@thedesertdweller I know that a lower gain preamp tube would probably clean it up, but just how much, I'm not entirely sure. I'm sure that some of the distortion is from the power amp section of the amp. After all, this is only 5 watts. It certainly wouldn't hurt to try it, though. I have never seen one with a lower gain tube in it to be able to give your question a fair answer.
@nightspotlight I have never used a high gain pedal in front of one of these, but I have used my pedalboard in front of one when I played in the pit for a local production of Hairspray, and I can tell you from that, that this little amp takes pedals really well, so I would venture a guess that it would be workable for you with a high gain pedal.
@Bflatest There are a lot of variables that come into play when running multiple pieces of equipment together, your best bet would be to see if you can find one locally to try and see if you like the sound of it with your Line 6. In the most basic way I can answer, it absolutely would work, but I can't answer if it would give you the sounds you are looking for.
@BenHeien Second, you could damage the output transformer in the Defender 5H because it will be seeing an impedance it's not intended to drive when you run it into a line level input, which is something it's not designed to do. The Defender 5H is NOT a preamp, and it's not designed to be used as one, it's an amp head.
@BenHeien No, you're completely wrong. First off, this Kustom has no line out, so you have no line level signal coming out of the Defender 5H, the only output is the speaker level output, which is NOT safe to run into another amp, you will damage both amps. I am a service center for Kustom, I know what I am talking about. My shop has been in business for 20 years and we do service for a number of companies. It is never safe to run a speaker level signal into the input of another amp.
If you mic it up, you can use this live, no problem. I used one recently in the orchestra pit for a local musical production, and got tons of compliments on my tone. If you don't mic it up, though, you're not get much, if any, over a drum kit. It IS only 5 watts, but it's louder than you would think, too.
@LzrdKng9000 If you mic it up, you can use this live, no problem. I used one recently in the orchestra pit for a local musical production, and got tons of compliments on my tone. If you don't mic it up, though, you're not get much, if any, over a drum kit. It IS only 5 watts, but it's louder than you would think, too.
@rickey999 It's actually not sterile in person, you have to remember that what you're seeing is recorded on a Flip cam, so the sound is only going to be so accurate, it's no where near as good as the amp sounds in person. I recently used one of these in the orchestra pit for a local musical production and got TONS of compliments on my tone.
@andressol You ARE limited by the fact that it's only 5 watts, but if you turn the guitar down the amp cleans up, so you can fire up the master and adjust the amount of dirt with your guitar's volume control. I recently used one of these mic'd up in the orchestra pit for a local college's musical, and I got lots of compliments on my guitar sound. I was using a Danelectro Transparent Overdrive and a modded MXR Classic Overdrive for extra gain and so I would have a couple different dirt sounds.
@H3viSika The KG100 head and cab combo actually has 100 watts output with a single cab, unlike offerings from a lot of it's competitors, because the KG412 cab is actually 4-ohms, so it allows the full output of the head. It's a really loud amp for solid state, I have several local customers playing out with these with no issues, it should be fine.
@paulgaudinjrBCN It absolutely makes the Epiphone sound like a toy, if you're comparing them as they come stock. I have heard some of the Epiphones that were modded that sounded very good, though. The Kustom takes pedals very well, so I don't see any point in modding it, which also makes it less expensive than the Epiphone. I don't have any experience with the Black Heart, so I can't make a comparison.
@paulgaudinjrBCN I don't know of any mods to the amp, I just sell them new. It's a pretty great sounding amp as it is, though, without any mods. I recently used one of these while playing in the pit orchestra at the local community college for their musical, and I got a lot of compliments on my tone. I was using a Danelectro Transparent Overdrive and a MXR classic overdrive to get more gain from it. You could remove the can from the 12AX7 if you want to see the tube better.
@paulgaudinjrBCN The Defender 5H has two tubes, a 12AX7 and an EL84, and yes, you can see them both light up, although you can't see the 12 AX7 very well, as it has a tube retainer can over it from the factory, to keep it in place.
@leftcaughtright Thanks for the heads up! That's odd though, it doesn't warn you of that in the owner's manual. You would think they would say "Do not turn on unless...". But maybe I am suppose to already know that. I hope I did not damage it! It was turned on for maybe 1 min.
I just purchased this USED off of Musician's Friend, Total was $70.00. Free shipping. Great deal. It was rated a #1, nothing wrong with the amp, just a customer return. I plugged it in and their is an Hum/ hiss noise when turned on. This is my first tube amp. Is this normal? or is their something potentially wrong with the amp. I have not hooked up a cab or guitar yet...just plugged it in to see if it turns on. I have to build the cab.
@Sleazer28 It's deadly to turn on a tube head without a cabinet... Wait until you finished your cabinet to turn it up again! If everything went wrong you've blown the outputtransformer... :(
@frylocdub Umm, I state right at the beginning of the vid that I'm playing a Bill Lawrence Swampkaster telecaster guitar. So yeah, there is some single coil noise, but it's not from a strat.
Are you able to run this head on the clean channel (first of the video) and then plug my Boss Metal Zone MT-2 and still have a hard metal sound through it and when i switch the pedal off, it goes back to clean??
@NinjaPandaMk1 Just to be clear, this amp only has 1 channel, there is no clean/dirty channel switching in the amp. You could definitely use it with a metal zone to go from clean to dirty sound, though, it would work just fine like that.
How is this cab? Im thinking of getting this or the marshall mg 4x12 cab.
The reason i ask is im saving to buy an orange head. But i will be out of cash after that. so im trying to find a really cheap cab intill i can save up for a avatar.
@eatthemoon13 This cab is honestly a LOT nicer than I thought it would be for the money, but then most of the Kustom stuff I have gotten in over the last year or two has been. Kustom has really stepped up their game....
@eatthemoon13 I just picked up the cab - had to order it and to be honest, i just wanted it for "appearances" as the ministack looks real cool. I gotta admit I am pleasantly surprised by the sound! Definitely worth $99US! are you getting the TT? I have that head and cab as well.
@jammers5 Im saving up for the new thunder 30. I just need to find a decent cab i prefer a 2x12 or 4x12.. Im kinda iffy on the Marshall mg cab. I just need something decent intill i can get a avatar cab with vintage 30s.
@eatthemoon13 This is NOT the cab for an Orange Thunder 30. It will get you by but it certainly won't let the T30 shine at all.
On another note, have you ever heard a V30 and Greenback together? WOW! If I were getting a 2 x12 cabinet for an Orange that would be my dream combination!
Hey I'm playing an acoustic show in about month and am thinking about using this amp (also playing a full band show afterwards). Would this amp work for both shows? or would I have to carry two amps?
@ryanrp05 for me this isnt good for both, to suit both i would get either an Epiphone Valve Junior Hot Rod, or if you do buy this head use your pedal board with it or since its so cheap just get a board together, i recommend the Blackstar HT Series for any type of distrotion or the Electro Harmonix English Muff'N
good look for the show!
if theres anything i havent covered im more than happy to answer questions
@ryanrp05 -- I think you would probably want to use something different for acoustic guitar, preferably something actually voiced for acoustic guitar. This amp tends to want to break up if you hit it with a very hot signal, you'd have to really keep your acoustic's output reigned in for it not to be distorted. Being able to use it and being able to make it sound good for both would be two different things. Technically, it'd work, but there are better choices for acoustic
@Trollhaut It's fairly loud, but you have to remember, at only 5 watts, if all you want to use it for is distorted sound, then it will be fine, but if you want headroom with some clean sound when you turn your guitar volume down, then it will still work but won't be as loud. It would work with most drummers, though, if you're playing it turned up.
it is hard to tell on a vid on youtube, but does not having an eq really hurt this? i blew my marshall micro stack (10 watt) head and need to replace it and this is in the price range also what coutnry do they make it in ?
@utubecenseorstruth I'm sure having an EQ in front of it wouldn't hurt it, but these amps sound surprisingly good for what they are. If you're asking if it will do the "scooped mids metal" sort of tone on it's own without an EQ, the answer is no, it's not really designed to do that with no eq onboard. I'm sure you could get pretty close with an EQ, though.
@cbunga No, it really dosen't do any metal at all. Its only 5 watts so the power section breaks up to easily for a tight metal tone. At low volumes plus a distortion pedal it can get something useable but I would never use one for metal.
hey i have a question for you guys here, i have a engl savage 120 guitar amp. most of my tone comes from the preamp. so can i go from the fx send from my savage striaght into the input of this amp. will that work to lower the power of the amp.
@EMGlespaulMESA Sure, that would work fine, although you should have some sort of attenuator or dummy load on your ENGL, unless it has a mode for direct out to record, so you don't hurt the power section of it. I am not familiar with the ENGL, so I don't know if it has that as an option or not. Some tube amps can be damaged if run with no speaker load on them, though, so I would read through the manual for the ENGL first, just to be sure, before I tried it.
Hi! I play bass in a post-grunge band. 1 of the 2 guitarists had his car burnt down in an accident. He owns a 50W Orange combo, and plays in two bands. Leaves the amp at the other rhrsal space and uses the PA - doesn't have the cash for another amp OR car.
The other guitarist is studying law and doesn't have much money. He's playing though 2 SS combos atm.
Thinking of buying two low wattage heads for them to use with my spare 412 cabs. Are these heads loud enough for live unmic'd use? Thx!
@Animatronica I think it would depend on how hard your drummer plays. It is certainly loud enough that I could use it in the situations I am in, but even though it's loud, it's certainly not as loud as say my Kustom 50-watt Defender, or an Orange Rocker 50. I would say you should try to find someone local who carries it and check it out for yourself to see.
@shanesreallycool It's plenty loud to play out with and keep up with a drummer, at least when it's cranked up. The Kustom 4X12 I ran it through in this video is a 4-ohm cab, though, which might be a little louder than an 8-ohm would be. The head has a jack for 4-ohms, a jack for 8-ohms, and a jack for 16-ohms on it, so you can use it with a pretty wide variety of cabinets.
@teedlebomb I will work something along the lines of that into the next video I do in the next day or two. Honestly, I was going to go into more depth on this vid than I did, but I had the shop to myself and I got interrupted by a couple customers coming in, so I cut it short. I think I'll get one of our guitar teachers to play through it on the next vid.....
Good work! I'd like to hear a Les Paul or a some type of humbucker through this amp. For single's it would be a good loud practice amp if you don't feel like bringing a whole half stack down.
@Zhorellski I plan on doing another demo or two, however, I had my shop to myself today, and it was pretty busy, so I didn't get a chance to make a second demo. Hopefully in the next day or two I can get it done.
im a bassist, i need a low wattage tube amp (i love tube tone), but obviously no such thing exists for bass, so would it be ok to run this through through a bass cab playing a bass through it?
@dumapies I don't think it would hurt the amp at all to play a bass through it, however, I don't think you would get a very good clean tone with it. Of course, if you're looking for a fuzzy/distorted tone this would be right up your alley.
@dumapies If you're talking only at bedroom volume, you *might* get away with it, but this amp breaks up pretty easily. If your bass has either high output or active pickups, you won't get very much clean volume out of it. With a humbucker loaded guitar, it breaks up about like a Marshall Plexi at the first volume setting I had it on in this video, yet it was pretty clean at that setting with the tele. It might work for you, but 5 watts is not very much clean headroom.
my bass is as basic as it gets...a Lakland p-bass, so it has only 1 passive split coil pickup, i need it for very low volumes, i have a 300watt head paired with a 410 and even at the lowest volume its way too loud to play in a apartment, and this thing is only 100$ so i guess it worth a try
@dumapies Well, a standard P is not generally a real high output pickup, which would play in your favor, so you might get it to work ok for what you need. I am still pretty surprised at how good it sounds and how well it seems to be put together for the price.
@dumapies Just a quick note, if you have a Kustom dealer that is local to you, I guarantee you they can match the MF price, as Kustom's parent company generally takes care of the mom and pop stores pretty well. The one thing where you'd be better off to buy it from MF, though, is because they buy in big numbers, they can afford to ship them for free. Might be worth your time to check local, though.... plus you could try it before you bought it. There's a dealer search on the Kustom website.
@dumapies I just checked on their dealer search, all the Sam Ash stores in NYC are listed as Kustom dealers, so you could probably pick one up in person there... also there's a shop in Hyde Park, NY (the dealer locator says it's 17 miles from you) called Catalano Music Center, so you might be able to get one locally. You'd probably want to call to see, but it might be worth your time. Catalano's phone # is 516-488-2522...
@cbunga Would a low gain preamp tube clean up the front of the amp enough to use this as a tube power amp for an external preamp?
thedesertdweller 2 months ago
@thedesertdweller I know that a lower gain preamp tube would probably clean it up, but just how much, I'm not entirely sure. I'm sure that some of the distortion is from the power amp section of the amp. After all, this is only 5 watts. It certainly wouldn't hurt to try it, though. I have never seen one with a lower gain tube in it to be able to give your question a fair answer.
cbunga 2 months ago
hey im thinking of buying this 412 for my bugera 6262 what are your thoughts about it??
Lubial 3 months ago
@Lubial It would handle the Bugera head just fine, it's a great sounding little cab.
cbunga 2 months ago
hi... does this has an eq ?
aris17561 4 months ago
@aris17561 No EQ, the amp doesn't have it, and I wasn't using one in the signal chain when I did the video either.... Just guitar straight to amp.
cbunga 2 months ago
would you recomend using a fender bandmaster vm 212 speaker enclosure with this amp or not
deth800lg 4 months ago
@deth800lg It should work just fine with that cab.
cbunga 2 months ago
is it good for metal music while using an external distortion pedal?
nightspotlight 4 months ago
@nightspotlight I have never used a high gain pedal in front of one of these, but I have used my pedalboard in front of one when I played in the pit for a local production of Hairspray, and I can tell you from that, that this little amp takes pedals really well, so I would venture a guess that it would be workable for you with a high gain pedal.
cbunga 2 months ago
@Matt1995Zombie one :)
tron012 5 months ago
I am trying to find a good amp to run my LINE6 XT live into will this work?
Bflatest 6 months ago
@Bflatest There are a lot of variables that come into play when running multiple pieces of equipment together, your best bet would be to see if you can find one locally to try and see if you like the sound of it with your Line 6. In the most basic way I can answer, it absolutely would work, but I can't answer if it would give you the sounds you are looking for.
cbunga 2 months ago
@BenHeien Second, you could damage the output transformer in the Defender 5H because it will be seeing an impedance it's not intended to drive when you run it into a line level input, which is something it's not designed to do. The Defender 5H is NOT a preamp, and it's not designed to be used as one, it's an amp head.
cbunga 6 months ago 10
@BenHeien No, you're completely wrong. First off, this Kustom has no line out, so you have no line level signal coming out of the Defender 5H, the only output is the speaker level output, which is NOT safe to run into another amp, you will damage both amps. I am a service center for Kustom, I know what I am talking about. My shop has been in business for 20 years and we do service for a number of companies. It is never safe to run a speaker level signal into the input of another amp.
cbunga 6 months ago 13
'Let's go ahead and dime it...' quote of the day!
EmperorSheepy 7 months ago 3
@Matt1995Zombie only one (I think).
capitalist4life 10 months ago
If you mic it up, you can use this live, no problem. I used one recently in the orchestra pit for a local musical production, and got tons of compliments on my tone. If you don't mic it up, though, you're not get much, if any, over a drum kit. It IS only 5 watts, but it's louder than you would think, too.
cbunga 1 year ago
If I used this and lets say something as big as the Marshall 1x12 Haze Cab or something similar to that, can i play gigs? if so, how big?
LzrdKng9000 1 year ago
@LzrdKng9000 If you mic it up, you can use this live, no problem. I used one recently in the orchestra pit for a local musical production, and got tons of compliments on my tone. If you don't mic it up, though, you're not get much, if any, over a drum kit. It IS only 5 watts, but it's louder than you would think, too.
cbunga 1 year ago
Hmmm...kinda sterile sounding...more digital than tube sounding. Good video tho.
rickey999 1 year ago
@rickey999 It's actually not sterile in person, you have to remember that what you're seeing is recorded on a Flip cam, so the sound is only going to be so accurate, it's no where near as good as the amp sounds in person. I recently used one of these in the orchestra pit for a local musical production and got TONS of compliments on my tone.
cbunga 1 year ago
That's the organic distortion that I want to have.
But unfortunately I live in Brasil, where we pay incredibly high import taxes.
Even Guitar Center had to raise the price to Brasil because of those taxes.
It's a shame!
But hey! At least our politicians have a real nice lifestyle!
(sad joke)
FeelingShred 1 year ago 3
I want to get a 100 watt Behringer Amp with A Kustom KG412 Cabinet.. How many Watts does the Cabinet have??
FrehleyFanatic1 1 year ago
Hi.
If you adjust the volume from the guitar, you obtain the effect of gain?
There is a way to get a louder clean sound, without gain?
andressol 1 year ago
@andressol You ARE limited by the fact that it's only 5 watts, but if you turn the guitar down the amp cleans up, so you can fire up the master and adjust the amount of dirt with your guitar's volume control. I recently used one of these mic'd up in the orchestra pit for a local college's musical, and I got lots of compliments on my guitar sound. I was using a Danelectro Transparent Overdrive and a modded MXR Classic Overdrive for extra gain and so I would have a couple different dirt sounds.
cbunga 1 year ago
I've been thinking, would that KG412 cab with KG100HFX head have enough power to play gigs?
H3viSika 1 year ago
@H3viSika The KG100 head and cab combo actually has 100 watts output with a single cab, unlike offerings from a lot of it's competitors, because the KG412 cab is actually 4-ohms, so it allows the full output of the head. It's a really loud amp for solid state, I have several local customers playing out with these with no issues, it should be fine.
cbunga 1 year ago
I just ordered mine and I also ordered JJ tubes from Eurotubes. I have an 8ohm 1x12 cab for this baby. I can't wait.
rgvilla55 1 year ago
How would you compare it to an Epiphone Valve Junior or the 5w Black Heart?
paulgaudinjrBCN 1 year ago
@paulgaudinjrBCN It absolutely makes the Epiphone sound like a toy, if you're comparing them as they come stock. I have heard some of the Epiphones that were modded that sounded very good, though. The Kustom takes pedals very well, so I don't see any point in modding it, which also makes it less expensive than the Epiphone. I don't have any experience with the Black Heart, so I can't make a comparison.
cbunga 1 year ago
Thanks for being so fast. Is it possible to see both tubes well? Is there a modification you know about?
paulgaudinjrBCN 1 year ago
@paulgaudinjrBCN I don't know of any mods to the amp, I just sell them new. It's a pretty great sounding amp as it is, though, without any mods. I recently used one of these while playing in the pit orchestra at the local community college for their musical, and I got a lot of compliments on my tone. I was using a Danelectro Transparent Overdrive and a MXR classic overdrive to get more gain from it. You could remove the can from the 12AX7 if you want to see the tube better.
cbunga 1 year ago
Curious. Can you see the tube light up?
paulgaudinjrBCN 1 year ago
@paulgaudinjrBCN The Defender 5H has two tubes, a 12AX7 and an EL84, and yes, you can see them both light up, although you can't see the 12 AX7 very well, as it has a tube retainer can over it from the factory, to keep it in place.
cbunga 1 year ago
i have this the nicest tube head ever!
mojojojo955 1 year ago
I can hear Wayne at Kustom gravely voice now, "man you got to hear this lil monster dude" lol
AngryStudioEngineer 1 year ago
hows the cabinet? im thinking of buying one but there are no videos on youtube of it
dxhagopian31 1 year ago
@leftcaughtright Thanks for the heads up! That's odd though, it doesn't warn you of that in the owner's manual. You would think they would say "Do not turn on unless...". But maybe I am suppose to already know that. I hope I did not damage it! It was turned on for maybe 1 min.
Sleazer28 1 year ago
I just purchased this USED off of Musician's Friend, Total was $70.00. Free shipping. Great deal. It was rated a #1, nothing wrong with the amp, just a customer return. I plugged it in and their is an Hum/ hiss noise when turned on. This is my first tube amp. Is this normal? or is their something potentially wrong with the amp. I have not hooked up a cab or guitar yet...just plugged it in to see if it turns on. I have to build the cab.
Sleazer28 1 year ago
@Sleazer28 It's deadly to turn on a tube head without a cabinet... Wait until you finished your cabinet to turn it up again! If everything went wrong you've blown the outputtransformer... :(
leftcaughtright 1 year ago
@Sleazer28 you should never run an amp without a cabinet, especially a tube amp as it may explode. that might be why
SavvageCabbage 1 year ago
good ole single coil hum .... has to be a strat
frylocdub 1 year ago
@frylocdub Umm, I state right at the beginning of the vid that I'm playing a Bill Lawrence Swampkaster telecaster guitar. So yeah, there is some single coil noise, but it's not from a strat.
cbunga 1 year ago
Are you able to run this head on the clean channel (first of the video) and then plug my Boss Metal Zone MT-2 and still have a hard metal sound through it and when i switch the pedal off, it goes back to clean??
NinjaPandaMk1 1 year ago
@NinjaPandaMk1 Just to be clear, this amp only has 1 channel, there is no clean/dirty channel switching in the amp. You could definitely use it with a metal zone to go from clean to dirty sound, though, it would work just fine like that.
cbunga 1 year ago
want one
Kingdelfrong 1 year ago
does this work well with humbuckers?
TheSchoolsux345 1 year ago
@TheSchoolsux345 Yes it does work with humbuckers, but it has a lot more gain with them, so don't expect as much clean headroom.
cbunga 1 year ago
Sounds like it has potential! Toss some nicer tubes in there, plug it into some AlNiCo speakers, and I bet it would be a smash hit.
darkarbiter7 1 year ago
@darkarbiter7 And for what you've spent you can buy a real nice 30W combo
petecockcroft 1 year ago
How is this cab? Im thinking of getting this or the marshall mg 4x12 cab.
The reason i ask is im saving to buy an orange head. But i will be out of cash after that. so im trying to find a really cheap cab intill i can save up for a avatar.
eatthemoon13 1 year ago
@eatthemoon13 This cab is honestly a LOT nicer than I thought it would be for the money, but then most of the Kustom stuff I have gotten in over the last year or two has been. Kustom has really stepped up their game....
cbunga 1 year ago
@eatthemoon13 I just picked up the cab - had to order it and to be honest, i just wanted it for "appearances" as the ministack looks real cool. I gotta admit I am pleasantly surprised by the sound! Definitely worth $99US! are you getting the TT? I have that head and cab as well.
jammers5 1 year ago
@jammers5 Im saving up for the new thunder 30. I just need to find a decent cab i prefer a 2x12 or 4x12.. Im kinda iffy on the Marshall mg cab. I just need something decent intill i can get a avatar cab with vintage 30s.
eatthemoon13 1 year ago
@eatthemoon13 This is NOT the cab for an Orange Thunder 30. It will get you by but it certainly won't let the T30 shine at all.
On another note, have you ever heard a V30 and Greenback together? WOW! If I were getting a 2 x12 cabinet for an Orange that would be my dream combination!
jammers5 1 year ago
so this is thru low power vintage single coil pickups? wonder what is sounds like with a les paul
HackerGuitarist 1 year ago
Hey I'm playing an acoustic show in about month and am thinking about using this amp (also playing a full band show afterwards). Would this amp work for both shows? or would I have to carry two amps?
ryanrp05 1 year ago
@ryanrp05 for me this isnt good for both, to suit both i would get either an Epiphone Valve Junior Hot Rod, or if you do buy this head use your pedal board with it or since its so cheap just get a board together, i recommend the Blackstar HT Series for any type of distrotion or the Electro Harmonix English Muff'N
good look for the show!
if theres anything i havent covered im more than happy to answer questions
Peace \m/
MeanGreenMovies 1 year ago
@ryanrp05 -- I think you would probably want to use something different for acoustic guitar, preferably something actually voiced for acoustic guitar. This amp tends to want to break up if you hit it with a very hot signal, you'd have to really keep your acoustic's output reigned in for it not to be distorted. Being able to use it and being able to make it sound good for both would be two different things. Technically, it'd work, but there are better choices for acoustic
cbunga 1 year ago
how loud does it go with a 412 box? because i want one for playing with my band
Trollhaut 1 year ago
@Trollhaut It's fairly loud, but you have to remember, at only 5 watts, if all you want to use it for is distorted sound, then it will be fine, but if you want headroom with some clean sound when you turn your guitar volume down, then it will still work but won't be as loud. It would work with most drummers, though, if you're playing it turned up.
cbunga 1 year ago
@cbunga yes its for distortion
Trollhaut 1 year ago
Love this amp, just waiting for them to come out with a gain/master arrangement version before i haul out the credit card.
wunwinglo 1 year ago
@wunwinglo or you could just get an Epiphone Valve Junior Hot Rod
MeanGreenMovies 1 year ago
@MeanGreenMovies Funny I was thinking the same thing.
wunwinglo 1 year ago
What is a good cabinet to collab to this head for Fusion&Jazz?
magirecords2004 1 year ago
I think it should be called Kustom Brick...
RareAirSupply 1 year ago
Would this have any headroom at all with humbuckers?
papersun87 1 year ago
it is hard to tell on a vid on youtube, but does not having an eq really hurt this? i blew my marshall micro stack (10 watt) head and need to replace it and this is in the price range also what coutnry do they make it in ?
utubecenseorstruth 1 year ago
@utubecenseorstruth I'm sure having an EQ in front of it wouldn't hurt it, but these amps sound surprisingly good for what they are. If you're asking if it will do the "scooped mids metal" sort of tone on it's own without an EQ, the answer is no, it's not really designed to do that with no eq onboard. I'm sure you could get pretty close with an EQ, though.
cbunga 1 year ago
@cbunga No, it really dosen't do any metal at all. Its only 5 watts so the power section breaks up to easily for a tight metal tone. At low volumes plus a distortion pedal it can get something useable but I would never use one for metal.
JoePerry4Life1 1 year ago
I'am going to build my own cab with celestion rockets in it :'D
and i am searching for a good head with only a volume knob, because i use a pre amp so i think this would be a great stack :'D
NvdVen 1 year ago
hey i have a question for you guys here, i have a engl savage 120 guitar amp. most of my tone comes from the preamp. so can i go from the fx send from my savage striaght into the input of this amp. will that work to lower the power of the amp.
EMGlespaulMESA 1 year ago
@EMGlespaulMESA Sure, that would work fine, although you should have some sort of attenuator or dummy load on your ENGL, unless it has a mode for direct out to record, so you don't hurt the power section of it. I am not familiar with the ENGL, so I don't know if it has that as an option or not. Some tube amps can be damaged if run with no speaker load on them, though, so I would read through the manual for the ENGL first, just to be sure, before I tried it.
cbunga 1 year ago
how well dose it work with pedals?
jamesreptile1109908 1 year ago
@jamesreptile1109908 - It takes pedals, especially overdrives, really well.
cbunga 1 year ago
Hi! I play bass in a post-grunge band. 1 of the 2 guitarists had his car burnt down in an accident. He owns a 50W Orange combo, and plays in two bands. Leaves the amp at the other rhrsal space and uses the PA - doesn't have the cash for another amp OR car.
The other guitarist is studying law and doesn't have much money. He's playing though 2 SS combos atm.
Thinking of buying two low wattage heads for them to use with my spare 412 cabs. Are these heads loud enough for live unmic'd use? Thx!
Animatronica 1 year ago
@Animatronica I think it would depend on how hard your drummer plays. It is certainly loud enough that I could use it in the situations I am in, but even though it's loud, it's certainly not as loud as say my Kustom 50-watt Defender, or an Orange Rocker 50. I would say you should try to find someone local who carries it and check it out for yourself to see.
cbunga 1 year ago
@Animatronica Also, there is a dealer locator on Kustom's website that you can use to find the nearest dealer to your location.
cbunga 1 year ago
how loud is it with the 4x12?
shanesreallycool 1 year ago
@shanesreallycool It's plenty loud to play out with and keep up with a drummer, at least when it's cranked up. The Kustom 4X12 I ran it through in this video is a 4-ohm cab, though, which might be a little louder than an 8-ohm would be. The head has a jack for 4-ohms, a jack for 8-ohms, and a jack for 16-ohms on it, so you can use it with a pretty wide variety of cabinets.
cbunga 1 year ago
Great. Maybe play some lead to give us single note tone. Tnx.
teedlebomb 1 year ago
@teedlebomb I will work something along the lines of that into the next video I do in the next day or two. Honestly, I was going to go into more depth on this vid than I did, but I had the shop to myself and I got interrupted by a couple customers coming in, so I cut it short. I think I'll get one of our guitar teachers to play through it on the next vid.....
cbunga 1 year ago
Good work! I'd like to hear a Les Paul or a some type of humbucker through this amp. For single's it would be a good loud practice amp if you don't feel like bringing a whole half stack down.
CRAM1REZ51 1 year ago
@CRAM1REZ51 Well, my plan is to get another video of it up with a humbucker loaded guitar sometime in the next couple days...
cbunga 1 year ago
Could you make another demo with a Humbucker P/U Guitar plus some OD pedals?
This sounds schhuuuweet for $100!!!
Zhorellski 1 year ago
@Zhorellski I plan on doing another demo or two, however, I had my shop to myself today, and it was pretty busy, so I didn't get a chance to make a second demo. Hopefully in the next day or two I can get it done.
cbunga 1 year ago
im a bassist, i need a low wattage tube amp (i love tube tone), but obviously no such thing exists for bass, so would it be ok to run this through through a bass cab playing a bass through it?
dumapies 1 year ago
@dumapies I don't think it would hurt the amp at all to play a bass through it, however, I don't think you would get a very good clean tone with it. Of course, if you're looking for a fuzzy/distorted tone this would be right up your alley.
cbunga 1 year ago
@cbunga
why wouldn't it be clean? i need a really low volume amp, i wouldn't push it
dumapies 1 year ago
@dumapies If you're talking only at bedroom volume, you *might* get away with it, but this amp breaks up pretty easily. If your bass has either high output or active pickups, you won't get very much clean volume out of it. With a humbucker loaded guitar, it breaks up about like a Marshall Plexi at the first volume setting I had it on in this video, yet it was pretty clean at that setting with the tele. It might work for you, but 5 watts is not very much clean headroom.
cbunga 1 year ago
@cbunga
my bass is as basic as it gets...a Lakland p-bass, so it has only 1 passive split coil pickup, i need it for very low volumes, i have a 300watt head paired with a 410 and even at the lowest volume its way too loud to play in a apartment, and this thing is only 100$ so i guess it worth a try
dumapies 1 year ago
@dumapies Well, a standard P is not generally a real high output pickup, which would play in your favor, so you might get it to work ok for what you need. I am still pretty surprised at how good it sounds and how well it seems to be put together for the price.
cbunga 1 year ago
@cbunga
yea i discovered it today on Musicians Friend...i saw the price and i was like...woah, i gotta get my hands on one
dumapies 1 year ago
@dumapies Just a quick note, if you have a Kustom dealer that is local to you, I guarantee you they can match the MF price, as Kustom's parent company generally takes care of the mom and pop stores pretty well. The one thing where you'd be better off to buy it from MF, though, is because they buy in big numbers, they can afford to ship them for free. Might be worth your time to check local, though.... plus you could try it before you bought it. There's a dealer search on the Kustom website.
cbunga 1 year ago
@cbunga
i live in New York City, no dealers here, theres barely big guitar stores, and everything they have is average, no high end or rare stuff
dumapies 1 year ago
@dumapies I just checked on their dealer search, all the Sam Ash stores in NYC are listed as Kustom dealers, so you could probably pick one up in person there... also there's a shop in Hyde Park, NY (the dealer locator says it's 17 miles from you) called Catalano Music Center, so you might be able to get one locally. You'd probably want to call to see, but it might be worth your time. Catalano's phone # is 516-488-2522...
cbunga 1 year ago
@cbunga
i'll go there and check it out, thanks for all your help
dumapies 1 year ago
@dumapies No problem, that's what we are here for as a mom and pop dealer myself!
cbunga 1 year ago