Shirt as grill cloth

[Cole]

XXL 100% cotton shirt, much thinner than the usual grill cloths.

I suppose tone-wise it would be ok, but the sturdiness may be an issue though, what do you recommend me?

[katopan]

Sounds like this amp is taking the shirt off your back! (Sorry I couldn't resist.) I've used a fairly open weave synthetic cloth on a couple of speaker boxes and amps and although it's looks and sound are fine it isn't as strong. I wouldn't trust it not to tear if packed in against a corner of another object with some pressure. Keep in mind cotton tends to have a pretty dense weave so it may effect the sound more.

[bustyman100]

For my modded Blender Champ 600 combo amp (though there is considerable doubt whether said Champ was modded into an 18 watt...), I found the stock grill cloth to be much too thick and muffled out most of my top end.

I replaced it with a super thin woman's blouse with a fancy butterfly print on it. It is some kind of synthetic or nylon material- I can't really check because I have discarded the rest of the blouse. The blouse is almost see through when stretched out and is very thin. I think the black shirt and the cream cab look quite sexy together. I folded it over twice around the edges and staple-gunned it to the baffle.

1 year on, no problems with it ripping or sagging so far. But then again, the size of the grill cloth on this particular amp is extremely small compared to a 4X12 cab (I doubt you can find a woman's blouse big enough to cover a 4X12 to begin with). Plus the amp never leaves my bedroom- so it doesn't really see much abuse. So I guess it all depends on the size of the grill and how much protection you want to give your speaker(s).

[krx]

I would use synthetic cloth unless you want to replace it often.

[CurtissRobin]

You are free to use anything you like but if you're sensitive to the sound coming out of your speaker cab you'll stick with real grille cloth. The real deal has a weave that's more open than almost anything used for clothing. That open weave lets the sound through and absorbs almost none. Beyond sound, it'll hold its shape because it's stiffer and it won't sag with changing temperature and humidity.

Years ago I knew a guy who used burlap because it had an open weave. His guitar sounded rather dull because the cloth attenuated highs despite the openness. Worse, the stuff loosened and flapped badly after absorbing moisture in the humid days following the passage of a weather front in the midwest.

I see that AES has formed metal grilles that fit over speakers. We used to use those a lot (early 70's) and they protected the speakers from flying beer bottles better than grille cloth. They may not give the look you want but the price is sure great compared to grille cloth.

JMO
KennyO

[krx]

They may not give the look you want but the price is sure great compared to grille cloth.

Parts Express has grill cloth for $7/yd. All the guitar places inflate the prices like crazy. If you're not after a particular vintage look, there's plenty of cheap grill cloth to be found.

[Spongebob]

On one of my Dominator test cabinets I used "anti slip" matting as grill cloth, the type used to stop work moving when routing. Also used under table cloths. It's a very open weave, gives a slight stretch and would think "beer bottles" would bounce off it.

The particular one I used had a slight diagonal in the design which spoilt the appearence, but I have seen other designs that are square. There's a large choice of colors and being synthetic won't rot or be effected by climate.

Don't know if it alters the sound as this cab has never had speakers fitted, but being as open, should be acoutically transparent.

It's also very low priced.

Spongebob

[leslie]

I'm curious about tennis racket knitted style pattern.
it would bounce bottles off and can be used in gig pause for badminton game if you use stereo amps.

[zaphod_phil]

[insanecopilot]

I used part of a tye dye tee shirt in a valve jr combo for a grill cloth.....Guy i sold it to still likes it