kustom amps

[sexybeast14]

anybody ever try an amp from this maker.. if soo give me some feed back i was thinkin bout gettin a dounle barrel 30 watt from them

[saturn]

I played one of the 72 Coupe's in a store. It sounded amazing. I've been considering replacing my B52 with one myself.

[Chrisdude]

I am endorsed by Kustom. I have the Kustom Quad 100. LOUD AS HELL!!

 

 

One thing, Kustom cabs SUCK! Drop them through Marshall cabs you will not go wrong.

[Twiz]

I've got an old (probably late 60's-early 70's) tuck & roll 2X10 combo from these guys. It's got an awesome clean sound, and the reverb is really sweet. I don't have any experience with their new stuff. They seem cool to me though.

[Murph]

I had a red tuck and roll Kustom 100 p.a. back in the '70s.

 

Does that count?

 

[milod]

I have one of their recent 30-watt acoustic amps. It's likely dollar for dollar the best buy I've made in the past 10 years. But... individual needs vary. Email if you want more info on the little amps and what I may think along those lines.

 

Here's an expansion I edited in after those lines above.

 

For what it's worth, I get the impression that as with many other companies, some changes are made rather rapidly depending on availability and costs of various materials. They're not made in USA that I'm aware of.

 

I'd say that if you know what you want/need from an amp, and match those wants/needs on a price to price basis, the current Kustom offerings are quite cost effective. I've been very pleased with mine and am quite happy to proclaim it.

 

On the other hand, it ain't the same stuff as the old 60s tuck and roll stuff revisited in the sense that a DR reissue is largely the same amp as the one I bought in late '65.

 

I'd say my Kustom is about perfect for what I want/need at this point. I can think of 1 option I'd prefer, but it's roughly 8 times more expensive, therefore taking it out of contention.

 

But I was quite certain what I wanted before I ordered the thing. That certainty is probably why I reeeally like it. The same is true of any amp that meets expectations of an experienced player/buyer. I think the reason many folks buy amps they end up hating is that they didn't reeeeally know what they wanted before they bought it, or they didn't do their research before writing the check.

 

m

[Chrisdude]

I agree totally milod. I wanted a loud amp (and GOOD GOD it is loud).

 

But I also wanted no distortion / drive. Just a 100w head with a clean chan, volume, bass, mid, treb. My amp has various fx / distortion which I may use in a studio but never live. Before this one I had a valvestate for exactly the same reason. Yeah I could buy any Marshall at like 50% off, why bother? I would never use it as it should be used.

[milod]

Chris... First, let me say your "full disclosure" with Kustom gives you and the marque both greater credibility.

 

But for the prospective amp buyer, I'd say there's a lot more good stuff out there today by far than when I started pickin' for money over 45 years ago.

 

The "trick" is, as Chris noted and as I noted, in getting the amp that really is what you want and need. That includes everything from "sound" to "volume" to weight, to whatever... For example, if you want a little amp you can hear echo in the bathroom but will also clip on your belt, nothing else will make you so happy even if it's given to you.

 

Chris and I have very different "needs" for our amps. Hey, I'd love it if Kustom would "endorse" me and give me an amp and I'd likely play out more just because of it.

 

But if they gave me the amp head that makes Chris so happy, it just wouldn't be appropriate for me. The same brand simply coincidentally had an amp some years ago when I was in the market that fit my own needs better than anything else at anything close to the money. The amp has given me excellent service. Sheesh, what more can you ask for?

 

In fact, I got a wild hare one day a year or so ago and emailed to Kustom customer support how my happy experience had gone with a very inexpensive amp that is almost perfect for my needs. I think the young guy darned near had a heart attack when he read it because I wrote something nice and he's used to only hearing customer complaints.

 

Do your research in your own head more than anything, then if possibly do a tryout, but buy the amp that fits you and you'll probably be happy even if friends or bandmates think it's not "cool."

 

m