Cosmetics

[Bellyheart]

Does anyone understand people's obsession with cosmetic condition on equipment? I definitely get it, if something looks like it wouldn't work, being skeptical, but what about fully functional, problem free things? People have to take pictures of small nicks in tolex or notify if velcro is on the bottom of a pedal. Why? Isn't it about performance and not looks?

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

doood i totally agree. if it works who the fuck cares if its a lil beat up. even gives gear a lil character to have some battle scars IMHO. but ya if its totally fucked lookin, i would be skeptical of functionality too

i had a dude complain to me once about some scratches on an old oberheim drum machine i sold him on ebay, he wanted a full refund b/c it wasnt what he expected, even tho i had pics. i was like, "dude the machine is meant to be played not displayed and its prolly like 25ish years old, u gotta expect some wear and tear. it doesnt affect you making drum patterns...blah blah blah" it was a whole ordeal over paint chips and velcro....wtf

all i really care about is that it works, and old gear were usually built like tanks...not like todays plastic fantastic shit.

[elbandito]

It all depends on your reasons for buying or collecting certain effects. Pedals have become like little pieces of functional art, these days. Hand Painted this, Special Artist that... Many builders are offering their effects without feet glued on, so as not to mar the paint job on the underside... you can do it yourself, if you so choose. Personally, I think it's pretty cool. The visual aspect of music started going the way of the Buffalo when 12" stopped being mainstream and fully died once the internet exploded and everybody started downloading. This is a cool way to bring the art back, imo. A canvas is a canvas, really... walls, sidewalks, records, tshirts, even our own bodies, so why not effects?

That being said, I would only care about condition if I was buying the pedal for collecting purposes. If it was something that I planned to gig with and have on my board on a regular basis, it'll get scratched/nicked anyway so who cares?

[bobloblah]

i have one vintage guitar that i kinda care about cosmetics on. it's not really even that nice of a guitar, it's just in such good fucking shape for a 40 year old guitar it seems a waste to fuck it up now. also if anyone fucks with my sunn cab i will beat their ass down so fucking hard
but other than that
don't
give
a
shit

[Headhunter241]

I want DD's.

And no I'm not a cosmetic guy, but I <3 hand painted pedals and guitars.
Beat-up gear has character

[oinkbanana]

cosmetic condition is usually an indication of how used/abused the gear is.
I always try to keep my home gear in impeccable condition (keep as much resale value)

then again I understand a band mate that gouges his gear with a knife to ridiculous lengths
to guarantee that no one would ever try to steal his shit.
then again, imo, he's got shit gear anyways.

I like saving up and owning expensive gear. it's a nice feeling. it's my makeup instead of cigarette burns & ripped jeans.

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

i like to own nice gear too, and i take very good care of my shit....my roommates think im pretty anal about it sometimes. i def don't abuse shit but like i said i dont fret over cosmetic shit much when im buying used gear unless its really beat to shit or unless the price is right!

i think your point is valid elbandito. really depends on what your purpose is.

[Nychthemeron]

I don't care if it's nicked a bit or has some wear. If it works, it's fine. Then again, it's different if there's a giant dent or gash in it.

[metalmariachi]

For me it depends on what it is.
A non working old tube amp for pennies and I’ll scoop it up and spend the time to restore it.
The best sounding old amps I’ve ever heard were rough looking, the two minty fresh ’59 Bassman amps I had a chance to play sounded like crap, compared to another the owner found in a garage, torn tweed, filthy mouse crap and rust but godly tone.

A vintage bass, I can accept some degree of wear if the price is adjusted to go with it.

Pedals really depend on what it is.
I bought a beat up Ezekiel because I’d been looking for one a long long time, and that is all about sound.
I’d pass on a mint ‘70s Big Muff, but want Ibanez 10 series pedals as long as they work.

I’ve been looking at MIM, Squire and even SX basses for a project, came across an ’03 MIA refinished Jazz at the same price as most used MIMs go for so snapped it up.
The body was spray can painted with the usual orange peal, slick spots next to dull spots etc.
That doesn’t bother me because I want to do a fancy sparkly paint job.

“Form follows function” does it not?

MM

[masked elwood]

i only buy gear to use and do not care what it looks like. nicks and scratches don't bother me. and while i do not intentionally fuk things up, sometimes a cat will knock something over (true story...put a crack on a 55 gibson es 295), or things get scratched. .... no big deal.

i usually look for beat up shite no one else would want.

elwd

[sev]

I would especially worry about external cosmetics on electronic stuff like drum machines or synths. Cause if it looks beat up, it probably wasn't handled very carefully, and therefore may spell problems with shit getting knocked loose etc. on the inside....or stored in poor conditions...or shit spilled on/in it.

Also, it matters simply because it matters to other people as far as resale value goes.

[iblamesummers]

@ teh end of the day if its fully functional i'm not anal about it. esp. for older gear. but if its in good condition cosmetically i see that a plus. a bonus. i really don't like buying pedals w/ velcro on them though i kind of hate that.

i try to keep my gear in decent cosmetic condition though. not for teh resale either. i cringe a little if i scratch something up, esp. a deep scratch.