OWNER’S MANUAL
KGA30
Thank you for purchasing the Kustom KGA30 model guitar amplifier. Kustom has
listened to musicians throughout the world and stands proudly behind each and every
one we make. It was designed with your needs in mind. Feature laden, great sounding,
able to adapt to all kinds of music, this amplifier really delivers what you have been
looking and waiting for. Whatever style you choose, it’s ready !
Kustom, with a 30 year tradition of excellence in design, proudly delivers to you this
amp and rewards you with a rugged and dependable amp designed and engineered
in the USA. Again, thank you for your purchase. Please take a few minutes to learn
about all the professional features that are built in.
KGA30
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1.) CD/Tape Input - this 1/4” 3 conductor jack will allow you to plug in a CD player, tape or any other source to
practice along with. It sums the left and right signals into a mono signal. To control the volume of the source,
adjust the output volume of the device. We suggest you turn the volume all the way down then plug in and adjust
the volume according to your taste.
2.) Guitar Input Jack - this is a 1/4” 2 conductor input jack for plugging in your instrument. It is intended for
guitars but will accept other instruments as well.
3.) Lead Gain - adjust this clockwise to increase the amount of distortion you add to the overdrive signal. Used
in the lower ranges of the control, you get a less distorted sound, a “bluesy” tone. As you increase the gain, you
add tremendous amounts of distortion to the signal for a harder edged “crunch” tone.
4.) Channel Switch - this switch selects which preamp you are using. It will switch between the Rhythm and
Lead channels.
5.) Lead Volume - this control is the output volume control for the Lead Channel. It follows the same tone circuit
as the other channel. It’s gain structure is determined by the lead gain control but this serves as the overall
master volume for this channel.
6.) Rhythm Level - this is the volume control for the clean channel. It’s gain structure is preset for maximum
signal before distortion and determines the output level of the amp.
7.) Bass - this control is the bass control. It is passive and set to shelve frequencies at 65 Hz. This will effect
the low frequency signals. Turning it fully clockwise, the signal is left alone. Turning it counterclockwise, the lows
will be rolled off.
8.) Mid - this control is the midrange control. It is passive and set to shelve frequencies at 1KHz. This will effect
the middle frequency signals. Turning it counterclockwise, your signal will “hollow out” the mids which is popular
in today’s music.
9.) High - this control is the high control. It is passive and set to shelve frequencies at 5KHz. This will effect the
high frequency signals. Turning it fully clockwise, the signal is left alone. Turning it counterclockwise, the highs
will be rolled off.
10.) Reverb Level - this control adds the spring reverb and mixes it into the main signal buss. Reverberation
creates a trail like effect with the sound. It lets the notes “hang in the air” longer, extending the sound.
11.) Chorus On/Off Switch - this is the switch to turn on and off the chorus circuit.
12.) Chorus Level - this is the Speed Control for the chorus circuit.
13) Headphone Jack - this is a 1/4” 3 conductor jack for plugging headphones. It will sum the signal and put
the sound in both ears, thereby creating a pseudo-stereo sound. Volume will be determined by the volume control
on the channel you are on. It will disconnect the internal speaker when plugged in. This will allow quiet practicing.
14.) Jewel Light - this jewel light lets you know that the amplifier is on.
15.) Power - this switch turns on and off the AC power to the amp.
Back Panel - (not pictured)
Speaker Out - this is a 2 conductor 1/4” speaker output jack. This will disconnect the internal speaker and allow
an external speaker cabinet to be employed. Rating is 8 ohms.
Line Output - this is a 2 conductor 1/4” line output jack. This will allow an external amplifier or mixing board to
be supplied with the signal from this amp. This signal is attenuated and comes from the power amp.
Effects Loop I/O - these are 2-2 conductor 1/4” jacks. This will allow an external effects device or equalizer to be
patched back in before the power amp section in this amp. One is send and the other is return.
Footswitch Jack - this is a 3 conductor 1/4” jack. This is for hooking up a footswitch to switch channels and to
turn on/off the chorus.
Suggested Settings
(These settings are general starting points. They
are designed to get you close to the sound you are
looking for. If the control is not shown, then it doesn’t
apply to this particular sound. )
Clean Rhythm or Country Guitar - these settings are the basic clean sounds and for
general rhythm guitar, country lead guitar, funky/chunky rhythm sounds. Usually, country guitar
is a brighter, more trebly edged sound. The bottom end depends on what type of guitar you are
using. Reverb and Chorus depends on taste.
Rhythm guitar is mostly a clean full type of sound. A little less treble than the country sound and
a bit more midrange. Reverb and Chorus, again depends on taste.
Blues Lead or Mellow Crunch - this setting is particularly useful in blues or softer rock
songs and It is good for leads as well as rhythm parts. It is good for power chords in back of
leads.You need to switch to the lead channel to make these settings work. Blues, depending on
the guitar you use, usually adds treble but with more midrange and a “fat” bottom end. This
setting does not have as much gain as full out crunch, adjust the gain control to the amount of
distortion you desire. Blues usually has a reverb trail on the notes. Chorus is sometimes used
to create a vibrato style sound. Adjust to taste.
Alternative/Harder Edged Rock - this setting will deliver more of a cutting tone.
Whether used for rhythm or lead sounds, it will “cut” through the drums and get you
heard. If you need more “grundge”, increase the gain control for more distortion. This
style of music requires a slightly thinner, harder edged tone full of midrange. Less
reverb is required as it tends to muddy up faster songs but Chorus give the tone a fatter
fuller sound. Adjust to taste.
Heavy Metal/Maximum Crunch - this setting is a good starting point for the
“notched out middle” sounds associated with metal and heavy alternative sounds.
Adjust the Treble, Lows, Reverb and Chorus to taste. Usually, for a rhythm tone, you
want to have more lower end and less for leads. Distortion is an integral part of this
style of music and this amp delivers it quite well.
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