Kinman vs. Fralin vs. Bill Lawrence vs. Duncans

[Cron]

Hey.

Been looking for some new strat pups.
Which do you guys prefer.
I've heard great things of all three. Allthough I dont like the Samarium cobalt noiseless pups designed by Bill Lawrence for the new fenders. Maybe his 280s is still great.

I've tried the seymours, I'm just looking to try something new.

 

[jmcorey]

Re: Kinman vs. Fralin vs. Bill Lawrence vs. Duncans

I have Bill Lawrence 290's. I tried the Samarium cobalts and don't like them either. not as clear, good high end as his 280's or 290's for that matter. They are a very inexpensive way to get a great clean strat sound. The HC reviews, as you can read them, are all fantastic. They are a great investment.

Kinman's may be better, but they are really expensive.

Joe

 

[theodie]

Re: Kinman vs. Fralin vs. Bill Lawrence vs. Duncans

I have the 280's also and I cant say much bad about them. Very versatile pickups!!

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: Kinman vs. Fralin vs. Bill Lawrence vs. Duncans

I really like Fralins. I had a set of 'real 54s' and they were great.

I played a strat with kinmans a while ago and wasn't that impressed, but I hear good things from others.

John Suhr's v60 pickups have a great rep as well. Mike Landau considers them the best strat pickup out there, and what that guy doesn't know about strat tone isn't worth knowing.

Matching pickups to wood is sort of a voodoo science. I've seen all kinds of weird combinations work. One of the best strats I've ever heard was an 80s tokai with a basswood body and emgs, the kind of setup I'd normally steer well clear of.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Kinman vs. Fralin vs. Bill Lawrence vs. Duncans

I like the Antiquity Surfer set or the Ant Surfer neck and middle with an Ant Texas Hot Custom Bridge pickup and the Fralin Vintage Hots with the Fralin Steel Pole 43 bridge pickup better than any other single coil Strat pickups I've ever owned, including the originals in my '63 Strat.

Never tried the Kinmans or the Lawrence. But I've owned Dimarzios, Van Zandts, Fender Texas Specials and others.

I like the Van Zandts too and have a set of the Van Zandt True Vintage...excellant pickups, similar to the Duncan SSL-1's, but I like the Antiquitys and Fralins more. Lew

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Kinman vs. Fralin vs. Bill Lawrence vs. Duncans

My favorites are Antiquity Surfers, Fralin Vintage Hots, and Fender Fat 50's.
Initially, I used Fat 50's, then felt the need to move up to the other two.
Somehow, my ear will always really love Fat 50's, and they especially go good with a Duncan humbucker like a C-5, 59, JB, or CC. That's why Fender makes a lot of Custom Shop HSS guitars with a Duncan/2 Fat 50's.

I guess if you're looking to create the ultimate SSS strat, go with Lew's advise.
He's right about all those strat combos.
If you're looking to go HSS, go with a Duncan and 2 Fat 50s.

 

[Falstaff]

Re: Kinman vs. Fralin vs. Bill Lawrence vs. Duncans

I had a strat with Kinmans (the classic set) and liked them a lot. I ended up selling the guitar so I sold the pickups. Supposedly the newer ones are even better (he's tweaking the designs a bit). But there are a ton of other choices out there as well.

 

[mrfjones]

Re: Kinman vs. Fralin vs. Bill Lawrence vs. Duncans

well i am kinda stuck on the antiquities for my strat but i also like the voodoo pickups in my newest tele. they really jump out and have a great voice to them. they are pretty hot too. i really liked dealing with peter florance too. i think when i ordered my pickups we talked for almost an hour about all of his pickups and what he does with them and why.

 

[alanfc]

Re: Kinman vs. Fralin vs. Bill Lawrence vs. Duncans

ANYONE-

have you ever tried an Kinman HX-85 in your Strat bridge? (Kinman's hottest output) And have you ever used a SD Lil59 too? I have a Lil 59 and took it out a long time ago (different tastes),,

Now I'm wondering, output -wise, how the HX-85 compares to the LIL 59?.

Thanks

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Kinman vs. Fralin vs. Bill Lawrence vs. Duncans

The L280's are very good noiseless strat pickups. They can be very much like early 60's strat pickups tonewise, and they are pefectly quiet in tough situations were a true single coil would be almost unworkable.

Carefull adjustment of the pickup height is key with the 280's, as they can get a wide variety of response that way.

I like to have a strat with a noiseless option on hand, and I havn't noticed much, if any, of a compromize in tone, compared to good true single coils, with carefully set up 280's.

 

[Bludave]

Re: Kinman vs. Fralin vs. Bill Lawrence vs. Duncans

Hey.

Been looking for some new strat pups.
Which do you guys prefer.
I've heard great things of all three. Allthough I dont like the Samarium cobalt noiseless pups designed by Bill Lawrence for the new fenders. Maybe his 280s is still great.

I've tried the seymours, I'm just looking to try something new.

For a vintage sounding Strat I would lean towards 3 models. The Texas Hots (Antiquities), Surfers (Antiquity II) or the Fralin Blues Specials. I have a 57' RI Strat that has the Texas Hots and they smoke. I am in the process of putting together a new Strat (hopefully will be done this weekend) and this will have the Surfers. The Fralin Blues specials are pretty awesome as well. I don't think you can go wrond with any of these 3 sets. If you are looking for a more modern sound........ I don't know!