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Playing Bass again-with my Kustom K200 B-1, 2x15 [message #2708] Mon, 12 May 2003 00:46   Country_Gene Messages: 42 Registered: December 2001 Location: Northwestern New Jersey Member After a 17-year hiatus from bass playing - I'm back. I had previously returned to guitar playing two years ago. Was using my Kustom from time to time for guitar, but it was really too loud for in the house. So it didn't get used as much as my smaller combo amps. Well, the Bass Bug bit me. I just picked up a Fender Jazz Bass over the weekend. When I got it home and plugged into the ol' Kustom - it was amazing. I had forgotten how good that amp sounds for bass. Still sounds great, even though it's over thirty years old (So am I, for that matter). I have a 2x15, (4)ohm cabinet - so I'm getting the full 100 watts RMS. It's like comimg home! Report message to a moderator

Re: Playing Bass again-with my Kustom K200 B-1, 2x15 [message #2712 is a reply to message #2708] Mon, 12 May 2003 16:09 axeman Messages: 25 Registered: March 2003 Location: Overland, MO (near St. L... Junior Member Welcome back to the Brotherhood (and Sisterhood) of the Bass! Although I've played guitar since 1966 and bass since only about 1990, I'm very partial to the old 4 stringers. There's something symetrical about 4 fingers and 4 strings tuned a fourth apart. Also, I find the bass more relaxing to play. Its almost zen-like "chanting" a riff over and over. And its a lot easier on the fingers! Although I have several basses, including a Yamaha TRB4p and a Fender Jazz Special Fretless with EMG's and a Badass Bridge, both of which I dearly love, my current fave is a Dean Rhapsody Hollow Body Fretless with flat wound strings. For a relatively inexpensive passive axe it really sings. Anyway, on behalf of the Lords (and Lady) of the Low Frequencies, enjoy that Fender Jazz and your Kustom rig. Axeman Report message to a moderator

Re: Playing Bass again-with my Kustom K200 B-1, 2x15 [message #2714 is a reply to message #2712] Mon, 12 May 2003 16:29 ET Messages: 146 Registered: October 2000 Location: Charlotte NC Senior Member uh huh...another lost soul returns....listen...since you're running passive pups (I'm assuming its not the new fender with the active circuit)...try this out...you'll be blown away... I use a Boss bass eq pedal just in front of the kustom...have for years.....not with my active rigs...but with my older basses...I've stopped recently as I snagged an older PV TL-5 (Tom Landers signature) that has passive pups but a selectable active preamp with about 9 usable db of gain, sweepable mid and a nice wet sound...gives me best of both worlds and my kustoms really like it... I do need to load some old Altecs in a couple of my rigs though...bass don't get no better than a kustom loaded with Altecs...ET Report message to a moderator

Re: Playing Bass again-with my Kustom K200 B-1, 2x15 [message #2717 is a reply to message #2708] Wed, 14 May 2003 01:48 BC Messages: 583 Registered: March 2000 Location: Kentucky Senior Member Hey Gene....I love the phrase "like coming home" that you used. Like so many others I sold my original Kustom 200 2x15 bass rig that I bought NEW so many years ago. Through the 30+ years I tried all the popular and fashionable amps for bass. They all had their sounds and most of them were good amps. Then four years ago.....with much help and encouragement from ET and KustomKat I re-discovered the Kustom bass tone......MY bass tone that I had lost and looked for in all the other amps.....it was there waiting for ME to return....just as magical as it had been before......The tuck and Roll......the purple jewel...the plexi face and the chrome ports!!!......I too....had come home!My band plays most weekends now. Several times a night I will turn around with pride and confidence to look at my 200. I am happy to report that since 99 I have used nothing but Kustoms in my performance and the only on stage failure I have had was the result of a soundman trying to connect me to a "direct box" and in his switching he managed to blow a channel out of the amp. After I INSISTED that he mike my VINTAGE amp I plugged into the other channel and went about MY business. Whenever we play with large sound systems I always insist that my amp be "miked" now....because I want the KUSTOM tone to come out front. Isn't it great?BC Report message to a moderator

Re: Playing Bass again-with my Kustom K200 B-1, 2x15 [message #2719 is a reply to message #2717] Thu, 15 May 2003 22:43 ET Messages: 146 Registered: October 2000 Location: Charlotte NC Senior Member ok... I gotta come back round on this....cause its one of my favorite topics...I keep an old SM57 in my guitar bag and my kustoms are always mic'd with it.. I have tried many many direct (Red box, MArshall JMP midi tube preamp, Digitec, and I forget what else...the kustom is a critical part of my tone chain...now I have to admit that I keep a couple other amps...an older marshall, a black face fender showman, a little PV classic30...and they all get some play time...but most of the time... its my kustoms...and its been that way since 1969.. I figure I got a couple good years left in me...and my lifetime warranty kustoms are looking a lot better than I am... they'll stay with me to the end...my little 1x12SC has never been in the shop and it has really got some hours on it...just last weekend I had my blue 4x10 on an outdoor patio bar gig and it was cranked for all she was worth...made me smile as always...so welcome back to the big purple jewel... play it loud! ET Report message to a moderator

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