How does the Kustom serial chart work?

It lists serial ranges quarter by quarter from 1965 to 1980, so a number places an amplifier in a quarter of a year.

My cabinet number is much higher than any amp number. What now?

Cabinet numbering ran ahead: add about 45,000 to the cabinet number and read the same chart.

What is the 153401 to 169400 gap?

A range in the chart for which no records survive, so amps there cannot be placed by number.

Does the model number date a Kustom?

It identifies the model and the era of its power figure: models made from 1966 to 1972 carry power numbers roughly twice their RMS rating.

The maker's archive

Kustom amps.

Kustom is one of the best documented smaller makers here: a serial chart covers 1965 to 1980 with quarterly granularity, cabinets follow the same chart with an offset, and cosmetics changed in whole-line steps that make an era visible at a glance. One range in the chart has no surviving records.

Country: USA
Active since: 1965
Coverage: 1965–1980 · 31 serial ranges
Dating tier: Serial numbers
In the archive: 2 series · 4 code systems · 11 models
Years documented: 1965–1980

Eras

1965–1967

Frankenstein and the first series

Kustom began in Chanute, Kansas, with the Frankenstein head that has a large top covering and no model number on the front; the only model shipped in that style was the K200. Tuck-and-roll covering defines the early look.

1967–1971

Numbered series

An equal front face with the model number under the Kustom logo marks the 100 and 400 series, with the 200 series continuing; this group is described as generally the most desirable and collectible.

1971–1974

Slanted panels

A slanted panel divided by white lines, with the model number following the logo, belongs to the 150, 250, 300, 500 and 600 series.

1974–1986

Black vinyl and later years

Tuck-and-roll was dropped after the 1975 ownership change in favour of black vinyl and a conventional panel, then black tolex with a large K logo. New lines followed from 1994, including a Tuck-and-Roll valve reissue that lasted about a year.

What dates this maker

The K serial chart for 1965–1980 with quarterly granularity — 31 ranges in the canon data.
Cabinet numbering: add about 45,000 to the cabinet number and read the same chart.
The model number system: K plus a power figure that is roughly twice the RMS rating on 1966–1972 models, followed by a configuration digit.
Cosmetic eras, which change in whole-line steps.
EIA component codes on transformers, pots and speakers.

Watch out

There is a documented hole in the chart between 153401 and 169400 where no records survive.
The doubled power figures only work for models made from 1966 to 1972.
Cosmetics can be recovered, so the serial chart stays the primary witness.

11 Kustom models are catalogued with their production years, specs and safety notes.

Series	Years	Rows	Era note
Kustom K-serial chart 1965-1980 (amp heads and combos)	1965–1980	30
Speaker cabinets: add about 45 000 to the serial, then read the chart	—	1