Kustom Quad 100DFX Head

Amp was made in 2005
Amp is versatile for what Kustom designed this head to be; namely, classic rock tones from Pete Townsends distortion from Wont Get Fooled Again, to the grit from Paperback Writer, to BTO/ACDC - nice!
Its 2 channels each with 2 preamp settings. It is channel switching, with an EQ for each channel. It also has an effects loop which is the same as on the crate GLX series. No Headphone Jack!! But I have had the volume set to 9 oclock position and its very loud. It's a solid state head plugged into a Kustom TR-412A cabinet. This amp definitely has some nuts.

I'm using an Ibanez RG520QTBS with seymour duncan pickups, and a JetKing I. I play rock, metal, jazz, and everything in between. The Quad 100 DFX Head and matching TR412A cabinet is very quiet with no noise. If the gain is maxed out, there is the faintest discernible noise, but just barely! Its a very quiet amp, but its definitely got the late 60's and 70's tones down, which is what I wanted. To me its the best trick in lieu of doling out some major cash for tubes. I think I can use this amp for my new band project as I wanted a whole new sound, this amp I believe will work.

Oh, it does have preset effects which some are useable, but I would use my own pedals.

To early to tell, but in talking to techs, other Kustom users, Kustom has a reputation of making rock solid product!

Oh, by the way, for everyone who liked the JSX amp from peavey, know this - the guy who designed and engineered it was recently lured away and hired by Kustom to be their new chief engineer of R&D at Kustom. This cat is going to be instrumental for all new amps coming out especially Kustoms new COUPE series which is rumored to be the shit, and strike fear into other competitors. Very Cool!

One thing I've discovered - Kustom definitely made this amp for a certain market, and its that market that I think matching guitars will work. By that I mean, I can use a high class guitar and plug right into a high class amp and it will sound great. But when I plug in a low end guitar into a high class amp it sounds like crapola. Now check this out, most of us boneheads are poor and we only have enuf cash to buy what we can afford: namely a $299 to $699 axe - not top of the line but some overseas guitar, and generally they sound ok, but not great - right.

Well, what Kustom did was design a circuit in this Quad 100dfx head that actually makes any $299 to $699 axe sound killer. I know this sounds dorkus, but I checked it out. I used my $900 Ibanez RG520QTBS, that I tricked out with $400 more in premium components and it sounded ok - not great but ok. But when I plugged in my stock Ibanez JetKing I which I bought for $269 at Guitar Center, it sounded fuckin badass! go figure.

So Kustom was smart by doing this and it gives guys in my cash flow level a good reason to buy their amp. Works for me . . .

I've been playing 26 years.
I own 2 Ibanez guitars. I like things simple, I dont like programming, or modeling bullshit amps. I do like stompboxes, and cool wahs, and right now Ibanex makes the best wah with their Weep Demon, and also their classic series pedals.


I did pretty extensive comparisons with other amps, crate, vox, marshall, fender, behringer, B52, Line 6, traynor. But I went with the Quad 200 dfx head and cabinet with celestions. The speakers still need to have their cherry popped and when they break in the sound will get even better.

If my rig was stolen, that person would be slowly fed to a mountain of pissed off angry red army ants - get it!!! ok then!

2 channels (each with 2 preamp choices). Independent volume controls. Preset digital effects. DI out. Here's the thing. There's all this suggested switchability, and the damn thing can't even come with a FOOTSWITCH.

I've used it with a BC Rich JR-V with DiMarzio Evolutions in it, as well as an Ibanez GRX20 with powersounds, and the cab is a Crate Vintage Club 2x12. Here's the deal. The clean channel is passable, very transparent for the most part. The problem is that with the highs, you have to have it cranked to make them clear. Even the manual states that full-on is default, instead of 12:00 being such. When set right, it's decent. Has a 2 preamp voicings, and the "FAT" one is the only one that sounds ok. The effects cannot be tweaked, only slightly adjusted, but they seem to be fine, I guess. Now the downside: the distortion channel. Nothing sounds good. It's to hissy and noisy, doesn't have much gain, no presence, no highs...it's just not there. The preamp switching makes it have more lows, but not much. The "Balls" and "Bigger Balls" are misnomers, because even with the gain cranked and "Bigger Balls" selected, there's barely any saturation happening. People say it's good for classic rock sounds, but they're trying to find the silver lining. Get a preamp/processor to use with this head. I'm using a Digitech RP100 on the clean channel and it sounds good. Avoid the distortion channel at all costs. It's much worse than my old Crate G-600, and that should say something.

HAs a huge heatsink, seems built sturdy...who knows?

Not the slightest clue.

This is a classic example of a budget head. It's basically a 100w power amp. Use a preamp/processor with the clean channel, and avoid the distortion channel at all costs. Since it doesn't even come with a footswitch, you can't even toggle the effects on and off. It's decent for the price, I guess.

Pros: Has a single-jack effects loop (which comes in handy when beefing up the sound for heavier genres); has an absolutely beautiful clean channel, and a stunningly realisticly modeled spring reverb. sounds just like the old fender spring reverb combos.
another feature this thing has that's real clever is that if you have a bad speaker cable plugged in it'll go into a "safe mode" of sorts and cut all output to the speakers, as to not harm the speakers, making you get a new speaker cable to avoid an ohmage mismatch or a bad signal that could potentially hurt the cab.
also, the blue power indicator lights sparkle on a dark stage.
Cons: The effects loop is difficult to use at first.
The effects are programmed in one way, so you can't change any parameters (but the spring reverb is amazing)

Guitars: Cort Les Paul Copy; a Samick Greg Bennette Model; a BC Rich Warlock, and a Strat w/ gibson hardware and crazy custom-wired pickups. Main effects: Boss GT-3, Boss Metal Zone (there are a few more, but aren't major contributors to the tone)
Overall, the thing is an amazingly versital amp for just about any style of music with the exception of metal. the distortion just doesn't have that special "crunch" that say a JCM2000 has. however, if you use the effects loop and add an eq and/or whatever modern standard preamps that go good with metal, it CAN be an absolute tone monster. Gets a rich, thick tone when miced with a 57 in the studio. Also has a very sensitive 3-Band EQ for each channel, so you can tweak your sound almost indefinately.

Been using it every day for almost a year for gigs and practice. have never had a problem. Rocks the first time, every time.
As for gigging without a backup, I have two of the heads and two Kustom cabs I play with all the time, so if one breaks the other one's always handy. And though it is very dependable, NEVER gig without a backup. No matter how sure you are of a product. My dad gave me some great advice: "Always have a pair and a spare."
Little side note: My bassist uses two old Kustom 200 Tuck-and-roll heads and three cabs, that were made back in the 70's and every time they turn on they sound brand new. All Kustom products are built to last and are essentially bulletproof and will last as long as you can rock.

Looked up the Kustom factory number to ask them about the single-jack effects loop (which was a little tricky at first) and about a few other things, and they were all very kind and helpful. Nice people to deal with.

Amazing amp overall, even more amazing for the money. It does a hell of a job of delivering classic vintage tube tone but with the stability of valvestate technology. Seriously, if you crank this thing, turn the distortion to about half way and let the speakers kick, this thing sounds very close to a tube amp. Very loud, and clear at the same time. Probably because it's a hybrid.
I'm a long-time fan of Kustom, and I will be a fan for many years to come.

100 Watts RMS Output - 4 Selectable Preamp Modes, 24-Bit Digital Effects: Reverbs, Delays, Modulation / Foot-switchable Channels & Effects - Made in 2003..versatile amp but I could not distinguish a great deal of difference in some of the effects ( a little too subtle for me) It has more than enough power and I like the line out jack on the front of the head versus behind when I go through the board or PA. I gig with this amp and have been using it in place of my old Crate Turbovalve

I play a Fender Custom GT and an old Fernandes Vertigo Pro. I like the clean channel a lot. Distortion could be heavier but I play through a Digitech Pedal which gives me some more chunk. We play clean (311, OAR) and crunchy (Green Day, Foo Fighters) and this amp does the job - I miss the tubes - but this amp is versatile

I have been bringing my Turbovalve as a back up but quite frankly I am very impressed with the solid build of the Head. I should also not that I bought this head with the Kustom 412A Cab - and I think I could drop both in the highway and they would be ready to rock that night

Don't know - warranty is three years

Been playing for five years - currently gigging with a band that plays a wide variety of rock (Stones to Blink 182) If this were lost - I'd have ny eyes checked because it is too large to lose but if stolen - I would definately buy it again. I have had major players plug in to this and give me favorable reviews on tone and major props for the price I payed - so it's not just my tin ear that likes this thing. Plus - it is my first stack and and I love having an amp next to me that's beer coaster heighth

OK, this isn't a 5150. But it is a damn good amp. I picked mine up for AU$960 new, and i can't say much bad about this amp. 2 Channels, a rythm and a lead. It also has 8 built in effects which are ok. Nothing special, but they are usable. That said, while you could probably gig this amp you wouldnt rely on the on board effects on stage (but more on that later) This little bastard is loud as all f**k too.

I have two stratocaster rips and a custom built J&D Luthier, all run off your standard pickups. I have only been playing a year so I try and play varying styles to improve my skills. Think classical, metal, rock, alternative.

Anyways. I live in a unit so i can't turn this thing up very often or it would, quite literally blow the neighbors away. Its GOD DAMN LOUDE!!! And it maintains tone up to nearlly maxed out. Clean channel is clean, even when the celestion speakers are pumping out buckets of volume. The lead channel is not bad, but definately isn't the hightlight of this amp. Distortion is ok, about the same as my AU$90 Danelectro T-Bone Distortion pedal(try turning midrange to zero). Adjusting the settings brings up some nice crunch, suitable for some Ac/Dc-like tunes. So in short, this amp holds up fairly well in all departments, but if your into metal, whack an Xtortion or metal zone into your effects cluster and dear god this thing hammers

ok back to what i said about the on board effects processor. DO NOT RELY ON IT! its ok for rehearsal and such but it has failed on me a few times. Ive owned it 2 days and sometimes if i play with no effects for a while when i try to turn the effects channel on i get zilch. the effects will not turn on. I would take it back but apparently its a regular problem with these amps. If it happens to much its going back anyway. but yeah. Each time simply flicking the power on and off has cured the problem. other than that i havnt heard of anything going wrong with these things.

Would gig it without backup any day (using effects pedals) and will definately be back up for the 5150 when i can afford it :D

Might call them about the effects channel......will let you know

Been playing almost a year and i recommend this amp for any beginner who needs something to roar over drums. Yes its loude. Yes it has tone. Yes it will play pretty much any style of music to some degree. Buy this, a metal zone or xtortion pedal, and a chorus pedal and you will have a very gigable amp for under 1500. I do love this amp. I dont hate anything about it. The effects problem is annoying but playing guitar is about playing guitar. not having a box play it for you. I compared this to a line 6 combo which was AU$1099. think it was 120 watt with 2x10. the kustom shits all over it. The line 6 sounded better, and had way more features, but would struggle with live/rehearsal work. i just cant imagine it getting over drums. Kustom have here, one very good amp. And yes, if it were stolen id go buy another one like.....NOW

came out this year or last i think.has built in dsp and is 200 watts. cab it comes with is 240 watts. didnt come with a foowswitch, which is pretty lame of kustom, but for 580$ not a bad buy. pretty versitale for rock/funk stuff. pretty loud. keeps right up with my carvin x100b which shocked me because its a solid state amp

he plays a greg bennett h/h guitar. looks like a prs or somthing. very loud amp, doesn't loose tone at high volumes on the dirty side, and stays clean even loud. lots of tone. put the more balls section on turn on the chourse on, scoop the mids, and you got zakk wyldes sound to a "t". if you need more distortion than this, you dont play in a band

brand new, never gigged out with it, but it looks like a tank. he'll use it without a backup with no problems, and so would I

never talked to em

been playing 19 years, and so has he. he's also got a roc pro 1000 stack which this amp will absolutely somke, but its not the ampeg he used to have. holds up fine with my carvin, but if we catch an outside gig, the carvin may shine in this area,(all tube vs. solid state) for the price and how cool it looks and sounds he's but it again and so would i

Bought new in 2003. Two channels with dual modes for each. Amp is very clean and loud. Distortion does not have enough meat for serious metal but good for older rock. Built in reverb, chorus, etc. Use this amp as my main amp playing in clubs and it has been great. Using with Behringer 4-12 cabinet.

Play rock, blues, jazz etc. Amp is very able to do all. Very clean and descent distortion. For serious metal I just dial up my Digitech pedal and it metal to the max. It screams.

Have been using it for a few months now with no problems. I always gig with a backup available but have never had to use it since I bought this amp.

Haven't had to contact them.

Bought the amp head for $265 and found a behringer 4-12 cabinet that was B-Stock for 160 delivered. So for around $400 I have a half stack that is sooooo loud and sounds great.

This is the newer 2003 model Amplifier head and 4x12" cab Half Stack. The amp has the Balls and "Bigger Balls" settings which sound cool reading them but the distortion is moderate even at high volumes and in the "Bigger Balls" setting. This head should have a seperate Reverb knob. You don't get much of a choice wihtout it. The amp is loud, but so are airplanes. Even the Celestions are made in China.

It does have a nice clean sound, but like I was saying the distortion is moderate at best. It doesn't suit my music style nor many others I would guess, that's why I'm selling it on ebay.

It's made in China, so I wouldn't tour or gig with it. In fact I wouldn't have bought it had I known.

Well, considering they never replaied to my 2 emails over 3 weeks ago and another about 4 days ago I would say their customer support is about as bad as their products. Worthless.

If this had a seperate reverb, a solid wood cab instead of extremely cheap particle board, some decent support, and a real distortion channel I might be keeping it. But it's a poor attempt at a half stack.