from a different side of the "how it looks" debate.
i have a bunch of basses which i bought because they played amazingly well and sounded incredible - - i have always found they way they look uncomfortable. i have lost work because of how they look (don't look "rock and roll" enough), i don't care.
i have a bunch of pedals that are too big and ugly, i use them and, try as i might, cannot come up with a satisfactory reason to sell them as they sound great and do a lot of amazing stuff.
oh and it all costs too much because the companies who make all of this stuff are microscopic.
stig