5 string J-Bass

Description

5 String Chameleon J-Bass

Here are our new 5-string J-Bass Chameleon models.

Coming soon …..

Much like our 4-string J-Bass pickups, these have exceptional punch and extraordinary versatility and, like a Chameleon, change their (sonic) colors according to your state of arousal. And we did it without active electronics, so, “look, Ma…. no batteries,” … and you won’t need a Glockenklang or any other Eq preamp to get these sounds!

When aroused, it’s perfect for attention grabbing solos with the dynamic tap, slap, n smack techniques of the bass virtuoso, and you’ll be amazed just how easy it becomes with our Chameleon pickups. As a local bass player who dropped by the factory recently said, “Wow, playing this style is so effortless! I hardly have to exert my fingers and hands. Man, these things are responsive. And I can get all these different sounds; it’s amazing” He bought a PJ set there and then and went away in a state of excitement and high spirits to tell all his friends about Kinman.

Nobody steals your THUNDER.

Sonic Characteristics: Have you noticed that ordinary bass sound tends to get lost in the mix because the low frequencies lack presence, and you find yourself wanting to up the volume? Well, we fixed that with our patented technology, and your ‘B’ string, in particular, will have as much definition, lively dynamics, and tone as a top-end multiscale bass such as a Dingwall, which is known for its performance on the ‘E’ and the 5th ‘B’ string.

The Chameleon produces a thick, free-flowing chocolaty sound that has lower midrange prominence and a detailed gritty piano-like presence with round wound strings so that you don’t need to play loud in order to be heard. Both pickups turned up completely yields a wonderful surprise, a low, mid scoop with chunky, gritty upper mids with extra bouncy sound and presence, our favorite bass sound … even at low room volume. Scooped Bass sound that lacks midrange must be played thunderously loud to be heard; even then, it’s felt rather than heard, and it struggles with definition, not so Kinman bass pickups.

These things respond well to light and heavy pick attacks, so there is quite a rainbow of tonalities. But the big surprise is when you mix them with the respective volume controls and apply a bit of treble cut with the tone control, and you’ll get a double rainbow of tonalities and effects. You won’t need a fuzz pedal.

More midrange presence and less boom that, ‘s also surprisingly superior for slap n pop style. But, when played fingerstyle with the tone rolled back a bit, you’ll be surprised how close to an upright bass your sound is (the extra dynamics impart the “bounce” you hear from an upright bass). These pickups are versatile, and you won’t need a Glockenklang or any other Eq preamp or even Series switching or fuzz pedals to get these sounds! Also, we engineered the bridge version to be a perfect match for the P-Bass neck pickup in PJ Basses.

Who says bass sound can’t be lively, tuneful, and dynamic? Turn up the amp treble, which makes factory pickups sound ordinary; turn the treble down a bit, and it still outshines original factory pickups; it’s a win-win for you.

And one more thing ….. does the tinny nasal sound of the G string annoy you? Well, it certainly annoys us, so we developed a special coil winding technique that has two benefits …

• Align the G string’s sound with the other strings by negating that annoying nasal character. Now walking bass lines that culminate on the G string have a natural and pleasing tone progression, and the G doesn’t stand out like the proverbial dog’s balls.
• Gets rid of that horrible empty tinny sound of fresh wound strings, even with lots of treble on the front of your amp.

Why so long? Bass pickups have unique sonic performance requirements, and until recently, the technology for passive high-performance Zero-Hum single-coil bass pickups did not exist … that is, until Kinman invented it.

Signal chain requirements: Any old cable won’t do. It is highly recommended to use a low capacitance cable to get the incredible performance of these pickups.

Some people will call these noiseless Jazz bass pickups, but Kinman prefers to describe them correctly as Zero-Hum Jazz bass pickups. That’s because there are two types of noise, Hum which is canceled in the pickup, and Buzz, which can only be minimized by shielding the wiring cavities (refer to >Technical >Perfect Guitar >Shielding for newer guitars

*Precision Bass and Jazz bass* are Trade Marks of Fender Musical Instrument Corp. Kinman is not connected to Fender.

** Alnico-K is a unique proprietary rod magnet developed by Kinman in 1985. It has 40% less string pull than Alnico-5, so sustain is longer, and there is much less clatter from string crash and no Strat-itis string warble.