Old Kustom Solid State Combo

ChicknPickn · October 18th, 2007, 06:44 PM

My only amp since 1978 or thereabouts has been a Kustom "I Lead" solid state combo amp. Very often, I get itchy to buy a tube amp, and I suspect I'll get around to doing that someday. This little amp, though, just screams with the help of a compressor pedal, and for the garage playing I do, it's just been rock solid.

I wonder if anyone else has had, or still has, any of the Kustom solid state equipment, and, if so, what do they think of its sound and performance compared to tube amps they own?

The I Lead is a very simple single-channel unit, 35 watts RMS into one 12" Eminence speaker. Covering is Tolex and the cabinet style is closed - - and heavy! This is not one of the "overstuffed" cabinets that came, I think, in the 80s, though I've always thought those were kind of groovy in their own right. Reverb is spring and tone controls are simply treble and bass. There are two volume controls which work particularly well for playing overdriven sounds at low volume. Clean sound is very clean, and the overdrive is surprisingly warm and variable. There are rear 1/4-inch outputs for a cabinet and headphones. When I bought this unit, I think it cost roughly $200 - - which, at that time, was a LOT of yard mowing and raking for me. As far as I can tell, you'd have to drop it out of at least a second-story window to hurt it.

Just a little nostalgia . . . .

http://www.broadwaymusicco.com/kustom4.htm

Tele295 · October 18th, 2007, 06:52 PM

I have a K50 tuck & roll solid state amp with 1x12 Jensen. Amazing amp!

RJB · October 18th, 2007, 07:58 PM

Still have mine. Too loud for home use. Takes pedals well. I don't ever remember getting any clean out of it except with the guitar volume almost all the way down. Only issue I ever had was that the main filter caps failed and had to be replaced. I don't know if the Eminence is stock though. I also don't remember the headphone jack. I'll have to go dig in the closet.

jh45gun · October 19th, 2007, 02:09 AM

I had for a short while a Kustom III B which was the bass version. (Head Only) It sounded fine but to me it did not sound like it was the 130 watts it was supposed to be so I traded it on a SS Fender Bassman 60 watter that sounds louder than the Kustom did. Not knocking Kustoms I think they made good amps I think this one however was not putting out the watts it was supposed to yet it sounded fine. I suppose they could have been a bit optimistic on their ratings I do not know I am thinking it might have had a slight problem. Might have been me though as the music store thought it was fine when they tried it out when I traded it in.

October 18th, 2007, 06:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
ChicknPickn Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Suffolk, VA Age: 45 Posts: 436	Old Kustom Solid State Combo My only amp since 1978 or thereabouts has been a Kustom "I Lead" solid state combo amp. Very often, I get itchy to buy a tube amp, and I suspect I'll get around to doing that someday. This little amp, though, just screams with the help of a compressor pedal, and for the garage playing I do, it's just been rock solid. I wonder if anyone else has had, or still has, any of the Kustom solid state equipment, and, if so, what do they think of its sound and performance compared to tube amps they own? The I Lead is a very simple single-channel unit, 35 watts RMS into one 12" Eminence speaker. Covering is Tolex and the cabinet style is closed - - and heavy! This is not one of the "overstuffed" cabinets that came, I think, in the 80s, though I've always thought those were kind of groovy in their own right. Reverb is spring and tone controls are simply treble and bass. There are two volume controls which work particularly well for playing overdriven sounds at low volume. Clean sound is very clean, and the overdrive is surprisingly warm and variable. There are rear 1/4-inch outputs for a cabinet and headphones. When I bought this unit, I think it cost roughly $200 - - which, at that time, was a LOT of yard mowing and raking for me. As far as I can tell, you'd have to drop it out of at least a second-story window to hurt it. Just a little nostalgia . . . . http://www.broadwaymusicco.com/kustom4.htm

October 18th, 2007, 06:52 PM	#2 (permalink)
Tele295 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Haunted Amp, CA Posts: 3,375 14 Photos	I have a K50 tuck & roll solid state amp with 1x12 Jensen. Amazing amp! __________________ "Turn it up and it doesn't need any reverb." - Danny Gatton www.dannygatton.info Tiger Town Aces - Music That Bites Back In Redd we trust! Free Bill Kirchen! If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?

October 18th, 2007, 07:58 PM	#3 (permalink)
RJB TDPRI Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Ct Posts: 57	Still have mine. Too loud for home use. Takes pedals well. I don't ever remember getting any clean out of it except with the guitar volume almost all the way down. Only issue I ever had was that the main filter caps failed and had to be replaced. I don't know if the Eminence is stock though. I also don't remember the headphone jack. I'll have to go dig in the closet.

October 19th, 2007, 02:09 AM	#4 (permalink)
jh45gun Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 1,010	I had for a short while a Kustom III B which was the bass version. (Head Only) It sounded fine but to me it did not sound like it was the 130 watts it was supposed to be so I traded it on a SS Fender Bassman 60 watter that sounds louder than the Kustom did. Not knocking Kustoms I think they made good amps I think this one however was not putting out the watts it was supposed to yet it sounded fine. I suppose they could have been a bit optimistic on their ratings I do not know I am thinking it might have had a slight problem. Might have been me though as the music store thought it was fine when they tried it out when I traded it in.