Kinmans are only dead silent when I'm touching metal on the guitar

[Andy Eagle]

As noted on the Kinman site, it is important to note the difference between hum and noise. Kinmans are not noiseless pickups, they are hum-free pickups. Humbucker pickups also are hum-free, but no conventional magnetic pickup is noiseless. Calling a magnetic pickup "noiseless" is a misnomer. You have to shield the guitar to minimize noise. Noise comes for RF that is pretty much anywhere there is electricity, so you will always get some noise. The goal is to minimize it. I have several Kinman sets and they are all pretty quiet, but the quietest "single coil" pickups I have ever used were Bill Lawrence pickups.

The difference in shielding everything with copper foil and quality parts with a screened output cable in normal everyday circumstances will not be apparent except the over screened guitar has attenuated treble and sounds worse.

 

[Randall d]

The difference in shielding everything with copper foil and quality parts with a screened output cable in normal everyday circumstances will not be apparent except the over screened guitar has attenuated treble and sounds worse.

Perhaps it depends on your "everyday circumstance".

 

[Andy Eagle]

Perhaps it depends on your "everyday circumstance".

Not really, When the power supply has a poor earth you will have an issue even if you sit in a copper tent.

 

[GitGuy513]

except the over screened guitar has attenuated treble and sounds worse.

Maybe it was this part that the issue was taken. Especially the “sounds worse” part. This would have to be purely a subjective opinion since among many things, attenuating highs in general are what we’re trying to achieve most the time with electric guitar tone. Here again it’s very subjective. Before anything one would have to accept the concept that shielding the control cavity and even pups cavity will make an extreme enough difference to even matter.

I swore I was going to stay out of this after my initial set of comments, but couldn’t help myself.

 

[Andy Eagle]

Maybe it was this part that the issue was taken. Especially the “sounds worse” part. This would have to be purely a subjective opinion since among many things, attenuating highs in general are what we’re trying to achieve most the time with electric guitar tone. Here again it’s very subjective. Before anything one would have to accept the concept that shielding the control cavity and even pups cavity will make an extreme enough difference to even matter.

I swore I was going to stay out of this after my initial set of comments, but couldn’t help myself.

Ok, different is point of view on this like covers on or off on PAFs.

 

[Techboy57]

Sounds to me like your guitar could use some shielding. When you touch the metal parts that are grounded, you become part of the shielding, and any hum/noise you pick up (you are an antenna) is drained away to ground and not transmitted into the wiring....

I put copper foil in the pickup cavities with a wire to ground, and will also do the control compartment. It helps, if you have a noisy environment....

Damn thats a gorgeous chunka Tele !!!!

 

[Joe Bfstplk]

Damn thats a gorgeous chunka Tele !!!!

Thanks!

 

[Randall d]

Not really, When the power supply has a poor earth you will have an issue even if you sit in a copper tent.

I am talking about RF, not power issues. Tons of lights with old dimmers and you have a LOT of RF flying around. And your guitar makes a good antenna.

 

[Andy Eagle]

I am talking about RF, not power issues. Tons of lights with old dimmers and you have a LOT of RF flying around. And your guitar makes a good antenna.

I was talking about both.

 

[iaresee]

God I hate soldering to large pieces of metal. Even scuffed up and using flux I have a beast of a time getting the solder, wire and metal to stick.

But yea, like a year later I can report back that the ground to the bridge wasn't solid enough. Soldering the wire fixed all problems and these pickups are dead, dead, DEAD silent now. So on top of sounding stellar, they're now silent. Love 'em.

 

[iaresee]

@unix-guy the reason this fix took so long is because I haven't changed strings on this Telecaster since December 2022 apparently! And I've been gigging it a ton!