Kasino amps were used mainly by country music performers who felt the regular Kustom Tuck-And-Roll Naugahyde models were too flashy. These were internally the same as Kustom amplifiers but were covered with traditional Tolex material as seen on Fender style amplifiers. The most notable merger happened with Gretsch, which at the time was owned by Baldwin.Īside from the Kustom brand, Kustom Electronics also began to manufacture an amplifier line called Kasino. During the following years the factory in Kansas and the associated trademarks would change ownership numerous times. Later Bud Ross established a fairly lucrative business which manufactured police handheld radars. The sale was finalized just prior to the 1972 Summer NAMM show where the metal/slant face Kustom amps were introduced. The company was owned by Bud Ross from 1964 until June 1972, when Ross sold it to Baldwin Pianos. The first amp was built for a member of the Nebraska Hall of Fame and is now a featured display in the collection of Rainbow Recording Studios in Omaha, Nebraska. Eventually the company branched out to produce organs, drums, microphones, and guitars.Ĭharles "Bud" Ross produced the first Kustom amp which comprised two fifteen inch speakers mounted side-by-side in a horizontal white sparkle cabinet with and a non-Frankenstein head. The original Kustom amps came in a variety of colors including Red Sparkle, Blue Sparkle, Gold Sparkle, Cascade Sparkle (teal), Charcoal Sparkle (grey), Silver Sparkle (white), and Flat Black (which contained no glitter). The Kustom (The Nauga, or Naugie) Kats were from the same Uniroyal Naugahyde that Kustom used to cover their products. There was also a line of guitars with DeArmond pickups in a variety of colors, including the infamous Pink to Green sunburst that fans have affectionately named "Watermelon Burst." In an original promotion Kustom gave away "Kustom Kats" with the purchase of an amplifier. The company produced several models of guitar amplifiers, bass amplifiers, organ amplifiers, Guitars, Basses, and keyboards and P.A. operated in a factory in Chanute, Kansas. The amplifiers featured solid-state circuitry instead of vacuum tube-based designs so common in the 1960s. was the first to mass-produce amplifiers covered in roll and pleat, popularly referred to as "Tuck-And-Roll" naugahyde, similar to hot-rod automobile upholstery popular at that time. The main selling point of Kustom amplifiers was their unique appearance: Ross, Inc. "Kustom" was a brand and trademark of Ross, Inc., a company founded in 1964 by Charles A. Since 1999, Kustom has been owned by the Hanser Music Group headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kustom Amplification or Kustom Electronics is a manufacturer of guitar and bass amplifiers and PA equipment and accessories. Kustom 200 Bass Amplifier, 100 watts RMS, two 15" speakers, cascade sparkle, 1971 Kustom 200 B-4 amplifier in black Naugahyde, purchased new in 1972.
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