Kustom Tube 12 Combo

First of all a little background story. I was buying myself a practice amp , a little one for home use , and this Kustom came across my path , i did my research , kinda knew what i wanted so it was this or a couple of others like marshal , laney and so on. So,too cut the story short i didn't get this amp for myself i bought it for my cousin who was just starting to play.

I bought IT and an ordinary Zoom II pedal and some Behringer Eq all for 100 bucks. Now, read on . On its own 8 with a ordinary Zoom pedal 10 ( no need for EQ but it was only 15 $) , so lets say a solid 9.

So we got IT home , set it up. First i drove it through my cousins Washburn with emg 81 / 85 , *****ing LITTLE (maybe little but don't sound like it ) thing was amazing , growled like a big boy volume at 1/3 , so i said ok volume at 1/3 anything sounds good then I crancked it up and IT stills sounds *****ing amazing. So with emg 81/85 through a Zoom I'd give it yet again a solid 9.

Then i drove it trough my Washburn with Duncan's '59 and Custom Custom ,Zoom also, and the LITTLE thingy song with joy and kept saying play me , sounds even better with Duncan's . If you want clean you got it if you want gain you got it , what ever you want you got with this LITTLE amp.

Had it for some time no problems . Sometimes i play 5 hours straight and IT doesn't get warm or squeak or anything . IT just sits there and does what IT knows best .

Bought it used.

Overall , amazing LITTLE amp , wont disappoint you no matter what you play if you buy just an ordinary pedal nothing fancy or expensive
, combined, all the sound you want and LOUD LITTLE (when you want it to be ) bastard it is , i adore it and trying to convince my cousin to sell it to me , i'd buy him anything else in that price range for it.

If somebody stole it i'd hunt him down and beat him with what ever is at hand and then beat him some more just for making me hunt him and i would hunt him no question .

If you need small amp to practice you can't go wrong with this one .

One-channel with 2-stage gain minicombo (really mini, especially for it's 12W output). 2007 year of production. Only four knobs (gain, bass, treble, volume) and 3 switches (power on/off, gain circuit on/off, mid boost on/off). Communications include input, phone output, line output, external speaker output. Lovely simple. 8" Celestion Super-8 loudspeaker. 1-valve (12ax7 type) preamp stage (gain switch activates the solid-state booster before valve to overdrive it? as I understand). Solid-state (with discrete scheme) power amp. Compact (but, unfortunately, cheap and boomy) cabinet.

Incredibly nice clean sound (as for paid price and taking in account, that it's just a simple chineese gibrid practice combo for home use only). Overdrive is adjustable with gain knob, when the gain switch is "on". Not the best overdrive in the world, but can be improved with the valve replacing (i've just replaced crappy chineese tube with old-stock ECC 803, and as the result is the much clearer, louder tone with good-sounding bass as well). Also overdrive sub-channel was noisy at high gain settings (and near powerful electrical equipment), but I've discovered, that the rear panel of amp isn't electrically shielded, so I've done it by myself with a significant decrease of noise level. Also I've damped the combo from inside with a layer of soft material to decrease "boomyness" of a thin-wall cabinet. So now it sounds much better - I suppose, this is only tube combo with such a serious sound in the world, that anyone can by for price of a cheap "for-novices-only" crap.
BTW, gain sub-channel is some balanced in a volume with clean sub-channel (it means, that volume of "clean" is equal to 15% of "overdrive" with a different tonal palete). So it could be used as 2-channel combo (and plus mid-boost for soloing), but there no foot switch option for it.
I'm using it with my Fender SE Mahogany Strat at home, and it gives nice clean and soft cranchy overdrive with the passive pickups, and nice lead hard-rock sounds with the EMG 81. But, to be objective, for really nice distorted sounds I use my tube stomp-box in front of this combo. It may sound incredibly, but, mixing the distortion of stompbox with light overdrive of combo, I've made very realistic sound of big high-gain amp in a such a small box. So, in this metter combo is very versatile. OK, there is still some lack of bass, but this 8" speaker just unable to give more. Anyway, this combo has sound of a real tube amp.

Of course, I'd never use it on stage instead of big (100W for example) full-tube amp with an adequate cabinet (4*12" for example). but this thing could save me in some situations (when there no guitar combo for me at all), also it could serve as warm-up combo or additional stage guitar monitor.

I don't know.

I've plaing for 15 years, using only amplification effects such as above-mentioned stompbox. I prefere to use big tube amps on stage. But there's no use for 100W stack at home, so this Kustom is a real steal for me (indeed, I cranked it up to max volume only several times - it's really as loud as Frontman 15). Also I can easily take it to anywere I want due to it's little dimentions and weight.
If it were stolen or lost - I would by just anothe one Kustom tube 12A and tune it as I've discribed above. In a couple of words: it sounds three-four times more expensive than costs. Good reason to re-buy another one, isn't it?

Bought it new for practice and studio (believe it or not!) work. See previous reviews for "the features".
Also see the discussion regarding the little 8" speaker. In my opinion, the 8" speaker in this amp is remarkable compared to the other amps with 8" speakers I've played through and/or owned, but the REAL surprise has not been discussed here yet.
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And that surprise is this: While I was demo-ing this little guy the shop owner ran it through a new 4x12 cabinet. HOLY CRAP! 12 watts! I could easily play club dates at the decibel level he was getting, no kidding. Lucky for me I have an old Randall RG80 extension cab with a 75 watt Celestion in it. You owe it to yourself to run this amp through an extension cabinet.
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Previous reviewers gave low marks because it doesn't have channel switching or reverb. I'm giving this amp a 9 because it is what it is. The features it DOES have work well. Now, if it did have reverb, but a crappy reverb, I'd mark it down for that, sure.

I have not fiddled with changing the 12AX7A yet because I think it sounds fine. I'm sure I'll experiment at some point because I have a bunch of tubes laying around.
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The clean sound is quite nice, not brittle at all. The distortion sound needs a lot of attention to get it sounding acceptable, but truthfully, it reminds me of solid state Marshalls. Not great, but generally sufficient for hard rock. I like to set the volume and gain so I can clean it up by rolling off the guitar volume and lauch into a grinding lead but turning up. It does this well. Mind you, this is just my practice amp.
I think it desrves at least an 8.

Don't know. It's brand new.

No idea.

This is my 45th year on stage. You can just imagine how many different amps and guitars I've owned. I play lead, mostly rock.
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If it turned up missing I'd get another one.
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Now I'm going to preach a little:
Folks that brag about being tone freaks crack me up. When they talk about "blackface tone" and things like that is when they confirm that they really don't have the slightest idea what they're talking about. They insist that the only amps that get "real tone" are all-tube. Bullcrap! I have made at least a dozen good solid state amps sound good with careful tweaking and the right accessories. I have played solid state amps for years on end that sounded just devine, and, conversely, several tube amps (most of them Fenders) that sounded rough and lifeless, like what most people think of when they think about solid state. There is no substitute for real experience.
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Right now my stage rig is a Line 6 Flextone III 1x12 Plus running via XLR to the consol, a 71 LP Deluxe Gold top, and a Line 6 Variax 500. I have tweaked the amp for at least 10 hours and about five hours of modelling the Variax. It takes that kind of time. I have other gear, but this is what goes on dates. I gave up on tube amps (the last was a Mesa) last spring and don't regret it one bit. I'll put my rig up against anybody's.
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All that to say what I love about this Kustom amp: This amp is a very honest little guy. It only claims to be a small hot rod.....no reverb, no channel switching, and it is definitely a little hot rod. For $100 new, I don't see how it can be beat!
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I wish the baffle board was better attached to the cabinet. I can fix that.
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I was sold on this amp by the demo. The tones are better than my current practice amp (Line 6 Spider II 75). The Kustom will be it's replacement. I highly recommend this amp to anyone looking for a truly portable, toneful, and loud little amp. Our other guitar player (a real GOOD player too) likes to bring his 1982 Super Champ to band dates, and it really howls! This little Kustom amp makes me think of it......and that's a pretty good recomendation.

There are already 61 reviews of this amp so I just want to add a few comments. I got it mainly as a practise amp. I changed the crappy 12AX7 with a GT 12AX7M (their Mullard reissue) which was a big improvement. I then put in an Eminence Beta-8A bass speaker (rated at 225 watts!) and I've been bringing it to small gigs where it hangs with the band just fine. I never use the boosted channel, but will goose the signal up with a stomp box for some of my solos. I find it to be more versatile than the Epiphone Valve Junior, which is a nice little amp, too.

I've mainly been using humbuckers, minihuckers and P-90's and it gets a good sound with all of them- in the Clean channel, which is all that I use. Being mostly solid state it is fairly quiet. And the Clean channel stays clean even when dimed.

It has taken a kickin' and kept on tickin'

I have no idea what kind of customer service Kustom provides. They have been around a long time (or at least the name has) so they must be doing something right...

The only reason I'm adding my review here is to mention the Eminence Beta-8A speaker. I play a mix of blues, soul and some rock so having a full bottom end is very important to me. Someone more into rock might prefer a nice Celestion speaker. And Weber's usually have a great sound although I don't think that the bass response would compare to the Beta-8A (which sells for about $55 over at MF).

I'm giving it an overall rating of 8 because for what it is and what it does, it is really great. And I would definitely replace it if my dog ate it.

Well, as we all know, this little guy has only one 12AX7 tube, in the clean channel preamp, and the rest is all solid-state. So, basically the clean channel is a hybrid, and the dirt channel is solid-state diode clipping. Did this stop me from purchasing it? Nah. After spotting the Tube 12 in a pawn shop amongst a bunch of other little amps (primarily the TransTube Peavey stuff), I read all the reviews here on the Tube 12, went back to the store and tried it out. I was actually a bit surprised by the clean tone, and walked out with it for 40 bucks.

Originally I thought that this might make a nice little home practice amp and be another amp to bring to studio dates, since I still don't (sob) have a Valve Junior. I played with it at home first, and I do agree with many other reviewers that the clean tone is very good, notes sing wonderfully at loud volumes with the tube nice and warm. I also agree that the dirty tone is lacking; in fact it is not that great at all. I was able to dial in a decent sound for practicing at home, but certainly no distortion tone I would use live or in the studio. I got a wild hair and brought it to a gig to use in conjunction with my '65 Bandmaster and I was pleasantly surprised at how good the little bugger sounded with my live pedals and effects going through it. Definately couldn't be used on it's own live, but it did sound very, very good. Gotta give the little Celestion Super 8 some credit, it didn't fart out and, while a bit boxy (duh-it's an 8" speaker in a tiny cabinet!), it gave out very good guitar tone. I kind of regretted not bringing the little sucker with me to a studio date the previous day after hearing it live with my effects. Running good dirt pedals throught the clean channel at a loud volume sounds quite good. It may be a little beginner practice amp, but the clean channel shines.

I got it for 40 bucks, I think it can take what I can give.

I've been playing almost 25 years now, been gigging a long time. I play mainly strats through my Bandmaster and a 4-10 Peavey cab with some effects. I've had some little practice amps before, and I am fairly impressed with the Tube 12. No, it's not a '60's Champ. Heck, it's not even a Valve Junior, but I like it. Certainly not an amp to give a 10 to, as it has it's limitations and the dirt channel sounds are pretty uglynastygrossickypoopy for the most part, but after blasting it live in the clean channel with a Bad Monkey and occasionally an old Shredmaster, at the same time as my Bandmaster, I was shaking my head, grabbing musicians on break going, "Hey, you have to hear this little bastard, come here!" "BRANNNNGGG!!!" Yep, crank up the clean channel, hit it hard with a good overdrive or distortion pedal and this thing is more than just acceptable.

Not too much to speak of. I really can't tell you what the 'SHIFT' switch does..but who cares the amp sounds great without it. It would be close to the perfect little practice amp if it had a reverb tank on ot, and 2 foot-switchable channels. But hey it is a bedroom blaster!!!

I use a Epi Les Paul Standard, Fender Strat H/S/S(Dimarzio Tone Zone, and Duncan Stacks for SC's), Fender Tele (Lil' 59 / 1/4 Pounder) and a few others...but that is besides the point. It is a nice sounding little practice amp. I did swap out the tube for a JJ/Tesla ECC 803S and that made a WORLD of difference, nice warm PHAT tone. I tried the JJ/Tesla ECC83S and it sucked (might have got a bad tube or something). But the 803 ROCKS...can't recommend this combo enough. The amp is easy to swap the tube out in 4 screws and your done (UNPLUG IT FIRST!!!) Kind of want to try a Tung-Sol in it. ANYWAYS for what this amp is meant for it sounds amazing!! I haven't tried it lined out or anything fancy like that, I have a Marshall AVT50 and a 66 Super Reverb (the real thing baby) for shaking my eardrums into sonic orgasms. This thing sits in my living room for me to noodle on while I watch TV. But it does that very well.

Good so far...like I said I have other amps I jam and gig with...but you know this thing does have some decent headroom...I might take it along one night, just to see if it can keep up with the whole crew...it would be close...definitly wouldn't gig with it though.

Never used it....

For a little practice amp at this price I would give it a 9, only because my brother has a VOX AD30VT, a little bigger and more expensive, but a nicer amp...I would like to try the VOX AD15VT...more "bells and whistles", but twice the price...This little Kustom is definitly allright. Makes me want to try out some of their bigger amps. I think amp manufacturers should put a little more time and R&D into their little practice amps...having a good small beginner amp will lead to brand loyalty. My first amp was a little Peavey (can't even remeber what kind), I hated it and have never owned one since, never even tried one. My first "real" amp was my 66 Fender Super Reverb (had it for over 20 years now...still going STRONG) but I have tried countless little fender amps and think they have all sucked (although the little G-Dec has intrigued me). Same with low watt Marshall's. Come on boys do a little R&D this is a HUGE market...under $200 tube pre-amp, real reverb tank, 2 channels (footswitchable), external speaker jack, maybe some effects...is that too much to ask for???

Bought this amp new last year to supplement my other amps (newer Traynor YCV40, 1964 Gibson Falcon) as a quiet home practice amp. I use the headphone out into an Alesis mixer for home studio playing/recording.

Good features for the price. OK sounds. Even though it's got a 12AX7 in the preamp section, make no mistake, this is a solid state amp. Not a bad one - IMO, better than other SS Traynors and Fenders I have owned over the years.

I wish it had built-in reverb.

I'm playing: a Fender Strat (3xsinglecoil), an Epiphone Les Paul '56 Goldtop RI (2xP90's), a Fender Deluxe Active Jazz Bass. I play classic rock and blues mostly with a bit of funk and R&B in there...

My guitar signal chain is guitar > Boss TU-2 tuner > Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive > Voodoo Labs Microvibe > Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man > amp. Bass > TU-2 > amp.

Stock with no effects in front, the Tube 12 sounds sterile and weak on either the clean or dirty channels, 12AX7 preamp tube or not. What do you want with a small solid state box and an 8" speaker? It can get loud, but that's when I killed the speaker.

Decent clean sound with my Sparkle Drive (using clean boost), but not what I'd call tube warm. I have been running the headphone out into my Alesis mixer to "warmify" the sound and to add reverb using the headphone out of the mixer. I have plugged this baby into a crappy old 1x15 bass cab that I have sitting around and can get a rich Marshall-like gainy sound with the gain channel kicked in. Nice. I could probably bring this amp, cab and effects setup to a gig and sound not too bad. But why? I've got a nice portable 40W combo to do that...

Here's a crazy thing: I plugged my BASS into this thing and sent it through the 1x15 cab via the speaker out (bypassing the internal speaker) Not only did I get a nice warm, thick "vintagy" bass tone, it got loud. LOUD, I say! I brought this setup to band practice and, believe it or not, it was powerful enough to hang with a loud blues/rock band playing at volume. I have half a mind to bring this to a gig and see how it works out. It's probably a function of the active electronics on my bass, but wow!

I'm giving this a 6 based on the fact that this is a budget practice combo amp and what do you really expect....except, it absolutely NEEDS a better speaker/cab setup to really rock. And rock it does - for guitar OR bass. Who'da thunk?

I blew the speaker in less than a week. But since I mostly play it via the headphone or speaker out, no loss. It's dead simple to find and install another beter quality speaker, if I really wanted to.

Otherwise, it seems pretty indestructible...

Never bothered to call....

Been playing 25 years as a hobby. Gigged my fair share over the years in rock, blues and rockabilly bands as a guitarist and bassist. Owned a crapload of gear over the years, lots of it cheap and crappy. Finally have some decent gig-worthy gear yet not overstating my level of talent.

I have thought of just outright replacing this with a little Marshall practice combo, but I've got it working the way I want it right now, so not necessary. I am really intrigued by this bass thing - why is it so loud and decent sounding??

I still wish it had reverb.

No need to get into all the specs here, see other reviews. Mine is a 2002 model with no line out or external speaker jacks. It would have been nice to have them, but I agree with others that adding a reverb unit to this amp would not make much sense. The tone controls are sensitive. I rarely use the midrange button for either clean or overdriven sounds, but it is nice to have when a particular guitar needs a little mid-boost.

I bought this amp 3 1/2 years ago just to have a decent practice amp. I do mostly recording and was using a POD at the time. Around the same time I also bought an Orange Crush 15R for a bandmate. I A/B'd them and the Kustom had a much warmer sound although the Orange's reverb did not sound too bad. I used it off and on mostly for practicing by myself. About a year ago I purchased a Kustom WAV 212 amp for gigging (also a very good and underrated amp!) but found that it was bit too loud for recording and I had begun to do a lot more amp miking in my studio. So I pulled out the Tube 12 to use in that application and found that it was sounding pretty noisy. Only recently I decided to do some mods to improve the amp. I had no idea so many others were doing so and it is quite a kick to read all these reviews. I find it interesting that so many reviewers want to compare it to the Marshall AVT20 (not a great sounding amp anyway IMHO) or a Blues Jr. The Tube 12 is a $100 practice amp after all. I knew the noise was probably due to the tube and went about replacing it. The tube in my amp had no print on it so I assume it was the crappy high gain Chinese tube and not the Ruby. I never was very impressed with the Gain mode but always loved the clean sound of this amp. I have a friend who is heavily into NOS tubes and he is going to send me some of his picks to try. But I wanted to get some new production tubes and I ended up with two Russian tubes, the Tung-Sol 12AX7 and the Svetlana 12AX7SP (supposed to be ultra low noise). I broke both of them in a little and found that the Svetlana had a slightly more interesting clean tone but the Tung-Sol had a much smoother overdrive tone, still with a much-improved sound on the clean setting. I settled on the Tung-Sol for now. But they are both very nice sounding. I always felt that the stock Celestion sounded decent but did break up early with higher volume and bassy tones. So I set about looking for a replacement speaker even though I knew it would probably not make a huge difference. I looked at the new Jensen MOD and the Eminence Legend 875, both of which seemed like decent speakers. But I had heard so many great things about Weber speakers that I went to their website and saw that they make many models of 8? speakers. In fact it was a little overwhelming to have so many choices so I emailed them and received a response the same day from Ted Weber who recommended the Signature Series Alnico 8 ?S?. I could have gone with one of the Vintage series speakers but I was concerned that the depth of the magnet would not fit properly or might be too tight a fit against the electronics chassis of the amp. I could have also gone with the Signature Ceramic speaker but I?m happy I chose the Alnico. It was on sale for $25 (+$12 s/h), which is a damn good deal for such a high quality product. The results are a more open sound and the ability to handle louder bass. It sounds warm and full and the clean tones are way beyond what you would expect from this amp. The overdriven sounds with the Tung-Sol tube are tight and rich in harmonics. I am able to get some pretty fair mild OD tones from rolling off the guitar volume. I should point out that this speaker needs about 4 or 5 hours of break-in to get the best sound, don?t judge it right away. My Tube 12 sounds excellent with effects pedals, and I use tons of them. Unfortunately my Electro Harmonics Holy Grail Reverb pedal, which should be a great accessory for this amp, sounds a little noisy for my tastes. There may be some other reverb pedals that are quieter, but I?m not about to dump $300 on something like a Van Amps Reverbmate unless I had other applications for it. This has not been a problem for me though because since I am using this amp for recording I am able to add some nice post-reverb to my tracks using my rackmount TC Electronics unit.

Compared to some of the other reviewers here (some of whom I?m wondering if they?re comparing this to a Bad Cat Mini!) I think the build quality is fine. Perhaps I got a good one, but my unit never had any noticeable rattles or loose screws, etc. As a budget, Chinese made PRACTICE amp this is decent quality for sure. I did tighten all the screws just as a matter of practice. When removing the baffle to mount the speaker, I decided to simply replace the existing baffle screws with a slightly wider #8 ?? wood screw and carefully tightened them by hand. I?m sure you could strip the originals in the particleboard if you aren?t careful. But I was able to get a very tight fit with no rattles whatsoever. Worst case scenario I think the idea of drilling through and bolting the baffle to the frame is ok, but I had no need to do this. I also used some electrical tape to secure the tube cover just as a precaution as per the other reviewers? suggestions. My amp is now tight as a drum and there are no rattles of any kind. Also, the new tube and improved speaker seem to have solved all the noise problems. The amp is dead quiet on the clean settings, even at high volumes and the Gain mode is only marginally noisy at high levels, obviously better with humbuckers than single coils.

Only contacted them once regarding my other Kustom amp (WAV 212)and they responded in a reasonable time frame.

I have been playing for 20+ years and have more than a dozen guitars and a very extensive collection of high quality pedals. For what I paid this amp is a tremendous little bargain, even with upgrades. I would put it up against an older Fender Champ any day. And as I?ve stated before I don?t consider the Marshall AVT20 to be anything special. Same for the Blues Jr. Until I find something like a mint Trace Elliot Velocette to reign as my recording amp of choice, this will do very nicely. For less than $150 total I have a toneful, responsive recording and practice amp that suits all of my needs. Highly recommended.

This is just a simple tube amp. No footswitch for turning the gain off and on, just a button on the amp. It has a midrange boost button as well. This is a basic 12w amp. No frills, all tone.

I play a G&L Legacy with single coil pickups. I do very blues based stuff, and this amp fits that bill perfectly. If you crank the gain up, you still get a fairly ringing sound from full chords. This amp is not muddy. The clean channel rings like a bell.

Many people who have reveiwed this amp suggest you change the tubes. I see no need to do that. The gain is very sensitive, but if you just make subtle changes slowly, you'll get the kind of break up you need. I turned this thing all the way up with the gain cranked, and the speaker took it well. Not bad for an 8 inch Celestion. This amp is so loud, I doubt you'll need to crank it that high unless you play with Keith Moon at practice!

The clean channel is pretty clean even when you turn it all the way up. The distortion will get you heavy blues sounds at the most. Using a fuzzface or an overdrive pedal with this amp will give you a great Cream or Hendrix sound, just at lower volume.

Still pretty new to me, so I don't know yet. There is one tube, so it won't cost you an arm and a leg to have some back-up tubes handy.

I bought this to record with, and for practice. I never tried Kustom amps before, and this amp has made me a convert. The sound is pure warm tube. If you play the blues, this amp will set you right. Many people talk about how many watts they have when bragging about their amps, but if a blues amp is what you're looking for, the watts don't mean a thing. Don't be fooled, this amp is loud. I got it for cheap used, but even the new ones are only 100 bucks, and worth every penny. The people who complain about no reverb on the amp are just being silly. This amp is a steal for what you get out of it, pure killer tone.

This is a recent K12 tube 12 , I bought it new in July 2005 in UK.
I had been looking for an amp that would supply me with a sound that had `more life/feel` for home practice. I like a blues sound but nothing too distorted. I was never really happy with my Roland Cube 30. Then a friend bought round an Ashdown Peacemaker20. The impact on the sound of my Parker P38 HSS was massive. It gave the sounds I was looking for but it was ?399 !!and is no longer made. So I looked around and came up with 2 choices in my price range - FenderPro Jnr or a Laney LC15r. But i really wanted to use it at home & people say they are quite loud & they have no headphone option - all valve amps. By chance I heard a Tube 12 in a guitar shop , tried it and for ?75 decide i coudnt really go wrong ...i was really pleased with it seemed to meet all my needs , a reverb would be nice though.

I use a Parker P38 HSS & my daughter has EPI LP custom. Both sounded good through the amp giving my desired Blues sound but I decided I would like a lillte less distortion & more control of the gain knob & a little more mellow sound. The postings below suggested I could change the valve from the original 12AX7 ( Ecc83). But I am new to valve amps & was a confused by AX, AU , AT , AY etc notes . So I searched the net -
3 sites ,http://thetubestore.com/gainfactor.html , watford valves & www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com each explained a lot to me .
But I was a worried by a posting below that suggested an AT valve had screamed `like a banshee`. In the end I decided to buy 2 valves a Ruby 12AX7A-c ( ECC83 better quality chinese ) and a 70 % gain factor Groove 12AT7 ( Ecc81) from guitarworlduk - good service they arrived within 36 hrs.
I tried the new valves (just take out the 4 screws to drop the amp section down). Compared to the original valve , the Ruby AX was a little more mellow/ cleaner when the mid range button was on, it was also a little lower on volume - But the best sound for me was with Groove AT. Both Clean and gain sounds were great and I got the control over the gain control . Volume decrease was not really noticeable & this valve didnt scream.
I now have the sound I want for an outlay of ?80.I plugged in my daughters Korg ampworks effects unit,added a little reverb & reacehd the end of my sound journey (for now..speaker change next ?)Best of all I still had over ?100 in my pocket.

Dont really know - its new , but my original Kustom 10 that came with my first guitar is still going strong after 3 years & for ?70 who`s really that bothered.

3 year warranty in UK - good by Uk standards

Ive been playing for 3 years (Parker P38 HSS). Fro only ?70 this amp has finally given me the sound i wanted - i think i need just that valve !!. My Roland Cube 30 now sounds dead by comparison at low volumes in home use & I cant seem me ever looking at solid state again. There is no other valve amp in UK for this money - nearest is a Laney LC15 ?200. Its fitted with headphone,line out and extrenal speaker outputs.So when the family moans i can shut them out. It is easy to adjust/ modify the sound with a valve change for about ?10.What more do i need for home use at this price ?? If it had Reverd I would give it 10