Hey, I like the look of Kustom's tuck and roll. Does that make me 'retro' -- even if I liked it back in the day when it was 'now-tro'?
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Vintage vs. Modern, looks only
- Thread starter Rob Mancini
- Start date
My rig demands very little attention, besides the fact of the ashdown VU meter, kinda look old school though.
Seriously I wouldn't call mine quite old school or Modern.
what would you say?
Black rat fur ashdown, dark blue on yorkie cab
Black Metal grill that does not expose cones
ashdown VU meter looks kinda old school, but isn't, that whole head has a kind of Modern classic kind of vibe.
Seriously I wouldn't call mine quite old school or Modern.
what would you say?
Black rat fur ashdown, dark blue on yorkie cab
Black Metal grill that does not expose cones
ashdown VU meter looks kinda old school, but isn't, that whole head has a kind of Modern classic kind of vibe.
Depends what I'm playing really, if I was gonna be in an industrial metal band a Fender wouldn't be the first thing that I grabbed obviously (unless it was some ESP copy made with a metal grille finish or something).
Personally I like the look of older stuff but I prefer a more new-modern kinda approach, I hate hi-fi but I also hate stuff that's generally old and crap. Bergantino, Ashdown, Thunderfunk and older Trace stuff would be pretty good examples I guess.
My main problem with alot of modern stuff is it looks cold, sterile, and artificial, still there's alot of modern stuff that has a little more character for like the new Laney Nexus range and newer Trace.
Peavey mentioned with the VU metre on ashdowns and that's a really good example of something old that's still cool and useful to have, personally I reckon it should be on every bass amp if not every amp for that matter for setting gain levels. Trace have the whole red yellow and green light thing going on but I always find the VU an easier way of doing it.
Personally I like the look of older stuff but I prefer a more new-modern kinda approach, I hate hi-fi but I also hate stuff that's generally old and crap. Bergantino, Ashdown, Thunderfunk and older Trace stuff would be pretty good examples I guess.
My main problem with alot of modern stuff is it looks cold, sterile, and artificial, still there's alot of modern stuff that has a little more character for like the new Laney Nexus range and newer Trace.
Peavey mentioned with the VU metre on ashdowns and that's a really good example of something old that's still cool and useful to have, personally I reckon it should be on every bass amp if not every amp for that matter for setting gain levels. Trace have the whole red yellow and green light thing going on but I always find the VU an easier way of doing it.
purely for looks i think vintage BASS amps look stupid =x
dont get me wrong i love the look of a new ampeg fridge but the ones that just look like someone dropped it off a truck, not so much.
id much rather have a newer ampeg or say an aguilar 810 then an old beat up svt.
now, i have never actaully played through a full vintage svt rig so that might change my mind a little.
on the other hand, a vintage orange setup for guitar is the most beautiful thing ever.
dont get me wrong i love the look of a new ampeg fridge but the ones that just look like someone dropped it off a truck, not so much.
id much rather have a newer ampeg or say an aguilar 810 then an old beat up svt.
now, i have never actaully played through a full vintage svt rig so that might change my mind a little.
on the other hand, a vintage orange setup for guitar is the most beautiful thing ever.
+1
for sheer looks, not a fan of the mesa powerhouse series. like looking into the front of a truck.
and tho i'm not an ampeg fan by any stretch of the imagination, an SVT atop an 8x10 w/ s&p cloth is pretty dang awesome lookin'.
fyi, Mesa has jumped on this vintage bandwagon too, and offers the Powerhouse cabs in a vintage look. Basically just looks like a tolex/rhino-vinyl covering and a twisted jute grillcloth with some kind of silver piping around the edge of the grill area.
whatever floats your boat I guess
Yea that's been the mantra we've all heard for years now. But my recent acquisition of vintage tube amps has led me to conclude that vintage bass amps were not as bad as the propaganda would lead you to believe. They may not have the wattage but they have a sound that is sweet full and organic. The lack of wattage bothers some but personally I think weve become obsessed with watts and are allowing our guitarist friends to push us to play at unreasonable volumes.
My $.02.
I've never had a problem with grillcloth rattle on a guitar amp. I have had problems with grillcloth rattle on many bass cabs.
Look wise, I would say modern amps.
For sound, both older and newer amps have their ups and downs.
For sound, both older and newer amps have their ups and downs.
If it's too loud, you're too old!
As for my vote, I have to go with Vintage. I'm not a fan of the modern look of many amps, it just doesn't do it for me, but give me a nice Orange or a Matamp and I'll do whatever you want.
Whenever I think of Modern, this is the first thing that comes to mind:
And for Vintage, it doesn't get much better than this:
well, there you go...
and funny, but mesa always had some snazzy lookin' guitar cab enclosures. their grill cloth and tolex options are the best among the large scale manufacturers in my book. always wished they'd extend that to the bass cab line, too!
not discounting your experiences, but i'd think something metal would make a louder rattling than cotton. but yea, low end would definite make a few things rattle like a mother.
Cotton will flex and move even when tight.
Metal, when properly secured, won't move unless you ram your (or your guitarist's) head into it.
Metal, when properly secured, won't move unless you ram your (or your guitarist's) head into it.
If it's too loud, you're too old!
As for my vote, I have to go with Vintage. I'm not a fan of the modern look of many amps, it just doesn't do it for me, but give me a nice Orange or a Matamp and I'll do whatever you want.
Whenever I think of Modern, this is the first thing that comes to mind:
And for Vintage, it doesn't get much better than this:
Green and Orange amps? which one came first hahah seems like a gimic with too brands.
Aren't most grillcloths made out of nylon? I guess some of the older grillcloths are made of cotton...
Could be but I'm fortunate enough to play with guys that keep their volume in control and its so much more pleasant and musical. Music making, it seems to me, is about listening to each other and that seems easier to do at a reasonable volume. But as they say, YMMV.
Cotton, nylon, fabric, whatever. Fabric.
My mind had been warped by the post before mind.
Personally, I am more about sound and function than tone. Thankfully, plenty of newer, decent-sounding guitar amps and cabs are available with classic coverings, grills, knobs, control plates, logos, etc.. Unfortunately, most of the newer decent bass amps cabs out there are only available with modern looks. So as a bassist, I am not really given much of a choice. I suppose I could have my Bergantino HT210S and Markbass 151HF cabs recovered and regrilled, but how much would that cost me? (And there's really no option for my LMII except maybe the construction of a Tolex-covered shell it could fit in). I'd love to find some of the old-school Ampeg "navy flair" Tolex (used prior to the famous "diamond blue" Tolex) for this purpose, but it's impossible to get...
