Kustom 200

I have 2 Kustom K200B-5 PA heads, a 1969 in red sparkle and a 1970 in black. I am currently using the 1970 onstage. They have four channels. Each has volume, reverb, bass and treble. The reverb doesn't work on the one I use onstage (I don't need it anyway.) They are THE BEST sounding solid state amps ever built and at 100 watts it's plenty enough power.

I have used it with nearly 60 guitars but my I mainly use a Gibson SG, Gibson Les Paul, Fender Telecaster, and a Fender Fat Strat. I play Southern Rock, Classic Rock, Latin Rock, British Rock, Country Rock, Classic Country, Modern Country, Texas BLues, British Blues, R&B, Reggae and bluegrass and this amp handles it all great. Some nights it wants to be a little noisy, but most of the time it is pretty quiet. It is the cleanest amp I have ever used. They don't distort, even at full volume (I've tried it a couple of times!!) If you want distortin, you have to have a pedal.

My setup is:

Guitar-> Shure PGX-14 wireless->Rocktron Banshee Talkbox-> BOSS CS-3 Compression/Sustainer-> BOSS DS-1 Distortion-> BOSS Original DD-3 Digital Delay-> Kustom K200-B5 head-> custom 4x12 stereo cab.

Neither amp has ever let me down. I play out 2 or 3 times a week and practice one to three times a week and in 3 years, I have had not one problem with these amps. I also use a Peavey Windsor for a couple songs and as a backup because even though the amp has never let me down, It's 40 years old and you never know.

The modern Kustom is the same as the original

I've been playing my whole life and own a bunch of other gear. If one were stolen, I have another one but I would more than likely get another. I love the sound, look and vibe of thes amps. I hate that not many people take them seriously. They're great amps

Kustom 200, I have several guitar model,bass model, PA model. Features basic stuff,bass treble,reverb (on some), hi & lo inputs. All helpful in getting YOUR SOUND!

Sounds like a tube amp. I was told that they used a German tranistor or electric part of some type to get that sound. The new Kustoms don't have it and that is why they went to making a tube amps, so I'm told. But they do sound like a tube amp, warm tones, and some distoration. Also very clean clear tones as well. Well worth the price.

They came with in the 60's a LIFE TIME warrenty, see anyone do that today, and after 30 +++ years are still rocking the house everywhere they go. I have never had one let me down and I have been playing since 1963. YOU CAN COUNT ON THEM STILL.........

Never dealt with the NEW Kustom company...????

I own about 10 kustoms, 100's, 200's, PA's plus there cabinets, in many colors, a nice collectionof them..... they are great!
I would recommend them as one of the best amps ever made (the old ones, Not the new ones).. They are right up there with vintage Marshalls,Fenders, and Ampegs. Great to play, great to look at very cool and lots of mojo with each & every amp...Totally Kool,
I am Kustom KAT.. Come to my website to see my kustoms page.

BOB
Genesis Recording Studio Orlando, Florida
www.genesisrecording.com

Not a lot of features Vol. BASS, Treb,Bright. Knobs. And a high and low input for each pre-amp channel. Power on/off/on switch . ANd a bright and normal pre amp channel. There is an rca jack near the speaker jacks on the back this is supposed to be a line out , like for running to a mixing board or for commecting two or more amp heads together.

I run my K200b1 through a 1-18B folded Horn cab. It kicks some serious low end butt and has great punch. Not too much for highs but good mid and upper mid bass and very good low end. Can get good growl from it. It is somewhat noisy at Idle but It has not been re-capped yet. and when you start playing it sounds great. Also my peavey firebass head makes some noise too although not as much as the Kustom.This amp is ok with active pickups as long as you don't run the vol on the guitar all the way up or it will overdrive the pre-amps. This amp is good for most rock styles Jazz and blues. Not the greatest for slap and pop.

I think once you change the power cord to a 3 prong grounded and put in new power caps it is a very dependable amp. I have had mine for 3 months and use it every day for practice and jamming and have had no problem yet.

Forget it. The current version of the Kustom company does not have anything to do with the old ross Kustom company except the name.

I have been playing the bass for only 6 months, but practice every day for at least 2 hours and have had no problems with it . I am in the process of buying three more of these heads just to have them. Will probably run multi heads and cabs together or just to see what they sound like. One thing do not use any combination of cabs that will give you less than 4 ohm load or you could damage the amp.

I own two Kustoms, a K200-A5 four channel head with reverb (which I use for guitar) and a somewhat rare K200-B6 with the selectone feature (which I use for bass). For only having volume, bass, treble, and bright (or reverb in the case of the four channel head and selectone on one of the bass head's channels), you can get a huge variety of sounds with a few pedals and guitars. 100 watts RMS, 200 peak watts scream awesomeness. For guitar, I use the head's matching Jensen 2x15 cab or an Orange 4x12. For bass I use my Kustom 1x15 CTS cab from 1968, or my friend's pair of Kustom 1968 2x15 bass cabs (the latter being a huge powerhouse of bass).

Awesome, just awesome. Find some great overdrive/boost/distortion pedals and a wah and you are set for life. Great distortion sounds, my friend says it sounds better than his Marshall AVT (he even let me try it with both of his 4x12 cabs, now THAT was an experience...wow!). Breaks up past noon on the volume like a tube amp (when using a humbucker-equipped guitar). Multiple channles= multiple sounds, I set each channel differently and sometimes switch them with an ABY switch. Quick tip though, to get rid of the classic Kustom background hiss, put on a three prong cord, it helps a lot.

They are over 30 years old and still work, sound, and look awesome. The tuck and roll is awesome at cushioning impacts i guess haha. They solid state so no tubes to worry about blowing, always a plus.

It's non-existent, the new Kustom company has no affiliation with the old real Chanute, KS built Kustoms. However, go to www.vintagekustom.com, i go on the forum religiously and there is a plethora of information to be found from people who have owned these for decades.

Dirt cheap awesome vintage amps that I wished I owned more of. I you don't own at least a Kustom head, you don't know what you're missing. I could rant equally about the cabs, which are also awesome and came with a huge variety of speakers in them, but go to www.vintagekustom.com and look around.

i currently own the Kustom 200 B-1 and B-5. The B5 is a pa head that I use with the Kustom column speakers when my band plays gigs. The head sounds great with vocals and keyboard runnin through it though if you run all your instruments through its sounds kinda muddy. The B1 is a bass amp that I run through a 1970's ampeg bass cab w/ 4x12's.

I play guitar in a classic rock band and bass in a jazz band with which i use the B1 for bass. The Pa and speakers go to both bands. Both amp heads are extremely loud and the bass head has great tone! Sometimes I play guitar through it just because it has that old tube amp sound even though it is solid state!

of course I can depend on it!. the pa head and speakers i got off ebay for 350$ and it sounds awesome! The bass head was actually given to me. You see the drummer in our classic rock bands dad used to play around town when he was a kid, he is actually still good friends with the bass player and the bass player gave it to me! The amp had sat in his garage probably since the mid eighties. The amp has never been serviced. when i got it all it neede was some clean pots which i did myself and it was time to start playing!

both have never everbeen to the factory and they both have lifetime warranties(which will probably never be needed)

i started playing when i was twelve and ironically had one of the newer kustom combo amplifiers with a fender strat mexican with american parts. My friend accidentally broke the input on that combo so i had to throw it out(it was deemed unrepairble)and that sucked because it had the best ditortion i had ever heard from a small 20 watt solid state amp. I am now fifteen now and still hve my strat but i recently aquired a brand new les paul that kicks!. The other amp i have is the best classic rock amp money can buy, its a crate vinatge club 30. 30 watts tube power that converts to 200 solid state!!!! it sounds great when the band plays "freebird" or "takin care of business"right down to all the led zeppelin sounds you want! I want to acquire an early kustom a series amp with harmonic clipper and volume boostand then i would probably use that full time, im not sure but it looks cool and sounds cool as does all vintage kustom equipment

Kustom K200A-1, by Ross Inc., s/n 19763, don't lnow the year or wattage, email me if you have any ideas, I would love to have more info on this amp, solid state, black tuck & roll, my guess is 200 watts(?), 2 channels w/ low & high jacks on each channel, 3-way on/off toggle (on/off/on), red pilot light, 4 knobs each side: volume/bass/treble/bright (keep the bright switch "on"), metal plate on back: made in Chanute, Kansas, in back there's 2 - 1/4" speaker jacks, 1 rca female input jack (someone please tell me what this is used for!), & nothing else. Very simple (but great) amp. I play punk, rock, garage, surf, rockabilly, & a little country, & this amp does a great job at covering those different styles. Not too many different tones, but the one it puts out is the only one that I'm interested in. I used to play live in a punk band with 2 guitarists that used Marshall half stacks; I used the Kustom head with an old Marshall 1x15 cab & I kept up with them (as well as the drummer) just fine. It's very loud. I currenlty use it with an old Hartke 4x10 cab (with I still had the Marshall to put on top of the 4x10 cab!). I bought this amp from a friend of mine who knew I was in between amps & he gave me a good deal (he just picked up a GK), although I've seen them in music stores in the area for around $150, but as much as $400, depending on what model it is.

I play an old Kramer Striker 700st bass through this amp with emg pickups installed in a p/j configuration (the good stuff, not that emg select crap). It also has a badass bridge & gover tuners, so it's pretty good for a hunk of junk Kramer. It's an old one, before they went down hill. I've owned (& played) a ton of basses through this amp, including fender p's, fender j's, a fender california special, a '76 rickenbacker 4001, & some other cheap pawn shop basses. This amp is very quiet when I'm not playing through it (no buzz or humm-type stuff). It has a 2-prong cord. I always play it with the bright switch on, & never need to turn up the volume past "5". This amp has a nice tone for solid state, my guitar even sounded good through it, & I only use tube amps for guitar. I usually turn the volume on "4", & the bass & treble on "7". I think I detected some distortion when playing live, but I was keeping up with 2 marshall 1/2 stacks.

This amp is a tank. It's very roadworthy for an old solid state amp & has been thrown in the back of a truck or van several times w/ no problems. As a rule, if a solid state amp blows, it's toast, because I hear they cost alot more to repair than tube amps (I could be wrong?). I blew a Kustom 2x10 combo guitar amp once, but I was singing through it at the time (probably not the best choice for a PA!). I never take a backup amp or axe to gigs, I guess i've just been lucky that way.

Uh, yeah. If you blow it just go buy another one. I went out last weekend & could've bought 2 of these heads for $150 each. I was looking for a guitar at the time, otherwise I would've bought them both!

I've been playing almost 20 years. I started playing bass at 16 & guitar a year later. I'm totally self-taught, that's why I basically suck! LOL I currently own a Kramer bass, a Fernandes "Decade" model surf guitar, an old Peavy 6 channel P.A. head & monitors, a fender bassman 10 combo amp (see my bassman review), the kustom head & a Hartke 4x10 cab. If it were lost/stolen I would be pissed but could go get another one easily enough, as they are still kinda cheap around here. I don't own much gear right now, but I've owned more gear than a music store over the years. I love the 50's style tuck & roll covering, & the simple but effective features (if you want alot of features, just go buy some pedals). I got this cheap from a friend, but used it many times while he still owned it & I loved it. This doesn't have the "sterile" sound that most solid state amps have, & the tuck & roll gives it alot of character (to make up for the lack of features). If anyone has any info on what year this was made, the wattage, & what the female rca input juck is on the back please shoot me an email. Respect the rock!

I got all my info from VintgeKustom.com. It's a great site, and the people are swell. The amp head was made in 1968. It's good for all styles. I play punk rock. It has two channels with a high and low input for each to switch from. No effects loop or headphone jacks. Great solid state 100 watt amp. Very versatile.

I use an Ibanez Tr Series. It's got great sound. The bright channel gives a nice overdrive. I run a Danelectro FabTone through it for a wicked distortion.

The tuck and roll offers great safety. This amp is a rock.

Go to VintageKustom.com. Other than that you got nobody. New school Kustom SUCKS.

Been playing for five years. I would buy all the vintage Kustom heads and cabs i could get my hands on.

My kustom 200 bass head is a mid 70s amp. It has four channels. I do wish it had more effects than intensity and reverb, because the reverb really sucks. The intensity is pretty cool though. I use my amp for everything! It really rocks out the jazzy rock riffs I love to play.

I have a Squier jazz bass(jazz pickups), and a Hondo precision bass(split precion pickup). My jazz bass sounds good for everything: rock, alternative, and punk. My Kustom 200 shakes my house with it's rumble.

I can definitly depend on it. I guess I would use a backup, never be afraid to try new products. It has never broken down.

I have never communicated with the company, but every time I look to find another model of my amp they only have the new amps. In my opinion the new bass amps aren't as good. I bought my amp used so i don't have the warranty

I have been playing for ONLY a year but professionals have told me they weren't as good as me until they had played for 2-10 years. I had really great advise learning, but I really tought myself. I learned really fast. I'm in 4 bands.

built in 1969. This is a K200A-2 model with two channels, reverb, tremelo and vibrato. Normal channel is used for bass. Has plenty of power for most places, can biamp to a second amp, if needed. Best source of info on these amps is Vintage Kustom.com. The people are friendly and know everything about these amps. The amps are covered in tuck and roll naugahyde in various colors-definitely look cool. They were built with the best components of the day, good construction practices. Very heavy.

I use a Fender Jazz bass and a Gibson ES 335 guitar with these amps. I have always liked the tone available from these old Kustoms. (Check out the lead solo by Jefferson Airplane on "Somebody to love" or bass from Steppenwolf. There is normal Hiss at idle. I have never experienced any distortion on any of my 4 Kustoms. I have recapped two of these amps due to some hum and receiving of shortwave broadcast radio,crackling, etc., and they are now quiet and sound as they should--treble is clean and piercing, the bass is full of low punch. These amps are 30+ years old and usually need to be recapped to sound great as they did when they were built. The reverb and trem/vibrato are out of this world, The bright control has come alive since I recapped the amp. I have one speaker cab with JBL d130f for guitar, and one cab loaded with Carvin PS15's for bass.

I always take a backup power head, no matter what. But I feel I could rely on it, now that I have rebuilt it. They are very reliable, just like anything, you need to learn all you can about your equipment and how to take care of it.

The current Kustom company wants nothing to do with the old Kustoms apparently. Never received any answers to emails I sent them. As I said, I have done my own repair, and the help from the folks at the VintageKustom.com site have been invaluable! Any good amp tech should be able to repair one of these. The old Kustom company was great to work with-very customer oriented. So you are on your own for repair of the vintage amps.

I have played for 36 years off and on, had a Kustom in 1970-78, and now have 3 K-200 amps in a and b models, and also have a Kustom III-L, which has tolex instead of the tuck and roll. I was impressed by the sound when I was 14, and still like it at 50! Stolen or lost? yep, gotta get another one. Love/Hate? Love the sound and the KOOL look-always gets lots of compliments. Not a hate to be found...

This is a Kustom head with black tuck-and-roll covering. The model number is 200 B5. It was made in Chanute Kansas, but I don't know the year. The amp has four 1/4" input jacks, two 1/4" speaker jacks out, one 1/4" reverb on/off jack, and one RCA female input jack.
This amp has a total of 16 knobs- 4 per channel. Volume, Bass, Treble, and Reverb.

Once I repaired the amp it runs quiet. It has lots of highs and pounding lows. When the bass is all the way up I can tell that the blue light in the middle dims to the bass beat.

This is a hard-core solid state amp 4 channels in and each channel has its own volume, bass, trebble, and reverb. The inside looks like dangerous high voltage looking at those large filter caps in the power supply. After I got the amp running it made sounds like frying bacon. I had to replace all the transistors and tantalum caps on the reverb module to repair the amp. most of the transistors I put on the reverb board were NTE 123AP. Now the amp works GREAT!
I made a board layout of the reverb section if anyone needs a copy.

You won't get any support from the new Kustom company. They don't want anything to do with the Kustom-by-Ross amps.
No schematics for this amp also.

This amp sounds like a tube amp. It will rattle your teeth and it looks cool. Wish I had the speaker cabinet.

Not much it has four channels, volume, bass, treble, and reverb which was removed because appearantly all Kustom's reverb section sucked, you would hear popping and crackling, but I play bass through mine so I use a pedal whenever I decide to use reverb.

I use an ESP LTD B-105, with standard soapbar pickups. It works fine for anything were distortion and volume are needed since it distorts very quickly. (At about 11 O-Clock) It is extremely noisy even when nothing is plugged into it. At first I thought it might be due to the cabinet, but when I bought an ampeg with twice the power, (and is quite excellent I might add) the kustom 3-15 rocked. It just has to be the thirty year old amp. The actual sound is pure, which is a good thing if you like the sound of your guitar. I would record with it if it wasn't for the excess of noise.

The bastard will live forever. Never has broken down. Is super cool. Have recieved many complements on tuck and roll. Cosmetically just kicks ass.

Don't even try to deal with Kustom unless you have one of the brand new amps. I live in wichita Kansas, and One day decided to drive out to Chanute Kansas and look in a phone book for a member of the family who designed the amp. After finding a cool guy named rich I asked about the noise and he sayed it has always been noisy. Couldn't guide me in any directions so outside of meeting a nice guy with great stories about the old factory, the trip was a waste. And the new asian Kustom doesn't care at all. Appearantly they just wanted the name.

I feel as if I were ripped off due to the price. I'm currently trying to sell it and it seems as though I might get all of my money back. Definatley worth it for collectors of musical treasures. I want to keep it because it matches my ginormouse cabinet. Musicains out there. Do yourself a favor and save up a little to get a nice sounding amp. It took me nearly a year to realize that most other new amps will sound better. So I just bought an ampeg for recording purposes. Excellent in every respect.

I love Kustom. My first experience was playing a wurlie piano through a 200 w/3-15" Altecs. Need I say more. I could actually keep up with whatever guitar amp being used. I now have 10 (you can check out my collection of amps at http://home.earthlink.net/~gantly/). 5-200's, 1-150, 2-100's,1-50, 1-25. I have every color but gold. The blue 200 bass amp 2-15 eminance and the red 100 2-12" Jensons sound the best.My 150 combo has 2-12" altecs, that's the one I use with the Wurlie. Screams.Since there collectability has gone up, I'm now looking for Standel, another good Solid State amp that hasn't quite caught on.

Kustom amps were made with great parts. Not much tone but loud.They vary in sound quality. 3 of my 10 sound great. A couple are pretty noisy.

The ones I have that work(8 of 10). Have never given me problems.

They are supposedly pretty straight foward to fix. i just haven't had the time.

I've been playing since these amps were new. The last gig I did, I used a 200 P.A. head with a single 15" cab, worked fine. Played a PC88
through it. I own 22 keyboards and 40 amps. My true collectable is my Kustom II organ. This things amazing! It has Leslie jacks for both 122 & 147 Leslies with a slow-fast switch. Two keyboard with drawbars, percussion and RMI type piano and harpsicord on the top keyboard.Put it through a Leslie and it sounds great! The attack is lacking but the tone is good. Mine is pristene with cover and original volume pedal. I'd like to find a single keyboard model w/ built in amp.