KASINO By Kustom

Kasino was introduced by Kustom for three reasons. First and foremost, the dynamic tuck & roll designs, with their flashy colors were considered too radical by most older players. Also, it did not fit into the country image of allot of USA musicians. To most people, when they saw a Kustom tuck & roll design, they thought of such rockers as Creedence Clearwater Revival.

The next reason was dealer territory areas, and ways to gain more market share.
If Kustom established a dealer in one area, then that meant that to honor the dealer agreement, Kustom could not establish another dealer too near to compete with the first dealer. With the introduction of a whole new brand, Kustom could go down the street to the next music store and push the Kasino line for a dealer.
This was not unethical because as you can see by the pictures, Kustom went out of its way to create a stunningly beautiful and different line of gear. Both dealers would end up happy. Some stores actually were dealers for both Kasino and Kustom. There is a third Kustom related company from Bolivar, MO called "Woodson" but that is another story to be told later.

The third reason is the management at Kustom knew they had a winner in their new Kustom line. They also knew that they had a fantastic reputation for high end professional gear. In many peoples opinion, Kustom set the standard for all solid state electronics worldwide.

This professional reputation was earned, and was jealously guarded by Kustom's management. The problem Kustom had to solve was how to increase sales by releasing products for beginners and hobby players, while keeping their high end gear reputation in tact.

It was decided to introduce a tamer version of their great products, this was named Kasino. They decided to keep the K thing going. I am guessing that it is sort of a off the wall tribute to Kansas.

The Kasino gear is not "worse" or less quality than Kustom. In fact, they shared many components and designs. Kasino even went so far as to be offered in a pro line as well, but it was mainly geared to players who worked in weekend bands.

Kasino product models were appropriately named "Kasino Klub" and "Kasino Lounge" to indicate what the designers had in mind. Kustom was able to bask in the sun with their Kustom line, while giving the average musician a great product at a more budget price. It was a successful decision.

But, Kasino had a few designs that were not for the casual performer. The pro line that Kasino did offer was nothing to scoff at. Several large amplifiers and sofisticated mixing consoles were offered in the early 1970's.

When Kustom decided to abandon their tuck and roll designs and offer more traditional cabinets for their electronics, they discontinued the Kasino name. They also started putting the Kustom name on their entry level products at this time.

In retrospect, Kustom did successfully market both brands, but they should not have been so fearful about losing market share because of their "radical" tuck and roll designs. Many country pickers fell in love with the tuck and roll amps and they were used by the absolute hottest touring country musicians in the late 1960's and early 70's.

Kustom Kicking Kountry

Johnny Cash toured extensively with Kustom tuck and roll amps, as did Carl Perkins and Waylon Jennings!

Anyway, thousands of garage bands and weekend warriors have proudly used Kasino gear. Millions of people have been entertained by those players! Although Kasino has been relegated to a "weak sister" status, it has earned an honorable place in the history of American electronic equipment!

I would recommend this gear to anyone who likes Kustom products. These Kasino models deliver allot of bang for the buck!

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