Kustom Kasino Natural 150 Head

This head was probably made somewhere between 1973-75, which is about as long as Kasino was in business if I remember correctly. Kasino was the off-brand for Kustom. They created Kasino as a way to dip their feet into the non-tuck and roll solid state market. Kasino was phased out when Kustom itself stepped away from tuck and roll to tolex, which was a sad day indeed.

This amp is about as basic as you can get. It has two inputs, one channel, volume, drive, and three knobs for tone (all of which are labelled bass, oddly enough). It also has that nifty violet light as does its Kustom cousins.

This amp is rated at a conservative 75 watts RMS and 150 watts peak. The original cabinet for this head was a 1x15. I have used it with smaller speakers and you can definitely tell that this head was engineered for something larger. It really sings with a 1x15 or 2x15.

I like the simplicity of this amp. I personally don't need too many features. The only thing I wish this had was an extra out so I could run it to the house more easily. Other than that I am 100% satisfied with the features.

Seeing as how this amp is a close cousin to the Kustom tuck and roll amps, I would have to say that the sound is fairly similar. It has a great vintage tone and it really drives the low end of the basses I use. I have used it with an active bass, which sounded just fine, but this head really seems to bring out the best in the passive p-bass copies I use.

This amp is best suited for rock and roll, blues, and country. I personally use it for blues and rock and roll and have been completely satisfied with the sounds I get out of it.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that this amp can make a variety of sounds. There really aren't that many controls, so it is fairly limited as to the number of things it can do. But what it does, it does well. It gives a great clean and deep bass sound and if you push the drive up all the way you can get it to distort a bit, but nothing brutal. In all, I love the way this amp sounds. It's a bit of a one-trick pony as far as variety is concered, but I like its one trick, so it suits me fine.

This amp is rock solid as far as construction is concerned. It weighs a ton, and even after 30 years this head still looks pretty decent. I would really love to rely on this amp as my #1, but it has a couple of issues I need to look at first.

This head has actually konked out on me in a live situation before. This may be the result of one or a combination of the following things: 1) I haven't changed out the two prong plug in favor of a three prong yet, so it may have been polarity or grounding issues. 2) I was playing outdoors in the heat of Arizona's summer. 3) I was using it with a 4 ohm cab and this head was built to be used with an 8 ohm cab (which I didn't know at the time because of the scarcity of information on Kasino products).

At any rate, the head hasn't given out on me since, but I haven't gigged with it since either. I plan on taking it to an amp tech for a thorough inspection before making this my #1 amp. I feel confident that I could use this amp regularly and without backup someday soon, but as of right now I'm being a little cautious with it.

As stated earlier, Kustom phased out their Kasino line before the end of the 70's. Kustom itself has been bought and sold since then, so there is no support for the vintage Kustom and Kasino products. Despite this drawback, Kustom and Kasino amps are extremely well-built and many of them have survived from the 70's until now in relatively good shape. If you need repairs on your Kustom/Kasino take it to an amp tech or buy the schematics which are readily available online and do it yourself.

I have been playing for about two years. My other amp is an Ashdown, and I play mainly basses that I build and modify myself. If this amp were stolen I would only hope to get another one in such great condition. I would definitely buy it again.

This is a great amp and if you find one, you can probably get it for pretty cheap. These Kasino bass heads are definitely worth every cent you pay for them, and are sure to turn heads with their vintage styling and great tone.

I believe this amp is a '71. That's what I was told by the guy who sold it to me, but I haven't been able to verify that. This head is pretty simple: solid state, one channel, no effects loop, only one speaker jack, the greatest thing about this is that all the tone controls are labelled bass. Nope, no mids or highs here.

As for features I wish this amp had, there are none. I like it because it's simple. I only give it a 7 because most people would wish it had an effects loop, channel switching, midi outs, and a built in coffee maker. It's a head from the 70's. What do you expect?

I have a couple basses I use this on. One is an active Brawley KB-34 and the other is a P-bass copy. I've played a few different styles from acoustic/indie to punk(not the pop kind). Right now I am in a bluesy jam-rock trio and this head gets the job done.

First of all, this head is loud. It's not Iron Maiden at Donnington loud, but it's plenty loud for the working musician. It's rated at 75 watts RMS, but remember that this was the early 70's when 75 watts meant that from the time you wake up in the morning until you go to bed at night this amp can give you 75 watts. Todays amps are rated for peak power. A 75 watt amp today can give you 75 watts for one nanosecond right before it explodes, but I digress. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this head would be more like 200-250 watts by today's standards. It actually sounds louder than my Ashdown 300 watt head, but that could just be my ears playing tricks. It did threaten to blow up my 400 watt 4x10 cabinet.

The pots on this thing are clean. No scratching, buzzing, or popping. The signal is clean as far as I can turn it up. I need to build a better cab for this thing before I'll be able to tell if it distorts at higher volumes.

As for the overall sound, it's a very nice and warm vintage sound. These things are built with the same basic engineering as the Kustom tuck and rolls, so it's a sound similar to that. I love it. Think CCR. The only problem with this thing is that the pull bright switch on one of the tone knobs doesn't seem to do much. Other than that, the vintage vibe is where it's at.

I haven't owned this one long, but lemme just say that it has successfully survived the 70's, 80's, and 90's before getting to me and it is still in good shape. This thing is heavy duty. It's pretty damn heavy too, but I don't anticipate this one having a major breakdown anytime soon, but if it does I know people who can fix it.

As for gigging without a backup, do you really think I would give Murphy and engraved invitation to my gigs like that? Sheesh.

Kustom phased out their Kasino line in the mid 70's when they moved away from tuck and roll (a dirty shame) to tolex. Then they got bought out by an Asian company somewhere along the line and they don't service their old amps anymore. You can't even find a serial number directory.

My other amp is a 300 watt Ashdown combo. If this head were stolen I would cry for a month and then go out and buy another one. I love the sound of this head, I love the look of it. Now I just need to build a matching cabinet.

If you ever see one of these things for sale on ebay, but it. They are mcuh cheaper than the Kustom tuck and rolls and they sounds just as good and pack quite a punch. Great value and a great head.