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Another newbie [message #4417] Sun, 04 July 2004 14:15   Youri Messages: 3 Registered: July 2004 Location: Rotterdam, The Netherland... Junior Member Hey all, A few days ago I got to know about the existence of Kustom Amps. *Shame shame*. And I immediatly got a chance to buy 1, I believe it is a K250 3-15b-1. But I'm not 100% sure. My problem is that I don't know if this is the right amp for me, after reading quite some posts on this forum I got a little frightened by all questions about distorting and ineffeciency of the 3x15 cabinets. Is the K250 series good for every style of music, does it have enough power etc. Is it durable? Because I live in the Netherlands (I believe i'm the first of the people on this site) it'll be very hard to get parts. And i don't have the knowledge or friends who can help me modificate an amp. That's why I also want to know if there usually alot of adjustments needed before the amp sounds like you want it to sound. I'm going to buy an amp at the end of this summer for sure but what I was looking for is much more expensive then what I can buy now. So I wanna know how the Kustom amp is doing compared to SWR/Ampeg/Eden amps. And what's the factor that made the fame for Kustom, the tone? I think it's quite expensive if I compare it to the prices I saw on inet, but it's cheap compared to the amps i was watching at before this. I got it offered for 700 euro (in good state with covers). Hmm I think that are about my questions, could you please give me a fair answer. I know you all love Kustom amps but I dunno if it's the best thing for me to buy, it's still a lot of money. Thanks alot, Youri Report message to a moderator

Re: Another newbie [message #4418 is a reply to message #4417] Mon, 05 July 2004 09:50 woody96 Messages: 107 Registered: May 2001 Senior Member Yourie....be patient getting a response from anyone---It is a big holiday here, 4th of July and all....everyone is off from work and probably a long way from computers celebrating and visiting with family...... Report message to a moderator

Re: Another newbie [message #4441 is a reply to message #4417] Wed, 07 July 2004 21:54 BC Messages: 583 Registered: March 2000 Location: Kentucky Senior Member Hello Youri! I am a big Kustom fan and I have several 3x15s....so I will try to help. The big thing about the distortion from the 3x15s is caused (I think) by the 200 series heads......and we are talking for bass guitar use. I think the 200s should have had a little more power for bass use because they always start to distort with the volume in the 10-11 o'clock position from my experience. Even so they give plenty of volume for most applications at non distorted levels....so unless you are really playing LOUD I think you will be happy. I have had no distortion problems when used for guitar, keyboard or vocal applications. I have found adding additional power to the 3x15s solves the distortion problem for bass use. A Kustom 3x15 bass cabinet will have CTS, Altec 421-A or JBL D140 speakers. The guitar and PA cabinets should have Jensen Special Design, Altec 418-B or JBL D130 series speakers. This will be found in 200 series amps which should have an all black grill cloth and the cabinet will be tapered so that it is not as deep at the top as it is at the bottom. A 250 series 3x15 cabinet will have a checked pattern in the grill cloth and the cabinet will be the same thickness from top to bottom.....this gives a little more room inside the cabinet which should help the sound. I think the 250 series cabinets can have either CTS or KEI (Kustom Electronics Inc) speakers as the standard speaker ....and offer the same Altec and JBLs as the premium options. Speaker load is CRITICAL in Kustom amps for tone.....you will not be happy playing high volume bass through a cabinet with Jensens in it. This summer I have been using my 3x15s for my outdoor amps and I have not had any distortion problems. It seems the amps project better outside.....has anyone else noticed this? You can see pictures of them at www.kustomplayer.com in the section labeled "All Kustom Stage" I have played bass for years.....I started on Kustom 33 years ago and have used many others since then....Sunn, Fender, Peavey, Traynor, Acoustic, Sound City, Ampeg, Gallien Krueger, and Have tried all of the other popular amps SWR, Trace Elliott, Eden and Hartke.....for me Kustom is clearly the winner in the tone I desire and I do not see myself using anything else! If the amp you are considering is a 250 I do not think you will be disappointed in either power or tone. Good Luck....and thanks for checking us out! BC Report message to a moderator

Re: Another newbie [message #4443 is a reply to message #4417] Thu, 08 July 2004 07:30   stevem Messages: 4733 Registered: June 2004 Location: NY Senior Member Hi. The metal face 250s and 150s where the most durable of all the kustom heads. One thing I would say to do would be to slide the head out from the cab by removing the 4 screws on the bottom, then remove the metal cover and reinstall the head, you may even get lucky and find a schematic on the inside of that cover like on one of mine. The amp will run alot cooler, and even with the cover off, placing some kind of small fan at the back of the head is great. Heat is the worst thing for long electronics life.The 250 head should provide you ample clean volume. Report message to a moderator

Re: Another newbie [message #4446 is a reply to message #4417] Thu, 08 July 2004 07:59   Youri Messages: 3 Registered: July 2004 Location: Rotterdam, The Netherland... Junior Member Hey thanks for the comments. I'm going to check the amp today test it etc. So I'm really excited aand I'll let you know what I tought etc. I'm really sure it's a 250 and I'm quite confident in the person I'm could buy it from, he only has high quality stuff. I'll be in touch and watching this webboard. Thanks for making this great site. Youri Report message to a moderator

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