Visually, the HVs now feature a unique, rounded cabinet top, all-new handle and control knob designs, new grill cloth, vents and piping, as well as the classic, vintage Kustom logo.
The HV100T represents the top-of-the-line High Voltage combo. One hundred watts and two 12-inch Celestion speakers provide tight, high-volume tube tone and touch. But the core of the HV100T is its 12AX7 tube preamp. To maximize the tube’s distinctive audio characteristics and dynamic range, it operates at higher voltage levels. This circuit generates the complex tonality and responsive feel of tube amplification, without the weight and expense of all-tube designs.
The new HV100THD takes this same circuitry and offers it in a 100-watt head format. It may be matched with new HV 4x12 speaker cabinets, which feature Celestion speakers and the new HV aesthetics.
All HV amplifiers have two-channels, each with Gain and Master Volume controls. This Dual Master system provides natural tube overdrive and compression on either channel and it’s great for dialing in medium-gain tones with ease. When high-gain sounds are required, these models bring it with a vengeance -- from singing lead tones to heavy grinding rhythms.
The new HV20T distills the HV experience down to a 20-watter with a 10-inch Celestion speaker. This model has its own unique effects section that mixes analog and digital technologies to provide an independent Reverb control as well as eight footswitchable effects, including a “Delay + Boost” setting that makes guitar solos stand out.
All other HV models utilize a 24-bit Digital Multi-Effects system with 16 high-fidelity, semi-programmable effects with Tap or Toggle functions for each selection, effectively adding further choices for players.
Select HV models provide a variable, footswitchable Volume Boost that allows players to dial in the perfect volume level for solos – whether clean or dirty – and then activate this boost using the HV footswitch.
For more information:
Kustom
Slayer guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman formed the original searing 6-string front line of the most brutal band in the land. Together, they created an aggressive mood of malcontent with high-velocity thrash riffs and screeching solos that’ll slice your speaker cones. The only way to create a band more brutal than Slayer would be to animate them, and that’s exactly what Metalocalypse (and Home Movies) creator Brendon Small did.
From his first listen, Small has been a lifetime devotee and thrash-metal expert, so we invited him to help us break down what makes Slayer so great. Together, we dissect King and Hanneman’s guitar styles and list their angriest, most brutal songs, as well as those that create a mood of general horribleness.
This episode is sponsored by EMG Pickups.
Use code EMG100 for 15% off at checkout!
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At 26, Blu DeTiger is the youngest musician ever to have a signature Fender bass guitar. The Fender Limited Player Plus x Blu DeTiger Jazz Bass, announced in September, pays tribute to the bassist and singer’s far-reaching impact and cultural sway. She’s played with Caroline Polachek, Bleachers, FLETCHER, Olivia Rodrigo, and more, and released her own LP in March 2024. In 2023, Forbes feature her on their top 30 Under 30 list of musicians. So how did DeTiger work her way to the top?
DeTiger opens up on this episode of Wong Notes about her career so far, which started at a School of Rock camp at age seven. That’s where she started performing and learning to gig with others—she played at CBGB’s before she turned 10. DeTiger took workshops with Victor Wooten at Berklee followed and studied under Steven Wolf, but years of DJing around New York City, which hammered in the hottest basslines in funk and disco, also imprinted on her style. (Larry Graham is DeTiger’s slap-bass hero.)
DeTiger and Wong dish on the ups and downs of touring and session life, collaborating with pop artists to make “timeless” pop songs, and how to get gigs. DeTiger’s advice? “You gotta be a good hang.”
