3D Guitar Amplifier Magazine Concept

3D Guitar Amplifier Design

Title: “Kemper: “InstaTone” or “Sample Amp” cell phone amp sampler.”

Target Audience: Youth market guitar players without access to vintage equipment. Perhaps 18-30. A high-quality amplification sampling system.
About: Kemper is a German amplification company whose unique product feature was the ability to capture and use the sound of other amplifiers. It boasts high-quality digital software and hardware to achieve classic and unique tones for the working guitarist or bassist.
Premier Guitar reviews all the latest and upcoming gear on the market. They review new equipment released at NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants). NAMM https: www.namm.org is a yearly show that demos all the new equipment and updates from various manufacturers.

Executive Summary: Once I decided on using a piece of guitar tech for a cover, I had to consider what matters the most to guitarists. Genuine tube tone is always the goal of every guitarist. The notion of capturing that tone in the virtual world of the modern-day seemed the best target. My comp image is a representation of where we are in the world of technology and the history which it draws its inspiration from.
I chose Kemper products as they have spearheaded the custom sampling arena in guitar marketing. While POD and AXE FX create their own sampling used in their digital simulations, Kemper allows the user to sample amplifiers they own or rare and custom amplifiers. Since the tube amplification market is rife with custom shops and secretive circuit designs, this imaginary product “SAMPLE AMP”, would allow a guitarist (with the permission of the amp owner) to take a snapshot of its tone on their cell phone for use in their own Kemper amp product or directly from the phone for practice or performance.

Challenges: One of the greatest challenges is communicating to a wider audience the need for this imaginary product. Expressing what so many guitarists seek, genuine tube tone without the expense of vintage amps, in an image is difficult. Translating what is auditory into a visual format for a magazine cover requires considering what imagery conveys that best. In this case, the sampling of the real world into a virtual studio for the working musician.
The final concept I chose required merging the likeness of a vintage tube amp but incorporating a cellphone (iPhone) to promote the notion of genuine tube tone captured digitally and easily. On-the-go and portable, the image needed to convey a mystery. A simple photo would not do this without major prop creation. So, constructing this digitally in 3D would be a more direct way to convey the concept and allow for different lighting and angles to be produced.

Problem: Premier Guitar embraces new equipment, however, vintage amp enthusiasts are always skeptical of digital gear. It is a challenge to convince many “boomers” that the new technology is rapidly offering solutions to guitaristsSolutions: Creating a “vintage” look and appeal in the art as well as messaging will perhaps soften the digital skeptic. Many in the tube amp group are also dismissive of the choices made by manufacturers. Also, many tube amp aficionados love to customize their amps. This product would allow them a portable version of their favorite “hot-rodded” amp.

Strategy/Audience: The idea behind this product is both an appeal to cost and flexibility. The world of performance has changed in the past decades and a new generation finds itself in fewer venues that support the volume and needs of older tube amplifiers. Online jams between contributors in the internet age are also a growing thing, especially since Covid.

Design Approach

My initial approach was to treat the technology as an “act of god”.  I used DaVinci’s “Creation of Adam” but thought to change the “hand of God” with vintage guitar amp tubes. They were to touch a phone screen as if to transfer their magical quality into the digital sphere.

Additional iterations continued along with the idea of the “tube hand” which would manipulate the phone. One instance is the hand adjusting a tone knob on a virtual amp displayed on the phone. The idea again implies old and loved technology manipulating future technology.

The concept I went with was to treat the phone itself as a guitar amp. Looking at the back of the amp as if a repairman looking under the hood of a car to see what makes it tick. In this instant, the phone becomes the instrument. In treating the phone itself as a “tube amplifier” we treat the digital sphere as the inheritor of a much-loved expression of vintage tone.

Construction: Working in Cinema 4D was a first for me. It took constructing individual elements to create my Amp/Phone hybrid. ​​​​​​​
The speakers were probably the toughest build requiring several techniques

The tubes were also a challenge as I need to show not only glass but that they were glowing with power.

The iPhone “gateway” was perhaps one of the simpler elements.

Here we see the assembled elements in an early stage.

Coloring, Lighting, and Texturing were the next step. Here I had to create a tweed pattern that would wrap around the front of the amp

Finally I began working on lighting and positioning my amp based upon my magazine design. I started with some dramatic lighting, but ended up with a softer lighting look.

In the last stage i decided to color the speakers a gold tone and add some other elements to fill out the realistic look of the inside of an amp.

Design Sensibility: For my project, I decided to go with warm and natural tones for the cover in spite of this being a high-tech item. So warm reds and browns across the look. Tweed is always an indicator of a vintage-styled amplifier. Again with the typeface, the choice was something less modern (except for the product logo). The final amp design was finished off with some minor detail tweaks and the glow of the tubes. 

SEO:
“Tube Tone”, “Vintage Sound”, “digital guitar”, “Cell Phone”, “Smart Phone”, “Sampling”, “Classic Tone”, 
Call-To-Action: “Tube Tone in your cell phone”