Why on earth do they put carpeting on cabs?

[Korladis]

Just like yer suede shoes (blue, or otherwise), a quick vacuuming or brushing, and all the barroom and cat come right off. The cat goes to his "nail salon" every once in a while, so no shredding.

My vocalist's PA speakers are carpeted. I'm allergic to cats. In my experience, the cat stuff pretty much never fully comes off.

 

[Korladis]

Everyone talking about ripped rolex. Thats what covers are for.

Also tolex looks kinda cool when it's ripped. Carpet really doesn't.

And not all tolex is fragile. The tolex on my ancient Sunn cab is some durable stuff.

 

[Korladis]

I like my cabinets, like I like my women - fur-less, full-bottomed and ported.
View attachment 937334

I'm much more okay with fur on ladies than on cabs.

 

[Korladis]

Seems like rat fur is more prone to hold bacteria, dirt, stale beer, etc. than other, less porous surfaces like tolex (which you wipe clean easily with a handi-wipe or paper towel).

I know, not very musician and rock 'n roll to be worried about dirt. LOL. But sometimes I have to put my cabs in my back seat and the idea of rubbing a piece of carpet on the floor of a dive bar and then putting it on my seats kind of wigs me out.

Did not read all the thread responses, so apologize if someone else already brought it up.

Exactly. If you play in dive bars and so forth, carpet gets ****ing gross.

 

[Korladis]

me too. i do not care for the smell it emits. bad enough all my instruments smell like stale tobacco smoke...but the carpet is much, much worse at absorbing, retaining, and emitting the stink. obtw that is also why i do not have any basses refinished in rat fur

Precisely. I don't want my gear to smell like dive bar.

Reading through the responses leaves me baffled.

You all know there is this thing called a vacuum cleaner right? It takes minute to plug it in and run over the cabinet. It uses suction to remove debris from the surface of flooring, carpeting, etc. It really is a neat little invention.

I could not care less what a cab is covered with. All I know is my Epifany UL2's driven by a Mesa D-800 is music nirvana. And using that neat little invention once a year keeps them looking good.

Vacuums don't take care of odors, which rat fur is very good at absorbing due to acting like a sponge. Also it doesn't do anything about how rat fur looks.

I am completely baffled why people hate Ozite...ratfur
I think it looks sharp....stays clean generally ...easy to sweep..and really protects my cabs
and looks good in black

I think it looks cheap. And easy to sweep? Not as easy as literally any other kind of cab covering. Also as mentioned, it absorbs odors. I'd rather have the cab finished in nothing than have rat fur on it.

 

[EmptyCup]

Has any manufacturer in the last 10 years used "rat fur" to cover a cab? Or are we talking about an issue that will die out as 80s era cabinets die??

Avatar

 

[beans-on-toast]

Rat fur is usually made out of polyester or polypropylene fibers. In addition to soap and water, chemicals can be used to clean them. One of my rat fur covered case had a band name painted on. I was able to remove all traces of the paint by scrubbing with a stiff brush and acetone. It didn't harm the rat fur.

Rat fur is to coverings like cockroaches are to the bug world.

Professional audio companies have moved away from rat fur. For instance Clair Brothers uses baltic birch sprayed with a tough epoxy mastic finish. JBL pro touring cabinets are similar. There are still cabs out there with the rat fur.

 

[99Z3]

How hard you recon it would be to remove said rat fur?

Rat fur is usually made out of polyester or polypropylene fibers. In addition to soap and water, chemicals can be used to clean them. One of my rat fur covered case had a band name painted on. I was able to remove all traces of the paint by scrubbing with a stiff brush and acetone. It didn't harm the rat fur.

Rat fur is to coverings like cockroaches are to the bug world.

Professional audio companies have moved away from rat fur. For instance Clair Brothers uses baltic birch sprayed with a tough epoxy mastic finish. JBL pro touring cabinets are similar. There are still cabs out there with the rat fur.

 

[tfer]

My Hartke XL cabs have fur on them.

I don't care what covers the cabs (Hydrive is tolex) but what I like about the fur, is the grip it provides for my amp with rubber feet. The friction there means that my amp has to be picked up to move - it ain't sliding ANYWHERE!

 

[beans-on-toast]

How hard you recon it would be to remove said rat fur?

It depepends. On some cases/cabinets, it is spot glued at the edges. This comes off fairly easily. Sometimes it is glued everywhere, like tolex is. This can be more difficult, depending on the adhesive. Some glues will soften and release with heat, others such as contact cement present more of a challenge. Worst case, a belt sander does the job by grinding it off.

 

[99Z3]

I would kind of expect that it would be the worst case!

It depepends. On some cases/cabinets, it is spot glued at the edges. This comes off fairly easily. Sometimes it is glued everywhere, like tolex is. This can be more difficult, depending on the adhesive. Some glues will soften and release with heat, others such as contact cement present more of a challenge. Worst case, a belt sander does the job by grinding it off.

 

[BadExample]

Some glues will soften and release with heat

If I have a chance to play with fire for a legitimate reason, I usually do!

 

[Hounddog409]

Precisely. I don't want my gear to smell like dive bar.


Vacuums don't take care of odors, which rat fur is very good at absorbing due to acting like a sponge. Also it doesn't do anything about how rat fur looks.


I think it looks cheap. And easy to sweep? Not as easy as literally any other kind of cab covering. Also as mentioned, it absorbs odors. I'd rather have the cab finished in nothing than have rat fur on it.

The carpet is made out of polyester, which is a type of plastic. Not very good at absorbing anything. Odors are most likely the result of something absorbed into the wood.

 

[Biggbass]

Why on earth do they put carpeting on cabs?

why? So you can stick your Markbass Bass Keeper to it!

 

[staurosjohn]

I prefer a nice Berber, or maybe some Shag for that 70's vibe

Anyone remember these? 'magic carpet rides'... hehe

 

[mmbongo]

So the smell lasts longer when your cat sprays it.

Ha! Just last night one of my beloved doofus cats walked right up and sprayed my TC BG250 amp. I caught the 'tail end' of the act and after cursing and throwing things, I wiped it right off. Would have ruined a carpeted cab.

 

[CryingBass]

"Pumped Shag" ? ( so what's worse?

 

[Ant Illington]

Only if you "definitely"let them. Pet behavior can be directly attributed to its owner.

There was a memo sent out in the late 20th century that stated you don't have to hate cats because you have a dog.

A memo sent out. Hilarious!

 

[eKay]

Why is everyone calling it rat fur? I've seen rats. Carpet does not look like rat fur. Velcro doesn't stick to rats. I don't like rats. You want to talk about fur...

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[Korladis]

The carpet is made out of polyester, which is a type of plastic. Not very good at absorbing anything. Odors are most likely the result of something absorbed into the wood.

It's actually pretty absorbent, in my experience. And besides that, stuff getting through to the wood is also a problem. It's not the least bit water resistant.

Why is everyone calling it rat fur? I've seen rats. Carpet does not look like rat fur. Velcro doesn't stick to rats. I don't like rats. You want to talk about fur...

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Because it looks about as good as rat fur.