Hello to all fellow Kustom devotees. While I'm not a big collector of Kustom stuff, I do own few nice Kustom things and I have always loved the look, the feel and yes, the smell of tuck and roll.
I have read with great interest almost every posting on the site and have a few comments and questions. I own a '65 wide panel, Cascade bass head with matching horizontal 2-15" CTS non-ported, no-logo cabinet. Does anyone have schematics for these older heads? There is no rear label or tag on this head, what kind of label did it originally have?
I've been a guitar and amp repair person on and off for 30+ years, and I guess that some of you are tech types too. I have a bunch of useful parts available to trade for info, etc. I've got a few 40409/40410 transistors, XR4739 and NE540H chips. When you've been doing this stuff for so long, you end up with more stuff than you know what to do with.
Any info would be greatly appreciated. Bill from Chicago
stevem Messages: 4733 Registered: June 2004 Location: NY
Senior Member
Hi, welcome.I have a late wide panel / frankinstien head to. Everything works but it has an A/C hum. I have a person I know in ohio who had worked for kustom, and was indowed with a load of their schematics. I have a bunch for the latter 2oos/ 250s and some 100 stuff. The latter ones have pc board numbers on the boards, and my contack supplys them by number, but the early ones have no pc numbers, and their by the problem. How to identifie the boards. He may very well have the schematics, we do not know yet. I will keep you posted.
welcome to it Bill! you may have one of the oldest prizes in the group..you gotta get some pics over to JC so he can post em.
guys, I'm particularly nervous as these rigs get older..folks like me who have no idea how to work on em are finding fewer local amp techs that can/will..I love to play my rigs.. I mean on stage..all the time...so we're counting on you hi tech wizards to keep us running.
Steve: Thanks for the info. Please let me know if you find anything. Mine is working just fine as well, but is beginning to hiss and crackle, some. I haven't done too much reverse engineering of this amp, but it has a huge driver transformer in the power amp, and volume controls located at the front end of the preamps. It's like the amp is always full on, and you control the volume with your guitar's volume control.
ET: I'll get my camera out this weekend.
Something I forgot to mention before, is that the front panel is marked "By Ross and Myers, Inc. Chanute Kansas". Does this help in dating this amp? Bill from Chicago
stevem Messages: 4733 Registered: June 2004 Location: NY
Senior Member
Hi, well bill, it may be time to get the amp nice and hot, and get some freeze spray. and find the noisy simiconductor before it stains the bed!ET AND OTHERS. the most streesfull time for a solid state amps is at start up. If you want to add some great insurance to its life. Get A VARIAC transformer( used, or new from mouser and others about 90 bucks new) than can put out 3amps, and run your amp off of that.It will let you bring the A/C voltage up slowly to fire it up when you use it. Bill, yea I know the output stage in these amps are always full up, pumping out all that white noise.But that different arangment does provide a fatter tone at a lower volume than the latter amps. Not the best for recording off of though.