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Old Kustom amps sound?

#61
Today I'm going to be getting my hands on a vintage Kustom 2x15 that I think was built around the same time as the Tuck-and-Roll stuff, but that's covered in tolex. Does anyone know the specs of the cabs from this era? The current owner has supplied me with this information:

Model 215 b.
serial number 98223.
Chanute, Kansas

I'm leery of running my Randall head into this cab without knowing the ohms/watts, and I'm at my wit's end trying to find specs. Anybody..?
 
#62
In 40 years, mine has never failed to turn-on or function; never thought of needing a back-up when gigging with it regularly, which I did 2-3 nights/week in the 1980's.

Other than when I fryed the bright switch on the Bright side during a home-made rick-o-sound experiment, in the '80's, it has been nearly flawlless in performance. I always prefered the Bright -side, tone wise. I was emulating Brittish prog bassists, then.

After 40 years of service, the pilot lamp has died and bright switch died again on it's own, but as I am not gigging, I won't worry with those repairs.

I believe that optimally, K200-B requires (2) 2x15's powered by either JBL or modern neos. Mine has a Solid State hiss that is not audible during a performance or jamming.

In the KUSTOM Club, LesS offers great advice and insight. SUGESTION: Perhaps a Moderator should move this topic to the Kustom Club? Later..zon6c-f.
 
#64
I am no forum nazi; I just respond when I can; to topics of interest, wherever they may occur on here.

Just sayin'...There is a KUSTOM CLUB that we all may find of interest.

While we are all HERE....Has anyone ever used those RCA -output jacks on rear panel? Some say they are "for recording"{???}. Is it a pre-amp out, as well? If so, could you daisy-chain the RCA output to second input for increased gain? Maybe that's the "secret".

Again, K200-B is very reliable, as is my AC 370.

Funny...I still own the original speaker cord tha tcame with mine. I keep it for sentimentality; I no longer use it. Later...Z.
 
#65
Ric Vice said:
I owned a Kasino 200 with 2X15's. the amp even had a four way tone selector switch that tried to copy the voicing switch on an SVT. It was as big as a small refrigerator and had two cast wheels on the bottom rear of the cabinet that did not turn. You leaned it back and took a running start. The tone was really dry and as Jimmy mentioned the lows just didn't have any presence. I traded it in on a B-15-N (C) that I still have it was a good deal then and a great deal now. The Kasino's were covered in black tolex. Here's a pic.
Click to expand...

I still have one of these in my upstairs collection. Served me well for years, but now retired. Not suitable for todays high volume metal applications. If anyone finds one of the 215 powered extensions for sale, please contact me.:bassist:
 
#66
Kustom sure doesn't sound like either the Roland or the Ampeg amps you have! I have a K200B-1 and K250-1. I've gigged with both as well as with a K200B-3 (Harmonic Clipper & Selective Boost). Everything else being the same (i.e. instrument, speaker cabinet, room) vintage Kustoms amps are sorta plain sounding when A/B'd with most other amps.

IMHO, the 'tone' of the 200 series is OK, at best, compared to most new or vintage amps. They only have Treble/Bass tone controls (the 'Bright' switch kills the bass tone).

The 250 series offers a Midrange and/or Selectone control (depending on which channel your in) making it much more versatile than the 200 series.

I always modify these amps to run both channels at the same time... this allows using the gain and tone controls of both channels simultaneously.

Remember, most people don't get Kustom amps for the tone... it's their looks! For basement jams they do shine, but for live gigs they could be a hit or a miss depending on many factors.
 
#67
RobbieNuke said:
Kustom sure doesn't sound like either the Roland or the Ampeg amps you have! I have a K200B-1 and K250-1. I've gigged with both as well as with a K200B-3 (Harmonic Clipper & Selective Boost). Everything else being the same (i.e. instrument, speaker cabinet, room) vintage Kustoms amps are sorta plain sounding when A/B'd with most other amps.

IMHO, the 'tone' of the 200 series is OK, at best, compared to most new or vintage amps. They only have Treble/Bass tone controls (the 'Bright' switch kills the bass tone).

The 250 series offers a Midrange and/or Selectone control (depending on which channel your in) making it much more versatile than the 200 series.

I always modify these amps to run both channels at the same time... this allows using the gain and tone controls of both channels simultaneously.

Remember, most people don't get Kustom amps for the tone... it's their looks! For basement jams they do shine, but for live gigs they could be a hit or a miss depending on many factors.
Click to expand...

You do have to remember that these were marketed towards weekend musicians. Not studios or professionals.
 
#69
While we are all HERE....Has anyone ever used those RCA -output jacks on rear panel? Some say they are "for recording"{???}. Is it a pre-amp out, as well? If so, could you daisy-chain the RCA output to second input for increased gain? Maybe that's the "secret".
Click to expand...

I don't know if we're speaking about the same thing but some Kustom amps had "Tape Recorder Output" jacks, which were basically just attenuated high impedance output of the power amp (so not a preamp output). At that time cab sims and alike were unheard of so it's probably going to sound somewhat nasty as a direct out signal. I'd be vary of daisy-chaining since it could end up making a nasty feedback loop.

There's really no "secret" to these amps, IMO. They just excel with GREAT clean tone, plus GREAT reverb and tremolo effects - and that's about it. Those are great features for some types of music but don't work all too well in others. Great, almost sterile, clean is also superb for PA duties. Associating the Kustom tone with John Fogerty's kinda dirty guitar tone doesn't really do great justice to those amps. ...nor does expectation of them being able to handle stuff like hard rock and metal music. You don't buy a tweed Fender to play death metal and similarly you don't buy a Kustom amp to play.... uh... death metal. Uh, you get the point.

And I have to disagree that they were bought for looks. They were great amps at the time, with not too many serious competitors. There wasn't that sort of abundance of good gear at those times as there is now. You want a decent PA now, you have hundreds of options. You wanted a decent PA then, well you likely could count your options with one hand's fingers and Kustom was usually a pretty good choice. Good looks were icing on the cake and you have to remember that those looks also were actually a fair bit too "radical" for some of the potential market of those amps. The tuck-n-roll look definitely wasn't the main selling factor.
 
#73
Few years back, I saw Freekbass at a music festival in MALVERN, KANSAS (of all places!) and he was rockin' the Kustom gear. SHAME ON HIM...the man makes slap look as easy as <SNAPS FINGERS>! LOL;):bassist:
(Of course, my friends tell me I had a GREAT time at said Music Fest...but I digress!):o
 
#74
No matter how cool they look (and they DO look bitchin') the heads just sound mediocre. Mine has been totally reliable though, and has never failed me.

The 2x15s are the prize though, and sound great with whatever you run into them.

The Plush/Earth stuff is in a completely different (better) league, and is truly superior. I have one of each.



10 years ago with the Kustoms:

KM1.jpg

MH.jpg



The Plush. I have the Kustom sitting on top in case it crapped out. Notice how I'm levitating:

shannon5.jpg
 
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#75
As I have written in this thread and others, I gigged with a 1971 K250 and its matching 2x15 for some time. Not hardly comparable to today's rigs by any means, and I eventually sold it, but it was entirely servicable in its own way.

I'd caution though, when comparing old rigs--whether Kustom, Ampeg, Sunn, Peavey, or whatever--if the amp has not been recapped, it likely is not living up to its full potential. Might sound pretty crappy even.

....kinda like driving a 40 year old sports car on the original tires and shock absorbers, then discussing how poor it handled.
 
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#77
The modern SOTA (state-of-the-art) bass amp in a large venue scenario is a really good preamp into a really good PA system. How is was done way back when means nothing today as the PA systems sucked back then compared to what you have to work with now.
 
#79
I play through a 1971 Kustom 250, that has 2 cabs, one loaded with 3 original JBL 15", the other one as well, but also contains his own slave amp, controlled by the head. It sounds gorgeous, needed very minor repairs for the first time 2 years ago. They are very well made, solid as a rock and sound great
 
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