Kustom K25-2 112 Combo

Made in the early 70's in Chanute, Kansas and plenty versatile for any music except grunge type. Single channel, solid state engineering with no frills, no FX loops, no headphone jack, has single input for trem/reverb foot switch. Two inputs (low and high), volume pot, treble with pull bright, bass, intensity, speed for tremolo-pull out for vibrato and reverb on the face on the amp. These pleated and rolled vinyl covered gems took American by storm. They were either hated because of their strange ahead of time multi colored vinyl coverings or they were loved by rock bands because of their showy appearance. The Kustom factory really made sturdy and excellent products, these amps are still going strong 40 years later. A very good and basic amp well engineered. It lacks nothing. Power rating is 25 watts, good enough for small venues or practice, quiet enough for studio work.

I use both single and double coils thru my amp, both sound great. With vibrato and reverb on, I can nail Duane Eddy, roll back on the reverb dials in lead country sounds, add tremolo for Ventures, String-A-Longs or Fireballs. Amp is clean until tone settings or reverb exceed 75% then sounds get fuzzy. I agree that the tone is not a smooth and keen as a nice tube amp and not as dial-able but for the older type of music, it nails the sound. Many top hits were recorded on these Kustoms. These amps were made for "Yesterday's" sound and music, if this is your music then you are happy. If not, well ...........sorry but the Kustoms aren't very dialable otherwise. I play my Hamer T-51 tele or Heritage Prospect (ES335-like) thru mine and both sound great, right out of yester year.

These amps are very dependable and gigging with no back-up is no problem. Even the Kustom amps that have been abused are still going. These gems have had drinks spilled on them, been tipped over, tripped over, or worse. Many coverings have been burned by cigarettes laid (and forgotten)on them, yet they continue to run.

I emailed the current Kustom factory trying to find the age of my amp and was referred to another website for the older amps. No further dealings.

I've been playing long before these amps came out and appreciate their ability to perform even today. Finding an older Kustom that is NICE is getting harder by the day. Usually they'll have a few cigarette burns in the vinly coverings. So if you want to own a piece of history, look for one. If you're lucky enough to own a nice one, you have a jewel that is becoming a collector's item. Sound wise, they aren't too bad especially if you like the older music which is the only music I play. My Kustom shares the work load with my Fender Princeton 2x10 or Roland JC90 2x10 and it hold it's own.

I'm guessing this amp was make in the 70's. It has the plushy black vinyl covering. It has volume, bass, treble (pulls out for "Bright"), Tremolo, Vibrato, and an excellent Reverb. The reverb is great on this amp. However, it only has one channel, and does not have as many features as newer amps, but then again it is 30+ years old.

I am using this amp with an Explorer. It sounds great clean. I usually play jazz, rock, blues, classical, you name it. It sounds great on most, but could use some improvements. Distortion is not the greatest on this amp. The low end seems to be cut out. However, it does produce a very solid sound. I believe it has 25 watts of power. Uses a 12" Jensen special design speaker (original). It a;so is very quiet even on high volumes. No buzz. Sounds are distorted if turned past 3/4" volume. Reverb is great. Almost as good as the Fender Twin Reverb. The tremolo and vibrato are decent as well. Solid sounds.

This thing has been to gigs, practices, bumped, dropped, played on for hours, and thrown in the trunk for a long ride and is still the same as it was on the first day. I don't think you can destroy it unless you really try to. However, do to its age, I am probably going to keep it at home instead of taking it places, because these amps are rare.

Never dealt with them, however I have heard they are pretty useless in customer service.

A great amp if you like the sound it produces. If it were stolen or lost, I'd try to hunt down another one, but these things are getting hard to find. I doubt I'll get another deal like I did with this one. If you find one of these amps, get it while you can. They have a great sound to them.