Speaker cloth

[KingBollock]

I found a nice supply of antique clock cases (they're not worth anything and the movements in them are dead) and a couple of them look like they would make quite cool little combo amps with speakers where the faces would normally be. The thing is that they're cheap, just £3 each, so I want to do the whole thing as cheap as possible. It's just for a bit of fun.

I was thinking that some sort of tweed might look nice as a speaker cloth and I was wondering if material cut from an old jacket (that I would hope to find in a charity shop or something) would work? Or is it just a stupid idea?

I don't normally use speaker cloth so am not sure enough of its properties to determine suitability.

[mrtcat]

How much do you need? I have a few off cuts of proper grill cloth you could have if they're big enough.

[KingBollock]

[quote name='mrtcat' timestamp='1458665988' post='3009661']
How much do you need? I have a few off cuts of proper grill cloth you could have if they're big enough.
[/quote]
I have absolutely no idea. I haven't bought the case yet and I have got a few projects that I need to get done (including fitting a battery operated movement into an old clock case) before I really start thinking properly about it. The cloth question popped into my head, so I thought I'd ask before I forgot.

That's a very kind offer, though. I rather like the "make do" aspect of using a cut off from a jacket if it was suitable, though.

[mrtcat]

No problem at all, if you decide you need some it's not going anywhere and I'm happy to donate it to a fun project.

[skidder652003]

just make sure its Harris Tweed mind....
that would last forever!

[Beer of the Bass]

Speaker cloth tends to have a fairly open weave, so maybe tweed would muffle things a bit, perhaps lose some treble? Probably a non-issue for a guitar combo though!

[taunton-hobbit]

I think it depends on your venue size - I covered the fronts of a pair of Selmer prototypes, many years ago, in curtain material - it
was quite heavy, but no-one seemed to notice any difference.
I think we (might) tend to agonise a bit these days.....?



.

[Big_Stu]

[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1458665075' post='3009639']I was thinking that some sort of tweed might look nice as a speaker cloth and I was wondering if material cut from an old jacket (that I would hope to find in a charity shop or something) would work? Or is it just a stupid idea?

I don't normally use speaker cloth so am not sure enough of its properties to determine suitability.[/quote]

Real Tweed is waterproof from natural oils and quite thick, I'd guess it would affect the sound. I've got a blue jacket for my "Dirty Harry" look
You wouldn't get the colours obviously but Maplins used to do speaker cloth off the roll.

[KingBollock]

I don't mind if I have to stretch the jacket cloth or whatever, to make it work. I know I'm perhaps being a bit daft, wanting to stick to something that wasn't meant for the job, but I would be using an old clock case so it would be fun to use mostly repurposed stuff.

It really is only for fun. I have all the amps I need, this one will probably end up in the conservatory for use in the summer. My smallest amp is 100w, so something like 5 or 10w would be good. I might even look into building a tiny valve amp for it (the cases are quite large).

If I do get it to work, I might knock up an iPod type amp or an FM radio for the living room.

When I saw all those cases under that table in that shop... I dropped to my knees and while my mind started whirring my wife let out a very audible groan. That's when I knew!

[Beer of the Bass]

I quite like the idea of using those printed hessian sacks that coffee is shipped in, if you're going for recycled materials. They're colourful looking, cheap and seem like they would work well as speaker cloth.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Beer of the Bass

[KingBollock]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1458688530' post='3009980']
I quite like the idea of using those printed hessian sacks that coffee is shipped in, if you're going for recycled materials. They're colourful looking, cheap and seem like they would work well as speaker cloth.
[/quote]
That's a cracking idea!