Kustom Amp Opinions?

[JayFreddy]

I know the old tuck 'n roll Kustoms of yesteryear were special and had their own thing going on, but can anyone comment on any of the newer Kustom stuff?

A guitar teacher I know recently acquired a couple of the QUAD heads. He does mostly Zeppelin-esque classic rock and is happy with them, but they seem so cheaply made, they don't inspire confidence for me...

Then I saw another thread here about the Kustom Sienna acoustic guitar amps, and those seem to be getting a some pretty good reviews.

I generally avoid Chinese made stuff when I can, but the Roland Cube 60 is made in China, and that seems to have a decent record of reliability. Then again, the new Peavey Vypyr stuff is also made in China, and they have a lot of reliability issues...

It makes me wonder if the day of the disposable amp has arrived. Buy it new for $300, use it for a year (or until the warranty expires), then throw it out and buy a new one...

Anyone have experience with the newer Kustom stuff?

[91xlntS-3]

Have owned a Kustom '36 Coupe for a couple of years with no issues. Great sounding amp and very versatile. Bought mine because of comments I received from Scotty Anderson, he's using the '72 Coupe. I didn't need an amp that big, and the '36 really filled the need!

[Chicago Slim]

I also own a Kustom '36 Coupe, and '72 Hardtop. I have made the switch from vintage '60's Fenders, to the US made Kustoms. They have held up well to heavy use, and include features, not found on other amps. Sound wise, they are in the black face and tweed ballpark. Many say that they sound like a Carr Rambler.

When I taught at a music store that sold Kustom amps, they proved to be very reliable. I never saw any quality issues, with any Kustom amps. That speaks well for their economical line of amps. In side by side comparison, they sound better and louder, than many big name brands.

Although the Kustom amps have a good clean sound, I have found a couple other MIC small amps that I thought sounded better overall, like the Vox Pathfinder 15R, and Orange Crush 30R. For a larger SS amp, I still prefer the Peavey Transtube line.

[JayFreddy]

Thanks for your comments. That Coupe series sure looks mighty tempting. Didn't mean to imply that all the Kustoms were "disposable", or that all new Peavey's had reliability issues... I guess those are both subjects for seperate threads.

[golfnut]

I've owned a couple of Kustom solid states that were good as far as solid states go. Down the street from my office there is a Kustom amp dealer that has a Twin type Kustom. 2X12 6L6 tubes etc. It started out at about $1,700 and as of about a week or 2 ago dropped to $1,149. I've been meaning to take my Tele in to try it.

[RomanS]

I've had a Kustom The Defender since last June; originally got it as a spare amp for gigs, and because I got it for even less than the already low price at an inventory sale, but now I'm using it more than my main amp (JTM45-clone opimized for clean playing).
The Defender has a great, brilliant-sparkly BF Fender-ish clean sound (already with the stock EL34 tubes, and even more so with the 6L6 replacements I put in there - there's a switch that makes that change really easy); I don't like the cranked sound of the amp a lot, it's kinda fuzz-ish, but clean it is GREAT (and also takles pedals well).
The reverb on the amp is kinda dark, with a long decay, more of an "ambiance" type reverb rather than a splashy Fender surf-style revereb.
Other useful features: footswitchable variable tube-based boost - great for kicking in an extra bit of loudness; switchable master volume - that way you can use the master volume if you need to practice at home at low volume levels, but you can remove the master volume from the circuit with the switch to get the great tone of a non-master volume amp at band/gig loudness levels.
IMO the amp also looks very cool (kinda hot rod/biker styling), and it is relatively light-weight for a 1x12" 40W tube combo, due to its solid pine cabinet.
Can't talk about reliability, since I've only had it since June, but I've gigged twice with it, and carry it back and forth to band rehearsals about once or twice a week - no issues yet.

[91xlntS-3]

Take a look at some of the videos of Scotty Anderson on youtube using his '72 Coupe amp. These Kustoms are great amps, IMO.

[Wally]

Do the 36 and the 72 have tube reverb circuits? If so, how do they do two channels and reverb with only four 12AX7's? Just curious..

[Doug Ferguson]

Don't know anything about the newer Kustoms. I did blow one back in the '70's. It was my first SS amp, less than three months old, and pretty much turned me off of SS amps until I recently got a G-DEC 30. In all fairness, the Kustom I had was a pretty low end job. I've played with guys who had Kustoms that sounded great and were well built.

[Twin Reiver]

I have a 36 Coupe and I love it. My main two amps were a SF Twin Reverb and a 76 Marshall JMP. This totally holds its own against those two, tone-wise, and it has been totally reliable and takes my Bad Monkey great. They were designed by a guy named James Brown, who designed the Peavey Classic series, and I prefer these to the Peaveys, which are real good amps. The 36 just has a sweeter tone and more punch than the Classic 30 and Delta Blues I have owned and played.

Also, right after I got it--NOS at GC for cheap--I had a problem with one of the tubes and called Kustom customer service to just confirm it was a tube thing. I didn't expect anything, I bought it used. The customer service guy was totally nice and helpful, explained exactly why and how it was a tube dying, and then here's the kicker: Three days later I get a package from Kustom with a FULL SET of replacement tubes.

Great amp, great company.

[JayFreddy]

I am a fan of the Peavey Classic 50. At least superficially, the Coupe '72 looks similar in construction to the Classic 50 head, except with 6L6 tubes instead of EL84's. I will definitely be giving these a try.

[Doug Ferguson]

Originally Posted by JayFreddy

I am a fan of the Peavey Classic 50. At least superficially, the Coupe '72 looks similar in construction to the Classic 50 head, except with 6L6 tubes instead of EL84's. I will definitely be giving these a try.

That's a good bet. I had a C50 410 for years, and loved that amp.

[Maradona86]

Love the amp. In fact, I just swapped out the KEI speaker (bright and shrill IMHO) for an Eminence Cannibis Rex. DANG! The Cannibis Rex BLOWS the doors off of the KEI speaker it came with. The overall sound is so much more full and dynamic than before. Also the fizzyness is not there like it once was and it seems to take my overdrive pedal (Menatone Fish Factory)way better than before. I used a strat w/ Lace sensors Hot Golds and a Sheraton w/ Fralin buckers through it so far. Today will be all Tele, & Les Paul. I'm really impressed. The difference in tonal quality between this amp and my TRRI w/ Tone Tubbies just went from being significantly noticeable to a narrow margin. I can't sing enough praises about this speaker and amp combo.

This was my last ditch effort to get the tones out of this amp that I knew were in there and to tame the fizzyness that I suspected was coming from the speaker; otherwise it would have been up on the bay. Needless to say, this amp isn't going anywhere, but maybe to my next gig. And this is all being said without the speaker being properly broken in; I can't wait for that!

[RomanS]

Originally Posted by Maradona86

Love the amp. In fact, I just swapped out the KEI speaker (bright and shrill IMHO) for an Eminence Cannibis Rex. DANG! The Cannibis Rex BLOWS the doors off of the KEI speaker it came with. The overall sound is so much more full and dynamic than before. Also the fizzyness is not there like it once was and it seems to take my overdrive pedal (Menatone Fish Factory)way better than before. I used a strat w/ Lace sensors Hot Golds and a Sheraton w/ Fralin buckers through it so far. Today will be all Tele, & Les Paul. I'm really impressed. The difference in tonal quality between this amp and my TRRI w/ Tone Tubbies just went from being significantly noticeable to a narrow margin. I can't sing enough praises about this speaker and amp combo.

This was my last ditch effort to get the tones out of this amp that I knew were in there and to tame the fizzyness that I suspected was coming from the speaker; otherwise it would have been up on the bay. Needless to say, this amp isn't going anywhere, but maybe to my next gig. And this is all being said without the speaker being properly broken in; I can't wait for that!

Which Kustom model are you talking about?

BTW, I replace the KEI speaker in my Defender with a Cannabis Rex, too - though I don't judge that KEI as harshly as you do, I also think that a top-taming speaker like the CR is a great match with this very brilliant sounding amp.
BTW, I have a suspicion that the KEI is very closely related to the Emi Legend 121 (which I also have), and that's not a bad speaker - you just don'T want to use it with an amp with lots of treble; for my JTM45-clone (a rather warm, and full sounding, not overly bright amp) it is a perfect match!

[Maradona86]

I swapped it out of my '36 Coupe. You're right on about it being a very brilliant, high end (trebly) amp. This speaker definately evens things out across the sonic spectrum and tames those pesky highs.

[KustomKat]

I joined this forum and this website just to make this comment: If you get a chance to get a 72 or 36 Coupe, get one. You'll get warm Fenderish clean bell tones, and warm sweet harmonic overdrive - think a smoother, darker Marshall. If you don't use any overdrive, and you just want great cleans, get the Defender and leave the master volume bypass on all the time... that tone blows away even the Coupe's clean (and the reverb is better). If you want Fenderish bell-like clean tones, smooth classic overdrive/distortion, AND over-the-top rectified (Think smooth Krank) metal distortion, get the new Double-Kross. It's an extraordinary 3-channel amp with separate EQ for each channel. I've got a 72 Coupe and it's the greatest piece of gear I've ever owned.

[redstringuitar]

I have owned a '36 Coupe for over 2 years now and it's the best combo I've had. It was originally loaned to me by the local guitar store while they repaired my Marshall TSL 212 under warranty...well, to cut a long story short, after playing through the '36 for a week, I told them to stick the TSL, and kept it...no regrets, love the thing!
Maradona86 and RomanS, think you guys are onto something with the Cannabis Rex, that speaker can be used for keyboard amps etc. as well as guitar, which means it needs to be less shrill and handle more range...There's an online store over here that has a couple in stock and they're not silly money either, so I'm gonna get one...thanks for the heads-up dudes. That aluminium dustcap on the KEI bounces too much top, there are much better valves out there too, you guys might wanna try a set off JJ cryogenics or similar. Hell of a good little amp though, I guess James Brown had to keep costs down somehow.

[_Dutch]

This looks like a pretty old thread, but I'm kind desperate. I have a Kustom 36 coupe that I need a schematic for. I have contacted Kustom and they are no longer providing schematics to just lowly customers like myself. Does anyone else have one they wouldn't mind sharing?

[cntry666]

I think the Coups sound great. I had a 50 watt all tube TT 50 watt head and cab, it was amazing. I can't belive I sold it but it was too big. I'd stay away from the solid state stuff with the built in effects though. Any of their old solid state amps are great like the Charger. Save your money and get their new Defender amp. It's $500 but it is supposed to be great.

[JayFreddy]

Originally Posted by _Dutch

This looks like a pretty old thread, but I'm kind desperate. I have a Kustom 36 coupe that I need a schematic for. I have contacted Kustom and they are no longer providing schematics to just lowly customers like myself. Does anyone else have one they wouldn't mind sharing?

That's a bummer. They wouldn't even sell you one? I thought they would send them out, but it would void your warranty...

I can understand if they no longer give it away for free. I wouldn't agree with it, but I could understand it.

Please keep us posted if you manage to find a schematic for it.