Fun with Cosmetic Features!

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littledog

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This is purely useless fluff, but feel free to join in. The question is what surface "cosmetic" features do you prefer in your gear, especially rack mount stuff. I'll start the ball rolling:

• Blue lights. Reds, greens and yellows are nice, but it's hard to beat a really bright blue light. The API 3124+ has a beauty to indicate the power is on, and it's just gorgeous! The Joe Meek SC 2.2 has one too. I need more blue lights!!!

•BIG VU meters. I mean BIIIIIIG ones. Not LED ladders either - I'm talking about needles behind a big glass window. Who says size doesn't matter!

•Fat widely spaced pots and switches. I hate little tiny cramped and crowded pots and switches. Give me those big chicken head ones. Or the rubbery ones that give a good grip. Check out those big aluminum knobs on the Daking 52270 for instance. Or those hefty ones on the Tube Tech. And make sure to put a nice clear stripe on them so you can see the settings from across the room! While the API 3124+ gets good marks for the blue light, it crams a tiny pot and four tiny switches into about 1.5 linear inches of real estate. Boo from all us fat-fingered folk!

•Clearly legible silk screening. That means choosing appropriately contrasting colors. Not black on a blue background, or white on silver. Meek is not too great with black on green. Eventide, Tube Tech, and Vintech get good marks for nicely readable silk-screening.

And a final poll: what is your favorite color for rack gear? Is it your basic vintage black? Focusrite Red? DBX Blue? Meek Green?

Mine is that brushed gun-metal color - not to be confused with the cheesy silver/platinum. Like on some of the Millenia Media or Aphex products.

Okay - your turn...
 
Alright, from a sheer looks standpoint, tell me you wouldn't want one of these:

http://www.mindprint.com/english/indexproducts.htm

Come on, I dare ya. Or one of these:

http://www.behringer.com/02_products/prodindex.cfm?id=T1953&lang=eng

And tell me your clients wouldn't swoon over one of these:

http://www.behringer.com/02_products/prodindex.cfm?id=T1951&lang=eng

Considering that I recently saw a Focusrite Red 0 going for around $200 on Ebay, I would suspect any one of these would be a much wiser investment, considering the fact that, hey, at least the do something.
 
I like small toggle switches, but nicely sized pots.

For on/off lights, blue.

For analog VU meters, that kinda faded, incandencent, yellowish-white. And yeah, I agree, I want needles behind glass!

For level meters, green or blue.

For rack gear, it's gotta be black, or that light grey that Brent's stuff comes in.
Like this:
2254-e_598_.jpg

That's just about perfect!

I wont own a Joe Meek, simply because its green. What a puke fucking color for rack gear!!:mad:

Mellinia Media products look awesome!

hv3d.jpg
 
I think the Blue lights are the coolest ,Like in the U5! I just got a line6 echo pro, man its like Xmas when turn it on:D LOL..I really like the sound of Lexicons ..but they have to be the most boring to look at...


Don
 
Knobs. I love 'em. Preferably rubber coated and lots of them.
Buttons are OK too, but you can keep those stupid jog wheels. I hate them.

Blue lights I like. Yellow are good too. Red adds a little excitement and means I should be turning something down...unless it's the comp.

Analog VU meters on rack gear? I wish. I can't afford anything that nice yet. I'll settle for the LED ladders and LCD ladders for now. My tape deck meters keep me satisfied for now. All eight of 'em. Nice, and slightly vintage yellow glow.

Basic formal black for face panels. Anyone here know how ugly dark brown face panels are for rack gear? What was TASCAM thinking when they designed the panels for the DBX units? Duh, to match the dark brown recorders.
 
chessrock said:
Alright, from a sheer looks standpoint, tell me you wouldn't want one of these:

http://www.mindprint.com/english/indexproducts.htm

Come on, I dare ya. Or one of these:

http://www.behringer.com/02_products/prodindex.cfm?id=T1953&lang=eng

And tell me your clients wouldn't swoon over one of these:

http://www.behringer.com/02_products/prodindex.cfm?id=T1951&lang=eng

Considering that I recently saw a Focusrite Red 0 going for around $200 on Ebay, I would suspect any one of these would be a much wiser investment, considering the fact that, hey, at least the do something.
Click to expand...

Chess, the Ultragain is definitely cool, but those others have knobs too small and too close together! And I agree, the Vipre is a super design.
 
People are quickly attracted to the great big knobs of my Peavey VMP2. I've learned to watch the hands of those who approach the rack and fix their gaze upon them. I'd say that 7 times out of 10, those hands will begin moving in the direction of those knobs, like a pubescent teen to his date's chest. They don't even know they're doing it.

Personally, I like different colors and patterns of the gear itself (not necessarily the lights), and the way they all mesh together in the rack. I've got a bright blue Delta Labs Effectron that really looks cool.
 
Re: Re: Fun with Cosmetic Features!

Buck62 said:

I've got some blue lights for you! ;):D
Click to expand...

"pretty blue lights along the way, help me ride on by..."

quick! name that tune.
 
Yeah, VU meters (needle+glass) rule. Blue lights too. Big chunky vintage look-knobs, like those on my Behringer T1952 Tube Composer rule... basically the whole look of the Tube Composer rules... Man, I'll keep that thing even when I have a pro_$$ studio with racks filled with Urei, Cranesong, Tubetech etc..
My only pre-amp has nice VU-meters; the DMP-3. And my upcoming channelstrip has a VU too (either Joemeek VC1Qcs, TL Audio VP5051 Ivory 2 or Focusrite Voicemaster Pro)...
As far as color; silver or anodised aluminium rules. dbx's 5*6 serie, most Millenia Media stuff, most Urei and Universal Audio stuff...

I hope to get as much quality units with 'vintage' VU metering as possible... :)
 
I prefer not seeing knobs...I think those amps that have an 'on' button only and are all shiny are f--in awesome looking. Maybe have a cover that flips up when you want to change settings...it'd look better AND keep pesky friend's from changing your settings.
 
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