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1960's Kustom series 100 amp

#3
Would be a little weak for bass. It's 50 watts RMS. If it has the original CTS speakers, I would disagree that they are terrible. They're not that great with that head, mainly due to lack of power, but sound pretty good with something like a 300 watt head. As is, would make a better guitar rig. :cool:
 
#4
First generation SS they were OK on bass for that time period, a bit hissy but survivable. Horrible for guitar, though, not the least bit sweet and with the treble EQ up to a useful level the hiss was gosh awful. Today they're relics IMO. Good for practice, not for the stage.
 
#5
I have the head in metalflake turquoise.
Nice tone at lowish volumes.
Kind of weak power supply; when you push the volume the power light dims.
 
#6
I had one of these back in the day. Took out the original 15's and put in JBL E 140's and then ditched the head for a Peavey head. Used it in a Blues band for several years. Still miss it. BTW, these rigs are going for $ 500 - 700 on Ebay, in good shape.
 
#7
I used to have one of those. It has teh dubious distinction of being the first head that I completely blew. Before that I had some silverface fender combo that I also blew up. I blew up a lot of amps when I was a teenager.
Never sounded good. Used to belong to Arthur Neville.
 
#8
That is the 2 twelve cab. cts probaly it's not a bad amp talk him down to 200 buck's the kustom 150- with the 2-12 were pretty loud and that's only a 25 watt differance, i played a good size club with the stock 150 and could here myself very good at the old thirsty whale in chicago when it was open a long time ago it was very loud for it's size.
 
#11
One of the BEST bass sounds I've ever heard in my life was a couple of years ago at a small theater with a mid 60's P plugged into a Kustom 100 running into the 2-15 version of this cab with JBL 140's loaded in it. It was warm and hugged the floor like a velvet fog (sorry Mel- R.I.P) with the rest of the music resting perfectly on top. It had punch, roundness, sheen and guts. I went up after the show and asked to check it out - the rig sounded just as beautiful standing next to it as it did 50 feet away.
 
#12
bottomend! said:
One of the BEST bass sounds I've ever heard in my life was a couple of years ago at a small theater with a mid 60's P plugged into a Kustom 100 running into the 2-15 version of this cab with JBL 140's loaded in it. It was warm and hugged the floor like a velvet fog (sorry Mel- R.I.P) with the rest of the music resting perfectly on top. It had punch, roundness, sheen and guts. I went up after the show and asked to check it out - the rig sounded just as beautiful standing next to it as it did 50 feet away.
Click to expand...

See my post above. Sounded even better with the Peavey head.
 
#14
LesS said:
This is very disappointing - I always thought my Kustom '36 Coupe amp was from 1936.
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I'm so sorry for your disappointment Les. I have a Kustom '37 Sedan amp from 1937, the first year of production, and it clearly says "Manufactured in Kokomo Beach, Tennessee, February 31, 1937." You missed it by that much, as Maxwell Smart would have said - LOL - see you back at the Kustom forum, my rolled & pleated (a/k/a tuck & roll) friend. ;)
 
#15
bottomend! said:
One of the BEST bass sounds I've ever heard in my life was a couple of years ago at a small theater with a mid 60's P plugged into a Kustom 100 running into the 2-15 version of this cab with JBL 140's loaded in it. It was warm and hugged the floor like a velvet fog (sorry Mel- R.I.P) with the rest of the music resting perfectly on top. It had punch, roundness, sheen and guts. I went up after the show and asked to check it out - the rig sounded just as beautiful standing next to it as it did 50 feet away.
Click to expand...

I'm just reading a book on James Jamerson (Motown) and he used a Blue Sparkle Kustom with a Kustom 2x15" cabinet for gigs with his 62 Fender Precision. The tone controls on the amp were set to full bass and half treble. Of course in the studio he used his Ampeg B-15, with the tone controls set the same as the Kustom.

TD
 
#16
I wish I was lying about it being one of the best bass sounds I've ever heard - but I'm not. It was simply PERFECT... for the music and the venue. No amount of money, engineering or witchcraft could've produced anything more tonally pleasurable - it was truly astounding how good it sounded.
I had a similar experience at a venue in Japan one time. I was walking up the stairs to a jazz club in Sapporo and the most amazing sound I had ever heard filled my ears. It sounded like the warmest, deepest, darkest, most defined things I'd ever heard and it turned out to be an early 60's sunburst P (nearly the same bass as used with the Kustom bass cited above) running through a Walter Woods plugged into a Yamaha 1-15 front loaded horn cab. It was like organ bass pedals in it's ability to cover the lowend without getting in the way. Pure heaven...
 
#17
bottomend! said:
One of the BEST bass sounds I've ever heard in my life was a couple of years ago at a small theater with a mid 60's P plugged into a Kustom 100 running into the 2-15 version of this cab with JBL 140's loaded in it. It was warm and hugged the floor like a velvet fog (sorry Mel- R.I.P) with the rest of the music resting perfectly on top. It had punch, roundness, sheen and guts. I went up after the show and asked to check it out - the rig sounded just as beautiful standing next to it as it did 50 feet away.
Click to expand...

This is one of the K200 sets that I play out with. I have another pair of K200's in black. I confess that I use a Sansamp in front. I chain them together with a "Y" at the input. Even though they are (supposedly) only 100W RMS, they are very loud. Volume controls are never over 10 o'clock. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebrisk/sets/72157623173146512/show/
 
#19
IMO the K200 heads are sort of "two-dimensional" if you know what I mean. Also the sansamp is my DI. On some gigs the K200's sound great without any tone-shaping in front, then the sansamp gets switched on as a boost or mild distorton. Usually though it's on all the time, in a non-threatening sort of setting, just to enhance the tone.
 

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