fehgalloway Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Hi all... I've been looking around a replacement pickups for a while now and found this guy Kinman it turns out his shop is 10mins from my house, but nearly DIED when i saw how much he hits up for them (i'm sure they're good.....but..... ) Has anyone used them, know if they're any good...ie WORTH THE MONEY... You can buy a average 2nd hand guitar for the price he's asking (i guess if i'm questioning the price, then I obviously don't have the equipment or skill worth buyint them for - correct ...... i'm just wondering) Thanks everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 The US prices on his site are pretty well in line with high-end pickups over here (well, Fralins and Rio Grandes, the only ones i have personal experience with). Why are the Australian prices so much higher? It looks like it would actually be cheaper to have somebody in the States buy them and ship them back to Australia! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fehgalloway Posted September 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 It is more expensive to buy them online if you're in Australia.... AU$490 for 3 pack strats You can easily get the Squire beginners pack for that much plus save $150... AU$445 If i go to the USA Shop.... How rude is that!! there would want to be a good reason - actually it's probably GST, which is 10%...but still!!!!!! I just was wondering if the BIG name companies can justify charging THAT much for pups when cheapies are SOOOO much cheaper... they're still made the same - just with not as good quality stuff... Do you think it's a justified price hike? or no....? I'm looking at making pickups myself - I reckon I can make each for $15...I'm buying a REALLY small quantity of materials - sure they'll probably be dodgy compared to Fender or Kinman, but all that is is a fancier machine.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Sorry, Fiona, all I can say is that it does make a difference - whether that difference is worth the upcharge is up to your ears and your budget. I personally don't think so, but I also don't see the point of using a vintage blackface Fender Deluxe with a fancy Tube Screamer clone, so I'm probably completely out of touch. The whole boutique/vintage market is something I'll never understand. You can always use inexpensive pickups in the initial build, and upgrade them later if they don't make you happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mailloux Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 I'm looking at making pickups myself - I reckon I can make each for $15...I'm buying a REALLY small quantity of materials - sure they'll probably be dodgy compared to Fender or Kinman, but all that is is a fancier machine.... I'm also making my own pickups to save on the final cost of my 1rst instrument. I'm making a 5 string musicman type humbucker for bass. It'll cost me less than 20$ to build the whole thing and good ones from seymour duncan and Bartolini are about 100- 180$ I already have alnico 5 rod magnets for the whole thing. It's all in the way you wind your pickups. If the first wind sucks, you can always rewind and reajust your output (Ohm). It's hell of a lot cheaper than buying anything decent, you get to learn something cool and if you've got good magnets, you'll have good pickups. There's plenty of places and tutorials on the net to learn to build pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakyhands Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 I have read heaps at Kinmans site and elsewhere and I think the reason they are so expensive is because he keeps telling everyone how wonderful he is and how wonderful the pickups are. People believe his marketing hype and buy them. I have heard his pickups and yeah they're ok. but...I have heard other cheaper pickups and thought they sounded ok too. ..I have read good reviews and also bad...actually reading stuff from Kinman turned me off because the more I read the more I thought.."This guy's really keen on himself". Ok you have to market your product but dont go overboard if trying to market to me! Anyway, I just cant see how his prices can be justified Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddgman2001 Posted September 7, 2004 Report Share Posted September 7, 2004 If you've ever taken the cover off one and had a look at how they are built, you'll wonder why he's charging so little compared to the others. They are extremely well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakyhands Posted September 8, 2004 Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 I've seen the insides of them & know what's there .So without getting into an argument here, tell us why you think they are so special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivin Posted September 8, 2004 Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 Im not trying to discourage anyone from getting into making their own pickups or anythign else, but you have to be realistic... its a bit naive to think you can jump with no experience and come out with pickups that woudl even be close to kinmans or any other good pickup in your first or second go. You may pull it off, but you cant go in expecting that. You would have to go into it with the mindset that you dont care how much money time or effort you will need to put into it to do it right. Kinmans are expensive, but from my understanding they aren't a factory mass produced product, and from what ive seen and heard they are very high quality and sounded very nice as well as being totally silent. Maybe im wrong and they are mass produced now... but either way, if they are too expensive for you then just dont buy them - Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddgman2001 Posted September 8, 2004 Report Share Posted September 8, 2004 I've seen the insides of them & know what's there .So without getting into an argument here, tell us why you think they are so special. Well for starters: - Custom deep covers in normal and tight spaced poles - mould charges of $5000 each at least. - Custom stamped and formed then heat treated Mu-metal shield. - The bobbin flanges look custom - The bottom poles look to be custom, they could be off the shelf, but I've never seen mild steel pins in any of my suppliers catalogs. - The top magnets are shorter than standard, I assume custom sized for Kinman. - The bottom flange is made out of tougher to work with fiberglass circuitboard material complete with identification silk screening and solder mask - a nice touch. - A high quality shielded lead, trimmed to length with the ground nicely pulled out and heat shrink applied. There maybe or probably are more complex designs out there, but compared to a typical Strat style pickup these are a lot more work and have more exotic and expensive materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakyhands Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 The exotic and expensive materials mean zilch to me. Its about the tone. and for the expenses involved I have chosen other pickups which to me either match or sound better than Kinmans and at a much better price. Ok heaps of design work and expensive materials may have been involved in the construction but the end result is tone and if a person wants to pay high prices thats up to them if they are happy with that tone. If youre happy with Kinman pickups great ! That's your choice. Not mine though. I think we can give this thread a rest now. Otherwise we're just pissing in the wind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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