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New K100 silver owner [message #16098]

Tue, 20 September 2011 16:40

Worlddrum13
Messages: 7
Registered: September 2011

Junior Member

hey all, im new to the Kustom world. i just picked up a k100-2 silver in good shape. HOWEVER, i am not a guitarist. i butcher guitar. i am a keyboardist. i picked up the k100 to run a Rhodes through. im always looking for neat amps to run it through. i have been searching the web and couldnt find anyone who has done this. (although im sure its been done) im really liking the sounds im getting out of it. a whole diffrent overall tone than the super reverb i normally play through....

anyways, because im new to old kustoms, im not sure how noisy my amp is supposed to be. its pretty noisy and especailly noisy with the super intense reverb is on (which is waaaayyy to sensitive). is this a common issue or is this an issue at all?

thanks

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Re: New K100 silver owner [message #16104 is a reply to message #16098]

Tue, 20 September 2011 23:41

rodak
Messages: 511
Registered: October 2001
Location: Georgia

Senior Member

Hi, and welcome! FYI, Barry Carson, who contributed the article on Combo Organs for Mark Vail's "Vintage Synthesizers" book (and is a great vintage keyboard aficionado) has often said that his white K100 is an excellent keyboard amp. Kustoms seem to be very versatile, performing well for guitar, bass, and keyboards. Congrats on your acquisition!

www.combo-organ.com

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Re: New K100 silver owner [message #16106 is a reply to message #16098]

Tue, 20 September 2011 23:47

pleat
Messages: 1452
Registered: June 2004
Location: Belding, Mi

Senior Member

Congrats on the purchase. Did you get the head, or did you get amp and cabinet? The intense reverb or too sensitive reverb was a issue that kustom had and there is a modification to fix that problem. The amp is 60 watts and wants to run at 8 ohms or greater. I guess we need to know what cabinet you are using. The amp will have some hiss or background noise which is common. If you have too much hiss or noise, I'd suggest have a tech go through the amp and make sure everything is working as it should. Filter cap's after 40+ years may have drifted in value and might be part of what your hearing.
pleat

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Re: New K100 silver owner [message #16110 is a reply to message #16098]

Wed, 21 September 2011 09:22

Worlddrum13
Messages: 7
Registered: September 2011

Junior Member

i got the head and matching 2 12 jensen cab with it. here it is!
http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad65/worlddrum13/299579_2 458589227244_1327530024_32878155_1715017483_n.jpg

[Updated on: Wed, 21 September 2011 10:28]

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Re: New K100 silver owner [message #16112 is a reply to message #16098]

Wed, 21 September 2011 18:46

stevem
Messages: 4738
Registered: June 2004
Location: NY

Senior Member

Hello and welcome to the place and to the world of Kustom.

The hiss noise your are hearing is normal to some extent with these amps, and the high gain that Kustom built into these amps along with the early silicon transistors can make for a good bit of noise when the treble is turned up a good amount.

If the hiss is more than you can live with than replacing the first two or three transistors in the signal chain with new ones can trim off a good bunch of noise. the cost to fix this is mostly labor, as the preamp transistors are all of 15 cents each.
If the tech you take it to has a ESR meter than testing most to all of the caps in the amp would be a good thing also beause as these caps age and drift they can make the gain go up alot more than the design spec was.
This will make for more noise from the amp, I would also change out the power cord for a 3 prong version which will help if you are having a buzz noise issue, but also eliminate a shock hazzard.

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Re: New K100 silver owner [message #16113 is a reply to message #16110]

Wed, 21 September 2011 21:17

rodak
Messages: 511
Registered: October 2001
Location: Georgia

Senior Member

Niiice!

What's the keyboard behind it?

www.combo-organ.com

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Re: New K100 silver owner [message #16115 is a reply to message #16113]

Thu, 22 September 2011 08:08

Worlddrum13
Messages: 7
Registered: September 2011

Junior Member

rodak wrote on Wed, 21 September 2011 21:17

Niiice!

What's the keyboard behind it?

its an old casio casitone ive had since i was a kid... my first keyboard. i dont remember the model off the top of my head

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Re: New K100 silver owner [message #16116 is a reply to message #16115]

Thu, 22 September 2011 12:20

rodak
Messages: 511
Registered: October 2001
Location: Georgia

Senior Member

A Casiotone? I'm talking about the keyboard to the right of the amp, standing on end. It looks more like an organ, a Viscount I'd guess. I don't think I've ever seen a Casiotone that looked like that.

www.combo-organ.com

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