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Why do so many combos have the control panel on the top rear?

#61
4 Out of 5 said:
As far as I can remember, way back when I first started playing bass, all combos had the control panel at the front. Why do some brands now put them on the rear edge of the top? It doesn't seem to make sense to me, as if you can see the control panel there, then the speaker must be firing at your legs or at best at your waist - not your ears, so not very helpful if you want to use it as a monitor.
Am I missing something? Perhaps the manufacturers are going for a clean look at the front of the amp?
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That is made to catch rain and anything else that may want to go down in there like wine or beer and soda.
 
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#65
OP here. Thanks to everyone who has so far posted on this thread. It's really interesting to hear people's reasons for their preference, and also to be reminded about the original logic for placing the controls at the top rear.
As for me, I'm looking to buy a combo for home practice and as a monitor & DI on stage. I'm fortunate that the church that I play at has a good PA with decent subs, so I don't need to rely on my amp to provide any front of house sound. I'll definitely be shopping for a combo with controls on the front, and all the better if it's a kickback design.
 
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#70
bobalu said:
^^^^This is true. I have several Fender history books and they are riddled with old photo's of various performers/groups of the late 40's and 50's on stage with their Fender amps off to the side, and standing behind them. A lot of lap steel players used them as well and they are always seated to play with the amp beside them. Top controls just made sense then. Getting the sound out front to the crowd was the priority and more challenging back then I guess! Not so much a problem today ;):).
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From my experience, this is probably the most logical explanation.

When early amps were being developed, the first applications were for guitar players in the rhythm section backing up big bands, and an acoustic guitar was virtually impossible to hear over the big band. Often they sat behind or beside the amp, so having the controls where they were on the top was the most convenient. Also, back then that type of audience didn't want to see the "amp" so the cabinet was more stylized to the era. The same could be said for the blues, often the older players sat, and they would place the open back amp in front of them or to the side. Steel players were another application, as was western swing (of course with steel gtr).

The placement of controls was very much an evolution of need, those who needed the controls on the front drove that path and those who needed the controls on the top drove that evolutionary path.
 
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#74
JimChjones said:
This. It seems to be an almost unalterable convention that the power lead goes in the back. So if the whole thing is to have the simplest, most compact chassis without separate leads to the power socket/psu then the whole plot needs to be at the back.
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I guess we'll ignore the tens of thousands of Fender combos that have horizontal chassis with the controls in front and the power cord and output cable at the back. With solid state amps, there's no particular reason to put the controls at the back except for form factor, IMO. It may be slightly cheaper to fabricate the case, but I suspect the reasons are mostly aesthetic. Retro look, everyone else is doing it, etc. One of the reasons I prefer my old first-generation Fender Rumble practice amps is the controls are on the front and I can park stuff on top of them without it being in the dang way. Plus there's a lot less potential of an adult beverage being spilled into the controls. :)
 
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#75
Redbrangus said:
I guess we'll ignore the tens of thousands of Fender combos that have horizontal chassis with the controls in front and the power cord and output cable at the back. With solid state amps, there's no particular reason to put the controls at the back except for form factor, IMO. It may be slightly cheaper to fabricate the case, but I suspect the reasons are mostly aesthetic. Retro look, everyone else is doing it, etc. One of the reasons I prefer my old first-generation Fender Rumble practice amps is the controls are on the front and I can park stuff on top of them without it being in the dang way. Plus there's a lot less potential of an adult beverage being spilled into the controls. :)
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My first amp was a 1966 Fender Bassman (2x12) that I bought new in 1966. The on/off/polarity toggle was on the back as was the standby switch. So I was real used to reaching back behind the amp to turn it on and off. Then my Standel piggy-back amp (bought in 1971) had the switch on the front and that was convenient. Pretty much all of the amps I've had since then have the on/off switch (polarity is no longer an option) on the front of the amp until the latest Eden amp I bought.

I bought a small Eden TN226 class D amp about 2-years ago specifically to play a small venue that we played in on most Friday nights and its on/off switch is on the back. I know that David Nordschow originally designed the Eden Class D amps (WTX-series) with the on/off on the back totally because of lack of real estate on the front of those small amps. The Eden TN-series of class D amps is significantly larger than the WTX series while still being smaller than their class A/B amps, but there's plenty of room on the face of those for the on/off switch to be on the front. But like I said, the Fender Bassman amp that I used from 1966 until late 1971 had the power switch on the back so it's no big deal to me...a little nostalgic perhaps, but no big deal...
 
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#76
Johnny Fingers said:
A remote control makes more sense. You can give it to the tin-eared control freak neophyte sound man and let him tweak your “tone” for you.:rollno:
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A remote is great Idea; If no PA support can use wireless or long cord then go out to audience area during band sound check or even first song [although that would require a stop restart dance] and find your tone or you could just have a friend turn knob's for you when your out in room using hand codes:)

A sound man is a remote uncontrol.
 
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#78
Seems like a lot more smaller amps made for us at-home tossers could get away with putting the controls on the front. For an amp that’s literally sitting on a tabletop right in front of the user, it would actually be ideal. Maybe stay away from that on mid-size amps that people gig with, but on certain amps everyone knows what they’re going to be used for. Boys, don’t make me have to get off this couch/comfy chair/etc. — I’ve got headphones on and two tablets in front of me to edit presets and watch lesson videos.
 

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