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Kustom Sidewinder [message #12476] Thu, 10 December 2009 14:41   fireproof Messages: 3 Registered: December 2009 Location: Albuquerque Junior Member I just got a Kustom Sidewinder for my birthday. It's a rockin amp, and I know just about nothing about it. It's black tuck and roll in very nice condition, and I got it for $200, is this a good deal? It has an orange JBL on it as well. How do I tell how old it is? What sort of footswitch would work for it? Thanks for your help, Jason Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom Sidewinder [message #12477 is a reply to message #12476] Thu, 10 December 2009 18:53   LesS Messages: 477 Registered: December 2002 Senior Member Hi, You can tell how old it is by the serial number. A few examples: SN 87400 7/15/72 SN 95000 12/15/72 SN 109000 10/28/73 We were just arguing about Kustoms coming with orange label JBL's. Some believe that did not and some believe they did. I had a 4x10 with orange D110F's that I am real sure were original. Does your orange JBL have a white "Kustom" stamp on it? If your amp came with a JBL originally, the metal plate on the amp's front would say "Sidewinder JBL". -Les S. Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom Sidewinder [message #12478 is a reply to message #12476] Thu, 10 December 2009 21:43   pleat Messages: 1452 Registered: June 2004 Location: Belding, Mi Senior Member Fireproof, welcome to the site, and if the amps plays well, you got a bargain. The speaker alone should bring at least 100+ as far as the footswitch, any standard two button foot switch with a stereo 1/4" jack will work to turn off and on the reverb and tremolo. pleat Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom Sidewinder [message #12479 is a reply to message #12478] Fri, 11 December 2009 01:02   fireproof Messages: 3 Registered: December 2009 Location: Albuquerque Junior Member Less, there is not a white kustom sticker on the jbl, at least from where I can see, and the front emblem does not say Kustom... Sorry. I heard a rumor about Kustom using Altec Lansing Speakers, is there any truth to this? Also, the S/N is 103350, so I'm guessing around 73? Pleat, Thanks for the foot switch advice, cannot wait to try one out Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom Sidewinder [message #12480 is a reply to message #12476] Fri, 11 December 2009 01:25   fireproof Messages: 3 Registered: December 2009 Location: Albuquerque Junior Member Also, if it was a JBL speaker, where would I find the stamp? and about how much is this thing worth? The tuck and roll is in great shape, a few nicks on the bottom. It for sure is a JBL orange speaker... and it's flat black in color. any ideas? Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom Sidewinder [message #12481 is a reply to message #12476] Fri, 11 December 2009 06:10   stevem Messages: 4733 Registered: June 2004 Location: NY Senior Member To help try and pin down this JBL/kustom white ink stamping on the driver question I will contact a good friend of mine who has a 2-15 original JBL D140 loaded cabinet and I will see if I can get in to take a look on Sunday. All of my six Altec Lansing 15" drivers in models 418 and 421 that are original to their cabinets are stamped Kustom in white ink. Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom Sidewinder [message #12482 is a reply to message #12481] Fri, 11 December 2009 09:48   pleat Messages: 1452 Registered: June 2004 Location: Belding, Mi Senior Member Fireproof, the Kustom ink stamp logo would be on one of the spokes of the cast frame and the speaker would have been grey at that time. If it's not there and it's not a kustom installed JBL. The sidewinder logo plate on the front would also have JBL on it, if the sidewinder logo just says sidewinder, the amp originally came with a standard speaker. Kustom did use Altec Lansing speakers in their cabinets, and the early years sold them seperate in the 67/68 catalog and had a large Kustom logo sticker affixed to the magnet. Bud Ross told the kustom collectors at our Dec. 2000 convention that right after Kustom offered lifetime replacement on speakers, that some dealers were sending back JBL speakers from other brand amps for replacements, when they discovered what the dealers were doing, Bud started the ink stamp logo on every JBL, Altec, Jensen, and CTS speaker they installed in their cabinets to insure they were replacing only speakers from their cabinets. Kustom caught a few dealers trying to get replacements that were not from Kustom cabinets and pulled their franchise to sell Kustoms. Addressing 10" orange frame JBL's, Kustom did offer a 4x10 JBL cabinet in the 67/68 K200A series amps. The cabinet is the same size as a 2x15 sealed back and ported through the front baffle. In the 69/70 catalog supplement Kustom did again offer a JBL loaded 4x10 cabinet with the upper two speakers vented through the back and the lower speakers ported through the baffle board. Both cabinets were using grey frame JBL speakers and were discontinued long before JBL changed to the orange frame. So given the information from Bud and from working in a music store from 66 to 79 that sold Kustoms, I still stand by the ink stamp as being absolute proof of Kustom JBL's. pleat Report message to a moderator

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