Vintage & Rare Guitar of the Week: 1969 Kustom K200

guitarz.blogspot.com:

What a beauty we've got for you in this week's Vintage & Rare selection! It's a Kustom K200. Kustom, based in Chanute, Kansas, were of course known mainly for their amps - and in particular you may remember that they had a nice line of solid-state amps and speaker cabs covered in Tuck-And-Roll naugahyde in a choice of various glittery finishes - but like many other amplifier manufacturers it was almost inevitable that at some stage they'd want to test the market with their own line of electric guitars. The Kustom K200 is an example of the guitars bearing the Kustom brandname, which were only made between 1968 and 1969 so I guess they weren't a commercial success (and thank goodness they didn't cover the guitars in naugahyde!). But what a gorgeous guitar it is, with possibly more than a nod to Rickenbacker in its design. Apparently these guitars were not re-branded instruments from another manufacturer like the Ampeg/Burns of London guitar we looked at recently; the K200 was an original design instigated by Kustom owner Bud Ross with input from country guitar legend Roy Clark.

The guitar is a semi hollow and uses a similar construction technique to that of Fender's rosewood Telecaster and (I believe) Thinline Telecaster in that the front and back are formed from separate pieces that have been hollowed out and then glued together. Other features are a pair of DeArmond humbuckers, a Bigsby vibrato, and more fingerboard position markers than you could ever need!

This guitar is currently being sold via Vintage & Rare, priced at $1,699.

G L Wilson

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Kustom K-100 amp and speaker cab

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Several of you correctly identified the Kustom Kat in our quiz last week.

Kustom Amplification were founded in 1966 and their solid-state amps were quite eye-catching being covered in Tuck-And-Roll naugahyde, similar to automobile upholstery of the era. Colours included Red Sparkle, Blue Sparkle, Gold Sparkle, Cascade Sparkle (Teal), Charcoal Sparkle, Silver Sparkle, and Flat Black (no sparkle).

The Kustom Kat was a promotional item originally given away with purchased Kustom amps and were available in the same colours. They were similar to the naugas, supposedly being the creature from which naugahyde comes from. (Apparently naugas shed their skins naturally and - luckily for them - no naugas were killed for their skin in order to make naugahyde!)

Pictured here is a Kustom K-100 amp and speaker cab in Cascade Sparkle. This amp is currently for sale on eBay, but the seller doesn't mention there being a matching Kustom Kat.

The Kustom Kats themselves are quite collectable. The one we looked at in the quiz is currently for sale on eBay with a starting price of $295.95 - I'm told these can sometimes fetch up to $1,000.

G L Wilson

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