Do Cute Amps Matter?

[László]

Here’s a thread that probably won’t make any difference to any sentient being other than yours truly: Do you care whether or not an amplifier looks cute, pretty, nice, handsome, or otherwise cool sitting in your music room?

I was thinking this morning as I started to pack up my gear from a session at my place, “Dayum, I have some nice looking amplifiers. I wonder if that was part of my buying process?”

Shallowness Admission #1: Probably, since on two of them I went for customized leather coverings and special grille material! And my PRS amps are lovely beings in and of themselves!

So I guess looks matter to some degree at Studio Craptastic. I wouldn’t buy an amp that didn’t sound beautiful. But I also would have issues with amps that look cheesy,

For example, would I spend real USA greenbacks on an amplifier covered in, say, orange tolex?

Maybe not.

And should I spend $3100 on a speaker cabinet that I can buy for $650 just because it’s made from nice hardwood? Discuss.

 

[alantig]

For example, would I spend real USA greenbacks on an amplifier covered in, say, orange tolex?

Does this include speaker cabs? Asking for...someone I’m not necessarily fond of.

 

[walrus]

Well, I only have a VOX Pathfinder R15 right now. I know, I know, not very impressive. But to answer your question, yes, I like how it looks - the grill in particular is cool looking. And as a Beatlemaniac, you can't beat the VOX logo!

 

[Ryan Murphy]

I like the shiny twisty thingies that make it louder.

 

[WeFixFlats]

There's a company in Pentaluma that make some of the most incredible custom amp and cabinet finishes on the planet. Go to their Design Gallery and prepare to have your mind blown...It's like "Private Stock" for amps/cabinets...vinyl, leather and hardwood.

 

[Black Plaid]

Aesthetics absolutely do matter. Brands like Peavey and Crate who hits everything with an ugly-stick before it went out the door haven't fared that well over the years.

 

[dmatthews]

I couldn't give a carp... mostly....
That being said...
I have a rather plain looking PRS 2 chan H combo. I bought it with the hope (nowhere to test drive, so bought it off @crgtr ) that it sounded awesome, and was NOT disappointed. Don't care what it looks like.
I have a Fender HRDX, and I couldn't care less what it looks like either. When was the last time I plugged that in anyway?
I have a paisley Custom 50 combo... now THAT is cool! Sounds awesome, and if I have my research right, it was a 2013 Experience amp. Love it for everything it is and can do.
I have a Kemper "Toaster". You either love the retro 50s Sci Fi look, or you don't. I don't mind it, but don't really care either way. It's a cover band guitar players wet dream.
Everything is fun and subjective.

 

[NeubyWanKaneuby]

I think this only has mattered to me with Orange amps. If they're not actually orange tolex, I don't want them.

 

[Boogie]

When I ordered my Boogie, I had no idea I could order custom stuff. Yes, I saw the bubinga combo cab with the wicker, but honestly, I wasn’t a fan of the wicker. I know...I stink. But it didn’t occur to me to ask. Plus, I was already paying $2k for an amp in 1989...paying more for aesthetics probably wasn’t on my radar yet.

When you search for unicorns, once you find one, you can’t be picky about color. The opportunity that arose for my Super Dallas dictated what I got...Stealth. Still cool but I wouldn’t have been complaining about paisley if it had been there. I got what I got.

 

[veinbuster]

The first time I bought an amp that I could afford to be fussy about, I got blue - whatever the heck the material was. It was the same price as black, and I was sick of black crap.

I bought a Boogie Mark III about the same time as Boogie, but mine was in store stock so the walnut they were tired of looking at was cheaper than ordering black whatever. And the cane wicket looks bloody amazing. Since it sat in the dining room, to be joined by a baby grand, my wife wasn’t going to allow anything but wood if I got a spare - rather than trust me not to cheap out, she ordered a bubinga/wicker Mark V.

Then my ancient black baseman didn’t seem right in the library, so she bought a paisley MDT and relegated the baseman to storage.

So...yes, looks matter. And all the amps together are less money than the piano.

 

[CandidPicker]

Am not a fan of the term "cute." That usually describes small children, puppies and kittens playing. It was also a pet phrase of my Dad who used to say, "Don't get cute."

I prefer things like "artistic," "well-crafted," "well-designed."

"Cute" conjures up things like how your first pre-teen crush described you to her friends. That, and "dreamy." Spare me the angst and the trip down memory lane.

I've done well to ask myself this numerous times, and am not a fan of the word, "cute." I used to be a "cute kid" when I was pre-kindergarten. Children grow out of the use of the term "cute" quickly.

And no offense to Les, but the descriptions of amps he's used are relatively anthropomorphic. I don't consider my amp as either cute, pretty, handsome, or cool looking. For some reason, this is how I'd describe someone favorably, not something.

 

[dmatthews]

The first time I bought an amp that I could afford to be fussy about, I got blue - whatever the heck the material was. It was the same price as black, and I was sick of black crap.

I bought a Boogie Mark III about the same time as Boogie, but mine was in store stock so the walnut they were tired of looking at was cheaper than ordering black whatever. And the cane wicket looks bloody amazing. Since it sat in the dining room, to be joined by a baby grand, my wife wasn’t going to allow anything but wood if I got a spare - rather than trust me not to cheap out, she ordered a bubinga/wicker Mark V.

Then my ancient black baseman didn’t seem right in the library, so she bought a paisley MDT and relegated the baseman to storage.

So...yes, looks matter. And all the amps together are less money than the piano.

That MDT is killer.

 

[littlebadboy]

It doesn't matter to me how it looks. I'm after the sound.

Actually, I don't have a guitar amp anymore. I replaced all of them with an FRFR and went the mfx/modeler route. It is awesome to have a lot of familiar tone choices at your fingertips.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Not gonna lie, I gasped when I first saw the DG amp at Experience. I kinda knew I wanted one before I’d even heard it.

The first time I bought an amp that I could afford to be fussy about, I got blue - whatever the heck the material was. It was the same price as black, and I was sick of black crap.

I bought a Boogie Mark III about the same time as Boogie, but mine was in store stock so the walnut they were tired of looking at was cheaper than ordering black whatever. And the cane wicket looks bloody amazing. Since it sat in the dining room, to be joined by a baby grand, my wife wasn’t going to allow anything but wood if I got a spare - rather than trust me not to cheap out, she ordered a bubinga/wicker Mark V.

Then my ancient black baseman didn’t seem right in the library, so she bought a paisley MDT and relegated the baseman to storage.

So...yes, looks matter. And all the amps together are less money than the piano.

God, I love that woman.

 

[Rider1260]

My Boogie MKII was it for years and was always pretty to me, now I can't decide which 4x12 I want


IMG_1567 by

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2h7NuGn]58845758510__0DF9E016-D3C5-4585-A565-ADDBE60334C8 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/152274366@N08/[/url]

 

[Shreve]

I’ll be buried in a plaid zoot suit!

Fairly rare, but plaid sounds best:

 

[Tucson Thump]

Here’s a thread that probably won’t make any difference to any sentient being other than yours truly: Do you care whether or not an amplifier looks cute, pretty, nice, handsome, or otherwise cool sitting in your music room?

I was thinking this morning as I started to pack up my gear from a session at my place, “Dayum, I have some nice looking amplifiers. I wonder if that was part of my buying process?”

Shallowness Admission #1: Probably, since on two of them I went for customized leather coverings and special grille material! And my PRS amps are lovely beings in and of themselves!

So I guess looks matter to some degree at Studio Craptastic. I wouldn’t buy an amp that didn’t sound beautiful. But I also would have issues with amps that look cheesy,

For example, would I spend real USA greenbacks on an amplifier covered in, say, orange tolex?

Maybe not.

And should I spend $3100 on a speaker cabinet that I can buy for $650 just because it’s made from nice hardwood? Discuss.

You have an opportunity to marry one of two women. Both are excellent cooks and both compelling mates but you find one more attractive than the other.

 

[László]

Am not a fan of the term "cute." That usually describes small children, puppies and kittens playing. It was also a pet phrase of my Dad who used to say, "Don't get cute."

I prefer things like "artistic," "well-crafted," "well-designed."

"Cute" conjures up things like how your first pre-teen crush described you to her friends. That, and "dreamy." Spare me the angst and the trip down memory lane.

I've done well to ask myself this numerous times, and am not a fan of the word, "cute." I used to be a "cute kid" when I was pre-kindergarten. Children grow out of the use of the term "cute" quickly.

And no offense to Les, but the descriptions of amps he's used are relatively anthropomorphic. I don't consider my amp as either cute, pretty, handsome, or cool looking. For some reason, this is how I'd describe someone favorably, not something.

You will never, ever understand my humor.

 

[László]

There's a company in Pentaluma that make some of the most incredible custom amp and cabinet finishes on the planet. Go to their Design Gallery and prepare to have your mind blown...It's like "Private Stock" for amps/cabinets...vinyl, leather and hardwood.

You mean something like this thing covered in Ostrich leather with the wicker grill sitting in my craptastic studio?

Or this one in black leather, because, leather?

 

[László]

Does this include speaker cabs? Asking for...someone I’m not necessarily fond of.

Yes. In fact, thinking about a cab for the Fillmore led to this thread. I haven’t ordered one yet.

I’m toying with a few ideas. The obvious thing would be to just match the head, but I dunno. I’m intrigued by the sonic possibilities of hardwood.