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| Late 1960's Kustom Amps |
Leo Fender learned how to repair and build radios.
He later built musical instrument amplifiers, and then electric guitars and created not one, but two successful businesses.
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| Charles Bud Ross |
Bud Ross was a man, born in West Virginia as the son of a coal miner, that never graduated from high school, who went on to run several million dollar companies. He taught himself and applied his knowledge to the businesses that he created.
I am going to concentrate on the unique amplifiers that became so popular in the 1960’s. Many of these amplifiers were so well constructed that they are still functioning today.
Bud Ross' music career began at age 18, after meeting Hal Nichols in the Soda Shop in Overland Park, Kansas. Nichols had a four-piece band and Ross became the band's manager. Ross landed the Hal Nichols Band a regular Friday and Saturday night gig at a club called Berry's Barn. It was one of the Kansas City area's earliest rock 'n' roll venues. The club paid the band $50. $10 for each band member and $10 for Ross.
Since this seemed to be a steady gig for the Nichol’s band, they decided to get rid of Ross. Bud Ross wasn’t having this and he convinced the owner of Berry's Barn to hire a new band. This band was called "The Rebel Rousers," and Ross was the lead singer.
Ross later joined a band called "The Sliders" and taught himself to play bass. To save money he built his own amp. This was in 1959 and the first one he ever made. in 1959. In 1960,
Ross then opened The Promenade Ballroom in Kansas City with John "The Barber" Roeder. By then Ross had formed a new band that he called "The Bygones" that played throughout the area, including at The Promenade Ballroom, The Coke Bar in Grandview, Berry's Barn and The Soc Hop in Overland Park.
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| Tuck and Roll Upholstery |
Ross became tired of tube amplifiers breaking down all the time and taught himself about electronics. He moved toward transistors and solid-state technology, and away from the temperamental tube technology in standard use at the time.
The amp he built was incredibly sturdy, with a big, clean, loud sound. It quickly attracted attention from musicians of the era, and Ross started building amps out of his garage.
By 1964, Ross had enough business to form Kustom Electronics in Chanute, Kansas and make amplifiers on a full-time basis.
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| JW Jenkins' Sons Music |
"He took most of the volume. He was very good to me. When an amp breaks down, they would call him and I’d go get it, then fix it up."
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| The First Kustom Factory |
In 1964, Kustom had built a reputation. Bud Ross acquired a facility that was formerly a supermarket in Chanute Kansas. He set up shop there and hired local people and taught them. Ross and his family lived in an apartment on the upper floor of the building.
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| New Kustom Factory |
By 1966 the business had grown and surpassed expectations. Kustom moved to a new 54,000 square foot building.
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| Second Kustom Factory |
Within a year the business was doing so well that Bud opened a second manufacturing facility by purchasing a nearby building that once housed an automobile dealership.
This all occurred during an era when a more processed guitar sound was coming into fashion, with distortion and other effects, and Kustom amps were a perfect fit. Big amplifiers were in vogue.
Around this same time Fender attempted to create and sell solid-state amplifiers, which was a dismal failure for this major company. Standel Amplifiers tried the same and most of their solid-state amplifiers were returned due to mechanical problems.
In 2026 there are many Kustom amplifiers built in the mid 1960’s that are still in working order with little or no maintenance.
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| Vox Super Beatle |
During the British Invasion the Vox company was very popular with all the British bands. But Vox could not keep up with the demand and became cash strapped. They signed an agreement with the Thomas Organ Company to build solid-state amplifiers, under the Vox brand, for distribution in the United States. Perhaps the US made Vox amps were the closest to Kustom at the time.
Bud Ross eventually branched into making organs, drums, microphones, guitars and other items, but he got too thin and ended up going bankrupt. He was forced to sell Kustom in June 1972 to Baldwin Pianos.
Unfortunately, Charles Bud Ross, the founder, was a passionate gambler and in 1973 lost the company in a poker game! The company was renamed Kustom Electronics, Inc., and continued to operate, although it went through many changes in ownership.
Artists such as the CARPENTERS, JACKSON 5, LEON RUSSELL, CARL PERKINS, JOHNNY CASH, and others relied on them. The Creedence Clearwater Revival used the custom-made Kustom 400 PA System, which provided excellent sound for their concerts from 1969 to 1972 but was financially impractical to transport.
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| Kasino Club 2-12 |
Much like Kustom, these amplifiers are known for a warm, thick, solid-state sound, often considered great for clean tones.
They featured conventional Tolex coverings rather than the flashy Kustom "Tuck-and-Roll" style.
Kasino Amplifiers and sound equipment was made from 1972 to 1975. This bridged the sale of the company to Baldwin Pianos. The internal components of Kasino amplifiers are very similar to those of Kustom amplifiers.
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| Kustom Guitars |
During the time Bud Ross owned Kustom he produced a line of guitars from 1967¬ to 1969 designed by Doyle Reading, who also designed guitars for Wurlitzer. These were made by the Holman-Woodell Company of Neodesha, Kansas.
After the sale of Kustom Electronics to the Baldwin Piano Company, Baldwin went on to build their own amplifiers using some of the technology from Kustom amps, but added a few touches inspired by their organs.
Perhaps the most notable amplifier was the huge Baldwin E-1 Exterminator, which pumped 250 watts into two 8", two 12" and two 15" speakers. It weighed a ton!
Willie Nelson has used his Baldwin C1 amplifier for years. This was a 45 watt amp with twin twelve inch speakers and an interesting “Supersound” tone circuit controlled by the colorful push buttons on the right-hand side of the control panel.
The Supersound was basically pre-set EQ settings for Treble, Mid 1, Mid 2, Bass, and a mix. A three-way toggle switch allowed the user to switch between normal operation, Supersound operation, and dual operation.
Getting back to the original Kustom Tuck and Roll amplifiers, the first one offered from 1965 through 1967 was the K200.
From 1967 to 1971 the K200A and the K200B (bass) and the K100 were offered. I once owned a Kustom K100.
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| 1971 Kustom Amps |
From 1971 through 1974 the front panel was slightly slanted. These models included 150, 250, 300, 500, 600 which replaced the previous series. 4x12 and other speaker configurations became standard.
The Naugahyde coverings included sparkle finishes, Cascade (teal), black, charcoal, red, blue, and silver. All Kustom amplifiers used high-quality speakers like CTS, Altec Lansing, or JBL. The amplifier chassis was made of steel. The speaker cabinets were made of wood. All were covered with a layer of foam padding that was topped with the tuck and roll Naugahyde covering. The effects that were built into the amplifiers included tremolo, and a pan reverb.
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| Baldwin Guitars |
By 1972 the profits for Kustom Electronics had dwindled to only $37,700. Feeling burnt out from multiple commercial failures, Bud sold Kustom Music to Baldwin Pianos the same year for $3 million. Baldwin had purchased the Burns Of UK guitar company and needed a companion amplifier. Baldwin's venture into the guitar industry was too little, too late, and short lived.
By 1977, Bud launched yet another company: ROSS Musical Products. In doing so, he introduced the world to a new line of simple and exceptional-sounding guitar pedals.
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| Current Ross Effects Pedals |
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| Davitt and Hanser |
They eventually moved to a warehouse in the Delhi Township, a suburb in the western section of Cincinnati. By the late 1980’s they had purchased the Kustom name and began importing solid state amplifiers for sale using the Kustom name.
Though the amplifiers bore a logo-badge that said "Kustom", these amps looked nothing like the ones Bud Ross made. However here was some interest in their products.
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| Kustom '72 Coupe |
But within just a few years, most major musical instrument manufacturers began building Chinese manufactured products with their logo.
In my opinion Kustom put this product out a few years too early. Hanser eventually offered a tube amplifier with a tuck and roll design on top that was a great amp.
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| Current Kustom Amplifiers |
Their products have evolved over the years, but I can attest they are dependable. I purchased a Kustom Acoustic amplifier twenty years ago and it is still in great working order.
©UniqueGuitar Publications (text only) 2026
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