Kustom K200 Bass

[Granny Gremlin]

I like the pickup placement.

Yep.

[drbassman]

Did some more research and it looks like they only made guitars and basses for two or three years from 67 to 69 or so.  Someone on Reverb said they had heard that they only made 2000-3000 instruments during that time.  Makes it pretty rare and even better that it sounds good too!

[nofi]

i thought i had seen just about everything but i never knew kustom made a bass. very nice.

[slinkp]

What is the body made of? It's so glossy and curvy it brings to mind molded plastic or fiberglass or something! Probably it's wood and that's just an impression i get?

[Dave W]

IIRC they were wood.

[drbassman]

Yes, it's wood.  The finish is a dark trans-red. The wood is has some nice figuring in it too.  It's clearly maple.

[Pilgrim]

I had no idea they made anything other than amps. I like it.

Me either!

[westen44]

Yes, it's wood.  The finish is a dark trans-red. The wood is has some nice figuring in it too.  It's clearly maple.

When I was a teenager, I had a tendency to focus on amps a lot.  Because I got such a great deal on a used one, I ended up with a Fender Bassman.  But what I really wanted was a Kustom amp.  This was my first case of major GAS.  It used to cause me to stay awake thinking about it.  It's no surprise that in 2016 I'm interested in a topic like this, but this time we're, of course, talking about Kustom basses.   Maybe I still automatically associate Kustom with GAS than would be the case with most people, though, because of my teenage experiences. 

[nofi]

i still have a kustom tuck and roll 2x12 cab in the basement. a rat ate a junk out of it but its still in good shape.

[Pilgrim]

LOVED that sparkly tuck n' roll cover!!!

[drbassman]

When I was a teenager, I had a tendency to focus on amps a lot.  Because I got such a great deal on a used one, I ended up with a Fender Bassman.  But what I really wanted was a Kustom amp.  This was my first case of major GAS.  It used to cause me to stay awake thinking about it.  It's no surprise that in 2016 I'm interested in a topic like this, but this time we're, of course, talking about Kustom basses.   Maybe I still automatically associate Kustom with GAS than would be the case with most people, though, because of my teenage experiences.

Your gas is understandable!  In fact, there have been some beautiful Kustom amps on eBay recently and some of the prices looked pretty reasonable to me. 

[drbassman]

LOVED that sparkly tuck n' roll cover!!!

Yeah, they were pretty cool looking and original.  I'd love to hear one to see how it sounds.  Never saw one up close as a kid.

[westen44]

Your gas is understandable!  In fact, there have been some beautiful Kustom amps on eBay recently and some of the prices looked pretty reasonable to me.

I am sure I posted this article somewhere years ago, but I think it must not have been here.  But this is a good article about Kustom amps. 

http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2012/07/24/old-school-1960s-kustom-model-200-tuck-roll-bass-amplifier/

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Kustom amps are pretty crappy, very underpowered and tinny. There were tons of them locally a few years ago, but as music stores disappeared, so did they.

[westen44]

Kustom amps are pretty crappy, very underpowered and tinny. There were tons of them locally a few years ago, but as music stores disappeared, so did they.

I think that could be said about most amps during this time period.  I thought the Fender Bassman I played as a teenager was crappy, too.  Now if you tried to play bass through something like that, you'd get some stares.  At best it might be used as a guitar amp now.  But for a while, not very long, Kustom amps were popular.