Second hand hartke 4.5xl cab made of chipboard??

[NewstedsProdigy]

I just bought a second hand ex-display hartke 4.5xl cab. The guy who sold it said it was ex display and his music shop shut down, it has apparently been on display for 2-3 years.

The carpet has peeled back on the bottom and I noticed it was chipboard, alarm bells started ringing. A quick check on the samsontech website says "all plywood contstruction"

Im a bit worried ive been sold a knock off!! I can appreciate the specs may have changed and the newer model does look different to mine and could well have been built out of chipboard originally.

Help please guys!!

[Pilgrim]

What help can be provided? Confirm whether what you have is the real thing?

You might email Hartke, but you'll probably need to know the approximate age of the cab and I'm sure you will need to provide the model number.

[murphy]

when that cab came out ...the review in bass player said it was made of OSB.
Strands to increase strength....blah blah
So, it is a heavy material, but if yours is OSB , it is what they came out made with ....and a great cab.

Never heard it being chipboard...yuk!

[bertbass666]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriented_strand_board

[JTE]

"Chipboard" is cardboard. Are confusing OSB with particle board?

Johb

[bedroommuso]

Originally Posted by JTE

"Chipboard" is cardboard. Are confusing OSB with particle board?

Johb

As far as I know.. there are roughly three categories:

"Chipboard" is particleboard - really tiny wood shavings "chips", the worst crappiest stuff for cabs that can just flake off in your hands. I had an ENGL "Pro" guitar cab that was advertised as "all plywood" but was made of this crap!

MDF - Medium density fibreboard - Much stronger than chipboard, used in some high end audio equipment, but heavy. If I am correct it is much more dense and uniform than chipboard (more glue? smaller particles?), and appears smooth on appearance. I had an older "Valvestate" Marshall guitar cab that was made of this.

Plywood - self explanatory. Lighter than MDF. At least equally as strong (or stronger). Can't remember. Best choice for cabs that are being moved and thus probably beaten around.

[murphy]

but you are missing OSB ,oriented strand board...which it should be made out of

[Lowactnsatsfctn]

Originally Posted by murphy

but you are missing OSB ,oriented strand board...which it should be made out of

The Hartke Cab I had was mainly made of OSB.

According to the website:
"Using 3/4" Composite Plywood and Baltic Birch and choice components, the new Professional Series cabinets were designed from the ground up to be the premier bass cabinets of the Hartke line."

The Baffle was 3/4 plywood and the rest of the cab was OSB

[bedroommuso]

Originally Posted by murphy

but you are missing OSB ,oriented strand board...which it should be made out of

Gee.. I hadn't even heard of that until today! I just looked it up, and "OSB" looks to me to be a fancy way of saying "bigger chips of wood" because that's what it looks like - the same as chipboard but bigger pieces. As crap as chipboard too, I would presume.

Originally Posted by Lowactnsatsfctn

The Hartke Cab I had was mainly made of OSB.

According to the website:
"Using 3/4" Composite Plywood and Baltic Birch and choice components, the new Professional Series cabinets were designed from the ground up to be the premier bass cabinets of the Hartke line."

The Baffle was 3/4 plywood and the rest of the cab was OSB

As was the case with my Engl.. sounds a case of 'selective' information and half truths (aka marketing).

The honest version would probably read something like this:

"Using 3/4" Composite Plywood and Baltic Birch (shredded into a million pieces) and choice components, the new Professional Series cabinets were designed from the ground up to be the premier bass cabinets of the H4rtk3 line."

[NewstedsProdigy]

Thank you all very much, that's put my mind at rest, I didn't even know OSB existed and I assumed it was chipboard!

For a moment I was worried that someone had managed to break the original plywood cab, rebuild it (maybe to the wrong size) and re-fit the drivers and carpet then sell it off at a high price. I intended to rebuild the cab from marine ply anyway (I'm a joiner so I know how crappy and crumbly chipboard is) I would have demanded my money straight back and bought a brand new one for £100 more.

Much love

[countrybass007]

I saw repair jobs come in to a local guitar shop, broken with just minor bumps and bangs. They were GK cabs from GC, so maybe Hartke did the same? It's done to keep the cost down, but it also lowers the bass response of the cab.