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Bag End Carpet

P

pacetownsley

Aug 23, 2010
8
5
#1
I have an older 1x15 BE that's been in storage forever. The carpet is trashed, want to remove it. What am I in for? Can it mostly be done with an exacto knife and elbow grease, or is that optimistic? I don't much care how it looks as long as the carpet is gone.

Also, heard Scott Devine talking amps and he mentioned that Bag End doesn't get enough love these days. I've owned several over the years, happy to see someone say that. As much as I hate the related back problems and the carpet, I have a lot of affection for these things. Hauled around a ported 15 for years, it was genuinely incredible.
 
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#2
Someone more knowledgeable should chime in, but removing carpet sounds like a huge pain in the … neck based on every account of someone trying it I’ve ever read. Could you get by with a shave? Apparently a beard trimmer will tidy that stuff up quite effectively. TalkBass does have a Bag End Club full of fans.
 
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#3
Riff Ranger said:
Someone more knowledgeable should chime in, but removing carpet sounds like a huge pain in the … neck based on every account of someone trying it I’ve ever read. Could you get by with a shave? Apparently a beard trimmer will tidy that stuff up quite effectively. TalkBass does have a Bag End Club full of fans.
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A manscape trimmer. :)
 
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#5
Try one of these to remove the rat fur effortlessly
X15-Featured-Image.jpg
 
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#8
An exacto knife might work okay, if you're prepared to follow that up with lots of sanding. A powered sander will work fine, at first, but I would be willing to bet some good, old-fashioned sandpaper and elbow grease will be necessary to really finish it off.

I'm not familiar with these amps. so please excuse a "noob" question: is the carpet considered to be desirable ... does it add something "extra" to the sound qualities?

If the answer is "yes", I would recommend trying to replace it with carpet.

If the answer is "no", I would consider some affordable (and easy to maintain) Tolex.
 
#10
Michael Stanley 2112 said:
An exacto knife might work okay, if you're prepared to follow that up with lots of sanding. A powered sander will work fine, at first, but I would be willing to bet some good, old-fashioned sandpaper and elbow grease will be necessary to really finish it off.

I'm not familiar with these amps. so please excuse a "noob" question: is the carpet considered to be desirable ... does it add something "extra" to the sound qualities?

If the answer is "yes", I would recommend trying to replace it with carpet.

If the answer is "no", I would consider some affordable (and easy to maintain) Tolex.
Click to expand...
the carpet adds nothing to the sonic qualities of these otherwise great cabs. It just provides some pretty tough covering for the wood. Bag End also makes their cabs in finished wood, and while those are more prone to load-in/load-out damage, I've always admired that version myself.

for the OP, I got nothing on how to remove the carpet. Its likely glued on which will probably make it a challenge to remove with a clean result. good luck though!
 
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#13
pfschim said:
(SNIP) the carpet adds nothing to the sonic qualities of these otherwise great cabs. It just provides some pretty tough covering for the wood. Bag End also makes their cabs in finished wood, and while those are more prone to load-in/load-out damage, I've always admired that version myself. ...(/SNIP)
Click to expand...

Thank you for this.

In that case, I'm reminded of some of the old "Kustom" amps. Nice, thick, padding. I owned one or two (toys, really), back in the day.

The other option is: under very controlled conditions, burn the glue off and "relic" the cabinet, at the same time?
 
#15
I think the more important question is what do you plan on doing for a cover after you remove the carpeting?

I’ve helped friends pull the so-called rat fur off a few cabinets although none of them were Bag Ends. It’s a messy and tedious job and a lot depends on the strength of adhesive used. And I strongly recommend removing any speakers before you start.

A heat gun, a putty knife, a razor paint scraper, plus some patience got the carpeting off. And it’s worth noting some cabs are going to be a lot easier to strip than others.

After the carpeting is off the glue residue can be removed via a combination of solvents, more scraping, and sanding. I never found solvents worked all that well. So some additional scraping with help from a heat gun and a lot of sanding was what eventually got most if it off.

If you’re going to recover the cab with vinyl or similar pay close attention to the cabinet corners and edges and make sure they’re sooth, round, and ding free. Any nicks or irregularities will result in air gaps or bubbles under the covering and will be extremely easy to tear with normal handling. So a spot wood filler is sometimes needed. If the edges or corners are damaged a touch up with a router and a round over bit will take care if it and is highly recommended.

Easiest solution is to just paint it with a product called Duratex. It’s an expensive specialty paint designed to produce an extremely tough covering that works well for speaker cabs and toad cases. Two or three coats will likely be needed to get a decent finish.

Luck!
 
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#16
I have removed the rat fur from a few of these cabs over the years and it’s not a job for the weak of will. Believe me, Bag End uses the best stuff you’ll find and the job can be difficult. Here’s what I have learned so far;
Have a space where you can make a mess, preferably outside/or well-ventilated.
Put down a tarp and get some goggles, industrial gloves and a respirator.
Remove everything down to the empty box. Cut corners at wrap around points with a carpet blade. Use a stripping compound and a heavy duty scraper. ( I found a heat gun to be pretty much useless.) Re-apply as much as you think you need then re-apply more. It’s tough carpet and thicker than you’d think. It’ll take time, make a mess and seem daunting but can be done if you’re determined. After removal I use thinner to clean all residue from the cab. Let dry, then water wash. Use wood filler where needed, let dry. Sand the whole box with 120, finish with 180 grit. Then I use Duratex and let dry, sand 180 and repeat as necessary until I like what I see.
 
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#19
pacetownsley said:
I have an older 1x15 BE that's been in storage forever. The carpet is trashed, want to remove it. What am I in for? Can it mostly be done with an exacto knife and elbow grease, or is that optimistic? I don't much care how it looks as long as the carpet is gone.

Also, heard Scott Devine talking amps and he mentioned that Bag End doesn't get enough love these days. I've owned several over the years, happy to see someone say that. As much as I hate the related back problems and the carpet, I have a lot of affection for these things. Hauled around a ported 15 for years, it was genuinely incredible.
Click to expand...

The Bag End S15-D 1x15 used to be more or less the standard bass cabinet among many "greater" Washington, DC area blues bass players (in my circles, anyway). However, once NEO speaker technology improved enough, many who wanted light weight and portability went in that direction.
 
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#20
Bag End uses water based glue. I took everything including the speaker off the box and used a steamer to remove the carpet. Then washed the remaining adhesive off. Maybe some light sanding? It wasn't difficult. Anyway, I took it to a pickup bed liner shop and had it sprayed. They masked the baffle board. It's way better than new.

My cab was the 2x10. I've replaced it with a Barefaced Super Compact.
 
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