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My first Kustom, what is it? [message #2415]

Tue, 28 January 2003 14:31

Anonymous

Hi All, I just bought my first Kustom and just love the sound. It is a Kustom 200 in black tuck and roll with a 2 15 cabinet but I don't know what year or whether it is a bass or guitar amp. The amp has 4 inputs, 4 knobs per channel with a brite which, vol. bass and treble. There are no plates on the back of the head and the cab is ported with the word Jensen on the input plug. Unfortunately, they have been replaced with Black Widows but it sounds great. The cab needs casters and handles too. Any help with parts, plates and indentification would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Brian

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Re: My first Kustom, what is it? [message #2416 is a reply to message #2415]

Tue, 28 January 2003 17:12

Anonymous

Hey Brian! welcome to the greatest bunch of krazy gear heads on the planet! Sounds like you've got a wonderful 200 plexi bass rig there...BC will likley chime in the Black Widows...if memory serves he was not as happy with them as they are power hungry speakers and your amp only puts out 100watts rms..my guess is that those big ol magnets are just sitting there wondering when the juice is going to flow..even with the amp on 10. There's little difference between the guitar and bass rigs...the guitar amps will have some fx like trem/vibe and reverb. the 200 head places your rig around the late 60s (69ish)you can get closer by telling us what's on the name plate of the speaker grill..it'll say either kustom by Ross inc. or Kustom by Electronics inc...Ross being the earlier model...you've got a great stable amp there and the most classic design kustom is known for with those gleaming chrome ports...you da man now! Play Loud ET

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Re: My first Kustom, what is it? [message #2417 is a reply to message #2416]

Tue, 28 January 2003 17:57

BC
Messages: 583
Registered: March 2000
Location: Kentucky

Senior Member

Here I am ET. Brian...if the head says 200 on the front it is a K200B-1. If it does NOT say (((200))) it would be a K200A-1. I have a Black Widow 15 in one of my Kustoms....and I do not like it...but it may just be a bumb speaker.....because I have heard a lot of good sounding Black Widows and mine just does not have the tone. Foxy even made a "Custom" Kustom cabinet from a 2x15 and changed it into a 1x18 black widow and a 1x12 Alnico for a guy who plays 5 string and it sounds fantastic with the 200 head. ET told you straight on the cabinet.....check to see if the ports are brushed aluminum or if they are chrome and check whether the nameplate says Kustom Electronics Inc or Kustom by Ross Inc. A 200 style cabinet will not be as deep at the top as it is at the bottom. If it happens to be a 250 style 2x15 the grill cloth will have a "checked" pattern and the depth will be the same top to bottom.....also the 250 nameplates are brushed metal instead of chrome. Hope this helps!BC

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Re: My first Kustom, what is it? [message #2418 is a reply to message #2416]

Tue, 28 January 2003 18:07

BC
Messages: 583
Registered: March 2000
Location: Kentucky

Senior Member

Brian! I forgot to mention.....imagine that....that the head you have was usually sold as a bass head. But, I can tell you from experience you can use any 200 head in any application as I often use "guitar" or PA heads for bass work and they have all the tones of the bass heads. If you are a bass player be thankful you have the BWs and not the Jensens. The Jensens were too light for heavy bass work.I found that out the hard way too! BC

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Re: My first Kustom, what is it? [message #2419 is a reply to message #2415]

Wed, 29 January 2003 00:44

Anonymous

Thanks ET and BC. It must be a K200B because it says (((200))) on the head and Kustom Electronics on the cab. It also has chrome ports. I did date the pots to 1968. I cannot believe the sound of this amp. It sounds like a tube amp and the black widows are great. It does have a bit of wear on the tolex, sorry naugahyde, is missing the plastic part of the handles, no casters, no name plates or serial number on back. Any idea where I could find these parts? What kind of jensens would it come with? ET, would the Jensens or BW speakers be better for guitar? Thanks for your help. BB

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Re: My first Kustom, what is it? [message #2420 is a reply to message #2419]

Wed, 29 January 2003 07:43

stevem
Messages: 4748
Registered: June 2004
Location: NY

Senior Member

Hi. In reference to your parts search, clear plastic handles can be had from the vibroworld site. You would have to unscrew the plactic part and paint it black, or 4 months ago I was able to get handles right from HHI who up untill about a year ago made the new tuck and roll Kustoms. It was not easy it took two weeks of calling just to speak to the nessary person, and then about three weeks to get the handles.They did not charge me, mabe because I have three of their new amps and cabs. I have been meaning to get back to them to try to find out the name of their supplyer. now that they unfortunatly do not make that line any more they may release that info. I just hope the are not made in china like the rest of the amp.The casters If I recall can be ordered from granger equip. I may be wrong, but I have the info at home, and I can check. Also thr person on this site Kustomblues I belive has everything you are looking for.

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Re: My first Kustom, what is it? [message #2421 is a reply to message #2419]

Wed, 29 January 2003 07:52

stevem
Messages: 4748
Registered: June 2004
Location: NY

Senior Member

PS. before you order new speakers I would implore you to get parts plus site, request a catalog, and drool over the many bass 15s they carry. My suggestion to you would be that what ever funds you have for speakers, look for ones with #1 the highest SPL or DB rating,#2 the largest magnet, and #3 A frequency range that goes up to 4000 cycles. you will probibly find that a eminence speaker will fill the bill great.

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Re: My first Kustom, what is it? [message #2422 is a reply to message #2420]

Wed, 29 January 2003 10:52

Anonymous

Thanks Steven. I like the BW speakers but if I want to get it back to original what Jensens did it use? What about the name plate for the back?

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Re: My first Kustom, what is it? [message #2424 is a reply to message #2422]

Wed, 29 January 2003 12:55

stevem
Messages: 4748
Registered: June 2004
Location: NY

Senior Member

Hi. If it is to be a standard bass cab, it would have had CTS speakers,a company who has not been around since the mid 70s I belive.However a engineer left there in the late 60s to start the eminence company. A close but upgrade eminence, to the CTS would be their legend model B15. A guitar jensen would be their model C15N which has just been resiued.As for the rear name plate, only a donor amp can provide that.

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Re: My first Kustom, what is it? [message #2427 is a reply to message #2419]

Fri, 31 January 2003 23:49

LPLew
Messages: 3
Registered: January 2003

Junior Member

Handles for Kustom. Vibroworld.com has a clear handle you can paint black for about $15. I made some oak inserts for my handles, buffed the chrome, painted the inserts gloss black. Should do the trick!

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