How much does appearance affect your amp choice?

[Edword]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

I don't really care, but I'm glad I don't have any more ugly rigs, I'll say that.

BOO!

[shadven]

I am a gear snob, and I love vintage gear in particular. If go out to see a band, their gear tells me a lot about them even before I hear them play. If the guitar players aren't playing through tube amps, and they aren't playing a Fender, Gibson, Gretch or Rickenbacker (or at least have one in the guitar rack) I am a little suspect about their awareness of good tone... and their hipness factor. Same with the bass gear, though I am a little more forgiving. But I sure prefer to see a Fender/Gibson/Musicman/Ric bass on a stand somewhere.
I play through an Ampeg SVT VR w/matching Ampeg 410 or 810 cab. I also have an 1969 Ampeg B-15n / SVT 350 Red Head, and I play vintage P-Basses and Gibson Thunderbirds.
All that being said, I don't judge to harshly, and many bands and players win me over with their skill tone and songwriting / song choice. I just prefer the old school gear.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Edword

BOO!

That's a rig I don't consider ugly, so you're in the clear

[Calaverasgrande]

Originally Posted by Edword

BOO!

that is an epic win in my book.

[Tele295]

I played my Hohner/Steinberger fretless last weekend at a gig, and audience members were asking seriously if it was a Guitar Hero controller. It's very black ( fretless, nylon tapewound strings) and very 80's, and no one recognizes those basses anymore. I played the Pbass for the rest of the gig

[Bassmec]

Is it true that uglier amps put out more on the first gig and are less fussy about about what you do with them and which inputs get used?

[sledz]

My 5 custom cents.

[pedro]

We can disagree about what looks good or bad, and whether an Orange or Markbass design is ugly or attractive but looks do matter to me. I won't keep something that doesn't sound good but I have tried more than one rig because it looked cool.

IMO, the Ampeg fliptop is still the reigning king of cool looking bass amps and IMO coincidentally still the best sounding too. But my back and lack of PA support has me happily playing my gigs these past couple of years with my TCE 450 classic and RS210.

[chienmort]

Originally Posted by Bassmec

Is it true that uglier amps put out more on the first gig and are less fussy about about what you do with them and which inputs get used?

You are naughty Bassmec!

[ChuckTrucks]

It basically means I can never, ever own a Mark bass but other than that Im not too picky.

Hell I have an Orange guitar amp, its bright orange. But it looks good.

Markbass should take design inspiration from the English.

[mindwell]

Appearance does matter to me. That said, I have made my share of "bad decisions" (shoulder-bagged Markbass F1 atop a Fridge, uncased power amps, coiled cords etc). Retrospectively, I can infer that I have some aversion to brushed aluminum, and a penchant for blues and grays (Acoustic 150, blueline SVT, GK 800RB, SWR Baby Blue and Electric Blue, Alembic F-1X, Symetrix 501). Which, along with tone, probably explains my Acoustic 360/361 GAS.

[Metalway]

The sound first, but the look matters. I could never play with an Orange amp and cab because of the color.

Anyway, it's not a problem because my amp and cab sound and look awesome and that easy to understand because I play MARSHALL !

[ChuckTrucks]

See I dig the Orange amps that are Orange but I have an intense dislike for the black ones!

[richntiff]

All I know is the more I drink, the better my rig looks. Is that weird?

[adamafurious]

Obviously, sound is most important, but unfortunately, looks do matter. Just like everything else, people judge with their eyes. If you don't look professiona at a gig, or like you take yourself seriously, then why should I?

[WilliamSandoval]

I would never buy a Kustom...

[bgavin]

Originally Posted by jumblemind

How much does appearance affect your amp choice?

None.

[Doner Designs]

There are so many options, why buy something ugly?

[TomB]

I'm not too worked up about appearance, but oddly enough, some of the band leaders I work for have an obsession with it. Hey, they get the work so I shrug it off. Fortunately for me, my favorite sounding cabs also look great and can even (almost) satisfy the vintage freaks: the Aggie DB series, complete with Fender classic grill cloth. They hit a homer with these, IMO. ...as long as you don't mind a little heft in your load-in .

[Metalway]

Originally Posted by Doner Designs

There are so many options, why buy something ugly?

I agree...