Kustom '36 Coupe 112 Combo

Great little amp, but, a few changes need to be made. The small toggle switch on the top to change channels breaks very easily. The handle is pure junk. Other than that it is a great little amp. I would also like it to have a master volume.

Does clean very well. The reverb lacks a little bit, definately not "fendery", but, isn't bad...

Other than the handle and toggle switch it is very reliable.

Never had to deal with them

Overall this is a killer little amp....

Made in USA. 2-Channels, reverb, 3 band eq. Channels are footswitchable and the amp has a boost for when you want to play solos, very cool! The footswitch also controls reverb (it say's "Effect" for some reason).

The amp is 36 watts and can get plenty loud. I do wish I would have gotten one with 2 speakers though (maybe the 72 coupe). I like the sound of 2 speakers, but this amp rocks! I wish that it had a master volume too. Would be nice for when you get your sound in both channels and just want to up the level of both, but it's not a big deal.

I play stuff like Weezer, Radiohead, Tool, etc, this amp can pretty much do anything. I tested a lot of amps. I wanted to "glassiness" of a tube amp but I also wanted it to be able to handle high distortion. This amp is the best that I've found...period. It's clean channel is beautiful, especially when you add turn the master up a little so it just starts to break up. The lead channel can get really distorted. It is awesome! I actually had some EL34's put in it and man, this thing rocks! I can't say enough good things about the sound of this amp. I almost bought a Mesa Boogie for around $2000 and I'm glad that I bought this one for waaaay cheaper.

This amp isn't going to make you sound better if you're not good. You do need to have control with your playing as it really reflects everything you do.

I've had this amp for about 6 months. I had to take it to a service tech because it was shorting out on me. Turns out it was the cable to the footswitch. So far so good.

Kustom customer support is awesome. They are very friendly and respond very quickly. Great people at Kustom!!

This is the best amp that I've ever owned. I get questions about it all the time because it looks so different. Many people comment on the sound too. This is a great amp. You probably won't be able to find these at many shops, which is a shame because for the money this is the best amp you can get...forget the money, it's the best regardless. I just can't say enough good things about it...

2008 Made in USA all tube 36 watt combo.
Two channel with bright boost, three knob eq and reverb.
Tube driven FXs loop, balanced speaker emulated output with level control. Boost level control.

Great feature set. It's not a fangled pod or tonelab but if you like the tone of your guitar - this amp will make you happy. This amp has turned into my daily driver. I have a plexi clone and a tweed deluxe both single channel.

I use all the features including the FX loop channel switching and line out. Simple and easy to use - old school knob turning delight.

It has enough power for rehearsal and small venues. I give it a 10 because all the features are very usable and effective.

I play a 1999 G&L Legacy (single coils). I am mainly blues and Rock. This amp is right in the pocket. You can crank the gain on the lead channel and get a very pleasing range of over drive and distortion tones. The lead channel is better in mho than the clean channel. It is very complex and rich. I have a Seymour Duncan FX1 booster in front of the amp to boost the pickups and thats it. I use the fx loop for the delay (rocktron cyborg) and reverb (boss RV5). Very quiet. I leave the amp reverb on all the time.

The clean channel is fenderish, not quiet the bell tone of the bassman more like a Twin. It's got plenty of head room and will break up nicely when you crank the gain. You can pull the boost on each channel to get a Vox type top boost. Very nice - too bad this feature is not foot switchable...

You can go between channels with out to much monkeying around. The amp is very responsive to the guitars volume and tone controls. This is all I do when playing live - the amp gets set and I leave it.

I give the lead channel a 10 and the clean channel an 8 so avg =9

Probably a bad idea to not have a back up with any electronic gear. But this amp is good so far. The quality and craftsmanship is A+. Every detail is as close to perfection as I have seen. This amp is heavy!

I have modeling gear (Vox tonelab), classic tube amps (Marshall plexi, Fender tweed deluxe) and solid state gear. After spending all that $$ I have to say this amp is at the top of the heap. My Fender Champ has a better clean tone, but when your rocking live this thing is close enough!

I fell into this amp. I had a 1976 Fender Silver Face Champ I was looking to trad for a strat on craigslist. I was offered this amp in exchange. I went for it and now every time I turn it on I feel like it's Christmas morning!

If you are in the market for a high quality combo - and you know your tone - give this thing a ride before you spend your money.

4 12ax7's and 2 6l6's. effects loop, reverb, interactive eq, and master volumes for each channel.

very versatile. the clean channel goes from fendery cleans to really aggressive drive (if you push the front end hard enough). the drive channel can go from a buzzy moderate gain character to really fluid drive. the EQ is really where the versatility is. you cna make the amp very dark and beefy or bright and articulate. i mainly play metal but when i'm in the mood for blues or rock, this amp can do it with a simple twist of the knobs.

36 watts is plenty loud for me, cuts through like a knife when i need it too through a band mix. for small venues and clubs youre set. if not you can always mic it OR use the built in direct out (which sounds phenomenal) and run it to the PA.

i gave it a 9 because you cant switch the eq to a traditional non interactive mode

i use high output active pickups and the clean channel can take them pretty well. i can make my bridge pickups sound crystalline or beef them up some by turning up the clean channel's gain to about 12 o clock. for practicing i like having both my masters at 12 and adjusting the gain with the level knobs. from clean to dirty blues, to rock and brutally heavy metal, the amp handles everything fine by itself. that doesnt mean it doesnt take stomp boxes well. i also use a big muff, metal muff, and a boss eq for various distortion or overdrive characters. the amp takes them all in stride.

the effects loop is wonderful, though for some reason its always active even when i have "effects" off on my footswitch. i've tried my wah pedal and my eq in the loop, and both work great. for a mid boost, i prefer the eq in front of the amp to drive the preamp. but say you want that mega scooped nu metal sound? throw it in the loop and set the eq for a scoop (not my taste though).

the amp's eq really shines when playing different styles. the treble knob controls not only how much treble, but how much bass and the frequency range of the mids. so at lower settings you have more bass, less treble, and low frequency mids. turn it up and you get the opposite. the bass knob controls the tightness of the bass. i use the treble knob to get the articulation i want at the moment, and the bass knob determines the overall "attitude" of everything. i'm usually at 3o'clock with the bass which sounds really beefy with mids down to 11"o clock. turn the mids up and POW more classic metal sound for playing van halen or iron maiden.

the boost function is fantastic. while frequency boosts are sweet, the coupe's power section boost is much more useful. your tone stays the same but its louder and stronger! i leave frequency based tone boosts to my stomp boxes.

the footswitch is very solid. a really strong metal casing and has a good weight to it. the clicking of the switches feels softer than i'd prefer and the fact that the effects button seems to only turn the reverb on and off is odd.

havent had a single problem yet, save for my pilot light blinking on and off for about a week. contacted customer support and they got right back to me. the problem went away by itself but its good to know that they responded and followed up afterward to see how things were.

customer support is great. they got back to me the next day and gave me an answer from one of the guys who designs the amps. they stayed in touch as well and i could tell that the support was done in-house and on a personal level.

i've been playing for maybe 4 or 5 years and have gone through maybe 4 amps before this one (one of those tube as well). i have never been so happy with my tone. at the first gig i played with it i got a lot of compliments--even from people who know squat about equipment or tone. chicks dig the looks too (i have the blue one).

if it were stolen or lost, i'd cry because i got an incredible deal on it. as a gear junkie i know i'd look at similarly priced options as well but the coupe would automatically be on the top of my list of amps to look into. if anything maybe i'd go for the half stack version instead.

i love the amp's cosmetics, the glow of the words on the chassis, the flexible controls, and all the features. the TONE is amazing and it comes at a ridiculous price. you are paying for quality stuff. i spend a lot of time testing gear to update my rig and i am 100% convinced you can do no better in this price range (and maybe in higher price ranges too!)

I have the Kustom Coupe '36 in Blue Sparkle. It is made in the USA with USA and foreign parts. I know the cabinet(birch) is made in the USA and I would guess the actual circuit boards are made in China or whereever. These are tube amps running two 6L6s and four 12ax7, which don't need biased when replacing, it has some hybrid system of biasing. These amps have features through the roof!!

On top it has pre and post knobs(volume and master on the amp) for both the rhythm and lead channels. Each channel has a pull bright on the volume knob and it modifies the sound a bit. They have tone controls of bass, middle, and treble that are for both channels. It also has reverb with intensity and tone. The tone for the reverb will make the reverb brighter. It has Hi and Lo inputs and and standby switch.

On the back of the amp it has a mic input that is speaker emulated so instead of mic'ing up your amp you can just plg straight into the back, that also has a volume knob with it to control the output volume. It has effects return/send jacks, and another cool feature on the back is the boost volume knob. The amp has on a footswitch a boost function, that will boost your volume(as much as 10 db) up for either channel, so you can for example play clean and boost to do a clean solo, or you can play dirty and boost for a dirty solo.

The cosmetic features are very cool aswell. The front of the amp has the cool tuck and roll look and silver piping all around the grill clothe. It has a blue jewel light on top aswell. However the best part is that on the top of the amp the channel you are on will have glowing letters. The rhythm will glow blue and the lead will red.

The footswitch is very nice as well, very sturdy, and it also has the glowing letters. It will glow red if you use the lead channel, the boost will glow yellow when you are in boost, and the effect, which is reverb, will glow green when in use.

As of right now there are no features I can think of that I wish it had, and I use every feature except for the effects loop, which I never use.

I use this amp gigging at bars (www.codeblueohio.com) and playing at home. Oh and this thing has two beefy tube guards.

I love the clean channel, I'm playing with a Fender MIJ strat with GFS pickups with this mostly. It reminds me of a Fender clean, however I only know that clean from playing in stores and certain albums. What I can directly compare this amp to is my Peavey Delta Blues. The Kustom hands down has a better clean sound. It has a much rounder, fuller, and brighter sound then the Peavey. On the Kustom the highs shimmer beautifully. I have also noticed that on the PVDB the higher up the neck you played the less volume you would seem to get, but the Kustom keeps the volume. The reverb is also much more powerful(I used to put the reverb on the DB to 12(there knobs go from 1-12), but on the Kustom I have it at about 1 o'clock.) You can taylor the clean channel to how distorted you want it(doesn't get too much) depending on how you use the volume and master controls.

With the pull bright switch and reverb tone and intensity controls you can get all sorts of sounds out of the amp, plus you can set the tone how you want on top of that.

The lead channel is also very nice sounding. I tend to keep the pull bright switch on for the lead channel where I keep the bright switch off on the clean. The lead channel is pretty smooth, but with some grit on top of it, I like it a lot. This amp has made it unnecessary for me to use my old pedals, I use to use a Behringer TO800 overdrive pedal(I still think its a very nice pedal, not that much battery life though) and a Behringer preamp booster, but now need neither. The distortion channel can get pretty distorted, but it also gets noisier with more distortion, don't notice it when playing ofcourse.

I see no need to buy another amp at all, it sounds great and has a ton of features!

Oh and the distortion channel would not be perfect for heavy metal, unless you put a stomp box in front of it, it would work for pretty heavily distorted rock though.

The amp and footswitch are VERY solid except there are two things I would change.

The actual toggle switch on the top of the amp between the Rhythm and Lead knobs is very small, and easily breakable. I bought mine with a broken switch and replaced it with another that Kustom sent me, this one too seems very fragile and I am very cautious when using it.

The other thing I would change is the handle. Mine came with a wooden piece screwed to the metal handle instead of the stock black most likely plastic piece. However, what is cheap is the metal, it is not difficult to flex and I think a regular amp handle would be better.

Other than those two things everything else is sturdy as can be, it has very nice jacks and knobs are sturdy as well. I acutally haven't had the chance to take it to that many shows, our band's members have had some bad luck, but it has held up fine from taking it to where I have.

This is where Kustom shines!!! I bought the amp used off ebay and the switch on top for channel switching came broken. I emailed Kustom and aksed if I could receive a switch. They emailed me back telling me that I would probably have to have them sell it to me through the local dealer and pick it up there. So I told them my local dealer and then I receive an email and it says to give them a call. So I called and they told me even though they weren't really suppose to, that they were just going to mail the part directly to me, for free! So I receieved the whole circuit board with the switch and lights on it to just replace the old one! Talk about customer service. I almost want to tell the person's name, but wouldn't want anybody in trouble. However, such great customer service makes me very confident in Kustom as a company. I would give an 11 for their customer service! Oh and when I called them I don't remember any machines or anything, just people, who directed me straight to the person I asked for.

I have been playing for about five years and have been gigging for about almost two, basically every weekend. I would definately try to get another one at a bargain if stolen, I don't think I could lose it, haha. I love the features of the amp, the two inputs, the boost function, the speaker emulated mic output, the bright switches, and the reverb controls! I use all of those features and feel that they are part of what makes this amp such a smokin' deal! Most importantly though, it has a great tone. Without all of the extra features it would still beat the Peavey DB easily for clean, and I think the slightly gritty tone of the Kustom is a bit more versatile than the more gritty dirty tone of the Peavey, which I still like too) When I add all the features that I acutally use to the Kustom, it is the ultimate amp for me! It seems like it is one of those things where they ask, what do you want in a gigging guitar amp? Well they definatley got it right!! Also I got it for a great price on ebay! I know it seems like a very glowing review, but I have had it for a while now (no more honeymoon phase) and it is just an unbelievable amp. James Brown (formerly of Peavey) designed this amp and you can watch him talk about how it is made and designed here: http://www.kustom.com/player.aspx?MediaID=1112

Very nice amp, especially at a used price, I don't think many know about these amps yet!

Hi and lo inputs, twin channels, clean and distortion (clean channel also has gain control to add grit), push/pull bright controls on each channel, stops a Les Paul from sounding too dark etc... variable boost on both channels, shared eq, reverb with tone and intensity (nice touch, Mr Brown) valve driven fx loop, ext. speaker out, impedance selector, footswitch with channel, boost and reverb/fx loop toggles.
The amp runs on 2 x 6l6GC and 4 x 12AX7/ECC83 valves which feature part fixed and part self biasing which gives more flexibility regarding valve choice.
Guitarists who find this amp lacking in features need to, in my opinion, either improve as a player or pursue some other interest.

This little amp says it like it is, it will not "flatter" your playing or your guitar, so make sure that both are up to scratch before proceeding!
What you get is great note clarity on both channels, irrespective of gain levels (and there's more than enough of that) this amp really sings with a good Strat or Les Paul (I only use the pull bright with the Gibson and then only on the dirty channel, as I like the faithful sound on clean.
My Strat has a 10k (single-coil) bridge pickup and I can coax drop-tuned metal mayhem with plenty of bottom from the non-brightened dirty channel. Same guitar quacks like Knopfler on clean, such is the versatility of this beauty.
The Les Paul goes from warm jazz through "whisky in the jar" to Slash in full swing.
One reviewer mentioned th idea of matching extension cabs, great idea!
To the Mesa enthusiast who hates the sound and reckons that every guitar sounds the same through the overdrive channel: clean your ears out mate, buy a decent guitar and learn to play it, otherwise take up gardening!

I've had the amp for nearly 2 years now and only one small problem so far, the power light flickers and goes dim at times. The solder on the bulb holder looked a bit grey, so I re-soldered the connection, to no avail. It stops doing it if I unscrew the bulb cover and give the bulb a push and twist, so it may be that working loose, or it could be dirty mains. Doesn't detract from any other function though and the amp is otherwise robust and dependable.

Not needed yet, hope I never need to call them, but if something goes wrong, I will.

I love this sweet sounding little amp, it delivers every time. It's tough but reasonably light (lighter than my Marshalls ever were) vesatile and loud as you like.
Dedicated extension cab would be nice.
If I lost this amp for any reason, I would replace it with the same model, the portability is good for a valve amp and the excellent emulated line out is there if more power is required.

I just bought this amp new at a small music store right across the border. Probably built in the past year...I'm not sure.First and foremost, I wanted a quality tube amp small enough for practice, yet powerful enough to cut through a band mix. I'm used to amps 40w and up, and I only vaguely assumed the '36 meant 36w. WOW! No wimp factor there. Two channels: clean and lead, with a switch pedal that gives you a nice straight-forward channel selection from clean/lead, boost, and effect button for the reverb. Another cool feature is that the pedal lights up, so you're never lost in a dark venue. This amp has a direct out, return and send jacks, plus a lineout for external cabs. So far so good. As far as versatility goes, this little beast covered balladeering cleans to reverb-soaked country picking to gritty blues rock to the crunchy ACDC tones remarkably well. And that's just from the amp itself. It's extremely stomp box friendly as well. The 4 Sovtek tubes do just fine for now, so no hurry on the swapping just yet.

I'm still in the experimentation mode, but for the little time I've had the amp, I'm very impressed with the clean channel. That's the first thing I look for, and I'll know in about 30 seconds if it passes the test or not. Everyone knows that Fenders are the kings of clean mojo, but imo, the amps in this particular price bracket get a little on the "brighty" side. The Kustom Coupe '36 delivers a 'just right' tone that sounds convincing with either a strat, or even a Les Paul. On the gain side of the coin, that's the part where I haven't fully grasped yet, because it sounds so different than amps that I'm used to...Fenders, Marshalls and Mesas. For me, it sounds best when both the VOLUME knob is rolled up at least to 12:00, and the GAIN opened up as well, for the tone to really breathe. You do have to tweak the two around a bit, but sonically it's very vesatile. From a mild drive to a bold hard rock crunch. I tested my Fender Strat first, and naturally the single-coils blended with the clean channel beautifully. With a bit of reverb, it was like buttah. My Les Paul and Ibanez RG550, eased through both channels with flying colors. The only one I haven't tested yet is my SG Classic, and I can't wait to see how the P90's work. A bit of playing with the EQ in the amp, it seems to work well with many types ogf guitars. How people can write this one off and give it a negative review is beyond me, because I'm one picky fool when it comes to tone. I can't seem to find many flaws with this bad boy.

I haven't had it long enough to know how reliable it is, but hopefully it won't give me any problems. I've never used a backup once, (I know, I'm nuts LOL) but I'd definitely gig with this amp.

Never dealt with this company.

I've been playing for over 20 years, and I own 5 guitars and two other amps. ( one acoustic) If stolen or lost, I'd grab another one of these in a heartbeat. I think it's one of the most versatile amps I've ever owned, but maybe a tad pricey for what its worth. But isn't everything now days? ;) The only things that bug me a little, are the knobs tend to pop off in the push/pull pots, and the AC cord doesn't seem to fit snugly in the jack. Otherwise, everything is working like a top.

Madewithin a year. This is an all tube amp 4 tubes, 2 on each "side".
I've seen negative reviews from players who should be seeking mask distortion type amps. You need to know how to play to use this amp.
Anyone who flames this amp can't play. This is the most responsive amp to what strings I hit, that I've ever heard.
I'm up to trying my 5th guitar on this, and the Agile 3000 is WAAAAAAY out in front, my Schecter Exotic star sounds nice, but has taken a huge defeat in sound. No way did I expect that either. In short, heavy gibsons will rejoice with this amp.

I'm sold. I like it. I play it. I can't believe I'm wasting time away from it. No.... I guess I had to tell people.
I like this amp.

So far so good.

Never dealt with.

20-30 years. This has been my best amp ever, and I guess that passes quite a few. I can only hope that we keep getting better/better amps.
This amp is not for the player who doesn't want to hear EVERYTHING they play, I guess.
I haven't needed foot effects yet, this amp can nail sounds without that stuff.

Not sure when it was made, but they've only been out for a few years.
I play Classic Rock, Oldies, Classic and Top 40 Country. Amp has 2 Channels, Reverb, 10db boost with Level Control, Master Volume on each Channel, Pull Bright on both channels, 1-12" speaker, speaker output, Line Output (XLR) with Level Control & Ground Lift, 3 Band shared E.Q., came with Footswitch/cable. 36 Watts, All Tube (6L6 & 12AX7). Great sounding little combo, weighs about 43 lbs..

Very nice Clean and distortion sounds. The KEI Turbo 12" speaker sounds the best with this amp; tried a Clestion G12 and didn't sound near as good. Very punchy sounding amp. Clean channel can be set for light distortion, since both channels have a Master Volume Control. Distortion channel can go from slight grit to heavy rock sounds. The clean channel stays clean all the way to max. Have used several Epiphone Les Pauls and Fender Teles thru this amp, they all sound great! Humbuckers will give you more grit & breakup, single coils are bright and punchy. Covers all the styles that I play with no problems.

Had the amp for about 2 months, no problems of any kind. I have taken a back-up amp since starting to use the amp, just until I get to know how it will perform. Never had to use a back-up yet. Will rate this section after more use.

Bought the amp used. Never tried to contact the company. Guess I'll have to see if there are any issues with the amp.

Been a gigging musician for almost 40 years. Been thru a LOT of gear. So far, very pleased with this amp. Has all the tones I need, and is very versatile. I especially like the Adjustable Boost Function. Can dial in any amount of boost up to 10db. This is not available on most other amps with a boost function. This has replaced my Traynor YCV-40 Combo, which went down on me just before a gig. Also own Fender & Peavey combos. I like the small size of the amp, if I needed a bigger amp; I would by the '72 Coupe in a heartbeat! Might buy one anyway, just to have one! Would like to see Kustom come out with matching Extension Cabs for this line of amps, would make a very cool "mini-stack". Would definitely buy again.

36 watts, channel switching, XLR speaker emulated line out with gain and ground lift, 3 band E.Q., 10 db boost.

Great sound right out of the box. I play everything from blues and rock to country and standards, and this amp nails everything. I play a Rickenbacker clone and a Strat electric, and an Ibanez acoustic through it and everything cuts through great. Only downside was E.Q.ing the amp for the Ric and acoustic, the Strat sounded REALLY thin. A Boss E.Q. pedal added to my pedalboard solved that little dilemma.

Only had the amp for a few weeks, but seems solid as heck and I have no qualms about using without a backup.

No dealing with customer support.

Been playing since I was 14 (32 years now) and have had other amps, both tube and solid state. This amp stacks up against all of them, including my old Music Man 210-65 (which I gave to my son years ago). I had an old Kustom amp back in the day that had I known about effects pedals back then, I would probably still have that amp.