Kustom 100 Bass Amps

Many new companies were formed to take advantage of the new technology. Companies like Kustom, Acoustic, and Standel all made their mark with transistor amps. (Barbara Mandrell got her start as a child prodigy NAMM demonstrator for Standel.)
Kustorn wins the award for best overall look with its "tuck and roll" padded covering. These amps were built like trucks, and while the covering on surviving Kustoms is usually ripped to shreds, as a rule the amps still work perfectly. They can be had cheap, and many amps are still around in stores, yard sales, and pawn shops. Unlike tube amps, though, it's not a good idea to buy a nonworking solidstate amp. Many parts, especially the early types of germanium transistors, are unavailable or extremely hard to find. A nonworking Kustorn still makes a great piece of living room art, but don't get your hopes up too high on resuscitating a dead one.
Kustom made a few models for guitars and basses in combo and stack formats, including a "plug in the whole band" one. Most of these were built around their 100or 200-watt chassis. The sound is cleaner than the Voxes, but they have a unique grit when used with humbuckers and turned up about half way. For the now or future hearing impaired, they put "police siren" horns in the guitar stack cabinets. I've seen pictures of the Jefferson Airplane using Kustoms, but their big band was Creedence Clearwater Revival. The live CCR album is great rock W roll and a fine example of the Kustorn sound. If you see a Kustorn cheap, buy it. I think you will be very surprised by the quality and tone. Plug it in and amaze your friends.