oren hudson Messages: 274 Registered: March 2008 Location: Gastonia, NC
Senior Member
On the K250-1 bass head rear panel, there's a jack labeled "To Module - Input." I'm guessing it's used in conjunction with the powered 1-18 folded horn cab from what little I know about the setup. Could this jack be used to plug in a power amp? Also, is this head 4 ohm?
Kustom_Bart Messages: 601 Registered: October 2010 Location: Greenville, MichiGUN
Senior Member
The head is 4ohm and the plug you are talking about is for another 15" cab that had a built in power module so it is basically a line out. Then if you wanted another cab you had to get another cab with a module in it and run from the module jack on the other module cab to that and continue to daisy chain them together. The K250 with one 2 x 15 cab is more than anyone would ever need when you add the module cab, it is BRUTAL! I mean to the point that you couldn't use it anywhere indoors and outdoors it is just crazy too....lol! I can't even imagine like 4 or 6 of them hooked together...Ted Nugent would cry!
oren hudson Messages: 274 Registered: March 2008 Location: Gastonia, NC
Senior Member
Thanks for the info K_B. A friend is selling a good bit of gear, including several Kustom items. This head and matching 2-15 cab is one. He also has the folded horn 1-18 cab (non module style) and a K200 bass head that I'm helping him sell and have in my possesion. I've already told him I'd take the folded horn 1-18 and I was debating on the 250 rig realizing that that head could be used with and is a match for the folded horn cab also. The folded horn cab has some rattles that I'll have to work on. Any idea on the speaker as to power rating and ohms?
Kustom_Bart Messages: 601 Registered: October 2010 Location: Greenville, MichiGUN
Senior Member
You will have to plug a cable into the jack and used a meter on the Ohm setting to check the ohm rating. It will read around 6.5if it is a 8 Ohm load and 2.5-2.9 if it is a 4 Ohm load. 150-200 watts max would be my best guess.
stevem Messages: 4733 Registered: June 2004 Location: NY
Senior Member
Yes, all K250 heads came with the module output jack.
Many of the folded horn cabinets have blown 18" drivers, its a fact that back then voice coils that could handle over 100 watts RMS where few to none and top that with my feeling that the CTS driver that Kustom used was not really made to be in a sealed horn inclosure and itd not hard to see why so many have gone south out of so few made!
Kustom_Bart Messages: 601 Registered: October 2010 Location: Greenville, MichiGUN
Senior Member
I agree Steve, I have my 2 x 15 + siren cabs with Altec 418's that I use for mains for my PA that I run 700 watts to them with no problems, but just because I run that to them doesn't mean that I use it all either. It is hard to say how many watts really are running to them, but I do have a lot of head room. I don't have any problems with it at all and it is crystal clear as well.
The most speakers that I have found blown are CTS and KEI's for sure. Once in a while I will find 12" Jensen C12N out of K50's and why I have no idea. I have bought a few K50's and one K150 that didn't work and it was because of the speaker.
woodsey Messages: 24 Registered: October 2011 Location: Earth
Junior Member
Hi Bart, 3 questions please:
(1)Can you explain to me how the Cabs were "daisy chained"? I have never seen a vintage Module cab even in photos! Were there two 1/4" jacks or was the module jacks different. (I own a 1971 250-1 head).
(2)Also what was the benefit in "Slant Cab" design?? (Projection?)
(3) Were ALL Kustom cabs Slant design before the K250 amps?? (I've read the threads that stated the Cabs were straight design for the 500w to allow more air space for the drivers.
stevem Messages: 4733 Registered: June 2004 Location: NY
Senior Member
the extension amps in the 500 serise cabinets had two parallel wired jacks , so you could add as many additional powered cabinets as you like, that being said the most I personally ever saw some one use was 1 additional cabinet.
Yes , the first serise k200 cabinets where angled for projection reasons, and the 500 series cabinets where squared off to compensate for the internal cabinet volume taken up by the 250 watt power module.
woodsey Messages: 24 Registered: October 2011 Location: Earth
Junior Member
Thanks Steve, I appreciate the info! How large would you estimate the module was inside the cab (inches x inches)? I'm just intrigued by the concept, because I've never seen one or as much as a photo of that set-up!
woodsey
Kustom_Bart Messages: 601 Registered: October 2010 Location: Greenville, MichiGUN
Senior Member
Sorry, that I didn't get back to you sooner on this. The Altec cabs were for the plexi faced Kustoms so, no modules in them at all. just a single input on them and they were 8 ohm cabs with two 16ohm speakers. That's the difficult part with finding the correct altec's is finding Kustom stamped 16ohm 418's or you can recone them at 8 ohms each reasonable and make each cabinet 8 ohms and use 2 cabs to draw the head down to 4 ohms. I have reconed a bunch of them and it is simple, it just takes a few basic hand tools and a little bit of time, not much just simple instructions and you can buy the kits for 69.99 including everything, including the glue. The only thing that it doesn't come with is the aluminum voice coil cover and they sell them new as well, very cheap.
Kustom_Bart Messages: 601 Registered: October 2010 Location: Greenville, MichiGUN
Senior Member
Sorry, I miss spoke, if you recone each speaker to 8 ohm you can make each cab either 4 ohm or 16 ohm depending how you wire it. But making one cab 4 ohm will get the full wattage from your head.
pleat Messages: 1452 Registered: June 2004 Location: Belding, Mi
Senior Member
Kustom did offer Altec speakers in the K250 slant metal face amps. Those would be 8 ohm speakers. The older cabs for the K200 plexi face amps the Altecs were 16 ohms.
I actually have two of these modules, one I purchased in a blue 2-15's cabinet and the other bought separately. It seemed to me to be a waste to have only 1 speaker cabinet dedicated to this amp, not to mention the additional weight. I took it out and built a cabinet for it that included an internal fan, accessible fuse, grounded plug and an on/off switch. Cabinet is covered in the charcoal gray carpet that was used in some of the later Kustom power mixers. I even found some Kustom decals as an added touch. Now instead of dragging two K-250 heads around to go with my (2) 2-15's cabinets I only need the one and the module. I will try to post pictures once I have reached the required posts to do so.
It is heavy but has surprising few components. Really wouldn't take much to reproduce one if parts are still available.