Mid 1970's
Black
Vinyl Covered Amplifiers,
Speaker
Cabinets & P.A. Gear
Public Address
Kustom III Mixer
Kustom was an industry leader in bold new designs and ideas, in fact, that is what the whole company was built on. These vinyl covered models were Kustom's attempt to be a little more main stream in appearance. But as far as features were concerned, Kustom did their best to be the best. These models spelled the end for the Kasino line.
The early 1970's were very interesting years as far as the entire music manufacturing industry was concerned. You saw the end of the line for tried and true giants such as Harmony and saw the emergence of Hartley Peavey's company as well as several upstart Japanese firms such as Yamaha and Roland.
For Kustom, still riding a wave of popularity, this era was good. Kustom designers and engineers were hard at work coming up with new and different designs. For the most part they succeeded in making a very good product. Price wars with the Asian companies as well as the high shipping cost for Kustom products, due to their weight did cut into their market share.
I own several different pieces of Kustom gear from this era, most all are still functioning as designed and serving me well. I would rate these Kustom products from this era as very good
Kustom VI Mixer
In 1974 - 1975 how many companies can you name
that offered an average weekend band a console style mixer with onboard
graphic equalization and LED Peak Lights?
Much has been said about the overall look
of the older Kustom gear, too plain....or too black and white.... I believe
the simple color scheme on Kustom models is really to the operators advantage
since most of the time the mixer would be in a murky area of the stage.
The controls really stand out in a dim room.
Kustom designed and manufactured many interesting
P.A. products at this time. Bi Amp Units with built in cross over, powered
speaker cabinets, graghic equalizers and a wide gange of column and square
speaker cabinets.
High compression horns and SRO speakers were
available on the top of the line models.
More Information to follow!
Kustom made great guitar amplifiers. The mid
1970's saw Kustom steamline it's lineup to just five models,
I Lead , II Lead , III Lead, IV Lead and
IV Lead Stack.
Kustom I Lead
The I Lead was the "entry level" Kustom, but
was still a very serious amplifier.
It features 30 watts and one dual input channel
with the following controls:
Drive, Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble, Bright,
Tremolo, Speed ,Depth and Reverb.
It has a single 12" speaker with a 38 oz.
magnet, 1 1/2" voice coil, 8 ohms.
H/W/D: 20" X 20" X 10 1/2" and weighs 48 pounds.
It is a good portable gigging amplifier for
clubs.
Kustom II Lead
The II Lead was Kustom's "Twin Twelve" and
is a very serious amplifier.
It features 60 watts and two dual input channels
with the following controls:
Channel 1 has Drive, Volume, Bass, Middle,
Treble, Bright, Tremolo, Speed ,Depth and Reverb.
Channel 2 has Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble
and Bright.
It has two 12" speakers, each with a 38 oz.
magnet, 1 1/2" voice coil, 16 ohm speakers, 8 ohm cabinet.
H/W/D: 20" X 26" X 10 1/2" and weighs 64 pounds.
It is a good portable gigging amplifier for
almost any professional situation.
Kustom III Lead
The III Lead was Kustom's standard serious
Rock and Roll amp for weekend Rockers.
It features 130 watts and two dual input channels
with the following controls:
Channel 1 has Drive, Volume, Bass, Middle,
Treble, Bright, Tremolo, Speed ,Depth and Reverb.
Channel 2 has Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble
and Bright.
It has four 12" speakers, each with a 38 oz.
magnet, 1 1/2" voice coil, 16 ohm speakers, 4 ohm cabinet.
Head H/W/D: 6" X 24" X 10 1/2" and weighs
37 pounds.
Cabinet H/W/D: 28" X 28" X 15 1/2" and weighs
108 pounds.
It is a good gigging amplifier for almost
any professional situation.
Menno Ruppert of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
reminded me of a change
that Kustom did to this model. The last of
this series of III Lead models had a
master volume knob added and the on/off switch
relocated to a different part of the front panel.
The two pictures below show
the difference between the two.
Early Series
Late Series
Kustom IV Lead Guitar Amp Head
Kustom had some great high end gear. This massive
70 pound brute can slam! Any guitar sound you would be looking for in the
1970's could be found in this amp! Lots of power, tons of features!
You can put a full stack of 8 -12"speakers
or 2 cabinets each loaded with 2 -15's easily with the IV Lead. Made for
heavy duty area rock, this model will just flat get with it. The back side
features massive heat sinks and some of these models came from the factory
fan cooled. The graphic section is the same style used on all Kustom gear
of its era. Simple 7 band but responsive.
Kustom IV Lead
The IV Lead was Kustom's extremely serious
Rock and Roll amp.
It features 276 watts and two dual input channels
with the following controls:
Channel 1 has Drive, Volume, Bass, Middle,
Treble, Bright, Tremolo, Speed ,Depth and Reverb.
Channel 2 has Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble
and Bright. Also has Master volume control.
It has four 12" speakers, each with a 54 oz.
magnet, 2" voice coil, 8 ohm speakers, 4 ohm cabinet.
Head H/W/D: 7" X 28" X 14" and weighs 70 pounds.
Cabinet H/W/D: 34" X 31" X 15 1/2" and weighs
112 pounds.
It is a great gigging amplifier for any professional
situation.
Kustom IV Lead Stack
By adding another IV Lead cabinet you could
have a very impressive stack and really ROCK the house!
Kustom made great bass amplifiers. The mid 1970's saw Kustom steamline it's lineup to just five models, Bass I, II Bass, III Bass, IV Bass and IV Bass SRO.
Kustom I Bass
The I Bass was the "entry level" Kustom,
but was still a very serious amplifier.
It features 30 watts and one dual input channel
with the following controls:
Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble and Bright.
It has a single 15" speaker with a 38 oz.
magnet, 1 1/2" voice coil, 8 ohms.
H/W/D: 26" X 20" X 13" and weighs 71 pounds.
It is a good portable gigging amplifier for
clubs.
Kustom II Bass
The II Bass was what many club musicians used
as their bass rig. It is not a powerful as the III Bass or IV Bass
but is was more than adequate for most rooms.
The features are simple and to the point but still very responsive.
Having dual channels was great for a musician
who doubled on rhythm guitar or keyboard.
It features 60 watts and two dual input channels
with the following controls:
Channel 1 has Volume, Clarity, Bass, Treble
and Bright.
Channel 2 has Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble
and Bright.
It has one 15"speaker with a 54 oz. magnet,
2" voice coil, 8 ohm speaker.
Head H/W/D: 6" X 24" X 10 1/2" and weighs
30 pounds.
Cabinet H/W/D: 24" X 24" X 15 1/2" and weighs
86 pounds.
It is a good gigging amplifier for almost
any professional club situation.
Kustom III Bass
The III Bass was Kustom's standard serious
Rock and Roll amp for weekend Rockers.
It features 130 watts and two dual input channels
with the following controls:
Channel 1 has Volume, Clarity, Bass,
Middle, Treble and Bright.
Channel 2 has Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble
and Bright.
It has two 15" speakers, each with a 54 oz.
magnet, 2" voice coil, 8 ohm speakers, 4 ohm cabinet.
Head H/W/D: 6" X 24" X 10 1/2" and weighs
37 pounds.
Cabinet H/W/D: 42" X 24" X 15 1/2" and weighs
138 pounds.
It is a good gigging amplifier for almost
any professional situation.
Kustom IV BASS Amp Head
Kustom had some great high end gear. This massive 60 pound brute can slam! Any bass sound you would be looking for in the 1970's could be found in this amp! Lots of power, tons of features! Made for heavy duty area rock, this model will just flat get with it. The back side features massive heat sinks and some of these models came from the factory fan cooled. The graphic section is the same style used on all Kustom gear of its era. Simple 7 band but responsive.
Kustom IV BASS
The IV Bass was Kustom's extremely serious
Rock and Roll amp.
It features 276 watts and two dual input channels
with the following controls:
Channel 1 has Volume, Clarity, Bass, Middle,
Treble, Bright.
Channel 2 has Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble
and Bright. Also has Master volume control.
It has four 12" speakers, each with a 54 oz.
magnet, 2" voice coil, 8 ohm speakers, 4 ohm cabinet.
Head H/W/D: 7" X 28" X 14" and weighs 60 pounds.
Cabinet H/W/D: 34" X 31" X 15 1/2" and weighs
162 pounds.
It is a great gigging amplifier for any professional
situation.
Kustom IV SRO Bass
The IV Bass was Kustom's extremely serious
Rock and Roll amp matched with SRO speakers.
It features 276 watts and two dual input channels
with the following controls:
Channel 1 has Volume, Clarity, Bass, Middle,
Treble, Bright.
Channel 2 has Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble
and Bright. Also has Master volume control.
It has four 12" speakers, each with a 77 oz.
magnet, 2 1/2" voice coil, 8 ohm speakers, 4 ohm cabinet.
Head H/W/D: 7" X 28" X 14" and weighs 60 pounds.
Cabinet H/W/D: 34" X 31" X 15 1/2" and weighs
168 pounds.
Can you say SLAM!
Some of the products marketed by Kustom in this era include:
V Lead
- Small Lead guitar amp V
PA - Small 4 Channel P.A. head V
Mixer - Non powered 6 channel mixer
V Bass
- Small Bass amp II Lead
- Mid powered guitar amp III
Lead - 130 Watt guitar amp
II Bass
- Mid powered bass amp III
Bass 130 watt Bass amp II
PA - Powered small mixer
III PA
- 130 watt 6 channel PA V
Power Amp - Stereo 60 watts amp X
Power Amp - 130 Watt amp
XX Power amp
- Stereo 130 watt amp IV
Lead
- High watt guitar amp IV
Bass - High powered bass amp
XII
- Biamp Slave VIII -
Biamp Slave III Monitor
- Amp with 7 band EQ
Plus many other models of sound
gear and speaker cabinets
Kustom Product Reviews From This Era
Kustom V Mixer (This unit is not to be confused with the powered Kustom V P.A.)