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Kustom IIB Bass head & 115 cab. Any info./reviews? [message #21211]

Mon, 18 August 2014 18:38

K-Rat
Messages: 11
Registered: August 2014

Junior Member

Hello all,

Does anyone know about the Kustom IIB Bass head and/or the 115 cabinet? Most specifically, the wattage? It looks to be from the later 70's (it is NOT a tuck & roll).
I'm thinking of ordering one from GC, but the dealer says he's not sure about the specs. It looks nice, but I'm wondering how much power it has.

Thanks for any info you might have

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Re: Kustom IIB Bass head & 115 cab. Any info./reviews? [message #21213 is a reply to message #21211]

Mon, 18 August 2014 19:22

stevem
Messages: 4775
Registered: June 2004
Location: NY

Senior Member

I can not say, but our very own Pleat who hangs on this site probably would.
He should reply with the info for you if he`s not on Va ca with summer ending.
My Educated guess would be that judging by the era that its from and its 1-15 inch driver that its no more than 100 watts rms and in fact more like 75 watts rms of clean power!
It should work good for rehersal, recording and or light weight gigs, but if you play live with a hard hitting drummer and two guitars players you will likely want more clean head room!

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Re: Kustom IIB Bass head & 115 cab. Any info./reviews? [message #21214 is a reply to message #21213]

Mon, 18 August 2014 19:48

K-Rat
Messages: 11
Registered: August 2014

Junior Member

stevem wrote on Mon, 18 August 2014 19:22

I can not say, but our very own Pleat who hangs on this site probably would.
He should reply with the info for you if he`s not on Va ca with summer ending.
My Educated guess would be that judging by the era that its from and its 1-15 inch driver that its no more than 100 watts rms and in fact more like 75 watts rms of clean power!
It should work good for rehersal, recording and or light weight gigs, but if you play live with a hard hitting drummer and two guitars players you will likely want more clean head room!

Thanks. For some reason, I at first had the idea that the head was 150w, but further investigation seems to be pointing to around 70w.
I've seen the pictures of inside of one of these cabs, & it had a JBL D-140f 8 ohms.

This will be mostly for jamming & rehearsal, and I'm more into Amerciana-ish folk-rock, and also 60s garage rock (a la Louie Louie), so I don't need or want anything too super-loud.
(However, I will be jamming/rehearsing in a fairly large space (an old wooden church bldg), so I wonder will that fact require more power?)

Being new to this site I can't post links yet, but if you go to the Guitar Center website & put Kustom IIB in the search bar, you can see it.

[Updated on: Mon, 18 August 2014 19:49]

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Re: Kustom IIB Bass head & 115 cab. Any info./reviews? [message #21215 is a reply to message #21214]

Mon, 18 August 2014 21:19

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

Senior Member

I did check out the amp on GC Columbus listing. It is a 60 watt RMS amp into a 8 ohm speaker cabinet. From the looks of the photo, I doubt that the cab is housing a JBL speaker. The cabinet came stock with a 15" 8 ohm CTS speaker.
Hope this helps,
pleat

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Re: Kustom IIB Bass head & 115 cab. Any info./reviews? [message #21216 is a reply to message #21215]

Mon, 18 August 2014 21:34

K-Rat
Messages: 11
Registered: August 2014

Junior Member

pleat wrote on Mon, 18 August 2014 21:19

I did check out the amp on GC Columbus listing. It is a 60 watt RMS amp into a 8 ohm speaker cabinet. From the looks of the photo, I doubt that the cab is housing a JBL speaker. The cabinet came stock with a 15" 8 ohm CTS speaker.
Hope this helps,
pleat

Yes, that's the one in Columbus. Thanks for the info.
Do you know about what year those were made?
I'm not officially a bass player, and have never owned a bass amp before. Is 60w pretty low for a bass amp? Could you jam/rehearse/small-gig with this rig, or do you think it's strictly a bedroom amp? Maybe I should hold out for something bigger?

Also, do you have any idea if the speaker cabinet could handle a higher watt head?

[Updated on: Mon, 18 August 2014 21:36]

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Re: Kustom IIB Bass head & 115 cab. Any info./reviews? [message #21217 is a reply to message #21216]

Tue, 19 August 2014 06:59

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

Senior Member

That series of amps came out in 1974, so it's basically a 40 year old amp. As far as, would it be loud enough for a small band, I have no idea.

Would the cabinet handle a larger power amplifier, it depends on the actual condition of the speaker. The amp may have sat in a closet for 40 years, or been on stage every weekend. I think if the amp isn't very loud in the store, it won't do very well in a band enviroment.
pleat

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Re: Kustom IIB Bass head & 115 cab. Any info./reviews? [message #21221 is a reply to message #21217]

Tue, 19 August 2014 21:59

K-Rat
Messages: 11
Registered: August 2014

Junior Member

Well I'll probably have to pass on this one, since I'm not near enough to the store to to try it out. I probably need to be in the 100 - 200 watt range.
I've kind of got Kustom on my brain now... any suggestions on models to look out for?

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Re: Kustom IIB Bass head & 115 cab. Any info./reviews? [message #21223 is a reply to message #21211]

Wed, 20 August 2014 06:21

stevem
Messages: 4775
Registered: June 2004
Location: NY

Senior Member

Well if you do not mind moving it around, my main Bass rig since 1971 has been k250-1 head and a 2-15" cabinet.
It's 125 watts of clean power pumping thru EVM drivers has always been enough power for me even if I am playing one of my 5 string Basses through it with that low B string shaking the room and I have played in some very loud bands as my tinits I have proves. Lol!

[Updated on: Wed, 20 August 2014 06:23]

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Re: Kustom IIB Bass head & 115 cab. Any info./reviews? [message #21230 is a reply to message #21223]

Thu, 21 August 2014 23:01

K-Rat
Messages: 11
Registered: August 2014

Junior Member

stevem wrote on Wed, 20 August 2014 06:21

Well if you do not mind moving it around, my main Bass rig since 1971 has been k250-1 head and a 2-15" cabinet.
It's 125 watts of clean power pumping thru EVM drivers has always been enough power for me even if I am playing one of my 5 string Basses through it with that low B string shaking the room and I have played in some very loud bands as my tinits I have proves. Lol!

The 2-15 cab may be a little too large, at least for now.
So, a K250 head is 125 watts? Is the wattage of the Kustoms half of the model number?
I was originally looking to get one of the newer Ampeg BA-115 orB100r, which are both 100w with a single 15" speaker. But I'm more interested now in finding an older Kustom with similar size & power.

[Updated on: Thu, 21 August 2014 23:01]

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Re: Kustom IIB Bass head & 115 cab. Any info./reviews? [message #21231 is a reply to message #21211]

Fri, 22 August 2014 06:33

stevem
Messages: 4775
Registered: June 2004
Location: NY

Senior Member

Yes, the clean RMS wattage of the amp is half of the model number.
For your usage I would recommend the 70s Charger Model for Bass which is a metal face era amp ( you can see it in this sites Literature section)and if you load it with a new driver with a high SPL rating like a EVM B series driver or a Eminence driver will blow away the 100 watt Ampeg even with its lesser 75 watts of power due to its older, but more robust power supply!

The limiting thing with vintage era Kustoms is that any amps designed powering just 1 15" driver wants a 8 ohm load to make max clean power so you can only use one spreaker on it as if two drivers no matter how you wire it will be 4 ohms or 16 ohms.

[Updated on: Fri, 22 August 2014 06:41]

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Re: Kustom IIB Bass head & 115 cab. Any info./reviews? [message #21235 is a reply to message #21231]

Fri, 22 August 2014 14:43

K-Rat
Messages: 11
Registered: August 2014

Junior Member

[quote title=stevem wrote on Fri, 22 August 2014 06:33]
For your usage I would recommend the 70s Charger Model for Bass which is a metal face era amp ( you can see it in this sites Literature section)and if you load it with a new driver with a high SPL rating like a EVM B series driver or a Eminence driver will blow away the 100 watt Ampeg even with its lesser 75 watts of power due to its older, but more robust power supply!

/quote]

There's one on e-bay right now, but it's a little out of my price range (due in part to the shipping charges).

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Re: Kustom IIB Bass head & 115 cab. Any info./reviews? [message #21236 is a reply to message #21235]

Fri, 22 August 2014 14:59

K-Rat
Messages: 11
Registered: August 2014

Junior Member

Well, now I'm giving the IIB a second chance.
If it is 60w RMS, is that pretty close to the 75w RMS of the Charger, or a 150?

And maybe in the future I could upgrade the speaker, for more volume?

This is for a fairly low powered band situation---the guitar amp is a 15w Gibson (similar to a Princeton Reverb), and I want the drummer to play with a minimal kit (not many cymbals, and playing with brushes, etc.). I'm going for a similar set-up as the house band on the Marty Stuart TV show.

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Re: Kustom IIB Bass head & 115 cab. Any info./reviews? [message #21241 is a reply to message #21236]

Fri, 22 August 2014 17:34

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

Senior Member

Not sure where your located, but I have a friend that is selling his Charcoal T&R Krossroads amp. Krossroad amps were a partnership between Bud Ross and his son Andy back in mid 90's. The amp for sale is a AR200 bass amp. 200 watts Bi amp driving a EVM 15" speaker and Hi freq Horn. Horn amp is controlable from the front panel. Balanced XLR out jack, 3 band eq with an effects loop. The amp is a mint as you will find and he has a cover for the amp. He's asking 500.00 and is located outside Grand Rapids MI. His email is samrambo69@yahoo.com for more info and photo's. Best of both worlds, vintage look with modern electronics.
pleat

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Re: Kustom IIB Bass head & 115 cab. Any info./reviews? [message #21242 is a reply to message #21241]

Fri, 22 August 2014 18:04

K-Rat
Messages: 11
Registered: August 2014

Junior Member

pleat wrote on Fri, 22 August 2014 17:34

Not sure where your located, but I have a friend that is selling his Charcoal T&R Krossroads amp. Krossroad amps were a partnership between Bud Ross and his son Andy back in mid 90's. The amp for sale is a AR200 bass amp. 200 watts Bi amp driving a EVM 15" speaker and Hi freq Horn. Horn amp is controlable from the front panel

Hey thanks, that looks nice, and is about what I ideally would want- (150 watts of exploding unclippable power!). Unfortunately, it's pretty far out of my price range & driving distance (I'm in Alabama).
I need to stay in the $200-$300 range, for now anyway. (I'm not really a bass player, I just want to have a bass amp on hand.)

[Updated on: Fri, 22 August 2014 20:09]

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Re: Kustom IIB Bass head & 115 cab. Any info./reviews? [message #21262 is a reply to message #21215]

Mon, 25 August 2014 13:13

K-Rat
Messages: 11
Registered: August 2014

Junior Member

pleat wrote on Mon, 18 August 2014 21:19

Regarding the Kustom IIB head & 115 cabinet: It is a 60 watt RMS amp into a 8 ohm speaker cabinet. The cabinet came stock with a 15" 8 ohm CTS speaker.

pleat

Could a speaker upgrade on this make a significant difference? I saw a photo of one online where someone had put a JBL d140f in it.
And if I upgraded the speaker, could I, at some point in the future, use another head with it, such as a 150 or 250?

[Updated on: Mon, 25 August 2014 13:15]

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