| Combo Organ I... [message #9671] |
Mon, 15 September 2008 22:37  |
johnplaysguitar
Messages: 16
Registered: September 2008
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Junior Member |
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Hi everybody...great site! I'm a guitar player, and I'm ( like most of you) always on the lookout for great sounding, cool vintage stuff. I got the bug a few years back when my wife came home from an auction with a 1969 Fender Bandmaster Reverb amp, the matching giant sized 2-12 cabinet, and a 1969 Gibson ES-330. Anyway, after years of garage sale-ing, estate auctions, etc... I've found a great auction house near my home that does police and estate auctions 2-3 times a year. Every so often I find a little gem. I went saturday, and bid on (and won) this cool looking old organ. After some research on the internet, I find I am now the owner of a Kustom Kombo, J-1295, four original Jensen C12n's, with the chrome bass ports. To the best of my inspection, it is in MINT condition. The date on the inside is 10/04/69 and the serial # is 1574. It seriously looks like they made it last week, not 39 years ago! It must have been kept in a bedroom closet with a blanket over it or something! Here are my questions. !. Does anyone know how many of these they made? 2. If I were to put it up for sale, how much should I ask/expect to get? 3. Where is the best place to try and sell it...ebay? craigslist? This is my first Kustom ANYTHING, so any info will be greatly appreciated! Thanks John
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| Re: Combo Organ I... [message #9677 is a reply to message #9675] |
Tue, 16 September 2008 17:29  |
johnplaysguitar
Messages: 16
Registered: September 2008
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Junior Member |
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I'm hearing it is a killer find, and I'm wishing to sell it because I don't know how to play keyboards! I also don't want to GIVE it away and look like a dumb ass, that happened a long time ago, when I sold my first guitar which was handed down to me from my mom, it was an early 60's gibson acoustic. I had the original case, the tuning fork that came with it, and because it was always the "guitar that was layijng around the house", I had no idea what it was worth and let it go for $200.00. 6 Months later, I found out the guy I sold it to, sold it at a guitar show for over $2,000.00! I sold it because I needed money to fix my car, hell, I could've bought a new used car, but I didn't know what it was really worth, and I was taken advantage of. Thats why I was asking what these things go for. Thanks for responding, John
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| Re: Combo Organ I... [message #9678 is a reply to message #9676] |
Tue, 16 September 2008 17:37 |
johnplaysguitar
Messages: 16
Registered: September 2008
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Junior Member |
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Thanks for responding. It is silver sparkle. I've gone over every inch of it, and the only flaw in the naugh is on the very top, all the way to the left, right next to the chrome plate rim, there is a tiny burn mark about half the size of a pencil eraser, probably a smoke that rolled out of an ashtray? It's only about half the size of a cigarette ash, so they must have caught it quick! I do notice some issues with that pre-amp thing on the back, crackling, volume going in and out, etc...should I get that fixed/updated, or is it worth more dead original? I have so SO many questions! It's so cool! I wish I knew how to play keyboards! Thanks again, John
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| Re: Combo Organ I... [message #9679 is a reply to message #9671] |
Tue, 16 September 2008 20:02 |
rodak
Messages: 516
Registered: October 2001
Location: Georgia
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Senior Member |
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Hi, John, and congrats on your acquisition! I trust you have already found my website, www.combo-organ.com, and seen the section I have on Kustom organs.
You won't find any on ebay, I'm afraid. They're pretty scarce. I've seen maybe 15 or 20 in the last 10 years, and prices have been all over the map. A huge part of the problem is their sheer size and weight, making them an almost certain local-sale. I don't know what the freight cost would be to ship one, but it would likely be a big chunk of the value, not to mention the danger of having it damaged in transit. For my own Kombo, I drove about 300 miles to pick it up, and paid, I believe, $550. Both 15" JBLs were blown, and it needed a fair amount of repair and restoration. Now it's 100% electronically, and about 90% cosmetic. I'd estimate the value at around $1,000 - $1,200, maybe more. Of course, that would depend on finding the right buyer nearby (it's not for sale, though, so it's a moot point anyway).
The most I've ever seen a Kombo go for was a little over $2,000 for a pristine specimen in Red many years ago on eBay. I've also seen them go for as little as $300, and I know of one in Black that sold for only $100.
If you live near a large metro area, especially NY or SoCal, you could possibly get as much as $1,500 or more. I track combo organs on eBay constantly, and right now, I'd have to say the market is a bit on the weak side for anything besides Vox Continentals and such. IMHO, the Kustom Kombo is at the top of the heap for collectibility, in fact, the Kombo was a huge driving force behind creating my website. However, I'm afraid most organ enthusiasts don't share my enthusiasm, so while "yet another Vox Continental" topped $3,000 on eBay recently, a beautiful Kombo like yours might easily languish at a fraction of that price. Sad, indeed.
BTW, Thanks very much for the serial# and date. I have precious few of those in my database. Was the date on the paper tag stapled to the inside, and of the form "100469"?
I wish I had a pile of cash laying around, and could make you a fair offer, but I can't. I think it would be neat to have a Kollection of Kombos, one in every Kolor, but I fear that will never come to pass unless I win the lottery (which would be quite a trick, since I don't play the lottery!)
If you do wind up selling, and consider shipping, look into Greyhound. I've heard very good things about them, and their prices are a lot less than UPS or FedEx. Maybe some of the other guys here can offer tips on shipping, since I'm sure more than one of them has looked into shipping a 3-15 Kustom cabinet.
Also, to maximize it's value, you need to make sure every feature works throughout the organ. I can help if there are some that you don't understand. There's a section on my website that deals with testing for bad oscillators and dividers:
http://www.combo-organ.com/spares_and_repairs.htm#Testing
The Kombo isn't too hard to work on, and if it does need any repairs, I can probably help out there, too.
Can you post some pics somewhere? I don't have many pics of Kombos in White.
Robert
www.combo-organ.com
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| Re: Combo Organ I... [message #9680 is a reply to message #9679] |
Tue, 16 September 2008 21:55 |
johnplaysguitar
Messages: 16
Registered: September 2008
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Junior Member |
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Yes, the date os on the paper, stapled, metal plate is model#1295 serial#1547 The Paper also says PR2, and another 6 digit that didn't get stamped very well, too hard to make out.
I'll try to set up one of those Kodak pages, for pics, then post the link. Thanks for the info...I'm kind of deflated...I figured they would fetch more in the 1,000's than the 100's. Oh, well, someone will be really happy with it! I'm working on the pics. So, silver is considered white? John
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| Re: Combo Organ I... [message #9682 is a reply to message #9681] |
Tue, 16 September 2008 23:13 |
johnplaysguitar
Messages: 16
Registered: September 2008
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Junior Member |
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Hey Les...I guess it's what I would call a LIGHT silver grey, so I guess it's charcoal...it's very silvery and sparkly, but not white at all! Yeah, I screwed up on the serial #...it's 1547, NOT 1574. Does anyone know how many of these there are? Also, has anyone ever hooked up a different amp all together on the inside...just wondering, I wonder how it would affect the organ sounds. I live in Michigan by the way. I wouldn't be shipping it if I did sell it, me and the better half would throw it in the van and deliver it, as long as it was someplace cool, like Florida, New York, Maine...(I'm a lobster FREAK!) someplace we could fish, or make a fun mini-vacation. We sold our bass boat a couple years ago to a young lady in South Carolina (on ebay) and drove it down to her front door. She threw in some extra cash for the gas, but we got to spend Thanksgiving with some good friends about 2 hours away! She bought it for her new hubby who was fighting over in Iraq...HE is the one who saw it on ebay! He had her call me, and she cooked up this scheme where she told him I was a real big jerk and she would NEVER buy anything from me. He sent me a nasty email, then, after she was sure he gave up on it, she had me bring it down so she and her Dad could check it out. He came home from Iraq the following March and SURPRISE! We called them in June, and they had been using it every weekend since he got home, so we made some new friends! Thanks to all of you for the great info, it really helps! John
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| Re: Combo Organ I... [message #9683 is a reply to message #9671] |
Wed, 17 September 2008 08:29 |
rodak
Messages: 516
Registered: October 2001
Location: Georgia
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Senior Member |
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Les, how did you know the serial# was wrong? Is there some method to the numbering scheme?
www.combo-organ.com
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| Re: Combo Organ I... [message #9685 is a reply to message #9684] |
Wed, 17 September 2008 17:12 |
rodak
Messages: 516
Registered: October 2001
Location: Georgia
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Senior Member |
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Oh, ok - I thought maybe he'd cracked the "secret code" or something. After all, Les IS the "Kustom serial# guy"!
Would it be possible to get some pics of the organ?
Does it have the black "Kustom" script lettering on the stainless steel panel above the keys? Some do, and some don't.
www.combo-organ.com
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| Re: Combo Organ I... [message #9690 is a reply to message #9671] |
Wed, 17 September 2008 20:58 |
rodak
Messages: 516
Registered: October 2001
Location: Georgia
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Senior Member |
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In the shot of the back with the panel removed, the preamp panel is just hanging out there in space - what's it attached to?
www.combo-organ.com
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| Re: Combo Organ I... [message #9695 is a reply to message #9692] |
Thu, 18 September 2008 10:00 |
rodak
Messages: 516
Registered: October 2001
Location: Georgia
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Senior Member |
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The preamp is only that - a preamp, and it's ONLY used for the guitar input - it's not used by the organ at all. Read the interesting story behind the preamp panel here:
http://www.combo-organ.com/Kustom
The power amp is the larger chassis on the bottom left of the cabinet. Yes, you could certainly hook up a different amp. It would take a bit of electronic know-how to wire it in correctly. If you're up to the job, the schematics are available here:
http://www.combo-organ.com/Schematics/index.htm
www.combo-organ.com
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