Kustom K-200B Model Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1968), made in Chanute, Kansas, Wineburst lacquer finish, laminated maple body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
From the wild plains of Kansas in the 1960's came the Krazy Kustom Kats, bring America-and the world-unusually fine sounding solid-state amplifiers with tuck'n'roll vinyl cabinets and these sleek thinline guitars. The Kustom amps prospered for some years; the guitar line sputtered out of production after a year or so but the actual instruments are very finely made and striking looking guitars. They are built a bit like the Rickenbacker 300 series guitars, with slim hollow bodies carved from solid wood blocks with hollow chambers inside, and a single slash soundhole. Unlike the Ricks, the necks are bolt-on allowing for continuing action adjustment and the fingerboards and not lacquered, making for more conventional playing comfort.
The Kustoms have a distinct mid-'60's hot-rod feel about them-unfortunately they came to market just as the heavy 1968 blues-rock wave brought solidbodies, hyper volume and distortion into the guitar universe and thus were born at exactly the wrong time. These are in no way cheap guitars-they are elegantly built and finished and in many ways are the equal of quite a few far better known contemporaries.
This model is the K-200B, characterized by the lack of a vibrato, snarlier (less hi-fi) DeArmond pickups and simpler fingerboard inlay compared to its siblings in the K-200A line. All Kustom guitars feature the same laminated, hollowed out maple 4-piece body and 2-piece maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. The instrument has a very classy feel and the slim neck is extremely playable, with an unusually fast action not unlike a Mosrite but with more conventional frets. All hardware is high quality, including the fully adjustable bridge. This particular guitar is finished in "Wineburst"-a very unusual looking green-to-purple sunburst that was Kustom's most unique color option. A neat and very playable example of American 1960's guitar creativity and one of the coolest "unknown" guitars of the late 1960's.
Overall length is 38 3/4 in. (98.4 cm.), 15 in. (38.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 1/2 in. (622 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.). All original and relatively clean overall, with numerous small dings to the finish but no large areas of finish wear or loss. There is only one condition issue-a small bulge in the wood and finish chip in the center seam of the back of the neck down by the headstock, where the top end of the truss rod is situated. This is fully solid and the rod itself works fine, the guitar is set up with a very low action and the neck quite straight. Everything works as it should, the guitar plays and sounds excellent complete down to the usually-lost little snap on bridge cover and the shaped HSC. Excellent - Condition.
