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Those sweet JBL K140's

jnewmark

jnewmark

Just wanna play the groove.
Supporting Member
Aug 31, 2006
10,120
7,019
NW Ohio
Disclosures
Third St. Cigar Records staff musician.
#1
Just for fun I thought I would post some tracks my Corporate/Wedding band did for a CD to be included in a promo pak to send out to prospective clients. What's different about these studio tracks is that, I chose not to go through the board, but used an old Kustom 215 loaded with JBL K140's, and a 200 Kustom head. Definitely trying to cop a Duck Dunn vibe here, but, man those JBL's sound sweet. It's an old Wilson Picket tune.
 

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#6
Thanks for kind words. I had a hand in mixing, so I tried to get the bass bumped up a little. But, the tone is pretty much how it sounded live. Those old JBL's have a certain vibe I've never found in another driver. Of course, the tuck 'n roll has alot to do with it also ! :D
 
#15
mntngrown said:
Thanks JohnD Come on Johnnie we all know it's in the fingers but what's the axe and strings?
Click to expand...

The bass was an '89 Fender P and the strings were GHS Bass Boomers, well broken in. The studio was the guitar player's. It was in an old building, big room , all wood. We did rhythm tracks first ( bass , drums, guitar, keys ), then horns, then vocals. I was isolated in a 3 sided cube, so I could see the drummer. Great sounding room, but, the guitar player could not make a go of it, and had to let it go. I played on a couple of local Blues' musicians' tracks there also, strictly as a sideman, but went through the board then. The Kustom 215 survived and it's still in the guitar player's basement. It's my practice rig for the wedding band. Thanks for the compliments. I love those old JBL's ! :bassist:
 
#16
Thats the sound that made me want to play bass way back then. Now I have GAS to get my Kustom 200 3-15 metalflake blue rig back.

It's funny how everybody here is down on the old Kustom stuff until you post an actual track....

(OBTW, the GAS went away quick when I remember how much that baby weighed...):hmm:
 
#17
bjabass said:
Thats the sound that made me want to play bass way back then. Now I have GAS to get my Kustom 200 3-15 metalflake blue rig back.

It's funny how everybody here is down on the old Kustom stuff until you post an actual track....

(OBTW, the GAS went away quick when I remember how much that baby weighed...):hmm:
Click to expand...

I have a few vintage Kustom amps. Nothing sounds the same.... :D
 
#18
I have owned my Kustom 200 since new in 1971. I thought I was the baddest in Atlanta, until I met a guy with an Acoustic 361..made my little Kustom seem anemic.

Eventually every guitarist I knew bought a Marshall Stack. I was mute against that. So, I bought a 370 head and powered it with a used Sunn 1-18 vh[ folded horn] which I LOVE.

Oddly, by the time I had a "decent" rig, I was no longer playing rock [ losing $$]. I was in a country band [ making $$$], playing Top 40 [ 1980s then] country and oldies; going up against a Fender Super or 2. In that arena, Kustom sat in well; equal in volume. Half the time I used my Kustom, especially when gigs needed lower volume; smaller clubs, where the 370 Sunn was overbearing and requests were more often for us to turn down. Our younger audience was my age now..nearly 60..LOL..

Back to 1971: I was nearly totally ignorant, as I grew up on poor side of the tracks, where Silvertone was a real choice, but Fender Bassman and Kustom was always the goal. While I was keenly aware of Ampeg sb 12 and 15, I never heard of SVT untill years later..LOL.. I tried Bassmans; low volume and little tone. Tube maintence was not what I envisioned for a fun hobby. SB 12 and 15 flip tops have beautiful tone, and even less volume than my Kustom, so they were never a consideration. Also, T-N-R Looks so much more modern/ cool than that retro 1940's look of flip tops..my opinion..LOL..

Also, I was totally unaware of speaker choices with Kustom: CTS, or ALTEC and JBL upgrades. As my luck would have it, my Kustom came with CTS. My only experience with a Kustom cab loaded with JBLs..[don't know which JBL].. was a 3x15 Kustom cab with JBLs at an audition; I was asked not to bring a cab; only my head. Now that cab coupled with my AC 370 sounded awesome.

Had my Kustom been loaded originally with JBLs, would I have been able to keep up with Marshalls?

People say Kustoms are loud, but mine sounds like Jack Bruce and Felix Pappalardi any volume past 10 o'clock or better; louder, yet far more distorted. Kustoms were "front loaded" for volume; little volume increase and major distortion increase beyond "noon".

Also, in order to realize the 100 watts RMS of the K200 head, I would have to use (2) 2x15 cabs. One Kustom cab is heavy. 2 cabs is a lot to lug just for jams. Of course, I was much younger in those days.

I have asked in the TB Kustom Club and a choice for weight reduction would be Emminence but that leads to tone vs weight vs BFM and the religion of x-max..lol..

K200B is a highly reliable amp. Mine has never failed to power-up; only issue with mine is with the "bright" switch, on the Bright side, which can be repaired. Of course I can use Normal side; just not as much treble tone.

As I have no gigs, I will neither be looking at repairs or speaker relacement in the near future.
 
#19
With the K140's wired for 4 ohms, I was getting all I could out of the K200 head, but, I always used that rig in a RootsRock/Blues band, where the volume never was an issue. I did use E140's in the band that you hear on those tracks for many years, but, when all the lightweight stuff started to appear, I went down that road.. Stll, every once in awhile I'll drag my old 215 out, and fire it up just for fun.
 

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