Read Time 1 Minutes
We’ve been known to blather on about guitars and amps, and sound, and technical specs – but just for a break, why not look at a few guitar amps that just look cool?
It’s a nice break from the hard work.
We’ve included some of the old familiars, like Gibson, Hughes and Kettner, Orange amps, and Peavey, and included some of the more hard to find ones, like Science amps, Gregory, and dAAb, and some pretty silly ones like the Heineken Keg amp.
Click any image to enlarge, and get a description that may or may not be informational.
Onstage, your amp sits behind you, never attracting as much attention as you or your guitar – but if you had one of these onstage, it just might.
Your amp is sort of your mystical powerhorse, bringing the sound to the masses, so why not make it look the part?
Aesthetics are very important in any product, and guitar amps are no different. Orange for example, takes it all the way by making most of their amps the very same color that their brand indicates. There are whole departments in most amp companies (even Marshall) who sit around and think about what these things are going to look like, how the knobs are going to feel between your fingers, and how much of a pain in the ass it’s going to be to lug around.
At one time, Gibson made the trapezoid amp, with two speakers pointing out in separate directions, spreading the sound in new ways.
Lights are popular as well, as seen in the Hughes and Kettner, and bright colors become important in the Science amps, and the Z-Amps.
There are a dozen or so other amps that really should have been in this gallery, but we just love the number 11, and there certainly could be another gallery to include those in the future!
wpDiscuz
Those Z-Amps are gorgeous! As someone studying to be a product designer, it’s pretty cool to see work like this recognized – and especially, work that’s not just boutique, fancy-pants stuff on here. Those little Epiphone amps are really great design, about as good as it gets for something on the lower end of the price scale.
Gotta say though, the control arrangement on the Tupelo needs some rethinking. It just looks like someone said “OK, we have this space to put controls, now let’s just decide where to put each one by throwing darts at it…”