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Argh! ANOTHER newbie needs advice [message #14988]

Sun, 02 January 2011 03:27

ramrod250
Messages: 32
Registered: January 2011
Location: Germantown, Wisconsin

Member

Have lurked here for some time and have found lots of good information -- but now I know just enough to be dangerous, and I need some help.

As with so many Kustom fans, my interest goes back to the Creedence days. I recently decided to start looking for old Kustoms for parts/repair, to someday end up with the K200A-5 Fogerty model, or something close to it.

As I got in "acquisition mode" I ran into some of what seems to be fairly common issues about model and serial numbers, etc. I've tried researching them on line with mixed results, so please bear with me, and thanks in advance.

At present I have four heads in various conditions, and one CT5 cab:

"J895RV w/horn" S/N 5820. Black. Picked up recently, marked "no FX." That's correct; they don't work (reverb needs repair/replacement). Otherwise functional. I understand that J is for Jensen and 895 is its price, and RV is reverb/vibrato. QUESTION: What other model is this equivalent to/what is/was it used for?

K200B2, S/N 39060: Also a recent purchase, along with the speaker cabinet, which I have not opened up as yet. Fully functional. QUESTIONS: I understand that the B series was to be an improvement over the A series, and was produced in much larger numbers. But I was also told that the B series were bass amps. Is that so? Or can it be used for lead/rhythm too? (Sorry to be so stupid.)

K200A1, S/N 19619. Bought in tandem some time back with another head (below). Fried part of the PCB when I tried to power it up. QUESTION: Recognizing that this is the A series, should I try to get this repaired? (That's what the head below is for.) Or is the K200 above good enough to get the CCR sound, which is the goal of all this? At least, without it being a -4 model with all the effects.

K200B1, S/N 42493. Purchased in tandem with head above. Shows no signs of life, though rudimentary checks fail to indicate why. Seller told me one of the two heads worked, and the other did not. Whether I got lied to, or something happened in shipping, I don't know.

I'm asking the experts here what to do with this combination. The 895 and 200B2 are at least usable; should I focus on them and scrap the others? Maybe I'll never find a K200A-5, but until/unless that happens, will one of these do for playing Creedence rhythm/lead? Or use one for that and another for bass?

If ignorance is bliss, I'm feeling pretty happy right now. Thanks for any suggestions.
Jim

Jim Haught
Creedence + Kustom: a great combination.

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Re: Argh! ANOTHER newbie needs advice [message #14989 is a reply to message #14988]

Sun, 02 January 2011 12:37

kustomoholic
Messages: 227
Registered: March 2009
Location: Tulsa,oklahoma

Senior Member

Fogerty used an A4 Head not an A5 which is a 4 channel pa head.
The A1 and B1 heads should be repairable tho cost will depend on whats wrong or damaged The B2 head is basically a later version of the RV Frank head with all the updated changes Kustom made for the B series heads..The circutry is NOT identical. Some one here probably has some schematics for those heads... I have a b-1
schematic if you need it if you'll email me at kustomoholic@ aol.com I'll photocopy them for you and send... The circuit boards should have a PC board # on them which will help finding a schematic for them. Check the boards there are lots of postings and a little time will probably get the info you need.

Craig

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Re: Argh! ANOTHER newbie needs advice [message #14990 is a reply to message #14989]

Sun, 02 January 2011 13:12

ramrod250
Messages: 32
Registered: January 2011
Location: Germantown, Wisconsin

Member

Thanks, Craig. Sorry for the "5" instead of "4" typo re: Fogerty. That's what I get for posting in the middle of the night, I guess. I'll check the PC boards and see which ones they are.

Meantime I'll keep searching existing posts for more info. Am getting quite a reference notebook already, which I guess is what you need on this quest.

Jim Haught
Creedence + Kustom: a great combination.

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Re: Argh! ANOTHER newbie needs advice [message #14991 is a reply to message #14990]

Sun, 02 January 2011 15:02

kustomoholic
Messages: 227
Registered: March 2009
Location: Tulsa,oklahoma

Senior Member

I have a Kustom 200 Model 1 Instruction manual Has Schematics and
parts lists for PC105, PC203 and PC703 boards Dated 5-69 for B series heads. I got this very recently after meeting an older electronics tech who fiddled around and built guitar amps in 60's-70's also had a lot of tube stuff as well. My 1st bass amp was a selfbuilt pushpull 6l6 amp I ran into a homemade 12" Box with a Radioshack (UTAH) guitar speaker.

Craig

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Re: Argh! ANOTHER newbie needs advice [message #14997 is a reply to message #14988]

Mon, 03 January 2011 09:16

C4ster
Messages: 686
Registered: June 2001
Location: Mukwonago, WI (Milwaukee...

Senior Member

Hi Jim,
I am in Mukwonago and I have a decent collection. I have 6 K100 amps in Cascade, Blue, Gold, Silver, Charcoal and Red. I also have a K200-B1 in Cascade and 2 3x15 siren cabinets in Cascade and 2 3x15 siren cabinets in Red. I also have a Silver K25. There are 3 early variants of Kustom amps. The first is the so-called Frankenstein amps with the high forehead. The second is the A series which John Fogerty used. He used the A4 amp. This came in 2 types. One was a metal faced amp with 2 circuit breakers on either side of the power switch and the second was a plexi face with fuses mounted on the circuit board. The B series was the last before Baldwin bought the company. The entire run was only 5 or 6 years. The A1 (B1) amps were thought to be bass amps and in the 100 series they are kind of sold that way but really the difference is in the speakers. The amps are identical but the difference in use is which channel is used. Couple that with good speakers and you have a great amp. I prefer a smoother sound so I use bass speakers for guitar. There is enough treble in these amps to make your ears bleed. My main guitar is a Gibson ES335 and the amps make this guitar sound incredible. Use whatever combination that works for you.
Conrad

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Re: Argh! ANOTHER newbie needs advice [message #14999 is a reply to message #14988]

Mon, 03 January 2011 13:08

chicagobill
Messages: 2005
Registered: April 2003

Senior Member

Welcome to the place Ramrod!

A4's show up on eBay once in a while, I bought one a couple of years ago. Needed a little work, but probably cost more than the average Kustom head would go for due to the JF connection.

As was pointed out, any Kustom amp will work well with guitar or bass. The Frank (X95) series are entirely different from the later designs have a different style power amp that uses a driver transformer, so the sound is a little different than the A and B series. The A series amps have a different style preamp from the later B series amps. The B series amps sort of solved some of the mechanical problems of the A series amps, making them more road worthy.

I've not run into many Kustom heads that couldn't be fixed, which is a sign of the quality of the design and construction of these amps. I suggest that you look into fixing all 4 of your heads, if they seem too costly to fix sell them off as is.

If you do fix any of them, you will be pleased with the sound that you get. But if you really want Fogerty's sound get an A-4 with a 2-15" JBL cab.

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Re: Argh! ANOTHER newbie needs advice [message #15002 is a reply to message #14988]

Mon, 03 January 2011 14:09

ramrod250
Messages: 32
Registered: January 2011
Location: Germantown, Wisconsin

Member

Thanks a lot. Appreciate the suggestions and information. And yes, an A-4 would be nice, but I wanted to take advantage of the other heads' relative availability and gain some experience with them while I continue to look for an A-4.

But it's an enjoyable journey, and I'm learning a lot along the way.

Jim

Jim Haught
Creedence + Kustom: a great combination.

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Re: Argh! ANOTHER newbie needs advice [message #15005 is a reply to message #15002]

Mon, 03 January 2011 21:01

ramrod250
Messages: 32
Registered: January 2011
Location: Germantown, Wisconsin

Member

OK, tonight I opened up the K200A-1 head, and found "ROSS PC702" on the circuit board that went up in smoke. This is the largest board, mounted in the back. Does that help ID this any, or make it more/less replaceable? (And of course, there may be other issues I've missed, but this is where the charred parts are Confused

)

Thanks again,

Jim Haught

Jim Haught
Creedence + Kustom: a great combination.

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Re: Argh! ANOTHER newbie needs advice [message #15007 is a reply to message #14988]

Tue, 04 January 2011 12:31

chicagobill
Messages: 2005
Registered: April 2003

Senior Member

I'll guess that your problem is in the power amp. I don't have my schematics handy, but PC702 I believe is the power amp section.

The power amp uses fairly common components, or at least components that are replaceable. You should be able to fix it or have it fixed with no problems.

I don't know what your background is, but if you're handy with a soldering iron and have some basic mechanical skills, you may be able to repair it yourself. Otherwise maybe Conrad has a local source that he can suggest for the repairs.

My first suggestion, is don't plug it in again until you check out the basics. And more importantly don't plug it into a speaker cabinet until it has been fixed and is not passing dc voltage to the output jack.

I'll check to see if I have the schematic that you need.

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Re: Argh! ANOTHER newbie needs advice [message #15008 is a reply to message #15007]

Tue, 04 January 2011 13:14

ramrod250
Messages: 32
Registered: January 2011
Location: Germantown, Wisconsin

Member

Thanks for the help, chiacgobill. My mechanical skills are OK, soldering skills are improving, but this sort of job needs to be tackled by someone with real skills and knowledge on the electrical side. I do have a local source or two for repairs, and Conrad has been helpful, so maybe we can salvage this head and I can keep learning.

Jim

Jim Haught
Creedence + Kustom: a great combination.

[Updated on: Tue, 04 January 2011 13:17]

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Re: Argh! ANOTHER newbie needs advice [message #15009 is a reply to message #14988]

Tue, 04 January 2011 14:54

chicagobill
Messages: 2005
Registered: April 2003

Senior Member

I do have the schematic for the PC702 board. If you PM your email address to me, I'll send it to you. Your tech may find it helpful.

Bill

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