Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

I bought this to use as a monitor for a guitar POD HD500 amp emulator and effects processor. I have probably played through this monitor around 10 hours so far. I've used a variety of live sound equipment in the past ranging from professional quality equipment to Mackie and Behringer plastic boxes (both of which are pretty good by the way).

Overall, the KPC12MP is a good low-budget monitor and you'll literally need to spend twice as much to get even a hint of better quality (a Behringer B212D would be a small step up). It's built much more rugged than I expected. Mine has metal input jacks and strong cabinet with solid tolex covering. This wedge can get louder than comfortable in my living room without falling apart. It should work fine to monitor vocals and guitars/keys on a moderately loud stage. The unit does have an XLR and a Line input, however the preamp is the same on both, as a MIC level signal is not sufficient to get any volume. Make sure you are sending a line level signal regardless of which input you are using (this is an issue on units like a POD where the XLR is sending mic level and the 1/4" is sending line level).

Sound quality is a little better than expected. Overall its a clean sounding monitor which doesn't introduce noise. The tone is a bit bright overall and there is a harsh zone straight in front of the drivers. It works fine, just be aware that the speaker is going to sound harsher than the same signal going to a PA, so be aware if you are using this to monitor an instrument or POD and you end up trying to tweak tone settings based upon what you are hearing from the monitor. I have read some people are swapping out the drivers for better ones, that could certainly increase the sound quality a lot and may be worth it if you want a project, considering just the cabinet and plate amp are pretty much worth the price of this unit. However, the monitor is also very usable as is, so long as you are aware of what is going on with the brightness.

Long story short, its not professional level gear so if that's what you need and you have the funds for a much better monitor then go buy better gear, no question... but you wouldn't be looking at these if that was the case anyway. If you are trying to stretch your music budget and you need some cheap portable powered monitors, grab these. Your average local cover band, garage band, coffee house, small bar, and smaller church are the markets where this monitor is going to fit in nicely.

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

Definitely would recommend, and will buy another one (or two) in the future as we expend and need more!
We have two of these for our church worship band. Love the individual volume control on each monitor. Allows us to adjust the volume independant of the output sent from the sound board, even when they are chained together. So our drummer can crank his up to his heart's content, and I don't have to be blasted out on the other side of the stage with mine!
Sound good overall. Not sure if I'd use them as main speakers, but as monitors, they give a accurate representation of our music. At least as good, if not better, than other floor wedge monitors I have used in the past, ones that cost a decnt amount more!
After 3 months of use, setting up and moving every week, they are still functioning like new. They aren't built like a tank, but seem like they will last a long time if you take reasonable care of your equipment.

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

For the price, the product is perfect for our drummer to have his own wedge. We typically run it at 100%, since it's only 100 watts. Within 2-3 times using this product, the volume pot is failing. Once I turn the volume past half, it cuts out altogether and I have to wedge a band business card under the knob to get sound out of the speaker; even then, it takes a bit of tweaking. Haven't yet tried contact cleaner, but that's my next solution. Warranty service seems to be a hassle and I'll be without the speaker for a period of time...inconvenient to say the least.

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

I have been using Kustom monitors and mains for several years with a 6 channel Yamaha EMX 640 head. There are ouputs for two monitors and two mains on the head. If you try to add more monitors by daisy chanining them you drop the load which could cause damage to the head. So what I did was I added one of these powered monitors from the "monitor out" jack on the head which just sends out the monitor signal to say a recorder or another system. The KC 12 inch powered monitor works great this way and no damage to the Yamaha head cause you are not dropping the load on the regular monitors. I may even buy another powered monitor and run it from the out of the first powered monitor so we will have 4 monitors as well as the two 15 inch Kustom mains. The powered monitors match the regular inpowered monitors exactly and sound identical to them. The volume control is a real plus too so you are able to match the volumes to the unpowered monitors. Hope this helps those of you trying to improve your systems.

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

Yeah! Bought one to try and I'm back for the second. Used it as a vocal monitor next to my drum kit for a small room gig and it performed well. It sounded a little bright in the upper end and can be driven out of focus but I didn't need to drive it that hard. Hopefully it holds up. I may give the dual 10 a shot as well. Hope this helps.
Nice and easy to use right out of the box!
It's a floor monitor!
Should be able to make what I paid back on the first or second gig out with it!

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

My kids are just playing around right now... the Guitar and Drums were having trouble hearing the vocals. I added this so that they could hopefully hear it better. They love it and say it makes all the difference, but the singer still has a little trouble. I had to add it directly to the vocals since the PA system we have doesn't have a dedicated way to hook in a monitor. So I think that it works great for the price and as they grow we will upgrade the PA and pobably add more monitors.

As I said I wish it was a little louder, right now I have the volume turned to max and it wasn't as loud as I expected. When it is alone it is great, but proably just need more monitors to help overcome the rest of the band. So my advice might be to consider two monitors to boost the output...
Has everything that I needed.
Only used it a few time and moved it once to a small venue, but seems like it is very sturdy.
This was a great price and I had a gift coupon from previous purchases.

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

I bought two of these to use for monitors at the practice space. Mostly keyboard and vocals. Also to supplement the number of available monitors at the big jams we often have. The line in/out is great for daisychaining when we need 10 or more monitors. The price is unbeatable just for the cabinet and power amp. I presume they'll resist bumps and bruises as well as my KPC10's.

I'm don't think these even have a crossover in them. That might help. SOMETHING has to happen to tame those horns..
Everything they should have. Line level out is nice for daisychaining, but speaker out would be nice, too.
Cabinet construction is first rate. I couldn't start to make these myself for TWICE what I paid for them. (I've owned a pair of KPC10M's for three years. Similar construction. They've held up well.) Biggest downside to these KPC12MP's is the uneven frequency response, with out-of-control highs. Aggressive EQ'ing required to try to make a piano actually SOUND like a piano. (Surprising, since my KPC10's sound great, totally flat, not spikey.). Next we'll try l-pads, or undoing the horn, or stuffing cotton balls in them! ha ha (My quality rating is kind of an 'absolute' value, without regard to the low price.)
True, they need some tweaking. But for $112 each they're a fantastic value.

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

We use a Mackie 808m powermixer and s500 speks. these have perfect vol.level control with out interference of feedback.I have cranked them 100% no prob. I own 2 of the 12s
I have used some real crap in the past as well as some ultra fine.If these don't work for you, you suck. I have no trouble cutting through the mix.and sounding to me like I should,with out stranning my voice.I never need to use full volume.
I would just watch that you don't hit the vol,pot or even that panel when transporting.Should out last you.
Shop around.You tell me.

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

I had been looking to purchase a powered monitor and I got this monitor because MF offered it as a Stupid Deal of the Day. I like the monitor but it's only 100 watts so it may be under-powered. I've use it only once, in an acoustic performance, and it worked well but I had the volume almost to the max. I can say how it will work in a rock setting.

The monitor seems well built and durable enough for the road but it's too early to tell how it will hold up over time.

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

True story. I was using a pair of these outside with an ipod hooked up to them for a party. Everyone fell asleep and it started to rain....the music stoped. After letting them dry out, plugged them back in and they started working again! Only bummer is no amplified output, well constructed, good sound, great price.

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

Great sound, plenty of power, nice looking unit! using pair as stage monitors. Plan to use as mains for smaller jobs and feel they have plenty of power to handle it. Decent lows and crisp highs. Thanks, KUSTOM!
Basic. Line In/Line Out. Volume Control. Built-In Handle.
Just purchased and used once but appears to be a quality built product. Using pair as stage monitors but also plan to use as mains for smaller jobs. Solid cabinet, nice metal grill. Good low end and crisp highs. Very clear vocals coming through. Plenty of power in an attractive package.
For the price, this is an amazing value. It's built the traditional way (not the new formed cabinets) but is relatively light weight.

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

I don't see how you could do better at this price. Sure there are some things that could have been done "better", but you'd be paying more for a cabinet that might not "be" more functionally. Look at it this way, you can get four of these things and cover a pretty good sized stage for the price of a single "name" powered box.
After trying one of these, we now have four and that should say everything you need to know about them. MF's price and service were of course fine, so wer can leave that aside. The stated 100W output of these speakers is fine for the average rock club and you'd likely be fighting feedback before you ran out of power. The sound is OK as well for a monitor. I wouldn't use them as mains in even a tiny venue or even for keyboards, but I guess they "could" fill that role. It would be nice if the ins and outs were both XLR and TRS...or even combination TRS/XLR jacks. Some rudimentary EQ would be nice too, but at these prices you really can't argue. They are functionally fine for the purpose and the only things I think could have been better would be:

1)A "carpet" type covering instead of the vinyl which tears by even using harsh language near it
2)A similar cabinet in a "vertical" orientation to make placing them on tight stages easier

Any other niggling details are really stupid to mention in a powered monitor that works at this price.
Quality seems OK so far, I haven't had any problems with any of the four but I also haven't had them for very long yet either.
Not believing that anything could be a perfect 10, these are a great value. They're cheap, they work and do exactly what they're supposed to.

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

I bought a pair of these monitors for a small acoustic group that plays together for fun and recreation. We occasionally perform live with a small pa and found ourselves needing stage monitors. The sound is a bit boxy and poorly defined, but it allows us to hear ourselves onstage. If we were a professional group, we would require more professional sounding monitors, but these serve our purposes adequately.

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

Peak at 100-200 Hz and another at 4K - 6K Hz so they are good for vocals but a bit boxy sounding for music. As vocal monitors they are great.

When mounted on a speaker pole the connectors and controls are on the top so you have to lower the speakers to do setup adjustments.

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

These Kustom powered monitors function very well and are best used as stage monitors receiving line out from PA. These have four benefits: (1) provide additional power (100 watts) that does not drain any power from the PA amplifier, (2) cost about the same as passive monitors (without internal power and treated the same as PA speakers), (3) allow you to conveniently adjust the volume at the monitor, and (4) have adequate inputs (1/4 " and XLR) and output to run from one to the other ("daisy chain"). You must use unshielded "speaker cables" to connect PA speakers or monitors. Instrument cables are shielded, do not work and may damage PA equipment!

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

I intended to use this as a floor monitor for karaoke and live band gigs. When the speaker arrived and tested the output level left something to be desired. Granted, it's only a 100w monitor, but I've used tiny 100w Anchor monitors that blow this thing away (and I'm not really a fan of Anchor products). Even at the very low price I paid, it wasn't worth it, so I sent it back. Maybe I got a bad one, but I wasn't going to take the chance again. My advice: spend a little more money and get a Behringer B212D (or a B215D for clearer output and more low end). You'll get more bang for your buck and more versatility.

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

Had Kustom gear in the old days. Toured, jamed, whatever, never an issue. Needed a couple of monitors for small PA use.... Packed well, arrived quicky, one dead on arrival, both pole mounting cups broke off upon first removal from stands. Great people at MF allowed me to return this joke of a box. Thanks to the great service I was able to quickly get rid of this silly stuff. Wouldn't buy these. Nope, I wouldn't do it. Gave em 2 stars 'cause they sound good.

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

These are nicely built cabinets. I own 3 other Kustom non-powered monitors. The problem with this is that some will purchase this thinking " Great, I got an amp & a PA in one". Wrong. If you try plugging a dynamic mic into this unit you will get little or no signal even at full volume. These are meant to be used with a powered mixer NOT as a stand alone. The buyer needs to be made aware of this.

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

I use a Vox Tone Lab SE through this. I originally wanted a Tech 21 Power Engine, but decided for the money to try this first. While I still may buy the Tech 21, I have no regrets over this purchase. Ruggedly built with great sound reproduction and direct out to a DI to our snake. Wish it had an XLR out and a scoche more volume, but it really is a heck of a value. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to anyone with a floor modeler.
Excellent value. Solidly built. Been using it gigging out for a year with no issues at all.

Comments about Kustom KPC12MP 12" Powered Monitor Speaker:

I can't recommend this monitor because of the quality issues. I can cheerfully recommend Musician's friend. Their customer service through the process of authorizing return and replacing the Kustom monitors with a different brand was absulotely excellent.
We knew this was a monitor with limited features, but the price point was such that we could afford two for our band.
Both monitors failed within ten minutes of use. We returned them to Musician's Friend.
Working? Probably a fair value for the money. Not working? No value.