any opinions on Kustom. they seem to have pretty good quality stuff for a pretty reasonable cost. Such as $550 for a 2x15 or $630 for a 1200 watt head. just curious as to their reliability and quality.
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Kustom
- Thread starter hetsscaryguy
- Start date
Basspolizei
Pseudo bass player/collector
- Jun 23, 2004
- 484
- 149
- 61
- Disclosures
- Buy basses and lots of guns before it's too late! You have been warned.
I recently played their early 70's stuff and if age is any indication, they are incredibly durable. I paired a 200 watt ss head against my 89' ss Ampeg head through a Kustom 1x15 (early 70's) and the Kustom was a bit more mellow and warm. I loved it. Very classic bass tones. I have owned a massive, vintage Kustom PA and it worked great as well.
Unfortunately the new Kustom is absolutely, completely unrelated to the old Kustom, other than the name. (I still have an old Kustom rig myself). Time will tell if the new Kustom proves as rugged.
I played both of those, and loved them. I almost bought that 2x15 on the spot to complement my Epifani 4x10. The head seemed pretty versatile as well, although you have to go down to 2 ohms for the full 1200-watt output. I don't know much about their history or durability, but both of those products were very nice IMO, and even nicer for the money.hetsscaryguy said:
I've got one of the reissue Kustom 2x15s that I bought with the head (500 watts, 10 band EQ) right when they started making them again- about 9 years ago. The head actually sounded pretty decent for a Mosfet power section, the EQ was good. It shat the bed about 4 years ago and I've just been using the cabinet. Sounds great in conjunction with my all tube head, More importantly, it's green.
I've got a KBA100 combo, and it's solid as hell and sounds just as nice. It's SS but I can get that warm tube grind along with many other tones. It's got a responsive 6-band EQ, I'm sure the heads are even better.
well its been another wee while so has anyone else got one of these? and if so is it good value? and is it a good all round head for someone moving up from a 15w trace elliot combo?
I havn't tried any of their electronics, but I've played through their 215 and it was pretty awesome.
nashvillebill said:
I have to agree with the man from Tennessee... Back in 1969, I had a Kustom-400 head, and I blew it through a Kustom 3 x 15" cabinet. Yes! They made a 3 x 15" bass cabinet. Both were roll-n-pleat black vinyl. Damn thing was taller than me, and it would blow your hair straight back! It was the coolest rig I ever owned, and I wish I still had it!
For that matter, I've always felt Kustom should bring back the roll-n-pleat look. Ahh the memories of seeing not only black rigs, but white ones, or red, blue or gold sparkle ones... 
Keeaumoku said:I have to agree with the man from Tennessee... Back in 1969, I had a Kustom-400 head, and I blew it through a Kustom 3 x 15" cabinet. Yes! They made a 3 x 15" bass cabinet. Both were roll-n-pleat black vinyl. Damn thing was taller than me, and it would blow your hair straight back! It was the coolest rig I ever owned, and I wish I still had it!
+1 those things look so awesome, but they are before my time and I havn't played through one before.
Several years ago I played thru an older Kustom (don't know the year) that had the 2x15 box. It sounded pretty cool, but the cab was truly unweildy to say the least. No casters and harder to carry than a 4x10 by far. I can't imagine moving a 3x15!!
boobinga said:
You got that right! That monster didn't have any wheels, either! Only had swivle handles on the sides. But I didn't care, 'cuz we had a couple of roadies back then... they'd work for twenty-five bucks apiece (descent pay back in the early 70's). One of them did get around to "borrowing" a hand-truck from his daddy's business, though.
I once saw one of these 3 x 15" cabinets on Ebay, but it was an empty shell, and the roll-n-pleat vinyl was pretty beat-up, too...
My 3-15" black roll/tuck Kustom had spherical plastic casters. It looked better than it sounded. I had one of the 200 series heads, but the CTS vs. JBL drivers. The CTS drivers didn't have enough magnet to control those massive cones and they farted very easily. I'd much rather have had one of the 2-15 JBL cabinets. But we're talkin' ancient history here 
I have a SUNN 215B that I recently loaded with JBLs... talk about a KILLER cab now. It holds it's ground against a pair for Mesa fulls easily... especially when I matched it with the Acoustic B320 head.spiritbass said:My 3-15" black roll/tuck Kustom had spherical plastic casters. It looked better than it sounded. I had one of the 200 series heads, but the CTS vs. JBL drivers. The CTS drivers didn't have enough magnet to control those massive cones and they farted very easily. I'd much rather have had one of the 2-15 JBL cabinets. But we're talkin' ancient history here
Ray
I played the new Kustom head and 4X10 cab at a store in Stockton when I picked up my Mesa 400+. First, I tested the 400+ through the 4X10 cab. Granted that I did this with an off-the-shelf OLP Stingray clone, the cab sounded pretty good. Then, while they were gathering up my new amp, I plugged into the Kustom head through the same 4X10. The Kustom head seemed. . . .kind of flat, dull if you may. For the money, I imagine the whole thing is a bargain. The only real problem I saw was that the head is kind of cheesy looking. From afar, all that chrome and brushed metal facing looks cool. Up close, it looks anything but robust. The chrome really looked like the cheap plating that they do on model car bumpers. I could see the finish was already flaking on the demo unit. The knobs just did not seem like they could stand any abuse. I hope that someone here buys on and lets me know different.
