Took delivery this arvo of a Kustom 5H head. It's 2nd hand (looks new & owner said only 5 hrs use - we'll see) & came complete with a stepdown transformer (2 outlet solid metal jobbie also brand new) for AUS$115 + $20 delivery - VERY cheap for my neck of the woods and way cheaper than some of the pedals I seriously considered.
Hooked up & plugged in there's a little hum - could be the single coils, the transformer or the amp - too soon to tell.
I set it up with a VS412 marshall cab & I have to agree with kc - it's LOUD. Not as face meltingly loud as the marshall cranked but loud enough that I didn't get to 12 o'clock.
That's probably partly due to the speakers in the cab - "...Gold Backs are just a sticker Marshall used on eminence and celestion middle of the road large run orders for the budget line of amps like valvestates. They appear to have come in 65, 80 and 100 watt versions...you have 4 which at a minimum of 260 watts aren't breaking much of a sweat compression wise...and I doubt the cones in those are doing much..."
The speakers also make things pretty bright so had to dial back on the tone at the guitar.
Used the Royal Artist & it took more vol for the single coils to generate breakup - with the humbucker in the Mostite copy it was easier at lower levels.
Really nice humbucker results were acheived before the 1st notch on the amp's volume dial.
I'll post samples with & without the Brownie on the weekend.
