Guitar amp trend - controls on top?

[mjbphotos]

What is with this trend of some manufacturers to put the amp controls/input jacks, etc on the top or top-back corner of small combo amps? Fender, Orange, Vox, Roland and others have them.
Inconvenient, at the very least, to me. Even if you've got the amp on a stand, or resting atop a big speaker cab, you have to lean over it to see and adjust anything.

 

[miroslav]

It's not a new trend...it's a classic design going back to the '50s when combos were mostly used, and it made sense to put the controls on top so that when you are standing/playing, you can easily see/adjust them.
That's also why so many put the faceplates on "upside down", 'cuz back in the day, the players would have the combo's more next to or in front of them, and then the "upside down" controls made sense. Many current designers want to go for that classic look...though I find it rather dumb, as few players these days stand next to or behind their amps.


Yeah, I hate the "on top" controls, because it makes it hard to stack heads/amps...and in my studio environment, I like to use my limited space to the fullest. Right now I have three amps with controls on top (and one "upside down" on a Tweed clone)...and all three of them have to stand on their own, with nothing on top of them.

 

[RFR]

What was worse was having the amp head on the bottom of the cabinet with the controls at the very bottom and backside of the amp as well.

Remember, before the electric guitar came into its own, it was just another instrument for accompanying an orchestra. Usually the guitar player sat behind the amp. The control setup made sense for this.

 

[Robus]

Once and a while it's convenient, but mostly annoying. Try getting at the dust and grime that accumulates around and between the knobs on a top panel amp.

 

[RFR]

Me, I don't give a shit. I'm used to all the configurations. If the amp sounds good that's all that matters.