Kustom Kasino Lounge

I got my Casino Lounge in 1974, my first amp. When I got this, I didn't really know that there were differences between tube amps and solid state amps. This is an early overdriven preamp, solid state amplifier. It was just an affordable amp and it sounded good and loud. Plus a friend I was playing with had one too. When I first got it I got the best advice from the salesman I ever got. Use small amps on stage, and bring a giant PA and mic everything. At the time, the amp sounded great with or without the PA.

I used it hard for about 6 years gigging through high school and college. I played blues, rockabilly, old rock, prototype metal, smooth folk, and did the endless solo southern rock thing. Way back, you didn't have all sorts of effect do-dads. You just plugged in, cranked up and played. I think that it would do ok for jazz. I was basically happy. I've gather quite the collection of amps since then and I can see that it did have limitations. Still it was my first, it has sentimental value, and I still mess with it occassionally.

The amp has one channel and two inputs. The preamp section contains controls for Drive, Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble, Tremolo depth, Tremolo speed, and reverb. It has a foot switch for the tremolo and reverb.

The Drive is a very early attempt at overdriving the main amp and doesn't do a great job of unless you turn it all the way up with the main amp at about half. Then it sings. It was really too loud though to sit around the house though. The tone controls make a difference. The tremolo is great for what it is. The reverb is shallow.

The amp is not padded and thank God as it weighs a tone without it.

I used this amp to practice and to play out (with the big PA). It never let me down.

At first I was using a used Ideal Brand semi-hollowbody ES-335 copy with in phase, out phase single coil pick ups that could just scream. Only once have I seen another Ideal guitar at a vintage show. I used a Univox Super Fuzz so who really needed the overdrive. Then I upgraded to a Fender Stratacaster and I quickly ditched the fuzz petal. (Can't find it at the parent's house. They are worth money now.) I started to play cleaner and the amp delivered a good distortion sound straight out with the strat. I did get a Pignose when they came out and that just made everything dreamy except there was no variation in volume. The guitar was on or off.

We lived near a broadcast tower and the amp would pick up the station especially with the fuzz petal.

The amp excels at Clean. Not that loud though. With the Pignose it delivers a long sustained, edgy distortion with a sort of sing when playing above the 12th fret. Sort of that American Woman lead sound. Over all, the amp is very versatile in a primative way.

On the bad side, with the drive on full and above 7 on the amp, chords would sort of muddy up in a very none flatering way.

I gigged for about 6 years with it. It never let me down on stage or at a gig. I wish the PA equipment was so rugged. It was dropped. and banged a number of times. Sat in subfeezing temperatures in a car for days on end. Sat in the baking car for months. I used to pound on it to make the spring reverb make wierd sounds. It was used as a bass amp for awhile. It just kept giving and giving. And then just when I started my real life career not in music, it began to make a horrible non-musical sound when low notes or hard barr chords were played. I could tell something was loose as when I played the amp only through a remote speaker it worked great.

I didn't get it repaired. I was giving into the lure of the big amp and I liked Peavey Stuff (remember Lynnard Skinard). I had lots of cash, so I went out and bought a Renown. The Lounge got put in a corner and sat.

Last year, 2000, a band mate was over and spied it in the back bedroom. He tinkers with electronics and asked if he could see if he could figure out what was wrong with it. He fixed it and it is just like new. I guess something on transisters can physically wear and then they vibrate causing malfunction. He realined the transistor, sodder some kind of support to the transistor and it is like new. I was happy. Maybe I am only sentimental.

After the abuse I gave this machine. I give it a 9. I hope I hold up as well.

No, I never bothered. They went out of business or virtually disappeared (KUSTOM)before it broke. I saw that they are back. I had heard that the dealer I got the amp from would still honor the lifetime warrentee.

i have been playing almost 30 years. I can play most anything but jazz and I am starting to make inroads there. I own a Fender Sidekick Reverb 35, a Peavey Renown, a Peavey KB-60 I play bass through, a Fender Ultimate Chorus, a Fender Super 60. I have a Westburry Compressor. I have an old Ibanez planger, and analog delay. I have an old Korg guitar synthsizer. I have a Digitech RP-200. I have an ART effects processor. I have a Fender Stratacaster, a Fender Telecaster Custom, a Fender Flame, a Gibson SG Special, a Gibson Ripper bass, and a Guild D25 accoustic.

If the amp was lost or stolen, I would be very sad. It has a lot of memories attached to it. Mostly fun ones too. I don't think I would go looking for one though to replace it.

I don't know what year this amp was made in, but it's pretty good for an old transistor dinosaur. The trem is alright, it has speed and depth control,it has a power outlet in the back.Also distortion(????),external speaker jack and footswitch. Everything (except distortion)is usable and does justice to the sound. AND... I found something really funny on the reverb unit inside. It is made by a company called "folded line"(it figures) and It reads: "Made by beautiful girls in wisconsin, massecheusets under atmospherically controlled conditions."

I am not really a guitar player, keyboards are my main instrument. But, I can play rhythm half decent and make up my own stuff off-the-cuff pretty good. I own a Godin G1000 guitar with pickups I modified myself (heh,heh...), and I run it through a Korg ax1g effects pedal. The actual clean sound on the amp is great but outputs substantial amount of noise whenever reverb is turned up past 3 or 4. If the distortion( I dont even think that it deserves the title) doesnt put you off, then turn up the volume to about 3, you will be disappointed.It distorts and you have to sit there fiddling and tweaking the hell of it, just to make it sound acceptable. Aside for this, it puts out some serious tone at low volume levels.

I'll tell you the honest truth. I've used it on numerous occasions and have only been disappointed by the volume of the amp. it's just not loud enough, but for playing alone, or even a small jam session, it rocks!!

I havent tried to fix it, because I dont think that the amp is worth putting any more money into, but if I had some spare cash lying around, I probably would, if not just for the great tone.I e-mailed kustom but I guess they have no time for me.

For the price I paid, I sure got my money's worth on it. A word for the wise though, save up towards something better. If you buy equipment, its more worth your while to buy a better amp than this one. Buy a Lab series or something!