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Why are bass amps so ugly?
- Thread starter thehornedone
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HAHAH!! The Markbass 210 right beside the Dewalt power tool set is killing me!! Can't stop laughing!! I agree with you 100% brother, I'm all about those classic Ampegs because of this reason.
I didn't say there was anything wrong with garish, did I?Perfect for those Halloween gigs!
The obnoxious color is what drew me to them at first. Heh
As a "native" guitarist, every time I go to Guitar Center I have this thought. Why are bass amps so ugly compared to guitar amps? Sure, there are some handsome classic bass amp designs such as some Ampegs, and Acoustics, but the vast majority of bass amps currently on the market just have really ugly, gaudy design to my eyes. Here's what I'm talking about:
Bass Amps:
Guitar Amps:
HiWatt, Orange and Box bass amps look the same as the guitar ones, and a popular Fender guitar amp is a bass amp
- Aug 3, 2007
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- Current: Blackstar, DR strings, Nady. Previous endorsements with: GK, Rotosound, Ernie Ball, Cleartone, EMG, Dean, Dava Picks, Rebel Straps, Dickies
Well, it's subjective. I like function over appearance. I want easily seen, easily accessed features.
Maybe you should take a look at ALL guitar amps before you generalize ALL bass amps as ugly. There's quite a few guitar amps that can win an ugly contest.
Maybe you should take a look at ALL guitar amps before you generalize ALL bass amps as ugly. There's quite a few guitar amps that can win an ugly contest.
Bassists...
- don't care
- know it doesn't matter
- value function over form
- think their amps look cool
- know what's really important
- suspect that some bass amps were designed by guitarists to make us look bad
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
I don't mind schlepping those around, because they sound so good and look great doing it.I'll just leave this here.
Maybe because most bass players don't need the eye candy - and nobody else cares which amp we're playing as long as it sounds good?
FWIW, I always prefer my amp be as visually unobtrusive as possible. If they could make one that was invisible, I'd like that even more.
FWIW, I always prefer my amp be as visually unobtrusive as possible. If they could make one that was invisible, I'd like that even more.
I've long thought that Rickenbackers and Orange amps are a great visual combination
Is a drill a good alternative to an ebow? What about a Dremel? What's the best drill for metal, by which I mean the music, but I'm open to suggestions with regards to the material
You could just DI and be invisible and as a bonus, also inaudible!
Sounds like a plan. Especially the inaudible bonus part.
Truth is, even with a DI into the FOH, I still prefer to hear myself through an actual amp on stage when I'm playing. Must be my age showing.
- Oct 22, 2015
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The proper context in reply are two bassists I call close friends. Both of them took the nickname "Dogface". Both argued face to face about which one of them was in fact uglier, and did so frequently in my field of observation. It was a point of pride. One owned a demonstrably fugly fretless bass he made himself from purpleheart. The bass weighed more than a semi and my eyes puckered looking at it. And Dogface was very proud of his ugly self and ugly bass. So a point to Dogface over Dogface.
With this attitude among my bass playing male friends, it's not hard to see why so much gear is so unbelievably ugly. Marketing knows who buys.
My additional point of view is engineers are permitted, even encouraged, to have a say in the production design. I see this over and over in a former lifetime in IT. Engineering cannot for the life of them understand. The phrase "why would anybody want to do that" was always spoken in complete sincerity when I presented the user's POV. And the engineering staff is almost exclusively male. Simply observed. And here on TB I even see: "I know it's ugly but I learned to live with it." Which may be some sort of corollary of the Dogface rule.
Personal perspective: To me, looks carry equal weight to tone. I hate to see speakers, I hate to see brand names blazoned bigger than a breadbox, I hate to see function given greater weight than design. Ampeg and Fender grill cloth passes my visual muster, as does the Ampeg PF series. No desire to list the fails.
With this attitude among my bass playing male friends, it's not hard to see why so much gear is so unbelievably ugly. Marketing knows who buys.
My additional point of view is engineers are permitted, even encouraged, to have a say in the production design. I see this over and over in a former lifetime in IT. Engineering cannot for the life of them understand. The phrase "why would anybody want to do that" was always spoken in complete sincerity when I presented the user's POV. And the engineering staff is almost exclusively male. Simply observed. And here on TB I even see: "I know it's ugly but I learned to live with it." Which may be some sort of corollary of the Dogface rule.
Personal perspective: To me, looks carry equal weight to tone. I hate to see speakers, I hate to see brand names blazoned bigger than a breadbox, I hate to see function given greater weight than design. Ampeg and Fender grill cloth passes my visual muster, as does the Ampeg PF series. No desire to list the fails.
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An ebow works with guitar, not sure about bass.
I have tried a drill with picks mounted. Variable speed is good, best to go cordless. Dremel might be too fast. I tried a battery powered fan with soft blades. It worked well, the blades acted as picks, but it was only on or off speed.
Just checked, there are a number of youtube examples.
Power Drill Bass (Nathan Navarro) - YouTube
