Caveat Emptor - Smelly cab!

[Lfalex v1.1]

Bought a second-hand PJB C8 from Bass Direct (sight unseen). Lovely little thing sonically, and a combo-sized footprint with grown-up performance.

 

Opened the well-packed box, and Poof! A nasty stale smell  (? Tobacco) emerged long before I managed to extricate the cab.

 

I'm hoping it'll diffuse away in time, but otherwise, does anyone have any tips to deodorise a bass cab?

[PaulThePlug]

Baking Soda... absorbs moisture and odour

[Lfalex v1.1]

I'd heard of this method,  but how to effectively apply it in the case of a cab?

[PaulThePlug]

Maybe have the driver out - baking soda overnight, then hoover out and put driver back ifcya think the smell has got in to any wadding..

Baking Soda in the box it was shipped in?

Edited December 30, 2025 by PaulThePlug

[Dan Dare]

The paper driver cones and acoustic stuffing will have absorbed the fag smoke, so you'll probably have to take them out, let the drivers air for a while and wash and thoroughly dry the stuffing before putting it all back together. Worth trying the baking soda trick in the empty cab at the same time. Just ensure you hoover it all out before re-assembly.

[SamPlaysBass]

Not sure if this will make you feel any better, but time and use will help. I bought a wiffy cab from a wiffy house earlier this year. The house was a mixture of years old damp and two extremely wet, smelly border collies who had free roam of the place. I kept the cab in the garage, brought it out for gigs (after some initial cleaning) and fortunately the smell dissipated after a couple of months. Airing out and baking soda work well! 

[Lfalex v1.1]

I had an old Trace 1119 combo that belonged to a touring band back in the days when smoking was still permitted in pubs, clubs and venues.  That thing used to belch stale B&H fumes from the switch-on thump to the last note played. 

No amount of use and time improved matters. 

 

Thanks for the suggestions,  I'll try airing the little tyke and standing it in the sun (UV and all that) first.  Really don't want to haul 8 drivers out of the box If I don't have to.  Might try a bowl of vinegar in close proximity,  too. That's meant to help. 

If the cab is stuffed or lined with porous material, none but the nuclear option will beef really effective,  though. 

[Downunderwonder]

1 hour ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

beef

A pound of mince left in a port, in the sun, and all the stale smells will be replaced with fresh.

[Downunderwonder]

We used to use an ozone generator in a hotel I work at years ago. It sorta worked to take the tobacco hum out of a non smoking room that had been abused.

 

Ozone would be harsh on some speaker materials, especially foam surrounds. Caution required.

[Woodinblack]

I bought a piano years ago, smelled very smokey, cleaned it, still smelled, and for years you could hit some random key and get a whiff of smoke!

 

[JPJ]

Back in the days when smoking in pubs was a thing, my old carpet-covered SWR Goliath 4x10’s used to reek of smoke, but I found it dissipated fairly quickly. Funny thing is that despite having never been an active smoker, I now find the smell of tobacco smoke to be “nostalgic”.  

[Ed_S]

One of the very few second hand bits of gear I've had was what turned out to be a well smoked Orange SP212 and Roqsolid felt-lined cover. Tried bicarb and various other things but the smell never left it, so it had to leave. Having experienced that, if I found myself in the OP's position it wouldn't matter how good the deal was; I'd be sealing the box back up and telling them to get it collected and refunded.

[Ed_S]

34 minutes ago, JPJ said:

Funny thing is that despite having never been an active smoker, I now find the smell of tobacco smoke to be “nostalgic”.  

 

I get that. I've never smoked either, but I think the smell of a pipe being smoked will always be "the smell of a proper pub" in my mind.

[Woodinblack]

2 hours ago, JPJ said:

Funny thing is that despite having never been an active smoker, I now find the smell of tobacco smoke to be “nostalgic”.  

 

I was and find it anything but!

[Dan Dare]

12 hours ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

Really don't want to haul 8 drivers out of the box If I don't have to. 

 

As a PJB user, I can assure you it's simple. Unbolt the grille and you can remove the bolts that hold the drivers in place. Just make sure you note the way connections are made to the drivers (the C8, like my C4s, has them wired series/parallel). There is stuffing in the cab, which will have absorbed the smoke and will not respond to leaving vinegar nearby or similar.

[tauzero]

Might be worth washing down the outside of the cab, keeping the water away from the drivers.

 

Also, if it's got the slip cover, check to see if that smells and give it a good wash if it does.

[Lfalex v1.1]

9 minutes ago, tauzero said:

Might be worth washing down the outside of the cab, keeping the water away from the drivers.

 

Also, if it's got the slip cover, check to see if that smells and give it a good wash if it does.

 

Already done... except I hung the slip cover on the washing line in the sun..

 

Seems to have yielded a bit of an improvement.