KROSSROAD 500 WITH 2X10+1X15

[TONYTHOMAS1956]

Can anyone give me some info on this amp? Not having any luck finding anything on the web. Thanks

 

[LesS]

To search for a website use Kustom instead of Krossroad.

 

[danomite64]

 

[howie19562000]

Can anyone give me some info on this amp? Not having any luck finding anything on the web. Thanks

It is hard to find iinformation on these, I have one the blue covering with 2-10's and 1-15 with the 500 top...I love it...and I am in Ironton.

 

[Billy C.]

I can tell you MUCH about these amps! I not only have used the Krossroad 500 rig on stage almost every week since 1995 Professionally, BUT also acted as a sales rep for Andy Ross getting these amps into a few stores on the East coast in 1995. Believe me, I was a DIEHARD AMPEG SVT man since purchasing my SVT in OCT. 1969! And it was the KICK BUTT amp of ALL time! BUT, replacing those tubes was a pain not to mention the weight carrying it around! I always dug the old KUSTOM's but preferred the tube sound over solid state in the earlier years. I met Andy Ross in Nashville at the summer NAMM show in 1995 and was BLOWN AWAY by his new KROSSROAD LINE! The 500 model is the CLOSEST thing I have ever heard and used, compared to my old SVT! This AMP GROWLS as good as the AMPEG and has as much volume! And there are NO EXPENSIVE TUBES to replace!! My old 68' Fender Jazz Bass sings through the KROSSROAD and I can control the sound BETTER than I could with the SVT! AND, AFTER 12 YEARS+ of SERIOUS PRO CAREER playing, I have NEVER had one problem with this AMP!! I SWEAR, it was built to LAST! I prefer to use the rig with 2-10" & 1-15" cabinets. I also have the 500 with a 2-15" cab., AND I also have a smaller 200 Combo model with 2-10". I use it for practice. I can't say enough about these KROSSROAD amps! If anyone has any questions about them, PLEASE feel free to contact me! I'd love to share info with you! Billy C. PS: I believe these amps will someday be HIGHLY valued and sought after!!!!!

 

[rodak]

Hi, Billy C: Well, four years after your post, I found it. You don't have any contact info, so here's hoping you get notified and read this.

I have a Krossroad 500 with the 2x10H and 1x15 cabinets - in GREEN! Bought it off eBay many years ago, paid $550, with the amp in non-working condition. I repaired the amp and have used it as my main bass rig ever since.

I thought it was interesting what I found while repairing it. I was working with a tech who knows a LOT more than I about such things,and he determined that the power supply voltage was too high for the power transistors being used - that it would work most of the time, but had the potential to overload the transistors, which was apparently what happened with mine - two of the transistors were burned, so bad that the traces on the board were unuseable. It affected one transistor in each of two pairs, so I uninstalled the other transistor in each pair (there are five pair), effectively disabling them, then replaced the power transformer with a couple of others I happened to have, which reduced the supply voltage by about 30%, fired it up and it works great. I'm guessing the resulting power now is about 200watts, but that amp is puh-lenty loud!

I've heard that there were reliability problems with the Krossroads (I don't know if it was only the 500s or all of them) - have you heard that?

Do you know if there are schematics available? I managed to get mine working without, but it would be nice to have in the future.

 

[Billy C.]

HI Rodak!, Great to hear from you! That's interesting stuff about your Green 500. I really use the heck out my 500, and still to this day I have not had any problems other than replacing a cracked fuse holder on the back panel which broke during transporting. Interesting note about that, my service tech Paul at PRO DIGITAL in Broomal, Pa.), pointed out to me that my unit had a 20 amp fuse in the holder and it really should have had a 10 amp. He thought I may have put it in there but it was the original fuse that came from the factory. He replaced it with a 10 amp in the new fuse holder and all is functioning as before. This amp has never let me down or given me any problem. I have not heard of any reliability problems except one player I know has the little 2-10" 200 what amp, and he said he is getting a lot of static from a couple of the knob pots. Could be moisture or dirt, I really don't know, but that's about it. I know 5 players who use Krosssroad amps and I've yet to hear of any complaints. Who knows, I guess every amp has some issues once in awhile. Again, My 500 has been seriously used and transported and has proven totally road worthy. Schematics, they were available on line when the amps were first produced, I don't know if they still are. My tech Paul did comment that all the obvious power components that he could see when he replaced the fuse holder, looked to be top notch grade stuff. I'm really glad to hear that your up and using the 500. Maybe if these posts get out there, more folks will come out of the woodwork! Thanks again for your VALUABLE INFO!!!! Billy C.

 

[bassman1960]

Hey, I've got a Krossroad stack as well, the 2x10, 1x15 with 500w head in RED! Picked it up for a song in Santa Barbara CA and even got the covers with it! I remember about 15 years ago, somehow I got hold of one of the engineers living in western Kansas who worked on designing the amp. I think he told me that though the amps are rated at 500watts he thought they were really more like 800-900. He had lots of stories about Andy and Bud Ross, too, and now that I think of it I'm going to have to see if I can find my notes of that conversation. They were great amps, EV speakers,etc., and the only problem I've ever had with mine was that the crossover in the 2x10 cab failed, which I just replaced with a drop-in from Carvin. I was surprised these things didn't catch on... I always thought it was a very high quality amp, despite the kitsch factor...

 

[Duncan1101]

Wow, I finally found some Krossroads disscussion. I bought a blue Krossroads K500 with the 2x10 and 1x15 cabinets. Loved it. Around 1997 or 98, while setting up and sound checking for a show, the head started distorting and smoking. I contacted the store I bought it from and they informed me that the company had gone out of business but the store would honor the warranty. Their tech guy said it had a major meltdown. He had it for nearly a year looking for original manufacturer parts and I finally gave up and got it back from him. I have kept it since then in hopes of finding someone to repair it. Sounds like it could have suffered from the fuse issue mentioned above. I have since been running an Ashdown ABM 500 through my Krossroads cabinets but would like to get the old head up and running again.

 

[coolfool]

Here I am just registered. new kid in town 59 years old no
spring chicken.! O.K. I haven't been knowin about these
Krossroads long myself. But I have learned alot.
The Krossroads line is early 90's and stems from a father/son endeavor. Bud (daddy) Ross of Kustom recognition and Andy (son) Ross attempted to let history repeat itself and went South in 3-4 years but sold a few reminicsent of the old Kustom line.
The Krossroad is basically a the same circuit as Dads run. In other words it's a Kustom. But from that you can enjoy
a good thump,cosmetic coolness, and reliability.
They were also made in Chanute,Kansas in the heart of the good ole' United States of America! plus #1.
coolfool in Kansas
p.s. let the Dorothy/Toto jokes begin!

 

[Billy C.]

HI Guys!, It's been a while since I've posted, but great to see some input on the KROSSROAD AMPS. I've had some requests to show a pic of my KROSSROAD BLUE 500 rig. I am still to this moment using my 500 setup on a serious regular schedule. I am a Career player and need to depend on my equipment. The 500 is still going strong! Believe me, it really gets used a lot. I do baby it, as far as taking good care of it. Never leave it out in the extreme hot or cold weather conditions, I make sure it is never dropped and I never run my master volume over (6) or 1:00. It's now about to celebrate it's 14 th birthday!! You can see a few pic's of the rig if interested, on my bands FACEBOOK page, Expresso Dance & Show Band. I'm still happy to answer any questions if anyone has any. And I am always looking for another 500 rig if anyone knows where one may be! Thanks ALL and keep on playin!!!

 

[bassfootballguy]

If anyone ever knows where you can get one of these rigs I would be all over it. I played through a green 2x10/1x15 with 500 head setup at a now defunct music store in Huntington, WV and was blown away but didn't have the green to get it at the time.
I would LOVE one in blue!

James

 

[rodak]

I have a 500 with 2x10 and 1x15 in Green that I might be willing to sell. It's the amp I mentioned in a previous post - it's been cut down to only 3 transistor pairs and lower supply voltage, so is probably about a 250 watt amp, but it's still amazingly loud.

Would you be interested? What part of the world are you in? I'm in Georgia.

 

[BassmanPaul]

Rodak, you have to be a supporting member to enter such posts. Please read the forum rules.

 

[Roy R]

I recently got my hands on one of the rigs. Its a K500 head with a 4x10 cabinet. Its amazing and solid as a rock. Lots of headroom. Looking for a schematic if anyone might know where to get that?

 

[ashtray]

Necro-bump!

A blue 210 + 115 stack with head popped up locally. Says it has EV speakers (which I guess would be the originals for the 500 series amps), but seller says the head does not work (k500). I guess these things had issues. My amp tech is no longer around, so I’d not be able to take on the project. The most I would try would be to mount another head in the box instead. (GK, etc)

Sure looks cool though!

 

[Jeff Genzler]

@agedhorse --- does this brand name ring any bells for you?

 

[agedhorse]

@agedhorse --- does this brand name ring any bells for you?

It does!