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New Guy. What's wrong with K150's [message #3840] Tue, 09 March 2004 19:14 KustomAddict Messages: 14 Registered: March 2004 Junior Member Hi everyone, I'm new to the board. I have a Kustom 150 and I noticed several messages about the first Kustom amps - the 100 and 200's. They seem to be the more sought after amps. I also read that Bud Ross didn't have much to do with the company after around 1971, which is about the time my K150 was made. Do the K100 and 200's have a better quality or different sound than the 150 and 250's besides having less power. So my question is what's the beef with the K150's vs. the first models. By the way, I never knew there was such a passionate interest in vintage Kustoms. All of you guys are great and so is the website. Report message to a moderator

Re: New Guy. What's wrong with K150's [message #3841 is a reply to message #3840] Tue, 09 March 2004 19:55   LesS Messages: 477 Registered: December 2002 Senior Member KustomAddict, Kustom 150’s came in both plexiglass-front and metal faced. Which one do you have? -Les Report message to a moderator

Re: New Guy. What's wrong with K150's [message #3842 is a reply to message #3841] Tue, 09 March 2004 20:55 KustomAddict Messages: 14 Registered: March 2004 Junior Member It has metal face which I think seems to be less desireable. Report message to a moderator

Re: New Guy. What's wrong with K150's [message #3843 is a reply to message #3842] Tue, 09 March 2004 22:08   LesS Messages: 477 Registered: December 2002 Senior Member KustomAddict, It is true that many collectors prefer the older plexiglass-front models better than the newer 150/250 and SS Series combos. But look on this website and you will also find many users of the newer series, especially the K250. Myself, I like the older ones better, but I also find the newer series interesting. I have a Charger bass amp – which uses the same or similar “150” amp that yours does and I really like it. It is quieter (less hiss) than the older models; it has plenty of power and sounds incredible with a guitar (I never actually played bass thru it). -Les LStrick115@aol.com Report message to a moderator

Re: New Guy. What's wrong with K150's [message #3848 is a reply to message #3840] Tue, 09 March 2004 23:44   pleat Messages: 1452 Registered: June 2004 Location: Belding, Mi Senior Member I prefer the older plexi faced amps of the 60's. I think the sound is better for the reason that Kustom were using individual transitors in the pre amps. The newer metal face, square blue polarity and on/off switches that were made in 71 and newer used IC's in place of the individual transistors. The other major difference's and problems, were all the circuit boards were connected with a white molex type plug that would be intermittet from time to time. It was easier to pre wire everything and just connect the plugs, rather than hand soldering the wires. Kustom got tired of the problem and sent notice to the dealers to hard solder the wires and bypass the plug. That did cure the problem or the amp cutting in and out. The reverb tanks had lots of problems, mainly because they were mounted on the back of the amp on it's side. The reverb lock was junk. The spring would get lodged behind the locking disk and when released, would pull the spring to the tank, so the reverb sounded really bad until the amp was opened up and the spring removed. The power switch was a nightmare in itself. The bulbs were hard to replace and the switch didn't last very long. It appears that I really don't like the metal slant face kustoms, I do but, I don't own any right now. My older kustom plexi face amps never give me any problems and they work every time I play out. Long story short, a kustom is still better than any other amp I have played through. These are just my observations of the kustoms through the years. I sold kustom back in the 60 and 70's. Don Report message to a moderator

Re: New Guy. What's wrong with K150's [message #3851 is a reply to message #3848] Wed, 10 March 2004 00:01 KustomAddict Messages: 14 Registered: March 2004 Junior Member Thanks for all the info, but what is the white molex plug you're referring to? Report message to a moderator

Re: New Guy. What's wrong with K150's [message #3857 is a reply to message #3851] Wed, 10 March 2004 23:22 QModer Messages: 413 Registered: June 2003 Senior Member I have all 200's so I'm a little partial to their good looks. But the 150 and 250 amps have a few good things going for them too such as a little more wattage and deeper cabs. Report message to a moderator

Re: New Guy. What's wrong with K150's [message #3863 is a reply to message #3851] Thu, 11 March 2004 11:29   pleat Messages: 1452 Registered: June 2004 Location: Belding, Mi Senior Member The molex type plug is a two part connector. One of the connector is soldered right on the circuit board and the other connector has all the connecting wires. This way, assembly was quicker and labor savings. A dealer could remove a circuit board without having to desolder the wires. This was the Baldwin owned era of the Kustoms to help reduce field failures. The dealer could just unplug the bad board and replace it with a good board, and send the bad one back for credit. The problem was the connectors would not always make a good connection. Not every kustom had the problem, but I'd say we had a great deal of problems with the one's I sold at the store I used to work at. By the time the hard covered amps appeared the problem was non existant with the plugs. Don Report message to a moderator

Re: New Guy. What's wrong with K150's [message #3864 is a reply to message #3863] Sat, 13 March 2004 09:21 Anonymous Hey KustomAddict...welcome to the gang..great to have you...I am probably one of the biggest offenders on this topic and I want to apologize for that...there was some really cool stuff made in the metal/slant face era and to look at a catalog with all that gear is still exciting..there were design differences..but my partiallity for the plexis is really because its what I grew up with...not the older Frank or wide panel models...which btw do sound the best,, but the plexi era just after that...I was a new teen and guitar was everything and Fender had just come out with the silver face and kustom had just popp'ed the new plexis, chrome ports and tuck n roll.. it was more exciting than wathcing the girl next door who's bedroom window was opposite mine.. (ya'll don't even respond to this. I'm not going there...) but I fell in love with those amps...they were imprinted on me and so they are just my cosmetic favorites, even though the black face fenders are better, just as the older frank kustoms offer better tone. I am not a believer in circuit cards, but I understand the manufacturing intent and respect them trying to get production runs and subsequent costs reduced. Be proud of your slant face kustom,,,,n play it loud! Glad to have you with us...ET Report message to a moderator

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