Kustom Expands Coupe Amplifier Series With '72 Coupe Hardtop Head
January 20, 2006
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Kustom® Amplification expands on the success of its all-tube Coupe™ Series guitar amplifiers with the NAMM introduction of the '72 Coupe Hardtop, a new amp with the award-winning tone, features and distinctive "tuck n' roll" look of the company's '72 Coupe combo models, but in a head format.
The Hardtop, which is built in the USA using U.S. and imported parts, is an all-tube, '72-watt head designed by Kustom's Chief Engineer, James Brown. Utilizing four 6L6 output tubes and four 12AX7 preamp tubes from Electro-Harmonix®, the Hardtop is a two-channel, Dual Master Volume design that lets players get sweet, harmonically rich distortion from either channel at any volume level. For increased flexibility, there is a footswitchable Master Volume Boost that works for both channels, and can be dialed in for a preset boost of up to 10db - perfect for making solos stand out in the mix.
Drawing on classic, vintage Kustom circuits from the 1960s and '70s, the '72 Coupe Hardtop provides a lush Accutronics® spring Reverb with its own tone control and Kustom's original Tremolo and Vibrato circuits that can be set from very slow to fast speeds, enabling everything from throbbing tremolo to dramatic rotary speaker effects. The amplifier's EQ controls (Bass, Middle, Treble) were also adapted from vintage Kustom circuits.
Rear panel controls include a tube-driven Effects Loop and a highly effective speaker-emulated Direct Out with a volume control. The Direct Out provides a robust, ballsy signal for mixing boards at live gigs or in the recording studio, thereby eliminating the need for microphones. Speaker output jacks and an impedance selector switch are also located on the head's back panel.
"The '72 Coupe Hardtop is perfect for players who want the rich, award-winning Coupe sound in an amp head format," said Mark Hunter, marketing manager. "Its 72 watts provide a lot of headroom and when it's run through a 4x12 speaker cabinet, it sounds absolutely huge. This heads rocks in a major way and will work well for professional players."
The '72 Coupe Hardtop head includes a 3-function footswitch that allows players to switch between channels, turn on the Master Volume Boost, and activate either the Reverb or Tremolo/Vibrato circuit. There is a button on the head's back panel that lets users choose whether the Reverb or Tremolo/Vibrato circuit will be controlled by the footswitch.
As with Kustom's popular Coupe combo amps, the new '72 Hardtop head is built with a Baltic birch cabinet and features a distinctive "tuck n' roll" panel along its top edge. The standard Hardtop panel color is Black. The amp can be seen and heard at Kustom's NAMM exhibit in Hall C, #4868. For more information, visit their web site at www.kustom.com.
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