Does amp/cab aesthetics matter to you?

[fretmeister]

Not really.

Same for basses. Tone, balance, weight all come way way before looks. If the first 3 items are there, then it could look like a severed head being vomited out of a putrid zombie for all I care.

[Lozz196]

Not that fussed if it sounds good. I`m not keen on the Markbass look but as the sound worked so well for what I was using it for, hey, it stayed, only moved it on due to needing a different sound when I changed bands.

The only thing I couldn`t do though is have an amp that was wider than my cab - my OCD just couldn`t deal with overhang.

[largo]

I'm shallow enough that my amp & cabs have to look good, to me at least, not always to others mind you.

[chris_b]

As long as it's a 3 tone sunburst with rosewood fretboard and tort pickguard I don't mind what kind of P bass it is.

For the rest, black boxes will do nicely.

[chriswareham]

Let's see: cat scratched SWR cabs with battered Acoustic head that's wider than the cabs, dog chewed Vox cabs with non-matching grille cloth and a tatty Sound City head that's also wider than the cabs. Then there's the Ampeg fridge with half thextolex missing. I think it's fair to say aesthetics aren't important to me when it comes to backline!

[CamdenRob]

My current setup is: Black Amp, Black Cab.... so I'm not exactly pushing the boundaries

[KingBollock]

I'd prefer it all to be black.

My rack has a white bass amp, black power amp, silver amp modeller/effects unit, metallic burnt orange guitar pre-amp/effects unit and a black tuner.

It would annoy me more if say all but one was black. I'm the same with furniture, if I can't have matching everything, then nothing should match.

One day I still plan on building a small cab that will look like an animal crate. It'd be a standard cab inside a skin, and bars on the front instead of a grille.

[Norris]

Fender Rumble v3. Not a black box. Looks and sounds great imho

There again I've had a few black boxes too in the past.

[Musicman20]

I think you will get a variation of answers. The cabinet is more visible, due to the size. The Genz SMax I have does look a little 80's, but it also looks solid, and sounds brilliant. I haven't wanted to try any more amps/cabs for a good 18 months now but I do luckily have a few to choose from.

I think two of the most visually pleasing rigs I have seen on a stage have been either Aguilar DB or Orange stacks.

Now, I think my Aguilar DB212 still is the most aesthetically pleasing cab I've owned. It is still my favourite for tone as well.

[joeystrange]

It matters to me. Not in as much as I wouldn't like a 'cheap' looking setup but in that I like my head and cab to match.
Not for any reason other than it pleases me. I'd describe myself as being a bit OCD but I'm fairly certain that isn't a thing.

[andy67]

Had many amps, cabs and combinations of both however, I've realised over the years, the amp for me and one I always return to is an Ampeg SVT-3pro. Tried loads of other things but nothing fixes my needs as this amp does. The silly point though is, I must pair it with an Ampeg cab. There are lots of better cabs out there but I need to have the 'rig'. My last big rig was an SVT-CL paired with an Hartke AK410 which is just an Ampeg 410he but that rig is away. My current gig rig is an SVT-3pro and two
SVT 2x10 cabs - looks the business!

Edited April 14, 2016 by andy67

[Lw.]

Also - as a punter when I walk into a gig (especially heavy gigs in smaller venues so you know only the vocal is going through the PA), the most pleasing sight is when you see a massive tube bass head sitting on the stage - now I know other car stereo looking amps can make just as much noise, I've played hundreds of this kind of gig yet never used a tube-monster but there's just something about them that sets the tone.

[Norris]

Call me shallow if you like but I can't stand the yellow highlights on Markbass gear (makes it look cheap imho) and I'm not a fan of the aluminium cones in Hartke cabs

[colgraff]

I like my amp and speakers to match. I will always buy speakers by the same manufacturer as the amp unless they were truly awful, in which case I'd probably not buy the amp in the first place. Sometimes I wish that there was a pedal manufacturer who made the effect pedals I want in matching shapes and colours.

Yep, I'm that fussy about appearances.

Edited April 14, 2016 by colgraff

[luckydog]

My 2p worth:

Classic amps/cabs are iconic in both sound and style, as are guitars of course. To me such things matter more than I'd ever care to admit, even though I've owned and used plenty of style-less rigs that sounded good.

LD

[Twincam]

I've noticed a few admittedly slightly older design although there still being made that kinda remind me of old top loading vcr's where you would have to tune them in and fiddle with tracking etc.

[Billy Apple]

Like Lozz I don't like amps hanging over the side of a cab, plus I like them both to colour match. So I'm really struggling with my black 29" Marshall Superbass sitting on top of my kind-of grey 21" EAD 212

Sounds fantastic. Looks sh*t.

[Dad3353]

Has Feng Shui replaced Rock'n'Roll..?

[Billy Apple]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1460631003' post='3027371']
Has Feng Shui replaced Rock'n'Roll..?
[/quote]

No. I used to have one and they have an awful mid-hump

[hairychris]

Having spent my early guitaring years with ghetto rigs, I'll have to say no.

Appearance is a nice extra, but it's also fun to get sounds out of things that don't look altogether enticing at first. My current bass rig is car stereo (GK MB800) on top of a fairly anonymous black box (BF Compact), and very good at taking people unawares it is!

Guitars/basses, though, I am far more worried about aesthetically.

[40hz]

I don't like anything that looks remotely vintage and behave like a moth to anything that has twinkly lights or is lit up like a Christmas tree. I love loud colour schemes like Markbass or the Alu Hartke cabs, that new Peavey MiniMega head too #GAS.

Edited April 14, 2016 by 40hz

[Opticaleye]

I used Markbass for years while not being keen on the look (yellow cones and ugly large plastic-y logo) but the build quality/components were excellent. I now use the fairly divisive V-framed TKS cabs but I personally love the look.

What I'm not keen on are the cabs that have cheap off the peg grills held in place by a plethora of cheap visible screws in front of more visible screws in the speakers. If there is a choice of two similar cabs with similar quality components and one looks aesthetically better to me then that's the one I will go for.

I probably would have gone for Fearless F112's if the grill options were the same as some of their US made cabs but I'm really happy with the similar concept TKS 1126's.

Edited April 14, 2016 by Opticaleye

[Roland Rock]

Yes, but not as much as the look of a bass.

The holy trinity of wrong:

1: head overhang
2: Markbass yellow
3: Ratfur carpet covering.

[luckydog]

[QUOTE]Opticaleye said: "I used Markbass for years while not being keen on the look (yellow cones and ugly large plastic-y logo) but the build quality/components were excellent. I now use the fairly divisive V-framed TKS cabs but I personally love the look."[/QUOTE]Yes, these are modern classics and make their place in the history of it al both visually and sonically. Bass amp brand has a strong visual element, love it or hate it. I suppose even GK has a brand look !

LD

[yorks5stringer]

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1460639414' post='3027484']
Yes, but not as much as the look of a bass.

The holy trinity of wrong:

1: head overhang
2: Markbass yellow
3: Ratfur carpet covering.
[/quote]

Bloody hell, I had 3 out of 3 until I got a bigger RJ 15" vinyl covered cab to go with my TTE500 head. Does it count If I have a yellow lead as well.....?