I apologize for barging into this thread but there is some exciting news. As a lot of you will know I have had an ongoing relationship with Hank Marvin himself since 1998 when he took to using my pickups to solve the dreaded mains hum issue. About 2 years ago Paul Rossiter of TVS Echo Units fame alerted me to yet another flaw in Stratocaster pickups (copies and originals). We dubbed the fuzzy distorted sound from the low E-6th when picked with a strong upstroke on certain notes “Torn Cone Syndrome (TCS) because that’s what it sounds like. I actually have known about it since 1987 but Paul inspired me to do something about it. Having perfected my hum-cancelling technology and found a solution to excessively strong Alnico-5 magnets which shorten sustain and cause the strings to crash into frets I was dreading the next challenge.
So there I was two years ago faced with a huge challenge and I ended up spending a good deal of my time since then analyzing the reasons for, and experimenting and finally developing solutions for TCS. It’s is a complex, difficult to understand electro-magnetic problem which, in the end, required 4 new technologies to remedy. It’s no small wonder that the problem has gone unresolved until now, only a compulsive obsessive nut-case like myself would contemplate spending 2 years to find a solution. And by the way, all Strat pickups (originals and copies, non-noiseless and noiseless) produce TCS … that is until now.
Just a few weeks ago I sent Paul yet another pickup for testing, the latest in quite a number of test pickups, but I hoped this one would meet with his approval. I had an answer within a few days “You’ve done it” … I was overjoyed and breathed a huge sigh of relief as you might imagine. Little old me did what others neglected to do for the past 60 odd years so I gave myself a little pat on the back.
Paul and Gary Taylor of UB Hank fame recorded Dance On and Peace Pipe with the new pickup and they have stated it sounds better than a Fender CS54 noisy single coil and they prefer mine to the Fender. I have named the new Gen-3 model the Magnum Opus 59 with the inference I have turned Lead into Gold, an aspiration of the ancient Alchemists who never achieved that particular Magnum Opus.
Announcing the imminent release of the new Kinman Magnum Opus 59. It's the iconic but crude Strat pickup perfected. The improvements are ...
1) Zero-Hum
2) low string pull from less powerful magnets
3) optimum string-over-magnet alignment regardless of vintage or narrow modern bridges
4) inventing technology that produces absolutely authentic 50's Stratocaster sound in a noiseless pickup (almost the biggest challenge in my life)
5) eliminated harsh sound on high notes
6) minimizied
TCS (torn cone syndrome - fuzzy distortion from strong plectrum upstrokes on certain notes on the low E-6th)
Listen to 'Dance On' played by Gary Taylor (UB Hank fame) on the neck pickup and see if you agree the sound is spot on vintage 60's Shadows
https://kinman.com/mp3/dance-on-magnum-opus-e54.phpAlso listen to 'Peace Pipe' also played by Gary
https://kinman.com/mp3/peace-pipe%20magnum-opus-e54.phpFor a sneak preview and more about the story of the new Magnum Opus '59 Zero-Hum perfected Stratocatser pickups
https://kinman.com/model-products.php?p ... %20Pickups NOTE: these will be released within 2 weeks and may be ordered under the Hank Marvin product Tab
https://kinman.com/model-products.php?p ... med%20SetsThis is a big thing for me and I'm waiting with bated breath to see your reactions. All the best and thanks for your interest, Chris Kinman