SkinCabs:

Instrument cabinets have a long history of innovation and design. Changes in electronics have been the main industry focus whereas cabinet materials and build have changed very little. In most cases, returning to the 50's and 60's design is highly popular. These cabinets have used a grain based wood or plywood for many years while home and car audio have used MDF or particle board for their enclosures. Grain based wood gives off its own tone at varying frequencies and can add (boost) or subtract (muddy) the sound coming through the speaker. With instruments themselves, we decide which one we want based partly or mostly on the tone generated by the grain. Tone woods are specifically chosen for the unique sound produced and is coveted for this very reason. Due to the inconsistency of wood grain, two guitars made from the same tone wood can produce different output and vibration. The same is true for guitar cabinets. Musicians will choose different guitar and cabinet combinations from song to song to allow for that specific tone the combination produces. Bouncing back and forth can definitely cause a headache for the sound board team. Grained wood will always vary in its output based on vibrations of the speaker, and the room.

When a speaker is moving, it produces waves. Speaker boxes can also produce waves according to the grain and structure of the enclosure. This is called "resonance". A good example of resonance is when you run your finger along a partially full wine glass and hear the ringing sound given by the vibration of the glass. Just about everything on the planet will ring or resonate at a particular frequency and this will create sound waves. Sometimes these waves help or boost each other and other times they compete or mute. These changes or "transients" can be a nightmare when trying to set up the sound board and cause a continually changing output and response for the individual musician. When we add a nice tone wood instrument to the mix along with an effects loop, we can have a very hard time keeping the output consistent from venue to venue and even more difficulty in maintaining a consistent tone that we fight so hard for.

Home and auto speakers have used MDF or medium density fiberboard along with particle board due to its flat response. What we want to hear is the crisp, clear sound recorded by the original artist along with the beautiful tone woods of their instruments. What we do not want to hear is a mess caused by wood grain and other enclosure construction materials giving off their own tones. MDF is the wood of choice due to its ability to vibrate without adding unwanted noise. The result is consistent and reliable tone no matter the audio source.

SkinCabs has developed a unique material and build design which not only severely reduces the unwanted, muddy, inconsistent, and crazy tones caused by grained wood but, drops the weight of the enclosure down to a manageable amount. Those doing tours will appreciate and respect this second factor all by itself. Our cabinets will produce consistent output regardless of the venue. The guitar you chose because of the rare and expensive wood will produce the same beautiful tones at all locations.

SkinCabs: clean, clear, consistent, reliable tone... and easy to pack around!