I have a small combo amp with the rat fur on it. I do not mind it so much, however it has been pulled out and is a bit frayed so it looks like really poofy hair right now in some spots. I have my main cab which has tolex on it and even though I do not care so much about ware there are tears, rips, and chunks of the Tolex missing. I agree that the durable truck bed paint on stuff would be perfect if it does not damage the wood or make the cab any heavier. It would then be less prone to damages such as scratches and tears.
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Rat fur!!!! Why do amps have Rat fur?!
- Thread starter marlond
- Start date
I just need to vent this. And get some answers.
-Why did amp (cab) makers start using rat fur?
-Why are they still using rat fur?
-Why does this only seem to still plague Bass amps (and live sound) now?
-What is the advantage of using rat fur (other than it fading as it gets old and collecting dust and pet hair)?
-And, does anyone actually like the rat fur?
I hate it so much, as I know may on here do too, that it becomes a deciding factor on a cab that I may buy. EX: I want a Bergantino NV (used), but I will seriously pass on one that has rat fur (unless for some reason it was an absolute steal).
And on a side note. I would want to see more amps using that truck liner stuff, That stuff is awesome. It would be really cool if a cab company started offering it in different colors like they do with tolex.That would be awesome!
Becuase we play in too many rat holes.
For someone who spent many years making production more profitable, these answers are easy...the same reason amp/cab makers do most of what they do...every penny NOT spent up front is a penny more profit when the item sells
Carpet is cheaper to buy (less up front material cost) and easier to apply (less labor cost), and still gets the job done. From a manufacturing standpoint, what's not to like?
Just take a look at makers who offer the 3 most popular covering options. Carpet is original equipment covering with an upcharge for tolex and an even greater upcharge for special bedliner/speaker paint, and the answer to why makers use carpet is glaringly obvious. Carpet covering is strictly a profit motivated decision by mass producers.
The only thing which will ever change that is if enough of us quit buying carpet covered cabs. Of course that could well lead to them being covered in wall paper, so why fight it?
If it truly bothers you enough to need to vent, why not refuse to buy a carpet covered cab, or at least strip and recover any carpet covered cab you own?
I was not happy at all with the look of the first carpet covered cab I bought so I stripped it within days of bringing it home and recovered it with tolex. The extra expense of buying tolex twice (don't ask), coupled with the hassle of stripping both carpet AND a wad of brand new tolex, caused me to look at rat fur in an entirely different way. My attitude went from "no way!" to "who cares?" pretty quick...right around the time I was paying for the second roll of tolex.
The upside to that experience was twofold. First, I realized carpet didn't look nearly as amateurish as I first thought, and second, I now know how to do a proper job of applying tolex.
I love it
It looks great ...is tough as nails....won't tear like Tolex
My cats are the only problem...have to keep the ratfur covered up
It looks great ...is tough as nails....won't tear like Tolex
My cats are the only problem...have to keep the ratfur covered up
I understand the economics, but wish more manufacturers offered other options.
My only rat fur is on the mains for my practice PA.
I swear that stuff has the capability to turn fresh air, sunshine, and fluffy little clouds into a foul-smelling funk.
Oh, and what about the hair ??? Where the hell does the hair come from ??? I don't even HAVE PETS !!!
My only rat fur is on the mains for my practice PA.
I swear that stuff has the capability to turn fresh air, sunshine, and fluffy little clouds into a foul-smelling funk.
Oh, and what about the hair ??? Where the hell does the hair come from ??? I don't even HAVE PETS !!!
I had some Community cabs that were rat fur. They would attract cat hair like a magnet, and hold onto it like a neo magnet. Of course the same cat loved running her claws through the material.
I also dont like the way that rat fur look swhen it degrades. At least Tolex and naughahyde just kind of peel back. You can get a box cutter and do a littel surgery if it gets out of hand. But rat fur turns into this ugly mini afro (ampfro?) on the corners. I even tried using clippers, no luck.
BTW I have seen many guitar amps with ozite/ratfur.
Jackson cabs had it. I believe some of the ampeg guitar cabs did.
Crate had the grey ratfur. The worst!
I also dont like the way that rat fur look swhen it degrades. At least Tolex and naughahyde just kind of peel back. You can get a box cutter and do a littel surgery if it gets out of hand. But rat fur turns into this ugly mini afro (ampfro?) on the corners. I even tried using clippers, no luck.
BTW I have seen many guitar amps with ozite/ratfur.
Jackson cabs had it. I believe some of the ampeg guitar cabs did.
Crate had the grey ratfur. The worst!
This is just my humble opinion. I think back in the stone age, manufacturers got 20 identical amps and covered each with a different material. Then they dumped beer over them all. The next morning the ones with rat fur looked the best and didn't have blown amps/speakers, so that's when they began making it the standard.
Just my opinion.
Just my opinion.
banikek said:
Partly because guitar amps are so much lighter. It's pretty common to see a well-loved Princeton Reverb or a Vibrolux with the Tolex still in good conditio. Can't say the same for well-used Tolex twin fifteens or eight by tens. They're generally duct tape city...
I'm with the OP on this. I can't stand rat fur! I have owned a couple of amps with it but didn't keep them long. I don't like the way it looks. I don't like the way it attracts and holds in odors, hair and dirt. The Line X type covering is my favorite with Tolex second. I would probably never buy another cabinet/amp with rat fur even if it sounded fantastic.
+1
Tolex just chips and flakes too easily. Rat fur handles minor dings better than almost anything else in its price range, and isn't too heavy. I've never had a cab w/ the truck bed liner stuff, but isn't that stuff real heavy?
I just decided to de-fur my old swr cab. Everytime I walked past it, i'd get a big wiff of smoke and stale beer. I was planning to use that bed liner coating, but after I sanded all of the carpet adhesive off, i thought the wood was too pretty to cover back up, and decided to use some stain and poly. I'm much happier now
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I just decided to de-fur my old swr cab. Everytime I walked past it, i'd get a big wiff of smoke and stale beer. I was planning to use that bed liner coating, but after I sanded all of the carpet adhesive off, i thought the wood was too pretty to cover back up, and decided to use some stain and poly. I'm much happier now
That looks GREAT!
It appears SWR used quality plywood.
Carpet came around because it holds up better than Tolex. Tolex rips; Carpet just get fuzzy looking.
Maybe "Today's Tolex" is better, but every amp I saw back in the day that was more than 3 or 4 years old had some Tolex cut/ripped. Can't say the same about the Carpet...
Maybe "Today's Tolex" is better, but every amp I saw back in the day that was more than 3 or 4 years old had some Tolex cut/ripped. Can't say the same about the Carpet...
What I'd like to know is why the hell they call it "rat fur"??? It bears no resemblance whatsoever to rat fur.
My preference is rat fur. Tolex tears and scuffs too easy and looks like crap as it wears. Rat fur wears well, you can velcro cables and stuff to it and now that smoking is not as common in a lot of bars you don't have to worry about that cigarette funk as much. Just dont let your cat near it unless you intend to provide kitty with a $900 scratching post and spray target.
The worst is when the cat thinks it's her scratching post. Shredded up the whole side pretty good. Not to mention the hair. A lint roller worked alright, but you can never get it all off.
IMO, I think for most manufacturers, it really comes down to trying to pick the lesser of three evils when it comes to coverings.
Carpet:
Pros - Tough, durable, doesn't show the road wear as bad, inexpensive and easy to apply
Cons - Sheds, soaks up liquids and "bar stank", attracts every hair and carpet fuzzy for miles, cats love it
Tolex:
Pros: Looks great when new, fairly inexpensive, doesn't soak up beer and bar stank
Cons: Shows road wear more, tears, harder to install
Spray Coatings:
Pros: Durable, easy to touch up, waterproof
Cons: More expensive, harder to install on a production basis
To me, there's just no perfect covering. We started out only wanting to do poly urea spray, as I haven't been overly impressed with the water based coatings. With the cost of the spray material and the cost of neo drivers skyrocketing, the poly just added too much cost to the price of the cabs. We then went to carpet for durability. After loaning one of our cabinets to a player, who's cats used it as a scratching post for a week, the cab came back looking like 9 miles of bad road and smelling like cat spray. We finally settled on a nice heavy gauge Tolex, because it seemed the lesser of three evils, but there are bound to players who hate Tolex as much as others hate rat fur.
