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1978 Kustom II Lead Help [message #23699] Sat, 22 August 2015 18:51 Go to next message
Ryehat is currently offline  Ryehat
Messages: 2
Registered: August 2015
Location: Portland, OR
Junior Member
Hi Everyone,

First post. I have a 1978 (according to both the speaker code and a nice little note left on a piece of tape inside the chassis by "Shirley" the line inspector) Kustom II Lead combo with a single unbranded 12" speaker that I picked up several years ago. I'd like to start gigging with it and there really isn't much on these babies out there so I thought I'd come to the experts with my two questions.

1) I was hoping somebody could tell me what the ohm rating needs to be so I can have the option of using an external cab. The speaker is totally unbranded with no indication on ohms or manufacturer save this stamp: "038-0084-00 29570 2857834"
2) The reverb no longer works which seems to be pretty common for the Lead series. I opened up the chassis and the tank is still in there with its original cables and everything looks good but still doesn't work. Anyone have a suggestion on how to go about fixing it or should I just bring it to a tech?

Thanks for any and all help in advance. I looked through the entire forums for answers before posting but couldn't find anything on the single 12" model.
Re: 1978 Kustom II Lead Help [message #23701 is a reply to message #23699] Sun, 23 August 2015 03:13 Go to previous messageGo to next message
chicagobill
Messages: 2005
Registered: April 2003
Senior Member
Welcome to the place. The code number on your speaker shows that it was made by Rola and is dated the 34th week of 1978, so I would guess that it is the original speaker.

My guess would be that it is an 8 ohm speaker. If you have an ohm meter, you can read the resistance of the voice coil and figure out what the impedance is.

You can also use an ohm meter to test the reverb tank. There are coils inside the tank, sorta like guitar pickups. The small wires that connect the coils to the RCA jacks often break, disconnecting the coils from the amp circuit. Set your meter to read ohms and read across each of the RCA jacks on the tank. The output jack should read around 200 ohms and the input jack should probably read around 50 ohms. You should also check for corrosion or dirty connections on the circuit side of the RCA wires.

If you don't get any readings across the tank jacks, check inside the tank for broken wires, etc.
Re: 1978 Kustom II Lead Help [message #23702 is a reply to message #23699] Sun, 23 August 2015 07:34 Go to previous messageGo to next message
stevem is currently offline  stevem
Messages: 4728
Registered: June 2004
Location: NY
Senior Member
Hello and welcome to our collective madness for these amps!

Please note that resistance checking for a speakers impedance with a ohm meter you will find that a 8 ohm speaker will test out over 6 ohms , but less than 8.

With a digital meter to get a accurate low ohms reading you can not hold the metal of the meter probs with both hands as the meter will then read thru you to some degree.

Your amp puts out its maximum wattage into a 8 ohm load, going down to 4 or up to 16 ohms impedance will halve the amps power.
Running a 4 ohm load on it will also double the heat it puts out for any givin volume level.

If the amp is not loud enough for you if you then double up on the speakers you get near double the volume.

Enjoy your new baby!

[Updated on: Sun, 23 August 2015 07:35]

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Re: 1978 Kustom II Lead Help [message #23719 is a reply to message #23702] Sat, 29 August 2015 12:33 Go to previous message
Ryehat is currently offline  Ryehat
Messages: 2
Registered: August 2015
Location: Portland, OR
Junior Member
Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the quick response. I've tried the amp out with an eight ohm 10" stack I have and it was great!
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