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Tolex vs. Carpet

Do you prefer carpet or tolex covered cabs?

  • Carpet

    Votes: 56 32.7%

  • Tolex

    Votes: 115 67.3%
  • Total voters
    171
#22
I prefer Birch :D

s15-b_lg.jpg


But I voted tolex because I hate carpet (I have cats and I think declawing them is mean).
 
#24
Passinwind said:
+1, those would be my two bottom choices.

I actually prefer water-based urethane over natural wood for my homebrewed cabs though. Not necessarily the best choice for hard gigging however. The finish on my EA cab has held up very well for the couple of years I've owned it, FWIW.
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+1 on urethane. Long ago I realized that I would never subject my gear to hard gigging, so my DIY speakers are relatively light-duty. The water based poly is not as beautiful as oil based IMHO but I can apply it indoors with easy cleanup.

Were I to start heavy gigging, I would go with the dura-tex.
 
#25
Both carpet and tolex are drastically inferior to the rhino'esque stuff on my EA cabs. If the duratex is something comparable, then I'd say go with that.

If I had to choose between just those two, I would choose tolex and be unhappy with my choice.
 
#27
Crockettnj said:
just went to teh duratex site and it answered 90% of my questions.

a little pricey. perhaps not comparatively though.

they mention color choices, but listnothing... anyone know anything?

tombrien's 112 blue cabs, through his color-incorrect-digital-camera , has me jones-in for a cream colored cab now. cream n black... cream n oxblood. hmm.
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Cream. For sure cream. Although, oxblood is a real nice color too.
 
#30
I hate it more when I smell like cigarettes after a gig!
The smells only last for a day or two anyway, unless you're gigging everynight.

"Outdoor" carpet is a tough polymer that doesn't absorb water or smells, found on the better quality cabs. Wet in the rain? Run your hand over it like a squeegy and the water comes right out. Short pile and stiff fibres means no fluffy worn look and less stuff sticking to it.

Beer spillage?!? Man, anyone who rests beers on or near my equipment can expect a size 10 boot to be lodged in their nostril! :D

My cats are s*#t scarred of my bass rig, they don't go near it for fear that it'll make a noise. Problem solved! That's even if they manage to get in the door of my music room!
 
#32
Cabs aren't like basses. In a bass, the resonation from the wood makes a difference in tone. In a cab, you want the wood to be stiff and reflect sound, and not resonate at all. So the type of wood or covering doesn't matter for sound, as long as it's stiff.

And I don't care how torn up it gets...I'd take Tolex any day over anything.
 
#37
I hate carpet on a cabinet. I have three pets in the house and carpeted amps attract hair like Rosie attracts donuts. The only decent carpeted cabinet I seen are the MarkBass. They do a pretty good job and seem to use a higher grade. I had a carpeted GK and the carpet was crap.

I haven't seen a carpeted guitar combo yet. Why is that?

Does anyone know why some manufacturers thought bass players wanted carpet?
 

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