no more carpeted cabs?

[74hc]

What happens when you give your truck bed spray cab a good bang against something and then the wood gets exposed?
Doesn't happen w rat fur.

For me, that seems more like a case of why plywood is preferable over MDF. When MDF cracks, the sealant properties is lost, and it becomes hydroscopic. It swells, and begins to tear itself apart. More so for the cheap asian MDF.

Tolex and truck bed spray have better sealing properties than rat fur. Some manufacturers of MDF cabs just use the glue for rat fur as the sealant to save $.

 

[Yango]

I’m glad it’s gone. It was a horrible trend. It was probably the only thing I hated about my Eden 2x10. Everything stuck to it.

Our singer had a PA, and he offered to store my cab at one point. I didn’t know that he kept his gear in a barn with the horses and dogs. It was only there for a couple of weeks... I got it back coated with hay and dog hair, but the barn stench that clung to the cab was the worst. It took forever to go away. It didn’t matter what I washed, sprayed or dusted it with.

Never again. Give me vinyl tolex any day.

 

[Stevorebob]

Carpet seems like a good idea, but while durable, it’s like Velcro for hair, dirt, lint and other debris, not to mention its uncanny ability to hang on to the worst of odors. And if that’s not bad enough, many pill like a cheap sweater and need a periodic shave. I prefer not to shampoo or groom my cabs.

 

[Kukulkan61]

To hell with carpet and Tolex, they need to bring sexy back

 

[agedhorse]

What happens when you give your truck bed spray cab a good bang against something and then the wood gets exposed?

Doesn't happen w rat fur.

Depends on the quality of the bass wood and the coating.

The wood surface needs to be hard, and there are many different grades of coating, some very tough but many not so tough.

Most can be repaired, but to look good it's a professional job. Some coatings are very toxic until cured.

Rat fur is not immune to this kind of damage either.

 

[40Hz]

Got it on my Goliath Junior 2x10.

Wasn’t crazy about it then and I’m not crazy about it now. But it’s held up far better than my Tolex/vinyl covered Acoustic or Ampeg cabs have. Still looks very good for a cab I bought new back in the 80s. I didn’t find it particularly hard to maintain. The earlier suggestion about using a lint roller to get rid of debris works really well. Some ScotchGuard applied a few times when it’s new and the occasional rug/upholstery spay cleaning and it stays pretty new looking. At least my SWR cabs did. Although I did make quick & dirty soft transport covers (out of fabric backed vinyl tablecloths) for them early on since I don’t have the money to be constantly fixing or replacing gear. And I couldn’t afford to buy commercially made covers for them at the time.

For a gigging cab I’d still prefer a high density coating such as DuraTex or similar over something that was glued on. That way if it ever started looking too ratty I could easily give it a fresh coat and be good to go. I’ve recovered Tolex cabs. And each time it was a genuine PITA. So these days I’d prefer to think of Tolex as something I’d (maybe) consider putting on a cab once I retired it from the road and relegated it to home duty or studio use.

 

[2112]

All of my old Trace Elliot big iron is covered in the dark-green carpet, and I sure love the look. So much so that I'm considering covering my custom pedalboard with it. If I don't use the dark-green carpet, I'll probably go with some sort of line-x equivalent.

 

[Shanannigan]

Good riddance. I have a carpeted cab, and I hate the carpet covering. It picks up every little bit of lint and dirt, I have two cats so they think it's a scratching post and it picks up their fur. Carpeted cabs are just a fraying dirty mess.

 

[40Hz]

One thing I learned the hard way if you ever do decide to redo your vinyl covering - don’t try to just sand any of the rounded over edges of the wood you’re removing the old adhesive from and call it a day.

Sand down the cab case first to get rid of the adhesive. Next plug any gouges and holes or other uneven surfaces with filler compound and then sand down everything smooth once again.

Then get a router, and using the correct sized round over bit, re-dress the rounded over edges so they’re uniform. If you just sand them to what feels smooth, the radius likely won’t be completely even along their entire length. Which means somewhere along those rounded edges there’s going to be a bubble or gap once the vinyl is applied. If it doesn’t happen immediately, it’ll happen later on. And any vinyl not completely smooth and firmly glued to the wood underneath it is going to tear first chance it gets since whatever strength it has comes from the wood it’s glued to. And the most likely place it’ll start to detach is along a rounded edge.

I had to redo the vinyl on an amp head once about half a year after I first did it because of that. Wish I knew about the router trick earlier.

 

[Rockbobmel]

No more smoke smell anymore, hides minor dents better, vacuums pretty good, pills can be sanded off with 60 grit. I have 4 cabs with rat fur, 4 without. Tolex looks better, rat fur is more durable- by a long shot.

 

[mikew31]

I detest furry boxes.

Knuckles to you for that one

 

[pcake]

i hate rat fur. it stick to hair and dust, retains smells, and having the same approximate texture as scratching posts, have always invited cats to damage it. we had a small, aggressive feral rescue cat who dug his way through the rat fur on my old carvin combo and deeply into the wood. he wasn't messing around!

 

[fatcrabb]

The tolex / painted surfaces trend has created a new profit center for manufacturers. If you're an OCD type like myself you have to buy a cover for each cab or risk tearing or chipping the finish. They usually run $70-$100. Still worth it though. I couldn't stand the thought of my Bergies bring defiled by drunken patrons or careless roadies lol!

 

[Gizmot]

In my experience, the worst thing about carpet covering is that it's nearly impossible to fix if it tears or wears down. Painted boxes (especially polyurea variants) are pretty tough and can prevent moisture intrusion into the wood - but you have to remember that wood isn't dimensionally stable when it gets wet and cold.

 

[arbiterusa]

Love the rat fur. Seriously. I cannot understand why anyone would buy a tolex cabinet if they’re actually gigging. Clean my cabs once a year and they still look brand new- almost ten years old. The only way a tolex cab is going to give you that kind of life is if you keep it nice and safe in your bedroom.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

To hell with carpet and Tolex, they need to bring sexy back
View attachment 3644983

Yes!! Kinda getting tired of almost every cab looking the same (except for the grills, maybe). I get that nobody wants to take big risks on aesthetics and would rather focus on sound, which is good, but a little more uniqueness would be cool or even options. I love the Portaflex B15 style cabs Ampeg makes and they look very unique. Those Kustom tuck n' rolls look really cool and unique too.

Although with how often I hear people bothered by the Markbass yellow cones, I can't imagine that encourages cab designers to experiment lol

 

[seamonkey]

I like a good high grade carpet cover.
I don't like the fake dead skin coverings.

Overall I think cab makers have wised up an use higher grade plywood these days.

The spray on coverings these days are amazing. Strong and scratch resistant. Rounded corners on cabs to avoid edge damage. I'm sure it's a lower labor cost for professional shops. Harder for DIY - but truck bed liner places will do it for you.

 

[Relsom]

I myself am grateful for the demise of the fuzzy stuff. I’d much rather use a cover for transport and not have that stuff soaking up the atmosphere.

I'm with you. Although I do have a couple of old carpeted cabs in the studio that keep the cat's attention rather than having her claw up the good stuff.

 

[agedhorse]

I like a good high grade carpet cover.
I don't like the fake dead skin coverings.

Overall I think cab makers have wised up an use higher grade plywood these days.

The spray on coverings these days are amazing. Strong and scratch resistant. Rounded corners on cabs to avoid edge damage. I'm sure it's a lower labor cost for professional shops. Harder for DIY - but truck bed liner places will do it for you.

The material costs for the high grade 2 part catalized castings is staggering, as is the amount required to get a 0.050" film thickness. Thickness is a necessary part of the strength, which also adds weight

The labor and cleaning/maintenance costs of the equipment is also high, and in CA, expensive permits are required. Don't know about other states.

 

[J-Mags]

Not only does it suck, but I could always be convinced to buy it if tolex cost extra, which has happened a couple of times.