Why are bass amps so ugly?

[chadds]

Monique Bamboo is gorgeous. Hiwatts, Oh My! Sunn 2000s! Ampegs particularly vintage. Acoustic 360/361! SWR SM-400 was very subtle.
I do love the 1969 era Marshalls.

So to avoid the ugly stay out of GC.

 

[ubernator]

I really liked the way swr cabinets looked in the late 90s with the powder coated square hole "pebble" grille's, but then again, most would consider that ugly. I didn't like the chrome grilles that came after. Too gaudy.

The rumble v3 is classy, matches nice with blackface guitar amps. The V1 and V2, ack!

 

[jwilson67]

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[jwilson67]

Or this...

 

[Snaxster]

Why are bass amps so ugly?

Because your stated premise is unsupportable... save by subjective assessment. Your own, that is.

So, if instead you asked 'Why do I think that bass amps are so ugly?', then your question would have been reasonable since (as someone else replied) beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

There is no objective measure of beauty.

 

[lz4005]

How much time do you spend looking at your amp?
I played a 3 hour gig on Friday and probably spent less than 2 minutes with eyes-on-amp, including load in/out and setup.
It just want it to sound good and be loud enough.

 

[Moe Monsarrat]

What's the matter? No pink?

 

[JFOC]

Why are bass amps so ugly?

To match the bass player!

 

[60bass]

Beauty IS in the eye of the beholder. I personally find this to be beautiful. The added benefit... even just one of them can run right up there with 100 watt Marshall or other full stacks with ease. I know this from experience.

and if you feel those Acoustic control rigs just aren't cutting it.... there's also this.

Did someone say more bottom?

 

[Ewo]

Actually, I'm fond of the look of my Mesa Subway rig. Solid, muscular, no-nonsense--and it sounds that way, too.

 

[Mockyngbyrd]

Except for some of the wood and wickers, they're not what I'd consider nice looking design elements as a piece of furniture. Marshall, Ampeg, Hi-Watt....nope. They might have some "throw-back" charm but no real design to them. They're functional and design to do the job at a certain price point. Aesthetics cost money, how much ya got? What is the market for that on a large scale because there are custom builders that will do some nice stuff - $$$.

 

[jwilson67]

Bass amps in general look the way they do because of the fact that they for the most part don't use full tube power sections so the real estate in the enclosure isn't really needed. There are plenty of classic looking bass amps out there but a lot of people do prefer the looks of modern ones. As far as the typical "modern" bass amp looks go I think it was Trace Elliot that started that revolution which is fine by me!

 

[RED J]

Why are bass amps so ugly compared to guitar amps?

Nonsense.

 

[basscooker]

Ok designers, time to make touch-screen front panel amps that can have screen-savers and downloadable images put on them. No knobs allowed, 100% touch control. The guitarist wants my amp to be prettier. Tone? Who cares, it's just bass anyway.

 

[thehornedone]

The thread title was obviously meant to be attention grabbing, but some people actually seem to be offended. Must be Mark Bass owners.

 

[brianrost]

Guitar amps have had the same look for 45 years. Time for something new!

 

[Volunteerk9]

The Orange is even more garish than the Markbass.

Them's some fightin words right there..

 

[friendlybass]

I personally love the look of some amps, and hate the looks of others (I'm talking about you markbass)
Its all about picking stuff that works. Bass amps are in general much more utilitarian designs because of the weight associated with making one powerful enough to keep up with even a small guitar amp. It doesn't help that a lot of guitarists haul out the 60 Watters for rehearsals.
My stack is cool as hell though

 

[Not yet]

While the Subway gets out there most of the time. timeless beauty here

 

[bholder]

Them's some fightin words right there..

I didn't say there was anything wrong with garish, did I? Perfect for those Halloween gigs!