ColoradoRobert Messages: 19 Registered: January 2016 Location: Colorado
Junior Member
Not sure how to post a picture. Have a amp made by Road 1-10 inch speaker combo. Does not tell me what model or anything. Talked with a guy who knew a lot about Kustom (met Bud Ross, etc.) and he suggested asking about it here. Any help would be appreciated. I will post a pic if someone can tell me how to do that. Thanks in advance.
stevem Messages: 4695 Registered: June 2004 Location: NY
Senior Member
As far I know the Krossroads series of two models of Bass amps only came in a 1-15" model and a 2-10" model.
You can view these two amps in this sites literature section under "other T&R "
Where does your amp say it's manufactured?
ColoradoRobert Messages: 19 Registered: January 2016 Location: Colorado
Junior Member
The guy I talked with at Elite Sound (Colorado) had a price book and it listed models with 12's and 18's but no single 10. The tag on back says Los Angeles, CA. How do you post a picture? Answer about picture link: From Kustom Forums, "You cannot use links until you have posted more than 10 messages." eh?
ColoradoRobert Messages: 19 Registered: January 2016 Location: Colorado
Junior Member
Internet gossip goes like this, Bud Ross and his popular tuck and roll amps were seen by me all over the KC, MO area in the 60's. It did not matter what style of music people were playing, there was always a Kustom around. Sometime in the 70's the tuck and roll fell somewhat out of favor with people so Ross either sold Kustom to someone or started another venture. One of those ventures was Road amps. I do know when they were in CA they also got mixed up with Rickenbacker and some of those have, Division of Rickenbacker in the ads.
pleat Messages: 1450 Registered: June 2004 Location: Belding, Mi
Senior Member
I think it is 10 posts total. There were two at least two different Road Amps. The originals were Bud and Bob Brinkman designed in the Chanute area. Bud sold the company to a music store in LA and they carried on with the Road brand name. If I remember correctly the LA built amps only lasted for about a year or so.
The Crossroad amps built in the late 90's were again Bud and Bob Brinkman designs. Those amps were built on Cherry St. in Chanute from emails from Bob.
There is a Road amp near me. 300 watt head and a dual 18" Road cab. Monster bass rig.
pleat
ColoradoRobert Messages: 19 Registered: January 2016 Location: Colorado
Junior Member
Thank you pleat. I did not know about the new venture back in KS in the 90's. I do know that Gordon at Elite told me he use to sell pedals to Bud and talked with him quite a bit.
ColoradoRobert Messages: 19 Registered: January 2016 Location: Colorado
Junior Member
When I spent several hours searching Road (google), I finally came up with a bass head that looks (control wise face panel), exactly what mine is except that mine is built into a 1-10 inch speaker cabinet without name or model on it.
ColoradoRobert Messages: 19 Registered: January 2016 Location: Colorado
Junior Member
Going for the big 10 and I don't mean football. All 7 potentiometers spin spin spin and it does not matter if you push or pull them, they just spin and make no difference whatsoever. It's hard to believe that someone would break them all by turning them too far but that is what I have. Amp is just buzzing for now. BTW I got it 2nd hand and thought I'd try my hand at getting it to work it is sort-of a piece of history.
ColoradoRobert Messages: 19 Registered: January 2016 Location: Colorado
Junior Member
The potentiometers are some that I have never seen before. The shaft actually goes through the circuit board and jam nuts against it. The 3 solder pins face out with the shaft and then are soldered into the board. The shaft thread length is twice as long as normal ones that you see today. Why, why why.
Those are the same type of pots used by Kustom since the design of the K200A series amps. They allow for the mounting of the pc boards by way of the pot sleeves and also eliminate the need for running wires to and from the pots.
If the knobs just turn there are two things to check. One is to be certain that the knobs are tight and not spinning on the shaft and two, check to be certain that the metal covers that are on the back of the pots have not been pushed off, allowing the shaft assembly to miss the crimped in stop block.
The shaft is designed to be stopped at the ends by a physical fold in the back cover. If the cover is forced back, off of the pot assembly, the shaft can miss hitting the block and spin freely.
ColoradoRobert Messages: 19 Registered: January 2016 Location: Colorado
Junior Member
Thanks ChicagoBill. On these potentiometers the knob end are d style instead of the knurled shaft that most are today. So it's not the knobs that are spinning on the shafts but that is a good thing to check otherwise. The end caps that are crimped on at the circuit board end.... are solid. But I suppose I could open one up and see what makes it tick in there. Good idea. Are you saying potentiometers like these are available somewhere. Because I can not find them and have been looking for weeks.
ColoradoRobert Messages: 19 Registered: January 2016 Location: Colorado
Junior Member
Where are those affordable 3D printers. I'd like to see about 99 cents each. I need 7. Here is what the insides look like and what I found. Plastic wave piece broken in about 3 sections.
I will venture to guess that those pots are not going to be available anywhere, unless you steal them from another Road amp of that same vintage.
The pots that Kustom used were 25mm US made CTS pots. Antique Electronics had some from the old Kustom stock. The pots that you have are 16mm Far East made, probably by Alpha. The plastic wiper assembly will break like that from age or from having the shaft pushed in from the front or from prying off a too tight knob.
ColoradoRobert Messages: 19 Registered: January 2016 Location: Colorado
Junior Member
Thanks for the reply ChicagoBill and after looking at the 2 that come close from the Company that pleat shared I am turning to ebay China to piece this together at an affordable price along with 2 big caps that do not test good in this unit either because of course they are probably almost 40 years old. So this project is going on the shelf for about a month before I will be ready to try and power-up after getting the right replacements. Thanks for everyone's input if you ever see or hear what model I have or where to look please remember me. I'd just like to know.
ColoradoRobert Messages: 19 Registered: January 2016 Location: Colorado
Junior Member
Maybe when I get the parts and start trying to piece it together I will post some photos of the insides. BTW, here is an amp head by itself that matches mine. I cannot see the controls well enough to make them out but this one does have 7 knobs like mine does and it is the same color (baby blue-ish). Talked with a guy here in Denver and he said it was not an uncommon practice to put a stand alone head in a cabinet and call them a combo. This is the only one I found to match after searching the internet for about a month. Maybe if someone else winds up with one of these, they will find the info I am dropping here useful, because little exists.
stevem Messages: 4695 Registered: June 2004 Location: NY
Senior Member
Being as you have all the peices ,and there plastic I would just glue them back together with some Tenex, or if they are made of a engineering type plastic Pematex, 3M and others make a two part plastic glue for that type stuff!
If there is room you can also get some .010" thick plastic from a hobby shop and reinforce the repair joint.
Also as long as the carbon track section isn't busted you may find NOS pots on line but not of the circuit board type to act as donner's for new parts!
ColoradoRobert Messages: 19 Registered: January 2016 Location: Colorado
Junior Member
Hey stevem, I already have a plan and they are on order. I am going to replace the pots with 99 cent ones from China through ebay. I will mount the pots directly to the front and then solder in wire to each from the circuit board. Keeping the capacities the same which are BTW 2 - B5k's, 1 - B10k, 1 - A20k and 3 - A100k. Cost to me is a factor since so little info exists when I try to sell this there will not be any info to put a price on it. The bad news is shipping time from China can take anywhere from 12 days to 20. Add to this I am still searching for screw top capacitors that are the right microfarads. Probably going to a lower amount from ebay also but they will not be screw top probably snap in pins (more solder).
ColoradoRobert Messages: 19 Registered: January 2016 Location: Colorado
Junior Member
Why, why why. Why do pictures just disappear after they have been posted for awhile? Several shared pics could be useful over the long run but instead they get replaced by a yawning cat.
ColoradoRobert Messages: 19 Registered: January 2016 Location: Colorado
Junior Member
Just as an update, I replaced all the caps, even a handful of smaller ones and soldered in all the new pots and it sounded beautiful; through the 1 12 inch Eminence speaker. Not sure why I thought it was a 10 because it was a 12. Sold it for 140 at a local music store because we needed the room in our small condo. Very time consuming but worth it to preserve 1970's history. Thanks again to everyone who commented.