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Vintage vs. Modern, looks only

R

Rob Mancini

Feb 26, 2008
628
1
#1
Let's keep this discussion centered strictly based on looks, please. Please don't make me bust a cap ;)

Guitarists, aside from the occasional midline metal act with a full endorsement from Krank or Line 6, have completely rejected the modern look. The vast majority of them wouldn't be caught dead with the "exposed cones under steel grills" look. And the only guitarists you ever see using a rack are 80's hairband wankers. Even their solid state amps look vintage now.

But not us. We've fully embraced the racks, the steel grills, and the industrial rat fur. When was the last time you saw a guitar cab done in rat fur? Hell, we even put our tube amps in racks! And steel grills aren't enough...we have to make our cones out of metal just to make them look even more industrial.

What is it about us where we've embraced the modern "form follows function" ethic and the guitarists follow the "amps as furniture" ethic? It really seems odd to me that there's such a difference in aesthetics, especially since Fenders have made such a comeback with bassists in the last 10 years.

And what's really odd is that I double on guitar and I do gigs here and there on it, and I wouldn't ever think of owning an amp that didn't look vintage. Yet when I play bass, I have no problem bringing a rack and a cab covered in rat fur with a steel grill. I have no idea why I can accept modernization with my bass amps but not with my guitar amps. Maybe I need help... :help:

Just thought I'd throw this out there for laughs and see what everyone else thinks. And let's try not to act all superior to guitarists with flip answers about how our brains are better developed and all that. I know plenty of bassists besides myself, so I know the truth.

:hiding:
 
#5
My guess? It's the power difference.

Bassists need a lot of power (low frequencies & all) and consequently their equipment needs to be sturdier than guitar gear. I'm lugging a couple hundred pounds of amp & cabs to keep up to a couple 50 watt Marshalls.
I don't thing Tolex would take the beating that rat fur (good one!) does. I have an ancient GK fridge cab in Tolex and it looks pretty wretched...
 
#6
Rob Mancini said:
Let's keep this discussion centered strictly based on looks, please. Please don't make me bust a cap ;)

Guitarists, aside from the occasional midline metal act with a full endorsement from Krank or Line 6, have completely rejected the modern look. The vast majority of them wouldn't be caught dead with the "exposed cones under steel grills" look. And the only guitarists you ever see using a rack are 80's hairband wankers. Even their solid state amps look vintage now.

But not us. We've fully embraced the racks, the steel grills, and the industrial rat fur. When was the last time you saw a guitar cab done in rat fur? Hell, we even put our tube amps in racks! And steel grills aren't enough...we have to make our cones out of metal just to make them look even more industrial.

What is it about us where we've embraced the modern "form follows function" ethic and the guitarists follow the "amps as furniture" ethic? It really seems odd to me that there's such a difference in aesthetics, especially since Fenders have made such a comeback with bassists in the last 10 years.

And what's really odd is that I double on guitar and I do gigs here and there on it, and I wouldn't ever think of owning an amp that didn't look vintage. Yet when I play bass, I have no problem bringing a rack and a cab covered in rat fur with a steel grill. I have no idea why I can accept modernization with my bass amps but not with my guitar amps. Maybe I need help... :help:

Just thought I'd throw this out there for laughs and see what everyone else thinks. And let's try not to act all superior to guitarists with flip answers about how our brains are better developed and all that. I know plenty of bassists besides myself, so I know the truth.

:hiding:
Click to expand...


Since I am old enough to remember the bass amps back then, I think the answer is that guitar amps sounded great back then and bass amps did not. For the most part, they were underpowered, boomy, mushy, and pretty much awful. So, there really isn't a lot of 'yearning for the old days' among most players for 'vintage bass amps'.

I guess the exception is the SVT, and those are still used a LOT, and are the typical backdrop on music video's and concerts where the producer or band wants a 'vintage' look.

So, for bass, 'new is better'. For guitarists, those old 'class A' type tube amps don't seem to have been improved on much over the years.

IMO!
 
#7
Rob Mancini said:
But not us. We've fully embraced the racks, the steel grills, and the industrial rat fur. When was the last time you saw a guitar cab done in rat fur? Hell, we even put our tube amps in racks! And steel grills aren't enough...we have to make our cones out of metal just to make them look even more industrial.
Click to expand...


Royt.


tray_v4.gif
 
#8
What about guitars and basses, modern vs vintage? I find that modern looking basses are more attractive, yet I always long for the retro vintage vibe of a beat up old danelectro or fender music master. But they don't sound, play or feel 1/2 as good as my more pretty warwicks, so is it just mojo that makes us go for the older instruments?

ps i only own 1 beat up old instrument, and it gets alot less play time than my warwick, so I deff prefer modern over vintage.
 
#9
lposavad said:
My guess? It's the power difference.

Bassists need a lot of power (low frequencies & all) and consequently their equipment needs to be sturdier than guitar gear. I'm lugging a couple hundred pounds of amp & cabs to keep up to a couple 50 watt Marshalls.
I don't thing Tolex would take the beating that rat fur (good one!) does. I have an ancient GK fridge cab in Tolex and it looks pretty wretched...
Click to expand...

+1

If we bassists just had a rig the size of a basic Marshall half stack, then we may have more of a vintage look. On the flipside, maybe we just like to look different than the other string-slingers on stage. They have their grill cloth and tolex, we have our expanded metal grills and rat fur.

However, I find my self liking mixes of vintage and modern. For example, my main two rigs are: Mesa 400+/PH 8x10 and Ampeg SVT-2 Pro/610HLF. Both amps are all tube, but kept in racks. One cab has a metal grill and the other has grill cloth. One has silver tolex and the other has black tolex. So, maybe there is no formula. We just like what we like.

BTW, Randall also makes a few guitar cabs with metal grills.
 
#10
I think it's because bass players are less susceptible to the snooty wankiness so characteristic of those prima donna pantywaists called guitar players. We're just smarter. We realize that the old gear is exactly that: old gear built with substandard, outdated components. The stuff sounds like crap, generally, and the guitar players don't even realize it. We, on the other hand, seek out the best equipment available that we can afford to provide the best sound possible in support of the band. Guitar players just don't care. They get this cruddy, fuzzy, screechy sound and call it "my tone," and there's no amount of pleading or cajoling that will get them off it. You know, love it or leave it. They have this fantasy that they become their favorite one of the iconic guitar players of a glorious past if they play the same lousy equipment. How dumb is that?
 
#11
I went through a number of blingy boutique basses (MTD, Warwick, Modulus) but have gone back to Fenders and clones mostly because of appearance. I own a Sadowsky P-bass, but it sports black paint.

As for amps: aside from avoiding cloth grille covers because they're not sturdy enough, I go with whatever works. I use rack rigs, and while my favorite cab is a tolex-covered NV610, my other cabs are covered in rat fur.

The reason I'm fussier about bass aesthetics is because the bass is part of your wardrobe, the amp is not.
 
#12
Definitely modern. I love the Mark Bass look even though I don't have one and I'm a tube guy. My current Plush is vintage and pimp. But If I could get another one, I would completely strip it down, chrome the chassis and design a very modern enclosure for it.


John
 
#13
Munjibunga said:
I think it's because bass players are less susceptible to the snooty wankiness so characteristic of those prima donna pantywaists called guitar players. We're just smarter. We realize that the old gear is exactly that: old gear built with substandard, outdated components. The stuff sounds like crap, generally, and the guitar players don't even realize it. We, on the other hand, seek out the best equipment available that we can afford to provide the best sound possible in support of the band. Guitar players just don't care. They get this cruddy, fuzzy, screechy sound and call it "my tone," and there's no amount of pleading or cajoling that will get them off it. You know, love it or leave it. They have this fantasy that they become their favorite one of the iconic guitar players of a glorious past if they play the same lousy equipment. How dumb is that?
Click to expand...
I blame the 80's.
 
#18
KJung said:
Since I am old enough to remember the bass amps back then, I think the answer is that guitar amps sounded great back then and bass amps did not. For the most part, they were underpowered, boomy, mushy, and pretty much awful. So, there really isn't a lot of 'yearning for the old days' among most players for 'vintage bass amps'.

I guess the exception is the SVT, and those are still used a LOT, and are the typical backdrop on music video's and concerts where the producer or band wants a 'vintage' look.

So, for bass, 'new is better'. For guitarists, those old 'class A' type tube amps don't seem to have been improved on much over the years.

IMO!
Click to expand...

Exactly!! :)
 
#20
I prefer to pay more attention to how it sounds first.

Given the options of tolex, carpet, stained lumbar my order of preference is: stained lumber, tolex, and rat fur.

With grills I prefer cloth, single grill, and lastly individual grills.

The cheap 2x10 I play is rat fur with individual grills....go figure.
 

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