J-Bass Chameleon

Description

J-Bass Chameleon pickups ~ dynamic, gritty presence, Zero-Hum

Chameleon ~ Zero-Hum

This order channel is for a single pickup.  Go back a page and choose Mixed Sets of Bass Pickups if that’s what you want.

Originally named Rhythm Section we changed the name to Chameleon because we found this pickup has extraordinary versatility and, like a Chameleon, changes it’s (sonic) color according to your state of arousal.

When aroused it’s perfect for attention grabbing solos with dynamic tap, slap n smack techniques of the bass virtuoso.  However they are a versatile multifaceted chameleon, and can easily step back into the rhythm section after the applause subsides.  And we did it without active electronics so, “look Ma…. no batteries”.

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 ‘E’ string in particular will have as much definition, lively dynamics and tone as a top end multiscale bass such as a Dingwall which are reknown for their performance on the ‘E’ and the 5th ‘B’ string.

The Chameleon produces thick, chocolaty sound that has lower midrange prominence and a detailed gritty piano-like presence with round wound strings so that it doesn’t need to be played loud in order to be heard.  Both pickup turned up full yields a wonderful surprise, a hollow but chunky gritty sound with extra bounce and presence, our personal 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 really well to light and heavy pick attack so there is quite a rainbow on tonalities in that.  But the big surprise is when you mix them with the respective volume controls and also when you apply a bit of treble cut with the tone control and you’ll get a double rainbow of tonalities and effects.

More midrange presence and less boom that’s also surprisingly superior for slap n pop style.  But, when played finger style 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 and toneful?  Turn up the amp treble and it makes factory pickups sound ordinary, turn the treble down a bit and it still outshines factory original pickups, it’s a win win for you.

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

• aligns the sound of the G string 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 progression of tone and the G doesn’t stand out like the proverbial dogs 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 this pickup.

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 2 types of noise, Hum which is cancelled 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 a 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.