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First Vintage Kustom Amp [message #25504]

Thu, 01 September 2016 17:25

bcalla
Messages: 8
Registered: September 2016
Location: USA

Junior Member

I just bought the same rig I used in the 60s - a K-100 head and 2x12 cabinet in turquoise (I think Kustom called this color cascade), both with the original covers. The difference is that my new purchase is in much better condition than the one I owned 50 years ago. It is dead mint! I'd like to include photos in this post but it won't work (maybe because I am new to the forum?).

I bought it from a music store who bought it from the original owner - he was getting rid of things in his house he didn't need in preparation for his retirement to Florida. He said that he bought it new and never played in a band, so it never left his house. Apparently he didn't smoke either because there are no cig burns on the top. The only mark I can find on it is a small scratch near one of the jacks. There is no rust on the handles or castors.

I'm curious about the age. The head SN is 69840; the cab is 24642.

I'd also like to know if there's a way to eliminate the hiss - I seem to remember that Kustoms had a base level hiss, but I'd like to use this for shows so I really want to get rid of it or at least reduce it.

Thanks.

By the way, this is a great site. I have been lurking for a while, but I didn't join until today when I finally joined the club.

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Re: First Vintage Kustom Amp [message #25505 is a reply to message #25504]

Thu, 01 September 2016 20:31

pleat
Messages: 1454
Registered: June 2004
Location: Belding, Mi

Senior Member

Welcome to the site. According to a chart a collector did on this site several years ago, your serial number places it between January - June 1971

pleat

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Re: First Vintage Kustom Amp [message #25506 is a reply to message #25505]

Fri, 02 September 2016 00:26

bcalla
Messages: 8
Registered: September 2016
Location: USA

Junior Member

Thanks for the info, pleat. Is that chart on-line here? I've been looking at Kustoms for a few years and will continue to look for deals. It would be nice to be able to date them real time.

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Re: First Vintage Kustom Amp [message #25507 is a reply to message #25504]

Fri, 02 September 2016 06:26

stevem
Messages: 4773
Registered: June 2004
Location: NY

Senior Member

The best way to date them is by the stampings on the power transformer .
Since your amp has not been played in a long time I would leave it on for a day or two which may help the hiss issue some, if not then installing new less noisy transistors in the first gain stage will help, but may not be the true root cause of the hiss.

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Re: First Vintage Kustom Amp [message #25509 is a reply to message #25507]

Sat, 03 September 2016 08:55

bcalla
Messages: 8
Registered: September 2016
Location: USA

Junior Member

Thanks, stevem. I left it on for a day and a half, no change to the hiss.

I might be comfortable replacing transistors (one of my hobbies is building effect pedals), but I'm not sure I could match the schematic to the board layout to figure out which ones are in the first gain stage. And I assume they should be replaced with different values.

Sounds like correcting it requires an amp tech pretty familiar with Kustoms. I live in Massachusetts, does anyone know of a Kustom tech near me (NH & RI are pretty close)?

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Re: First Vintage Kustom Amp [message #25510 is a reply to message #25504]

Sun, 04 September 2016 19:16

stevem
Messages: 4773
Registered: June 2004
Location: NY

Senior Member

if you build pedals you could get the transistor swap done as all you need to do is follow the wire off the input Jack back to the board and then with the help of the schematic on this site find the first transistor that the input signal goes to.

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Re: First Vintage Kustom Amp [message #25511 is a reply to message #25510]

Mon, 05 September 2016 08:57

bcalla
Messages: 8
Registered: September 2016
Location: USA

Junior Member

Thanks for the encouragement. Once my schedule settles down I'll open it up and see if I can figure out what needs to be done. If I need help, I'll open a new thread in the repair section.

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