Expensive amps with crap graphics and fonts

cosmiccarrot

impmann said:

 

The inverse is also true... how many times have you turned up to see a band in a pub and the guitarist has too many guitars, an enormous amp and huge pedal board only to sound average at best. He just looks a prat to non-players.

Actually that would give me something to look at, similar to going to a guitar shop! 

Not sure he'd 'looks a prat to non-players'? most people in a pub (unless he's crap), would think he'd look the part, I tend to think a lot of the negativity would come from other guitarists, either bedroom or gigging. What's wrong with having all the gear if you can afford it?

Bucket

Agreed with the OP on Swart, I think 65 stuff is cool and distinctive though, and I love the look (and TONE) of 633. Hamsteads look a lot cheaper than they actually are.

I really hate the self-consciously "METAAAAL" aesthetic of many Engl heads, like the Special Edition with its stupid pseudo-Satanic red glow and preposterous banks of switches, which make it look far cheaper than its £2500 price tag would suggest.

http://englamps.de/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/E_670.jpg

It's cheap, but the ugliest guitar amp ever made is the 2007-ish-spec Carlsbro TC60. Sounds better than it looks, which is just as well.

https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjAwWDgwMA==/z/AmsAAOSwgQ9VzNKZ/$_86.JPG

Bucket

Oh, and the Framus Cobra.

https://reverb-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/s--GAx_aQwi--/a_exif,c_limit,e_unsharp_mask:80,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_south,h_620,q_90,w_620/v1419232582/uti5awdiftoorsesuulj.jpg

JayGee

impmann said:

...how many times have you turned up to see a band in a pub and the guitarist has too many guitars, an enormous amp and huge pedal board only to sound average at best. He just looks a prat to non-players.

Oi! I resemble that remark... :-)

Neil

TTBZ said:

Not amps but Xotic use bloody comic sans on some of their pedals. Don't care how good it sounds, it just looks horrible and clearly no thought has gone into designing the graphics. If they were cheap it could be ignored but at their high prices you want at least a bit of thought gone into how it looks.

I think some boutique pedal makers are actually anti-style.

Rather than making something attractive they are purposely going for the "knocked up in the shed" look.

impmann

cosmiccarrot said:

impmann said:

 

The inverse is also true... how many times have you turned up to see a band in a pub and the guitarist has too many guitars, an enormous amp and huge pedal board only to sound average at best. He just looks a prat to non-players.

Actually that would give me something to look at, similar to going to a guitar shop! 

Not sure he'd 'looks a prat to non-players'? most people in a pub (unless he's crap), would think he'd look the part, I tend to think a lot of the negativity would come from other guitarists, either bedroom or gigging. What's wrong with having all the gear if you can afford it?

I speak from experience of 1) being on the receiving end (being the 'prat') - too much gear and a bad sound and 2) watching a few pub gigs where the sheer volume of equipment the guitarist had looked daft, and was commented on by non-players.

"Looking the part" - almost, swap around two letters of the final word and thats what a lot of folk think when you rock up with huge amps, lots of guitars and flashing lights on a three foot pedalboard. Only guitarists think "cool"... believe me.

Frankly, if someone has a battered old amp on a chair at the back of the stage, one guitar and puts on a great show, the equipment is utterly irrelevant to everyone except guitar players.

Dominic

frictionfraction said:

It's not only the fonts etc but the names. Standing at the top are Friedmans - marketed at middle aged blokes with names thought up by 13 year olds. 55 year old balding flabby middle manager ( yep I know that's half if us) with an amp with Dirty Shirley written across it just looks a twat 

A Dirty Shirley is an alcoholic Shirley Temple Cocktail (with Vodka ,I think )
 -it's not a sex thing although I can guess what a Pink Taco is

Dominic

professorben said:

Morgan should join forces with Freidman. 

They have .............they are made in the same Factory as are Tone King and Wampler -all the same factory.

Dominic

richardhomer said:

Lebarque said:

Good: Most amps which use the guy's surname 

Not sure I agree:

Carr - no - because it reminds me of Jimmy Carr.

Freidman - no - because it reminds me of Dean Friedman who recorded the truly awful 'Lucky Stars'

Morgan - no - because it's a very dull name....

or Fender because it reminds me of a bloke who designed guitars !
AND -THE DEAN FRIEDMAN SONG WAS BRILLIANT and he was a nice Jewish boy (so his mum said )

Rocker

Danny1969 said:

I don't understand why people care what amps look like, I mean guitars yeah but amps are just at the back of the stage in the dark. We have our back to them, the audience don't care about them if they could see em ... I don't get it. 
If I built one it would probably be covered in checkerplate and built to not break rather than built to look good. Most of the above would have to be hardcased to survive in your typical band van 

Wis awarded. On stage who gives a damn about how an amp 'looks'? Bedroom players do care at least until they join a band where they usually cotton on to the fact that nobody gives a fuck how the amp looks.

bbill335

What about amps that offend the sense of smell? My amp stinks since blowing an OT.

gibsongretschfan

Laney Amps look like if British Leyland took up guitar 

although I do love a good 'ol  random 70's Rigs of Doom type amp

professorben

Dominic said:

professorben said:

Morgan should join forces with Freidman. 

They have .............they are made in the same Factory as are Tone King and Wampler -all the same factory.

Is it near Shawshank?

ICBM

Rocker said:

Wis awarded. On stage who gives a damn about how an amp 'looks'? Bedroom players do care at least until they join a band where they usually cotton on to the fact that nobody gives a fuck how the amp looks.

I do. Not least because there are amps I wouldn't play on stage because they would make me look like a prat… in the same way as an overly-flashy PRS at a pub gig does. eg a Bad Cat with the cats-eyes logo.

I need all the help I can get not to look like a prat, so I'm not going to make it harder for myself than I have to. .

robinbowes

I really don't care what stuff looks like. I'd happily play with it all off stage as long as it sounds/feels good. In fact, if I get an Helix that's effectively what I would be doing! 

Vibetronic

Bucket said:

I really hate the self-consciously "METAAAAL" aesthetic of many Engl heads, like the Special Edition with its stupid pseudo-Satanic red glow and preposterous banks of switches, which make it look far cheaper than its £2500 price tag would suggest.

I'm going to have to put that in the classified ad for the one I'm selling

CloudNine

I wouldn't say the Redplate design team are exactly knocking it out the park..... 

Dopesick

The amp graphics/font aren't exactly the be-all and end-all for me, but I can get some added inspiration from a nice looking amp. I'm a design freak so this stuff means a lot to me.

stickyfiddle

Aesthetics are very important for probably half the market. I'm absolutely in that half and there are a large number of amps that I wouldn't ever consider purely because they look shitty.

Winny_Pooh

robinbowes said:

I really don't care what stuff looks like. I'd happily play with it all off stage as long as it sounds/feels good. In fact, if I get an Helix that's effectively what I would be doing! 

Keep this in your living room for a month
http://i.imgur.com/pEgxiEK.jpg