$189.00
SurfMaster
SurfMaster: All the important attributes of original Fender pickups, plus this Kinman model, has a little more punch and output. Louder and more dynamic with a greater presence factor than the FatMaster, this pickup has a full-bodied sound with a powerful, sharp twang and exceptional piano mid-tones and all the highs you crave. The dynamic range is so excellent you immediately relate it to Dick Dales’s sound. Still, you’ll get more than that with these SurfMaster pickups because these are versatile and, in capable hands, can be used for grunge, indie, punk, shoegaze and just about anything.
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Description
SurfMaster – wound for sound
Big picture, BIG sound
Wound for Sound
SurfMaster: All the important attributes of original Fender pickups, plus this Kinman model, has a little more punch and output. Louder and more dynamic with a greater presence factor than the FatMaster, this pickup has a full-bodied sound with a powerful, sharp twang and exceptional piano mid-tones and all the highs you crave. The dynamic range is so excellent you immediately relate it to Dick Dales’s sound. Still, you’ll get more than that with these SurfMaster pickups because these are versatile and, in capable hands, can be used for grunge, indie, punk, shoegaze and just about anything.
You become the Master of your Jazzmaster.
The huge, lush bass end has a nice kick, which some refer to as a springy or bouncy sound courtesy of the huge dynamic range.
Middle switch position (bridge and neck SurfMasters on together) delivers better than authentic both-on-together sound with an intense hollow cluck.
NEWS Dec-22: SurfMaster-DV (Dual Voice) is now available with tapped coil for vintage and modern strong sounds (like the Extra) designed as a replacement for Jazzmaster American Pro II bridge pickup but can also be used in the neck position on other models. 3PDT Switch is required for other models. Zero-Hum in both modes.
We recommend the Mixed Sets ORDER CHANNEL, and you’ll get the following (12 July 2018)…
- SurfMaster (usually for neck position)
- SurfMaster Extra (new model and usually for bridge position)
- SurfMaster-T
The SurfMaster Extra has improved balance with the matching SurfMaster neck pickup (tonally and loudness-wise), which means the neck pickup can be adjusted higher to get all of its tones, and both pickups have the same volume. Both-on-together sound is absolutely wonderful with an intense hollow cluck, a nice little twang, and some nice attack. With extreme touch sensitivity, all 3 positions have an airy lightness and are a joy to play. There is now no need to do as Brett Kingman did in his YouTube demo (above) and install a SurfMaster in the bridge and a FatMaster in the neck to achieve an agreeable volume balance between the two pickups.
We recommend buying a matched set of SurfMaster Extra for the bridge and a SurfMaster for the neck position and not mixing with other models.
The 6-rod magnets are Kinman’s proprietary Alnico-K** magnets which deliver a cleaner sound devoid of string crash and pitch warble. Supplied with your choice of White, Parchment or Black covers. Original Fender covers are generally not suitable should you want other colors but Aged White and Cream covers without magnet holes are available on eBay. Use a brad point drill bit to make the holes to suit the magnet spreads we offer.
US Patents 7,022,909 & 8,791,351
Technical Stuff
Laser engraved identity nomenclature so you’ll never forget
Kinman pickups for Jazzmaster are direct replacements, and no modification to the guitar is required. Our standard 52mm spaced covers are interchangeable with USA, Japanese, and Korean covers. Our narrow 50mm version cover is not. A White, Parchment, or Black cover is included at your choice.
Some people will call these noiseless Jazzmaster pickups, but Kinman prefers to describe them correctly as Zero-Hum Jazzmaster pickups. That’s because there are 2 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
Number of parts in this pickup: 28
Number of parts in regular single coil: 11
Number of parts in other brands noiseless: There are no other noiseless Jazzmaster pickups with Alnico rod magnets. Kinman is the only one, and that makes it the coolest Jazzmaster pickup available.
Pickup adjustment
As with all Kinman Gen-2 pickups, these are very sensitive to height adjustment. A good starting point, so the neck and bridge pickups balance, is with the two E strings fretted at the 15th fret, adjusted as follows …
- bridge pickup, so the string-to-magnet gap is 1.25mm for both E strings
- neck pickup, so the string-to-magnet gap is 1.5mm for both E strings
Cavity depth
- 12mm (1/2″) standard cavity depth, plenty of height adjustment.
Connection means available
- Single wires for soldering.
- Also available with Kinman connectors for plugging into a Kinman Strat, Tele or KHP-90 Goodbye-Soldering Harness.
- We can make harnesses for some Jazzmasters upon request.
Hook-up wires
- 3 single hook-up wires, color-coded and facilitates series switching as well as phase reversing.
- Cut generously longer than necessary for the 2 stock Jazzmaster positions. Neck 37cm & 32cm bridge.
- Custom lengths by request with Order.
Output Polarity
- in-phase with Gibson and Copy humbuckers.
- in phase with all other Kinman pickups.
- opposite phase to Fender
- Can be phase reversed to match that of Fender pickups.
Pot & Capacitor values
- 500k Ohm or original Fender 1 Meg for Volume & Tone is recommended. 250k volume pot compromises the dynamic feel to an extent.
- The tone pot is usually the same value as the volume pot.
- Normal tone cap value of 0.022uF / 63 ~ 100 volts. Smaller value lessens the severity of the Treble cut and requires some experimentation.
Magnet spreads
- 52mm bridge & 50mm neck for Vintage USA bridges (55.3mm saddle spread)
- 50mm & 47.5mm for Narrow bridges such as Mastery, Tune-O-Matic, etc (52mm saddle spread)
- Narrow versions incorporate our unique Coil Spread Compensation Technology that restores performance that is lost when magnets are spaced closer together.
Magnet Staggers
- Normal improved Stagger to suit 7 ~ 14-inch uniform radius fretboards including USA Custom Guitar Compound 7-1/4″ ~ 9-1/2
- Flat Stagger for specific compound radius fretboards (eg, Warmoth 10 ~ 16-inch compound and Fender Deluxe Compound Radius)
- Option to indicate your fretboard radius is in the ‘After-Payment Additional Questions‘ email we send you.
Mounting hardware included
- We now include our own specially-made mounting screws.
- 4 Silicon Rubber tube springs are included.
Covers
- Available in White, Parchment & Black.
- With and without the Kinman logo.
- Original Fender covers are suitable only for 52mm magnet spreads, NOT for our 50mm and 47.5mm neck magnet spreads.
- Ask for a bridge and neck with 52mm magnet spreads if you intend to fit Fender covers, but only for vintage bridges.
- Aged White and Cream covers without magnet holes are available on eBay.
We highly recommend consulting the Install Guide in the Technical section, even if you think you know it all. Kinmans require specialized knowledge, and sometimes there is updated info.
We also highly recommend consulting the Adjust & Set-up page under the Technical Stuff header so you get the best out of your Kinman pickups.
** Alnico-K is a unique proprietary rod magnet developed by Kinman in 1985. It is Alnico-5 but 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.
* Fender and Jazzmaster are registered Trade Marks of Fender Musical Instrument Corp, Inc. Kinman is not associated with FMIC but they kindly permit us to refer to their Trade Marks to describe our products.
