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Re: Kustom Electronics "The Bag" talkbox,vintage 1969 [message #14649 is a reply to message #14647] |
Thu, 28 October 2010 12:07 |
chicagobill
Messages: 2005 Registered: April 2003
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The Bag is almost as rare as the Kustom Theremin. In all the years that I've been around, I've only seen a couple of bags. In the last 5 years or so, I've seen 2 come up on eBay.
Because they were introduced in the late '60s, I think that they were way ahead of their time and nobody knew what to do with them. I remember that John Kay of Steppenwolf was in the ads for them, but I don't remember any recordings featuring it.
It wasn't until Frampton that talk boxes became popular items.
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Re: Kustom Electronics "The Bag" talkbox,vintage 1969 [message #14651 is a reply to message #14647] |
Thu, 28 October 2010 15:26 |
chicagobill
Messages: 2005 Registered: April 2003
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The "talking guitar" effect dates back to the late 1940's. I can't remember the player's name, but there was a steel guitar player that had a speaker system that would attach to his neck instead of using a mouth tube.
I guess that REVO is trying to sell his bag, as he has been on a lot of the boards drumming up interest.
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Re: Kustom Electronics "The Bag" talkbox,vintage 1969 [message #14652 is a reply to message #14647] |
Thu, 28 October 2010 15:29 |
rodak
Messages: 514 Registered: October 2001 Location: Georgia
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What a strange and unusual looking talk box.
Did "The Bag" appear in any Kustom literature (any on this site - I don't recall seeing any)?
By how many years did it pre-date "Frampton Comes Alive"?
What did it sell for originally?
How much have the few seen on eBay fetched?
www.combo-organ.com
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Re: Kustom Electronics "The Bag" talkbox,vintage 1969 [message #14653 is a reply to message #14647] |
Thu, 28 October 2010 16:38 |
chicagobill
Messages: 2005 Registered: April 2003
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I haven't seen any literature, maybe Pleat has something. I remember going to the Kustom dealer showroom and seeing one in the window there in 1969. A little later is when I saw the John Kay ads.
The first one that I saw on eBay was maybe 5 years ago, it was mint with all of the original bells and whistles. I quit bidding at $200, I think it went for maybe $400-450.
More recently (maybe 2 years ago) one came up in much better condition than REVO's, and it sold for maybe $250.
The only person that would want one, would be a hardcore Kustom collector. As far as talk boxes go there are much better ones on the market now.
I don't know when Frampton Comes Alive came out, maybe 1975? So the Bag was out for at least 4 years before this.
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Re: Kustom Electronics "The Bag" talkbox,vintage 1969 [message #14654 is a reply to message #14651] |
Thu, 28 October 2010 20:39 |
C4ster
Messages: 686 Registered: June 2001 Location: Mukwonago, WI (Milwaukee...
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I believe you are refering to Alvino Rey. However, I just ran a couple of YouTube videos and I didn't see anything even remotely like a talk box. It would be interesting to know how he produced those sounds. Sadly, he died a few years ago,
Conrad
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Re: Kustom Electronics "The Bag" talkbox,vintage 1969 [message #14665 is a reply to message #14664] |
Fri, 29 October 2010 18:30 |
pleat
Messages: 1454 Registered: June 2004 Location: Belding, Mi
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Where to start? http://www.vintagerock.com/pframpton_interview.aspx Having worked at a music store from 66 until 1979 as a kustom dealer, I don't have any numbers as to how many were made, but I'd guess not that many were made. It retailed for 99.00. To compare prices in 1969, the K50 retailed for 229.99 and a Kustom Microphone retailed for 59.95 at that same time.
We stocked a blue paisley Kustom bag at the store I managed. Ordered it in 69, and just before I left the store in 79, it finally was torn apart and used the Atlas horn driver for a replacement horn driver. Even thru the Frampton craze and after, we couldn't sell the idea of wearing the bag for a talk box. I know the original blue tube was a ribbed plastic that would kink if bent to tight. By 79, the tube was splitting.
Think back to 1969. Not much promotion was done from Kustom, and the dealers didn't know what to do with it, how to market it, or promote it by demostrating it.
The only promotion I remember from Kustom, you wore it with the supplied 3/8" diameter nylon cord with fringe at each end, matching color, resembling a strap. The toggle switch is mounted to the bag, so you have to use one hand to activate and de-activate the effect. But they didn't tell you what you did with the 30" long tube, when you weren't using it. You either had to keep in your mouth, or let it fall towards the stage. You could, tape the tube to a microphone and stand, which limited any stage movement. You now have a extra cord hanging down, guitar cord and speaker cord hanging down from the bag, just one more cord to trip over.
The bag was just not a well thought out design for stage application, even thou it makes a super cool effect. It was really ahead of it's time but, these are some of the reasons it didn't sell, and I'm sure we weren't the only dealer who had problems in trying to sell them.
Great idea as to how it worked, but Bob Heil did it better. Solid metal floor box, with the tube being taped to the microphone and stand, the speaker/amp connections were on the floor and and could be taped down. A footswitch activated it. The Heil Talk Box didn't restrict the guitar player to be confined to a small area on stage.
As to a value? It's worth what someone is willing to pay for it. In a country that will buy pet rocks, I guess there's hope in selling the Kustom bag.
pleat
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