Kustom Groove series officially discontinued.

[KrisWarrington]

Personally I think it's a mistake to replace the groove with the KXB. The groove series had great, reliable heads with plenty of tone and power and the G810H is one of the cabinets I have ever owned. Any one else feel the same?

[christw]

A Groove Bass 1200HD / G410H was my first bass rig after paying $850 or so for it. I was 16 and it was part of a fire sale at my local favorite music shop. I hated every time that I used it after then. I owned it for about four years and 98% of the time it sat untouched in my parent's garage. I only brought it out to use on top of my 810E with my Bass VT functioning as the preamp.

My memory writes the amp off as total crap as far as tone goes. Don't know what I'd think now but I sold 4 basses because they didn't sound good through that amp before buying an SVT-II. (Problem solved!) This is coming from the guy who likes very versatile SS amps and any variety of clean to colored tube amps. It was always too bright, too brittle, too boomy. Something was always wrong with the tone. Handled a B like a champ though.

[sammyfallen]

I had a Groove 410. I really liked that cab. I bought it to use along with my Bassman 300 pro. It handled a TON of power and sounded great (imo) I never used the matching head though, so, I have no say in that department.

[IngerAlb]

My beef with the KXB line is - first - aesthetics: the products look cheap & unattractive; like a DIY project, and not something that's commercially available.

Then - second - they lack certain key features - dare I say mandatory these days:
- the KXB200 has no mute button (why the heck not?); they managed to add an Aux In + Phones In, instead of that ?!? Also: no speakons!
- the KXB500 has no passive/active input (it's like the DE200 head), so if you have a bass with a very hot output, you're in trouble.

I really loved the design of the Groove amps; those were pretty hot looking & offered a lot of features for little money.

IMO Kustom has taken the wrong path...they've discontinued the Groove line, without releasing something equally interesting. In fact, right now they have a pretty limited range of products that look kind of outdated (for God's sake, guys, hire a good designer) and worst of all, they do nothing to promote their stuff...looks like they're not making any kind of effort, which is not a smart move these days.

I would have expected a DE300 amp in a rack version, a new 300 - 350 W amp in the KXB line and at least 1 good powerful amp with more features than that spartan KXB500...but I guess that ain't happening...


PS: they could have at least include that "room EQ" thing on all their amps...

[KrisWarrington]

Originally Posted by IngerAlb

My beef with the KXB line is - first - aesthetics: the products look cheap & unattractive; like a DIY project, and not something that's commercially available.

Then - second - they lack certain key features - dare I say mandatory these days:
- the KXB200 has no mute button (why the heck not?); they managed to add an Aux In + Phones In, instead of that ?!? Also: no speakons!
- the KXB500 has no passive/active input (it's like the DE200 head), so if you have a bass with a very hot output, you're in trouble.

I really loved the design of the Groove amps; those were pretty hot looking & offered a lot of features for little money.

IMO Kustom has taken the wrong path...they've discontinued the Groove line, without releasing something equally interesting. In fact, right now they have a pretty limited range of products that look kind of outdated (for God's sake, guys, hire a good designer) and worst of all, they do nothing to promote their stuff...looks like they're not making any kind of effort, which is not a smart move these days.

I would have expected a DE300 amp in a rack version, a new 300 - 350 W amp in the KXB line and at least 1 good powerful amp with more features than that spartan KXB500...but I guess that ain't happening...


PS: they could have at least include that "room EQ" thing on all their amps...

I actually sent them an email regarding 90% of everything you just covered. They sacrificed good tone and features for weight (atleast in the head division) I don't like DE810s the G810Hs are money though. I have the John Moyer cab (only because I haggled the store and got it for $600 even new) and it is an amazing cabinet. The best part of all this is the KXBs are more expensive and have less power and features. Their whole thing is "ITS ONLY 5 POUNDS OF WEIGHT!" The groove 1200hd weighs around what 30 lbs? Must be way to heavy these days. You will notice that most major companies are doing it now though. Forget about tone and power, here is less weight for you to lug around.

[KrisWarrington]

Kustom Groove 1200HD

RMS Wattage: 1200 Watts @ 2-Ohms
Input Configuration: Active/Passive Selector
EQ: Bass, Mid and High w/ Shift
Master EQ: 9-Band Active
Gain Control: Yes
Master Control: Yes
Additional Functions: Mute/Boost/Tuner Output
Effects Loop: Send & Return
Output Connectors: Speak-On
Footswitch: Mute/Boost
Dimensions: 3.5H x 19W x 15.5D
Dimensions (mm): 89H x 483W x 390D
Weight: 31 lbs/ 14 kg

KXB500

RMS Wattage: 500 Watts
Speaker: -
Input Configuration: 1/4" with Clip LED & Mute
EQ: Bass, Mid, Treble w/ Mid Shift
Gain Control: Yes
Effects Loop: Send & Return
Line Output: Balanced
External Speaker Jack: -
Headphone Jack: 3.5mm Stereo
Auxiliary Input: 3.5mm Stereo
Dimensions: 12 (L) x 2.5 (H) x 8 (D)
Dimensions (mm): 305 (L) x 64 (H) x 203 (D)
Weight: 5 lbs / 2.6 kg
Power Amp Circuit: Yes

Deepend 810

Power Handling: 800 Watts
Speaker: Eight 10" Deep End®
Impedance: 4 Ohms
Horn Type: High Frequency Piezo
Dimensions: 23W x 15.75D x 45.5H
Weight: 127 lbs / 57.6 kg

Groove 810

Power Handling: 2000 Watts
Speaker: 10" US Eminence®
Impedance: 4-Ohms
Horn Type: 1" Eminence® Compression Horn
Horn Attenuator: Variable
Cabinet: 18mm Plywood
Castors: Wheels & Tilt Bar
Handles: Spring Loaded
Dimensions: 47H x 23.5W x 20D
Dimensions (mm): 1194H x 597W x 508D
Weight: 150 lbs/ 68 kg

And groove wins by a land slide...

[funkingroovin]

I gigged the Kustom Groove 1200w/3-10 combo for about five years. My only complaint was the 138lb weight. I really liked that it was built deep,not wide,needing only half the space of most other cabs.Powerful,clean,and easily carried a low B. Unfortunately,last fall it got fried in a lightening storm..on the plus side,I now have a legitimate excuse for checking into the GK MB410combo..

[IngerAlb]

Originally Posted by KrisWarrington

I actually sent them an email regarding 90% of everything you just covered. They sacrificed good tone and features for weight (atleast in the head division) I don't like DE810s the G810Hs are money though. I have the John Moyer cab (only because I haggled the store and got it for $600 even new) and it is an amazing cabinet. The best part of all this is the KXBs are more expensive and have less power and features. Their whole thing is "ITS ONLY 5 POUNDS OF WEIGHT!" The groove 1200hd weighs around what 30 lbs? Must be way to heavy these days. You will notice that most major companies are doing it now though. Forget about tone and power, here is less weight for you to lug around.

Well most of the companies that have released D class amps also have non class D heavy amps - and somehow ppl are still buying those "bulky" units

The way I see it, there was no reason for discontinuing the Groove line, other than their own innability to promote their stuff and increase the sales. Ppl are not into their products because not many have heard about Kustom in the 1st place, and I don't blame them, because even if you wanna find more, there's no info whatsoever - even the very few YouTube videos available are 2 - 3 years old. They can't even take some high resolution photos of their stuff and write a darn manual - I'm still looking for a back photo of the KXB500...sheesh...

[georgestrings]

No great loss, IMO - I've never played a Kustom product that I would consider buying... To me, they always seem kinda cheap, build-wise - and pretty "meh" sounding...

To each their own, I suppose - but it would appear that the market has spoken, since Kustom would still be making them if they were competing in the marketplace...


- georgestrings

[KrisWarrington]

I mainly use my kustom 1200hd for the power. I get most of my tone and eq out of my 31 band and my maxcom. Even still a stand alone kustom 1200 head played out of a 115 sounds nice. Invaders Bass Cover - YouTube

[IngerAlb]

Originally Posted by georgestrings

No great loss, IMO - I've never played a Kustom product that I would consider buying... To me, they always seem kinda cheap, build-wise - and pretty "meh" sounding...

To each their own, I suppose - but it would appear that the market has spoken, since Kustom would still be making them if they were competing in the marketplace...


- georgestrings

You have a lot of options to build a very good rig if you have enough money; but for the folks on a tight budget, it's a completely different story - especially if not living in the US. We need an alternative to the Behringer/Bugera stuff...up until now, Kustom managed to do just that. Now...

[theory028]

I'm surprised to see so many people upset over this. I bought my 1200HD used because it was a very nice price. I don't know the exact retail price but wasn't it in the neighborhood of $600 or so new? It may have been one seller with inflated prices skewing my memory. Regardless, the best values will continue to be found in the used market. In that sense, this doesn't have that big of an impact on the informed buyer.

As far as I'm concerned, we are not really missing out on much. Carvin does the high power/low weight thing very well with the B2000 or BX1500. Heck, the B1500 isn't that much larger than the 1200HD. There are plenty of options available, thankfully! In that respect, Kustom is losing some appeal.

I enjoyed my time with the Kustom but my B1500 was a huge step in a wonderful new direction. Granted, it wasn't quite as cheap but, considering the features and sound quality, it was well worth the slightly higher price.

I've been out of the game for a while but I have a hard time believing that there's an amp that can rival what Carvin has to offer on a budget. It's unfortunate to see Kustom making what appear to be poor choices but some good may come from it. I have no complaints about the 1200HD or Kustom as a company and I wish them success. In the end, I would always choose a used Carvin over any of Kustom's offerings. In my experience, Carvin outperforms on every level.

I think I get what has some of you guys riled up (the lack of competitive and exciting products) and can certainly see why this may be unfortunate from that perspective. While the Groove series doesn't do much to excite me these days, it was a pretty solid line.

[LiquidMidnight]

I actually dig the look of the KXB and Deepend stuff. Now whether or not it performs well is a different matter.

[theory028]

I believe it was Dan Atkinson that recorded some clips from one of the Deep End amps and it actually sounded good. While it probaby isn't the best sounding gear, it definitely isn't the worst. For a buyer on a budget, it can be tempting. If it works for people, that's awesome. Some of it does look pretty slick.

[IngerAlb]

Like I said: for the folks living in US, there are a lot of (cheap) options - Carvin being one of them. But for the rest...

[nysbob]

My only experience was with the 810 box on a backline gig - I must say it was better than I expected. I can't remember what they had pushing it (I think maybe GK) and I usually don't care for 810 cabs, but that one was pretty good.

[ThickSounD]

I've been using a Kustom Groovebass 1200 head for about 8 years of heavy gigging and it's done really good for me. I did have to get a volume pot replaced about a year or two ago, but I expected something eventually with all the heavy use. Still got it and I run an Avalon U5 as a preamp/DI before going into the Kustom. For my onstage sound, I start with the Kustom EQ flat and basically use it as a power amp. If I do need a little extra bass or treble i just bump up that EQ and it sounds great. Even with out the Avalon it sounds solid, well balanced, and yeah, its got TONS of volume! Warning: just incase you feel like using it as an earring, it is heavy, I think its about 35 pounds. Great workhorse if you can find one.

[terrelli721]

I have an Ampeg SVT, An anniversary Redhead 210, and GK, and A Hartke 410 combo. Simply put, the Kustom groove 115c, with my sansamp bass driver and a bit of compression is by far the best sounding rig I got. to each his own I guess