Tolex is a
trade name
A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...
for a flexible, waterproof, vinyl material used as a cover material for books, upholstery, guitar amplifiers, cases, and other products.
Tolex was filed as a trademark on August 30, 1945 by the
General Tire, and was registered as "a plastic sheet and film material for book binding and case covering for speakers and amplifiers". General Tire was
disconglomerated, and the trademark expired in 2005.
TOLEX is a Canadian trademark and brand of
OMNOVA Solutions, Fairlawn, Ohio, now part of
Synthomer.
Usage
It has been used in
Henney-Packard hearses and ambulances of the 1950s,
Fender amplifiers, the
Fender Rhodes electric piano, and guitar cases from various manufacturers. Tolex was also used in
Packard automobiles, hearses, and ambulances, and in marine applications, such as
Chris-Craft boats and other watercraft.
Musicians sometimes use "Tolex" as a generic description for any vinyl type covering on an amplifier or guitar case, but most are not actually Tolex brand, except for Fender- and
Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a rang ...
-related products. Fender, today, uses textured vinyl, not Tolex.
References
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Artificial leather