wateroftyne Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 10 hours ago, Al Krow said: Come on then gents, show us a frontal pic of what a good looking amp (any current make) should look like! Here you go: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 2 minutes ago, Al Krow said: What a great skill-set your 'drummer' has - any bass player who also can also put together decent drum lines gets my respect! He was a top bloke too (plays the skinny stringed thing too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 10 hours ago, dannybuoy said: Mesa, Aguilar, Darkglass and Genzler make the classiest looking heads IMHO. 8 hours ago, EBS_freak said: Pretty much any Darkglass amplifier. For me, they tick all the boxes with regard to a great looking amp. + Mesa M6 from Wat. So how smug am I gonna be for the rest of the weekend, given that my two amps just happen to be a ... Mesa M6 and Darkglass M900? 😂 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 (edited) I still have a soft spot for the look of the Ashdown Evo heads. The CTMs aren’t bad either. Edited July 20, 2019 by ezbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franzbassist Posted July 20, 2019 Author Share Posted July 20, 2019 Here's my Marcus Limited in situ at a gig. Does it really look that bad? And anyway, it sounds fantastic! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Just now, franzbassist said: Here's my Marcus Limited in situ at a gig. Does it really look that bad? And anyway, it sounds fantastic! No - cos it hasn't got the red paint job and those awful gold knobs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 In defence of gold knobs! 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Actually I can go one better, with something I actually own and would match the Marcus Limited head nicely 😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 3 hours ago, Al Krow said: In defence of gold knobs! 😁 Indeed - but chrome would look better... and match the frets too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treb Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 I wonder how long it's gonna take for the "new" MarkBass Mark King 8x10" signature combo to be released. 🤨 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 On 20/07/2019 at 00:46, EBS_freak said: I'd say looks do matter. There's something reassuring about a good looking and well made piece of gear. You see it in the car world... cars are on the whole functional... but if they are pig ugly, despite how well they are made and perform, there will be a negative impact on how they sell. I have to disagree - if you're ever in a tail back of cars out in the countryside and get a chance to look at the car holding everyone up, chances are that it's a fugly POS that you cannot name because only people who don't care about driving, just getting from A to B, buy them. Whether it be the one that looks like a roller skate or the other thing that looks like Postman Pat's van, you can pretty much guarantee that you won't know what it is or who makes it but they sell loads of them to daydreamers and driving sightseers so that you can be held up for no good reason 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 12 hours ago, Delberthot said: I have to disagree - if you're ever in a tail back of cars out in the countryside and get a chance to look at the car holding everyone up, chances are that it's a fugly POS that you cannot name because only people who don't care about driving, just getting from A to B, buy them. Whether it be the one that looks like a roller skate or the other thing that looks like Postman Pat's van, you can pretty much guarantee that you won't know what it is or who makes it but they sell loads of them to daydreamers and driving sightseers so that you can be held up for no good reason I don't quite get this - because this suggests that said POS car isn't performant as it's just a way of getting A/B. I think what you are saying is that the people driving them don't really care how they look or perform. Is this true with bass players? They don't care how amps sound or look? Would Ferrari's sell if they looked pants? What happens if they perform amazing and looked pants? Or looked great but performed pants? It's the sum of the two parts that makes a Ferrari great. Why wouldn't you want the same from your amp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 I don't care what my amp looks like. I don't even care what my bass looks like. Of course I realise that if I turn up to a big band gig with a BassLab instrument I'm unlikely to get the gig, but if that instrument makes me play best then the band either puts up with it or gets someone else. And I'd have a Caterham or an Ariel Atom over a Ferrari any day of the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 1 hour ago, EBS_freak said: I don't quite get this - because this suggests that said POS car isn't performant as it's just a way of getting A/B. I think what you are saying is that the people driving them don't really care how they look or perform. Is this true with bass players? They don't care how amps sound or look? Would Ferrari's sell if they looked pants? What happens if they perform amazing and looked pants? Or looked great but performed pants? It's the sum of the two parts that makes a Ferrari great. Why wouldn't you want the same from your amp? No that wasn't what I meant. You had said that a pig ugly car wouldnt sell yet I'm stuck behind them most weekends. I wasn't talking about amps at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulo m Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 Every time I've used this gear... (the yellow peril) it sounds okay' then the band starts & the sound dissapeer's somewhat... Also the livery of it all... is an aquired taste.... One of which I havent!!!! All of these endorsed artists are just that... & the equipment is made available to them when on tour..... Who would turn that down..? But to purchase I myself' would look elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 (edited) Ooo! Just got an email. My new Marcus Limited (yes - the red and gold one!) should be here tomorrow! Edited July 22, 2019 by fretmeister Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muppet Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 On 19/07/2019 at 22:22, Al Krow said: Come on then gents, show us a frontal pic of what a good looking amp (any current make) should look like! Marco used to make pretty amps, if you remember this.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 On 18/07/2019 at 15:17, la bam said: good luck on the support. despite having x3 mark bass heads over the years i never got one reply to any emails or facebook messages and posts about things like rack ears and specs - and i wanted to spend money with them. Sign your emails "from Mark King" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 (edited) 21 hours ago, fretmeister said: I don't care what my amp looks like. That’s good for you. If MB decide to stop designing amps that look like Homer Simpson’s dream car, they might just start appealing to those who do care what their amp looks like. Just a thought. Edited July 23, 2019 by wateroftyne 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 4 minutes ago, wateroftyne said: That’s good for you. If MB decide to stop designing amps that look like Homer Simpson’s dream car, they might just start appealing to those who do care what their amp looks like. Just a thought. To be fair, it doesn't seem to stop them selling, but I see less of this stuff here in the UK these days. I appreciate that they've tried to make their offerings stand out in their own way, but I think "Homer Simpson's Dream Car" is the perfect analogy of their product design ethos. Maybe us stuck up Brits don't appreciate their flamboyant Italian styling, but I think it's more likely that they need to employ another designer to work on the aesthetics of their products as every single product they've released in the last four of years has been a swing and a miss as far as appearances go. To some, it's not important, and I get that, but to most of us it is... Eude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 1 hour ago, eude said: To be fair, it doesn't seem to stop them selling, but I see less of this stuff here in the UK these days. I appreciate that they've tried to make their offerings stand out in their own way, but I think "Homer Simpson's Dream Car" is the perfect analogy of their product design ethos. Maybe us stuck up Brits don't appreciate their flamboyant Italian styling, but I think it's more likely that they need to employ another designer to work on the aesthetics of their products as every single product they've released in the last four of years has been a swing and a miss as far as appearances go. To some, it's not important, and I get that, but to most of us it is... Eude Speaking as a graphic designer - quite a lot of medium sized music companies do this, focus on the product technical design and then the visual design and marketing graphics come second place. Warwick, lovely looking basses.... look at their website! Markbass, industry leading position... interesting design choices Ashdown... brought out the little giant... But to be fair to them, employing another person with the aim of making the hard to quantify effect they will have must be a no brainer... skip the graphic designer and get it at a lower price point. They either employ someone and either pay big bucks or have someone doing stuff like MarkBass are doing - which isn't bad, it's just not very good, or they use an agency and pay lots of money... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 I have read this topic with interest and on reflection with some ill conceived snobbery. What is wrong with people, I mused, getting their knicknacks in a knot over the look of an amplifier. Throwing out subjectivity as if it had any basis in fact - and these people are artists for goodness sake. Then I remembered never considering buying Ashdown despite them being UK made, with a bona fide Trace Elliot connection, second to none customer service, and widely respected for their sound and durability. Why? I didn't like the colour. That insipid blue. Can't be very good can they? Oh and the logo looks, well, a bit homemade (yes I know), and that curious knob/slider can't decide which so let's have both arrangement. So I raised my nose in the air and minced away from the entire range. What a prat. Funny how much better their amps look now I use two of them. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 I never liked the look of Markbass amps but that didn’t stop me using them for a good few years as I liked the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 26 minutes ago, Lozz196 said: I never liked the look of Markbass amps but that didn’t stop me using them for a good few years as I liked the sound. I had exactly the same initial reaction to BF cabs. But combination of silver grille and just about everyone I meet gasping at how light it is, not to mention being an excellent cab(!) overcame my initial prejudice about its looks. (And despite it being HOT playing outdoors over several hours yesterday in the sun, and two of my bandmates getting burnt, my "very pretty" DG M900 managed not to become one with the BF tolex :)) You might date someone for the first time 'cos they look cute. But you stay with them because they're a great person. Translates very well to gear IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 1 hour ago, LukeFRC said: Speaking as a graphic designer - quite a lot of medium sized music companies do this, focus on the product technical design and then the visual design and marketing graphics come second place. Warwick, lovely looking basses.... look at their website! Markbass, industry leading position... interesting design choices Ashdown... brought out the little giant... But to be fair to them, employing another person with the aim of making the hard to quantify effect they will have must be a no brainer... skip the graphic designer and get it at a lower price point. They either employ someone and either pay big bucks or have someone doing stuff like MarkBass are doing - which isn't bad, it's just not very good, or they use an agency and pay lots of money... Speaking as a Graphic Designer too, it would not take much studio time to significantly improve the look of the MarkBass stuff though, if they did use an external resource, they're some of the way there already, they have a strong brand ID the products just need a bit of finesse. I'm sure there would be several graphic designers willing to give some input in exchange for some gear, there seems to be a few of us bass playing graphic designers out there. They do however need to shoot whoever came up with that red with gold knobs look for the Limited Marcus stuff. Eude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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