Kustom Amplifiers

So this past August when I went to the US 12 Longest Yard Sale (https://luegra.design.blog/2024/08/11/longest-yard-sale-old-time-fiddler-covention-2024/), I mentioned that I picked up a Kustom KLA10 guitar practice amplifier and that I would talk about it in a later blog. Well, here we go!

Small practice amps are aplenty and can be purchased at some reasonable prices. Kustom has always made smaller practice amps since its inception back in the 1960s. For a long period, it was the only thing that they were producing, as its trademark roll-n-tuck padded monster solid-state amps were becoming unpopular. Recently, the company has gone back to making larger amps, even some retro padded ones, but they still mostly produce the small practice varieties.

Kustom has always had a mediocre reputation at best. While the roll-n-tuck models were what every garage band had back in the 60s, they proved to be cumbersome (they were housing large transformers meant for tube amps, using them on the tiny transistor circuits), and the “naugahyde” covering would tear easily. Solid-state circuitry fell from grace during the 70s and never gained much of a following afterwards except for smaller practice amps.

Through the years, Kustom built a number of different smaller amps, usually no more than 20 watts, at cheaper prices than Fender or Marshall could do, so they were popular with beginning musicians (and cost-conscious parents). The KLA10 is probably the most popular practice amp that Kustom has put out for a long time. It has seen different stylings and trim colors, but has remained pretty much the same as far as features and performance.

What you get with this amp is the basics. From left to right on the front panel, there is the Drive switch, input jack, gain control, voice control (a fancy way to say tone control), volume control, headphone jack, LED power indicator, and power switch. The open back exposes the rear of the six-inch speaker, and the power cord is coming out of the circuitry casing. Nothing else, just covered in Tolex and pseudo-chrome corner guards. For the beginning guitarist, it is a fun amp to use. The overdrive/distortion is decent sounding. It’s not Marshall stack or other tube overdrive, but can give a good distorted sound, especially with a humbucker pickup. The headphone output allows playing without disturbing others.

The KLA10, however, is no longer manufactured, replaced by Kustom with the KG1 with very similar specifications and features. The KLA10 can be found on eBay or Reverb for under $40.00. If you can snag one for under $25.00 in good condition, you may want to get it. I will be honest, I picked up mine, with some dirt on the covering, surface rust on the chrome corners, and some scratchy pots, for only $6.00! A little elbow grease and some TV tuner cleaner in the pots should make it sound great. In short, it is a great practice amp, be it headphone or through speaker. Moreover, it will serve as a satisfactory recording amp if using a regular guitar amp proves too loud and disruptive. HINT: Make sure that the guitar is in tune. One string out of tune through a solid-state amp sounds horrible!

Chew on it and comment.

Apologies for being a day late, but this weekend was the one that I visit both the US 12 Longest Yard Sale and the Michigan Fiddlers Association Old-Time Fiddlers Convention.

Friday was the day for the year sale. While they advertise it going from Detroit to the western border at New Buffalo, things don’t start to really show up until after Saline if you travel west on the road. Nothing for knick-knacks this year for me, but I did pick up a few music bargains.

MXL 770 large-diaphragm condenser microphone. I really have no need for one of these, as I just sold off a similar one last year and have an older MXL model that I still keep. However, it was a good price, and it was never used, with a shock mount still wrapped up in plastic. I am sure that I can re-sell it and make a few dollars.
Kustom KLA 10 guitar practice amplifier. Again, I have a few small practice amps already, but I picked it up for next to nothing. These are pretty good, reliable little amps, as Kustom has been putting them out for years. I will probably do a review on this next week.
Jasmine by Takamine S-35 acoustic guitar. I did an overview of my experiences with Jasmine guitars in a previous blog (https://luegra.design.blog/2023/09/30/jasmine-guitars-the-good-as-well-as-the-bad-and-ugly/). This particular guitar was made while Jasmine was still a part of the Takamine company. These are high-quality beginner guitars that can hold up to models costing a lot more (these go for about $100.00 used), and it came with a high-end Road Runner case/gig-bag. I paid $60.00 for the package, which is nearly what the gig bag cost new. The guitar was hardly touched. The seller told me that he purchased it for his daughter in high school and she lost interest rather quickly. When I got home, as I was cleaning out the gig bag, I found some lyrics that the girl must have written while she was still interested in playing and performing. Very cliché lyrics about breaking up with a boyfriend, but I had to smile that she at least tried to write a song. I have another S-35, and I will look at selling at least one if not both in the near future.
2002 Made in Mexico Fender Stratocaster. Despite being over 20 years old, it still had the cellophane on the pickguard and wammy bar cover. All I can figure that it sat for all of that time because the nut is cut too low on the B string, so the original owner never bothered to fix it. That’s a $20.00 job if I do it myself, probably $50.00 or so if I get a shop to do it. We shall see if I budget my time, and it’s not like I have to do it right away. I still got a decent deal on it, and while I don’t play electric guitar much, I know a deal when I see it.

There is not a lot of music equipment available along the strip of sales, mostly clothes, old toys, and possible collectible antiques. But I have been going every year since before COVID, and I will surely take the day off from work to go again next year.

Saturday I spent a few hours at the Old-Time Fiddle Convention in Hastings, Michigan. While this is not a big event, those that attend for the three days are extremely loyal fiddlers interested in old-time music and jamming with others. I probably could have more time there, but traffic accents and construction took a lot of my Saturday morning time. I caught the end of the Sing-Along workshop by Glen Warners, then watched the Michigan Fiddle Tunes workshop hosted by Dave Langdon. Dave is a great old-time fiddler, playing left handed. However, his instructional skills are less than satisfactory. While the class worked on two simple fiddle tunes, and most everyone there were competent with the tunes, Dave tends to just play a part of the tune and then have everyone join in. There is very little discussion on notes, and he doesn’t even give a count to start the song, he just jumps in and expects everyone to catch what he is doing. There were a few instances that students had to point out that he wasn’t following the sheet music verbatim, but said that he had his own style. Fortunately, everyone in attendance was very friendly and appreciative of the workshop.

I was able to make a simple video of the Langdon workshop with my older video camera (I’m still having problems with the video camera I purchased last year, and the instruction manual is all in Chinese, so I still have a lot to learn with it). I will post it on my YouTube page later this week.

I would love to see more people at the convention. Unfortunately, Hastings is not that easy to drive to, and people interested in old-time fiddle music are usually going to hit more popular events such as Galax in Virginia. The MFA doesn’t do much to advertise the event either, so attendance depends mostly through word-of-mouth from previous attendees. I have chatted this event up to many other bluegrass musicians and fiddlers, but just about everyone feigns interest. I do plan on going next year, as well as hitting the old-time fiddle contest in New Boston this October.

Chew on it and comment.