuit installed.

Oddly enough, I knew that - we spoke before and after he did it.

@V8 - my Cort with the Woodstock regulars is getting another piezo setup this weekend (Woodstocks work brilliantly with piezos - they blend like they were designed for each other), then it's going to it's new home next week - RiaanV. Perhaps you could pop in to one of Riaan's gigs some time soon to hear it.

MoJo-JoJoe

V8

Hey guys,

Thanks for the info!

I pop into Marshall music every wednesday anyways (after lesson @ jazzwrkshp), Gareth and I enjoy chewing the fat and talking about toys ? He originally pointed me towards the dimarzio's, so it'll be interesting to get his opinion on the woodstock's.

Alan Ratcliffe wrote RiaanV. Perhaps you could pop in to one of Riaan's gigs some time soon to hear it.

Forgive my ignorance Alan, where would I catch Riaan playing? The only gig I make a habit of attending is James w/Acid Blues @ Carnival Court - I'm a bit out of the music scene @ the moment.

Thanks again guys,

Meron

andrewjbryson

Hey V8, sorry i missed this post, and i wont have time to read all the replies..

I have a 94 Jap Strat with Kinman Woodstocks... They work really well.
I also have a 99 Mex Strat with Kinman Traditionals MKII...

I prefer the sound of the Traditionals for clean , and Woodstocks for Overdrive.

The TradMK2 are pure Vintage Fender Tone , at its best, without the hum...

The Woodstocks are more "modern" sounding IMO.

But you cant go wrong with either pair.

I havent tried the Dimarzio Area's but Im sure they are also great aftermarket pickups.

Happy ToneHunting