Recovering Amp

[StratDudeDan]

i just started a "let's recover dan's amp" project. right now, there is a Fender 2x12 cab in my basement, completely nekkid...i almost feel dirty.

however, the old stuff was dirtier. smelled like vomit, and cigarette burns in it, and was just ripped to hell.

so now, i'm hunting out some more tolex. problem is, in my googling, the stuff i've found is nearly $30/yd, and that just doesn't seem right, as most fabrics of that rubbery nature are about $12/yd from the local fabric store...

am i missing some key dealer somewhere, or does anyone have a listing as to where i can find some cheap tolex?

also, grillecloth. holy crap that stuff is expensive. to do the same cab, it'd cost me at least $60 after shipping to get the stuff to re-grille...that's just nuts.

now, i understand that i need an "acoustically transparent" material, so are there any shortcuts apart from using cotton bought by the yard for $3.50 at the local wal-mart? is there something that looks as classy as an old school ampeg or marshall tweed, but with the price of denim?

thanks in advance!

[Doc]

Dan,

I haven't needed anything from them in a while, but "Parts Express" sells alot of stuff to the DIY audio crowd. They are on line. I seem to remember grill cloth in their catalog. All of this stuff is a lot more expensive that what you get at "Stich and Sew" but it is specialty stuff and there are only so many of us lunatics doing this kind of thing out there.

[lovekraft]

Here ya go:

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...=14348&hl=tolex

Not sure why, but it ended up in Electronics.

But, yes, real tolex is expensive ($20.00 - $40.00/yd), and grille cloth is about the same. Some people have recommended auto upholstery vinyl to me as a substitute, but I can't speak from experience on it, so I can't point you towards anything specific.

[HeavnerGuitarWorks]

Check out this ebay seller. I've bought quite a bit of tolex from him and its quality stuff for a great price.

[Drak]

Yeah, that guy has good prices, that's where I got my Orange Creme Ostrich tolex from, which is now on one of my Traynor heads.

Also, for usual retail sources, I usually use Vibroworld or Mojotone.

The prices Vibroworld lists on their website are suggested retail and not the 'real' price, they are actually quite cheap if you inquire about them, usually $17.00/yd.

Mojo is great for placing the order and getting it to you quick and painlessly.

Vibroworld can take awhile sometimes, but they're still good people.

I just recovered my 4-10 Marshall, my 1-15 Fender Bassman cab, and 1 amp head, and I have several more projects to get done before winter's over.

Unless you want your amp cab to look like some sort of backyard project, you're going to have to pony up for the real grillecloth.

Grillecloth is acoustically transparent AND very strong, so a misplaced drunken foot into the grille won't penetrate the cloth very easily like some substitute materials would do.

And if you've never done any of this before, you better build yourself a little box and recover and regrille it, because if you think the 'cloth and tolex prices are high, wait till you apply it wrong and ruin it and have to buy another load of it.

And the WOCC water-based glue (which I highly recommend BTW) is a monster to get back off once it's on, so AFAIC, there's little room for error or mistakes, it's not easy to undo what you've done, so ya gotta get it right the first time, which means practicing on something first.

You have to know how the tolex 'acts', how the glue 'acts', how the grillecloth 'acts', how a J-Bar 'acts', so nothing takes you by surprise.

Do yourself a favor and find some old POS small box and try it on that first, and ACT LIKE IT'S THE 100% REAL DEAL, or your practice is a waste of time. ESPECIALLY on the details, like tolexing the corners and getting the grillecloth really tight and perfectly even. Take the practice box -very- seriously.

A little practice on a dummy box will go a LONG way towards your first real recover being something you will be proud of, it's really not ummm, 'easy' to get pro-looking results until you've done it a few times, so put a lot of effort into your practice box or you will wind up wasting money somewhere along the line, and could probably have had someone do it for you for less than you'll pay in materials if you screw something up and have to buy twice as much.

Another note: Before I start doing anything, I go in the box and reglue every joint. Those old boxes are usually held together with nothing more than the staples and the tolex, the original glue having lost it's strength years ago. Get the box glued back up nice and tight first.

That alone takes me 2 days to get all the joints properly.