Remember when "rat fur" cabinets were the latest thing?

[Analogeezer]

I still remember the first one I saw, I had a bass player friend who always bought the latest stuff and I go to their practice place to hang out and he had a new Hartke 4 x 10", this was probably 1985?

Anyway he was showing me the cab and I noticed the carpet covering; he said "yeah this stuff is great, it won't get all scarred up like tolex"

As I recall this was the promise of rat fur back then, no big scabs of tolex coming off you didn't need covers because well the things were carpet covered so indestructible right?

Boy did we ever get sucked in by that promise didn't we? LOL

Other than some super cheap stuff (maybe Seismic stuff?) can you even buy a rat fur covered cabinet anymore?

Sadly the promise of durability was a bit of a joke, and it turned out that good old tolex actually wore a lot better.

I'll confess to owning a number of rat fur covered cabinets, all purchased during the heyday of the stuff but I bought them WITH covers and used the covers religiously.

I also use a board underneath my fairly heavy racks to keep the feet from the rack from tearing up the rat fur. The net result is aside from the detritus that collects to the bottom of the things they still look great.

Anyway it's comical to look back on it now and realize that DUH, carpet wears and while you may not have big scabs of missing tolex like the old days, you kinda wind up with something that looks even worse.

Bonus points if you post pix of your rat fur cabs that have lived hard lives and look like it!

Analogeezer

 

[bholder]

Yup, but hey, yeah, I go all the way back to "tuck'n'roll". First band guitarist had one of these:

(and talk about a wear maintenance nightmare - they don't look so cool patched with electrician's tape all over).

 

[Analogeezer]

Yup, but hey, yeah, I go all the way back to "tuck'n'roll". First band guitarist had one of these:

View attachment 4397781

See my "your first bass amp" thread; a black tuck and roll Kustom 100 was my first bass amp and boy did it suck.

My first real band the guitar player was kind of a rich latchkey kid (his dad owned a bar and his Mom worked there so they were rarely around) and they were always buying him nice stuff.

He had a Kustom 150 head with the single 15" + Horn cabinet. What the hell were they thinking offering this for guitar? It was <ahem> kinda bright LOL

A Telecaster through one of those cabinets should have been illegal!

Thinking back to rat fur, a lot of the great brands (SWR, Eden) had them but I don't recall Ampeg or GK debasing themselves to doing that. Did I remember this correctly?

Analogeezer

 

[2saddleslab]

Each covering type has it's pros/ cons. Some love it, some hate it.

Never was a fan of rat fur, hence a story of recovery.
A Little Back To The Future, Ampeg Style.........

 

[bholder]

He had a Kustom 150 head with the single 15" + Horn cabinet. What the hell were they thinking offering this for guitar? It was <ahem> kinda bright LOL

A Telecaster through one of those cabinets should have been illegal!

Was his name Jay? hehe hehe My 1st band guitarist had exactly that, played a semi-hollow '73 Tele thinline (the one with the big humbucker at the neck and the nasty sc at the bridge) - favorite effect was the original Big Muff. Yeah, piercing is a good word to describe it! Like an ice-pick in the ear! hehe. Now what were we saying about my high frequency hearing loss? haha haha

 

[bholder]

so what has replaced rat fur now? the spray on bed liner stuff? what's "current"?

 

[Analogeezer]

so what has replaced rat fur now? the spray on bed liner stuff? what's "current"?

Yes I think so.

One advantage of that stuff is if it does get scuffed up it's a lot easier to retouch.

I have a rat fur covered Genz-Benz 2 x 12" guitar cabinet I bought used, it was not in that bad of shape really but still has some fur sticking up.

I took one of those sweater shavers to it and it improved it a lot but still some of the fur wants to stand up.

I bought the cabinet for studio use and a guitar player I was in a band with used it (actually it was his cabinet and I later bought it from him).

I bought it because it's a very interesting design, two vertical 12" speakers, wide enough to put a rack on top and not hang off the sides. You can run the cabinet in stereo or as a single 2 x 12" cab. It also has a removable back panel on one of the speakers (the upper one) so you can do the open back thing if you like.

I took out the stock speakers and replaced them with Emminence Private Jacks, improved the sound a lot.

I bought it in spite of the rat fur because of the cabinet design and also I only paid $75 for it!

Analogeezer

 

[Leonid Nidis]

That's my only deal breaker for a cab or a combo.
That fur collects every bit or dirt and dust from the surroundings.
Most of the time it gets so gross I'm afraid what disease I would catch from it.

 

[Analogeezer]

Each covering type has it's pros/ cons. Some love it, some hate it.

Never was a fan of rat fur, hence a story of recovery.
A Little Back To The Future, Ampeg Style.........

I've never heard anyone who was a fan of it, except at the beginning of the trend.....when we thought the stuff would actually wear well.

I think the fact nobody serious about speaker cabinets these days offers the rat fur as an option says a lot about it's actual popularity.

But at intro we thought "it was the answer". Hence the thread....

An old scabbed up Tolex cabinet looks bad but also battleworn and it's paid it's dues.

An old fuzzy rat fur cabinet just looks like you might catch Hep C from it LOL.

Analogeezer

 

[ToneMonkey]

Yes I think so.

One advantage of that stuff is if it does get scuffed up it's a lot easier to retouch.

I have a rat fur covered Genz-Benz 2 x 12" guitar cabinet I bought used, it was not in that bad of shape really but still has some fur sticking up.

I took one of those sweater shavers to it and it improved it a lot but still some of the fur wants to stand up.

I bought the cabinet for studio use and a guitar player I was in a band with used it (actually it was his cabinet and I later bought it from him).

I bought it because it's a very interesting design, two vertical 12" speakers, wide enough to put a rack on top and not hang off the sides. You can run the cabinet in stereo or as a single 2 x 12" cab. It also has a removable back panel on one of the speakers (the upper one) so you can do the open back thing if you like.

I took out the stock speakers and replaced them with Emminence Private Jacks, improved the sound a lot.

I bought it in spite of the rat fur because of the cabinet design and also I only paid $75 for it!

Analogeezer

Rat fur maintenance tip: shave it with a disposable razor. Cleans it right up.

 

[paskisti]

On the other hand Marshall tolex looks like been living in the road 30 years just after couple of shows. We are still joking the same when someone is asking the age of Marshall 4x12 guitar cabs - the answer is no matter the age, they all look poopy if taken out of the retail box. Rat fur stays somewhat reasonable 20 years in same condotions. I had recently Warwick 411 Pro from 2000 and it was quite nice after heavy touring. I dont't have it anymore so no picture.

Edit that Warwick cab actually had short fur so maybe it was shaved...

 

[Analogeezer]

That's my only deal breaker for a cab or a combo.
That fur collects every bit or dirt and dust from the surroundings.
Most of the time it gets so gross I'm afraid what disease I would catch from it.

I have a bunch of Carvin cabinets covered in the stuff but they are the later versions (the "Red Eye" era) and they seemed to go with a lower nap (and darker, more charcoal colored) version of the carpet than the earlier grey carpet covered models.

I ALWAYS transported mine with the covers though so they still look great.

That was the implied promise of rat fur though; oh you don't need covers for these things, the covering IS THE COVER!

Analogeezer

 

[Analogeezer]

Rat fur maintenance tip: shave it with a disposable razor. Cleans it right up.

I'll have to give that a try (I used the sweater shaver thing which took the worst off), two things seem to happen with rat fur:

1. The "hair"stands up

2. Bits of it get wrapped into little "balls" that stick up

How many "shaves" do you get with a cab before the wood starts to show?

Analogeezer

 

[JRA]

rat fur = heavy (?)

no pics, but i still have a couple of rat fur yamaha monitor cabs that i use for some PA gigs that i do. i don't mind the rat fur so much, but the weight of those things is occasionally 'threatening' after a long day.

 

[Kro]

Looks (and smells) vs. Function. In terms of function I still think heavy duty carpet is the superior choice.

Tolex: looks fancy, but will tear and peel
Bed liner: strong but super abrasive. Be careful around vehicles. Does not dent easily, but when it does it's bad
Duratex: not really that strong, but looks ok and easy to touch up

 

[Analogeezer]

rat fur = heavy (?)

no pics, but i still have a couple of rat fur yamaha monitor cabs that i use for some PA gigs that i do. i don't mind the rat fur so much, but the weight of those things is occasionally 'threatening' after a long day.

Most of the lower cost Yamaha PA cabs are made from MDF, hence the weight.

I have a pair of "Series II' Yamaha PA cabinets and they are covered in some sort of spray on coating, and they are heavy as hell.

I don't know about the newer Yamaha PA stuff but starting in the 1970's for a good 30 years they were actually made in Georgia.

Analogeezer

 

[Frankie Fender]

Never was a fan of the rat fur. NEVER.

 

[Dincrest]

I feel like rat fur would be a nightmare at a punk show. If beer spills on it, you need some carpet cleaner to get the stain and smell out, and how many people carry Woolite in their gig bags?

With Tolex or something like that, I could easily rip off my shirt and wipe off the spilled beer.

Go figure, my early-2000s Carvin PA has carpet (black carpet from the "Red Eye" era) as do my Bergantino 1x12 bass cabinets. The price, quality, and features of that gear was too good for the carpet to be my dealbreaker.

 

[Kro]

I feel like rat fur would be a nightmare at a punk show. If beer spills on it, you need some carpet cleaner to get the stain and smell out, and how many people carry Woolite in their gig bags?

I think you're seriously misjudging punk priorities.

 

[Ffreddy]

Yup, but hey, yeah, I go all the way back to "tuck'n'roll". First band guitarist had one of these:

View attachment 4397781

(and talk about a wear maintenance nightmare - they don't look so cool patched with electrician's tape all over).

Im actually shocked at the sheer volume of Kustom and plush amps I see that are NOT all nasty and messed up. Most I see still look awesome. Whats up w/that? I personally destroyed one rather gently loading it into the van.