Pignose 7-100

One feature I haven't seen mentioned in these reviews is the fact that you can open the little case. This has a pretty meaningful influence on the device's tone, especially for recording. True, the pignose has only one volume knob, but since it is so small, you can achieve tons of sound variations by putting it in weird places (cupboards, bathrooms, kitchen cabinets, plastic- or metal buckets and so on) which all influence its sound in interesting ways. Also: You can have somebody else open and close the case while you play, thus creating "natural wah" sounds that are extremely fascinating. Or try this: put your open pignose in front of a large mirror or window pane and then mic that glass surface. You'll capture the reflections of sound rather than the original sound itself, which can be very interesting. On recordings, the pignose often will sound surprisingly big, it's nasal voice cutting through a mix in a big way.

Too many people here are complaining about the pignose's restraints. Obviously, this is a one trick pony, but it's a very stable and beloved member of my arsenal. The sound is always lo-fi, but in a very efficient way. It sounds kind of boxy, but guess what? That tone sits well in a mix! "Great sounding" amps that cover the entire frequency spectrum often don't survive well when mixed with other instruments, because there are too many conflicts and overcrowding of certain frequencies. The pignose is very forgiving with distortion pedals (especially cheap ones!) and starts humming, rattling and singing in ways that I find very satisfying. Try to plug in a microphone: Instant Lo-fi "old radio" vocals! You need to let this little weirdo do its thing. Don't demand the impossible. But still: Even as practice amps go, its limited sound is always pleasant, with a nice crisp attack and lots of character that make it seem like a tube amp at times. Many people here have complained about the shoddy speaker, but that is part of the charme as well! It never sounds harsh or tinny, which is more than I can say about lots of other "practice" amps.

Never had any problems, batteries last forever.

If you need customer support for a product like this, maybe you shouldn't trust yourself around electronic devices. There's too much complaining going on on this site! I never call the company that makes my razors or my soap or my pencils. I just use that stuff.

I'm giving it the highest possible grade here to balance out some of the whining that others have posted. This is an extremely affordable unit with tons of personality, and I will use it forever. It will never go out of style and it's not one of those stupid overproduced products that do a thousand things and none of them well. It's a headturner on stage, it's a travel compagnion, it always puts me in a good mood. I even like the fact that it's ugly!

One volume control, one channel, 5 watts, one input jack, one 5" speaker, and one preamp out line. It also has the ability to act as either a closed cab or an open back cab by opening its latch to open up the back. Runs on AC (with optional adaptor) or 6 AA batteries (The batteries last an extremely long time for me even with a lot of use). I'm rating it a three due to this, but keep in mind this vote is for the quantity of features, not the quality. It is very good for what it is.

Keep in mind that this is a small, portable practice amp. It basically has one tone, which is an overdrive/distorted tone. In my opinion it sounds better with single coil pups versus humbuckers; the former have a little more clarity. Very nice distortion for a solid state, and records even better. Its tone cleans up when your roll back your guitar's volume pots. It does take to effects pedal and modelling effects very well. With a Korg Pandora P4XD in front, I can even get clean tones out of it.

I have it for 3 or 4 years now and travelled with it extensively. It's gone on camping trips too. I've never had a problem with it.

Never had to use it.

I've been playing guitar for about ten years and have a fairly large amount of gear. I have too many guitars, amps, and pedals to list. My style is experiemental, but based upon the Blues and Classic Rock. If it were lost or stolen, I probably would replace it. I love its portability. It's not very flexible or feature laden. If it had a speaker out line so that it could use extension cabs, it would be awesome; I'd give it a 10 then. As is, it's prett good for what it is intended for.

This amp is basic and simple, just a volume knob shaped like a pigs snout.

I primarily use this with single coil guitars, Strats, Gibson Special with P 90's. Sometimes I use my Jackson through it as well. The sound quality is actually very good if you know how to use your guitar tone and volume knobs properly. It is a low volume amp though, and if you ask out of it more than the speaker is able to deliver then it may not sound quite so nice. It takes pedals really well to for those times when you want to really get some screaming dirty tones at lower volume levels. The cleans are pretty good too, and volume wise can keep up with an accoustic guitar easily. Very versatile if you know what your doing, and how to play. Good enough for Frank Zappa, as well as many other pro musicians for recording and performing - good enough for me.

These seem to go on forever and are very rugged and dependable.

They have a web site, and are very informative and helpfull, especially if you treat the person on the other end of the phone with some respect.

I have been playing for a few years now as I am in my 40's. I know how to get a great tone out of my equipment. I love the rugged simplicity and portability of this little piggy, and for it's size it really packs a punch. I have two of these, one older, and a newer one for backup if ever needed. They both sound pretty much exactly the same so I imagine they are built the same way they always have. If they wer stolen I would definately buy another immediately. I wouldn't change a thing on it, the design is perfect for what it is.

2007 Pignose model 7-100 amplifier;used for general noodling/practicing where excessive volume might pose a problem with the neighbors;3 watts output through a 5" speaker + one on/off-volume control.

MIA Stratocaster (single-coil) with 7.0K bridge & 5.7K middle/neck p/u; set-up used for rock/blues/some jazz; on fresh batteries or ac the 7-100 can get pretty dirty to badly distorted if cranked depending on remaining battery life; 4 o'clock on 7-100 volume knob & up to about 7 on Stratocaster volume control yields a relatively warm yet clean sound; at 6 o'clock & 7 or 8 , the distortion + some feedback starts to kick-in; at 8 o'clock + 10 the unit achieves full distortion & feedback, most of which is useless except for special effect. Surprisingly enough, after about 4 hours or so of continuous battery use, the amplifier tones takes on a very warm saturated sound; maximum volume has diminished but assortment of tones become more useful. Interesting little beast. Incidentally, if/when buying the ac adapter get the 'regulated' one as the PA-7 unregulated model hums horribly rendering itself relatively useless.

I've heard that the older Made In USA 7-100s from the 70s are better sounding & constructed; this one is too new to rate on reliability; sure it could be used to gig with but since one would have to 'line-out' to a PA or larger amplifier why bother unless the venue is relatively small.

Pignose-Gorilla Customer Support is courteous & helpful when/if needed.

Playing off & on since the mid 1960s, until recently, mostly acoustic;the 7-100 is a 'classic'in its own right; sound, size, & appearance are unique; in terms of these parameters, the 7-100 has carved out a successful niche of its very own; would replace it if lost or stolen; suggestion(?)being able to de-activate the speaker with a switch if opting for headphone use...this would make one hell of a Rockman!

I got it brand new at xmas 2007,guessing its made near that time.
Not versatile whatsover,good for blues,clean quiet tones.
1 channel.A no brainer,nothing fancy here,just plug it in the one input and turn on the on/volume knob(only control there is)
As I said above ,only thing it has is a volume control.
Outside on a summer day or indoors when I don't want to disturb the others

Basicall makes a clean sound,slightly muddy,but real thin line between the muddy and the bottom of the barrel useless tone
It distrots badly with high volumes,unusable distorted tones
I play it with humbucker guitars as well as single coils
Doesn't hit alot of tones I look for
Not really noisey,unless you call the high volume distorted sounds noise

Didn't own it long enough to speak of its dependability,but would assume,there is little to go wrong if taken care of properly

poor.I emailed customer support asking questions of the cuts in the brown leather/vinyl covering on both the top and the bottom of the amp.Got sarcastic remark in reply.

I've been playing since about 1979
If someone gives me one I'd take it,wouldn't spend my own money on one.I also own a roland micro cube,which,for a little higher price does so much more,and also can run from battery or ac.
It looks cool.It doesn't sound the greatest and is very limited in sound ranges
micro cube.If you need to decide between the micro cube or the pignose,definately go with the micro cube(good amp)
wish it had better tone,less distorted sounds,better price,maybe half as much as it costs would be more reasonable for what it is and does

Had this amp for around 9 months so I now have some real experiance of the thing. It is a strange beast.
A low rating for features as it has very few. One volume nob. Two lugs for attaching a strap to and then slinging it over you shoulders -not very useful as it is quite heavy for this trick. You can open the case to change the tone of the thing -never found this very useful either, I prefer it closed. Pre-amp out socket on the rear -now much use as I dont really want to replicate the tone of this thing through another amp or PA. Maybe the complete lack of features is in itself a nice thing to have, hence I rate it 4 and not 2. It has one feature which is very useful and that is BATTERY BACKUP. It runs on 6 x AA batteries. The rating now goes up to 6. I use this amp at home or when playing in an acoustic type ensemble. Its much better than the little 1 watt amps from Marshall or Danelectro etc which are only just little fuzz boxes. The pignose can put out a respectable tone at low volumes. I have read other reviews saying this can put out a smooth bluesy type sound, I would say more that this amp is cool and funky in a blues setting and so looks and acts the part. The distortion is not great for blues. Played clean this amp is good for blues.

very middley sound as you would expect from a small amp. You use the guitar controls to get different sounds out of the amp. Amp high and guitar low gives a warm bluesy sound. Guitar up high gives raspy distortion as you would expect.
The sound quality is not great overall but I dont know of any other small amps that have better quality. What is lacking in all small amps is any attempt to bring out the character of the guitar. The Pignose does try but still cannot compare to a small valve amp. But thats not why you buy this thing (beastie).
This amp cannot be compared to other amps because it is in a class of its own. It runs on batteries and puts out a decent volume (3 watts). This makes it great for house partys.

My amp was used so you may not have these problems. The speaker rattled badly even at low volumes. It was not fixed down very well using the 4 bolts. Its hard to tell if they are tighened properly so get a proper nit spinner and tighen then up properly.
I also glued the Pignose sign onto the speaker front. It is only held on with 2 pop rivets and this allows it to rattle also -so glue it doen to stop it rattling.
The battery connections were not good and it kept cutting out. The guy I bought it from checked through the connections and got it going again. Its been fine for a year now.
You can buy power adpters most places but dont just go for the cheapest you can find. My first one appeared to be perfect for the job and fitted nicely inside the pignose for traveling, but I got a buzzing when it was switched on -speaker buzzing, electric buzzing, distortion buzzing -I'd had my share of buzzing in the early days. I had to get a meatier power unit to get over this problem and now it wont fit inside the box for traveling. The unit I got, for the UK, is 11watts, 400mA, 3.6VA.
So after getting good marks for sound I have to mark it down here.

Didn't need them. I fixed it up myself.

I do like this amp as I can find no other that can do the job. The little Roland Micro Cube might be worth considering. I've heard a few good things about it. Of course it doesn't have the mojo of the pignose.

Very simple: One volume. You need to use tone and volume from your guitar. Can be used with batteries or 9V DC adapter not sold with the amp.If you want use it with a AC adapter, be careful to get a clean one i.e a regulated one. If not you will get hum and noise. I did not take care of this and I had to make a regulator with a LM 7809 and capacitors in another box connect between adapter and amp that solve the problem whith my poor adapter. Obviously, there is no power regulation in the amp.

Sound depend of the power of the guitar signal and the amp volume.
Very bluesy sound. From quite clean, a bit muddy at low level to quite distorted if you increase the power. Good for blues. The influence of the guitar mic is strong. You need to adjust the output level of your guitar to obtain the sound you want.

Don't know.

Don't know.

For the price it is marvelous if you like blues sounds.
Solve the problem of having a decent sound at low level for practicing at home without get problems with neighbourhood.
Obviously you can't compare it to big valve amps that cost 10 times or more the price. But with this great costly amps you may never succeed to home practice at low level with a good sound.

Same as others. One volume snout one input. 8 inch speaker. Runs on 6 double As or has option (doesn't come with amp) of power plug. Line out for use as preamp. Opens via latch on side. Design is purposefully basic, so it gets a 6 (largely because of the utility of using it as a preamp run into a larger amp, and its portability).

Nothing special about the sound in my opinion. Muddy by design. I've played a Gibson SG and ASAT Classic through it and was not wowed by the sound. I didn't hear the John Lee Hooker scratch I expected. Perhaps a true tele single coil would provide that. Serviceable for practice, but not particularly pleasing.

NOW, run through a distortion pedal, on the Boss pedal setting, this thing sounds awesome. I can get a perfect Physical Graffiti guitar tone (Custard Pie, The Rover, etc.). I absolutely love it. I ran it as a preamp through a very clean 200 Watt Traynor solid state head and it retained the tone. I am very pleased I purchased it for this reason. Further experimentation with different effects might yield similarly pleasing alternative tones.

Because of it's rather limited tone without effects, it gets a 7.

Sturdy unit. I dropped it once on a cement floor and it didn't miss a beat, no problem.

I have not had to seek customer support. I was a little disappointed that I did not get the power adapter (I can't find the correct word -- the thing that lets you plug it in.) It doesn't come with the amp, at least from where I ordered it online, and I wish I would have noticed that. I'll order one but it would have been easier to do it all in one transaction. Probably my fault but something to keep an eye out for if ordering online.

I've been playing for about 30 years. I own seven guitars. If it were lost or stolen I'd buy a new one immediately, b/c of the augmented tone I mentioned, the affordability and portability.

Very simple amp... turne it on and it sound! u can open or close the amp to change the tone... u can also make a wha wha effect if u ask to someone to close/open it when u play :D

its not a versatil amp but its not the goal... pignose have it own sound, u like it or not. The power and the sound quality is very impressive for the size of that amp!! I use Battery and there is absolutly no hum. The more you increase the volume the more distortion u get. A good vintage sound

It looks strong...

Its a very impressive amp... many guitarists used it in studio (jimmy page, frank zappa, etc...) It worth the price! U cannot find an other amp with that kind of sound at this price

2005 limited edition tweed Pignose 7-100.

Same classic design & features of the original legendary Pignose amplifier, but covered in tweed for that vintage look! While features are few, they're exactly what is needed from a practice amp. Its simplicity lends itself to the unit's user-friendly appeal, and the presence of the rear preamp out jack really makes the little guy versatile for direct recording and using it in conjunction with a larger cabinet or power amp. Furthermore, I love the fact that the amp is designed to automatically shut off when the guitar's cord is removed from the input jack. This allows you to shut down while maintaining your volume settings for next time.

I'm using it with several Fender Stratocasters and it's a perfect match. Single coil pickups are really the ideal complement to the Pignose 7-100 because they're able to retain their articulate and expressive note definition whereas humbuckers and higher output pickups can occasionally become muddy-sounding through an amp this size. The unit's cabinet acts as all the equilization you'd need. At lower volume settings with the cabinet closed, a lovely cleanish tone is achieved with pronounced midrange. By cranking the volume snout up, an overdriven balls-to-the-wall tone is attained. With the cabinet open, an airy tone with more pronounced treble can be realized. Using 6AA batteries, this amp is absolutely quiet and seems to exhibit no hum or noise floor whatsoever.

It's been extremely reliable thus far and assuming I were to gig with it, I'd feel confident using it without a backup. Its solid state circuitry makes it possible to not have to worry about blown tubes, overheating, biasing, or the like.

This is one area where Pignose really shines. Their representatives are warm, courteous, and truly strive to accomodate their customers. Their toll-free telephone number affords us the opportunity to speak with somebody one-one-one such that our inquiries might be addressed in a timely fashion. A pleasure to deal with!

I've been playing guitar for nearly two decades now and despite owning a variety of larger and more powerful amps, I have to say that the Pignose 7-100 is still one of the best gear acquisitions that I've made to date. It's an ideal practice amplifier for low volume rehearsals but its tonal versatility allows it to really rip when cranked wide open. If lost or stolen, I wouldn't hesitate to replace it with another. Kudos to Pignose for offering an affordable classic for the last 30+ years!

2004. It has a pignose knob, input jack, 9V or battery power and preamp jack. Equipped to do it's job. Basic inexpensive practice amp.

Fender Strat Fender Tele. Good for blues and some classic rock.
Noisy if around flouresent lights. Not a versatile amp.
Weak speaker from the amp.
After a little bit of actual use.
The speaker is getting very weak.
Since the speaker won't give the proper sounds the rating fails.

Thought a direct call to the Pignose Company would get some Customer Service.

************************* PIGNOSE NOT HELPFUL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HELP YOURSELF AND BUY ANOTHER COMPANIES PRACTICE AMP !

THIS IS A PIECE OF JUNK."TOO MANY SPEAKER COMPLAINTS', SAYS PIGNOSE.

The speaker is quickly checking out. Made In China.

This thing is a piece of junk. Called the Pignose Company. The guy doesn't care about Customer Service.
He stated that if he were to help everyone that called in complaining of speaker problems, he wouldn't stay in business.
That must be a large number of people. Maybe he should get a better speaker.
I must say that in 30 years of music, that attitude is a first!
Count me out for any future purchases of Pignose products.
Just to get a raw speaker from the company is nearly $40.
That's better then 1/2 the cost of a new one. Forget it.

There are many small amps out in the marketplace.
Do yourself a big favor and get somethimg else.

I'LL NEVER BUY A PIGNOSE PRODUCT EVER AGAIN.

JUNK JUNK JUNK JUNK JUNK JUNK

Called the Pignose company direct for help with speaker problem.

***** PIGNOSE CUSTOMER SERVICE HAS A BAD ATTITUDE *********
Complained that he gets too many calls from people complaining about speaker problems. Won't even work with a customer.

Very dissatisfied.

The WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE IS RIGHT HERE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JUNK PRODUCT FROM A COMPANY THAT ADMITTED IT'S SPEAKER IS JUNK!!

BUYER BEWARE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone knows the features. Not a lot. But, battery powered and portable are the biggest and best feature of this amp.

Like everyone says, for blues (which is all I play) a single coil strat or tele sounds friggin' awsome with this thing. I mostly play my Gibson Melody Maker (with a single P90 pup in it), finger picked with this amp. It don't get any simpler, one volume one tone knob on my Melody Maker, and one volume on the piggy. For my style, which is sorta' Lightnin Hopkins kinda roots blues, this set up is simply incredible.
If you want somthing other than blues look elswhere, but for blues, heck even a cheap made strat copy will make this thing weep and moan. (It makes my Silvertone Strat Knock off sound like a million bucks!)

Tough as nails.

Don't know. But really, what company has good customer support these days?

I've been playing for around 25-28 years. I'm an old fart at 41 who started when he was thirteen on a Kay. I've played to many guitars to remember, electric, acoustic and resonators (as well as banjos). For the 70 bucks this thing cost me, I consider it one of the best deals in gear I ever got.
Seriously, If you're into vintage blues (NOT SRV or Crapton, but the real stuff like Howlin Wolf or Muddy or Lightnin Hopkins or Elmore James) as much as I am, get your hands on one of these and plug in a tele, strat (real thing or copy) or danelectro or a Gibson Les Paul Junior with P90s (or like me a Gibson Melody Maker) and you won't regret it.

Simplest thing in the world, but I can't rate something based on features...lots of features can be good and no features can be good.

This thing is a total blues monster. It has such a perfect gritty, simplistic sound that inspires one to wish they were a poor blind man with nothing but a guitar. It doesn't do anything but the blues, however, it lack some versatility. That could probably be fixed easily, in the spirit of the cheap little amp, with one of those mediocre $30 Danelectro pedals just to spice up the tone. Also, as many have noted, humbuckers aren't too good with this-they sound mushy and inarticulate (even the weak ones stock in my Ibanez Artcore). But crankin' with a Tele or Strat? Heaven.

I just dropped it on its top from 5 feet up and it works fine. I've dropped it down the stairs and it just needed the input jack tightened. Indestructible.

I've been playing for a few years, I've got my Peavey Classic 30 and my Roland Cube 30 in the way of other amps and an Ibanez Artcore AF75, a Fender Standard Tele, and a Kramer Focus vt111s when it comes to electric guitars. Though it's the cheapest and cheesiest, the $80 Kramer Strat copy smokes with the Piggy, and at a combined price of $150 they're the perfect match for gritty, mean tones. I will probably pick up a cheap Dano Vibrato or Tremolo pedal to add some variety to the sound, and even with that my little frugal blues set up will be under $200. I love this little amp for what it is and I would definately buy another if something were to happen to it.

I've bought it used in 1978. Came with an AC adapter. When it works it sounds great, but half the time it doesn't work. It would cost more to put it in the shop than I paid for it. Most of the time it sits on a shelf. Other than that, the single channel, volume-control-only setup would be great for practicing. But like I said, when I turn it on it may or may not work.

LP and Telecaster. Sounds good when it works. Has a slight hum to it when it works, but it would be a practice amp... IF it works.

Did I mention that when I turn it on it may or may not work? I'll have to give it a 5 because the odds or 50/50.

Seriously?

40+ years.

Made in China.

The Amp is not really versatile, it does kinda clean or kinda dirty.

It's a 1 channel tranny amp, metal volume snout, 1 Preamp out, studs for a guitar strap, in a leather finish with metal corners, an excellent design. Powered by 6 AA batteries. To alter the tone, you open the box to get more treble, like a grand piano. This can be a bit duff when you've got it strapped on a guitar strap, but it needn't be.

I use an 80s strat and an Ibanex RG with seymour duncans, sounds great

It broke because of neglect, it's a portable amp, this will happen.. not too impressed with the plywood interior, light definitely, perhaps not robust.

I'd not gig with this amp, I like my tubes and effects loop too much.

Well here is the rub. It got broke recently and I was hunting for the schematic on the web. No free schematic, you can buy a schematic from the guy who bought the company for $12.50 + import tax. Gee thanks :(

Face it, it wouldn't take much to copy the electrics, what sells this amp is the look and it's quirkiness.

I've been playing for about 20 years on and off, I play a Fender Strat, Ibanez RG, Ashdown Peacemaker, Simms Watt Mark II, Loads of Morley Pedals, Guyatone compressor, Jen Wah. I use the Pignose as a preamp or on it's own.

I'd get a second hand one, if it was lost or stolen, I don't really feel inclined to give this guy any more of my money. He's exploiting customers rather than providing after sales service.

I love the appearance, I don't like the way it eats batteries, I hate the capitalist attitude of the guy who decided to sell the schematics for a 30 year old amp, rather than have them there for free

Made in China recently,
Versatile, for what it is, yes...blues, thats what its about...its a little amp, but great for Harp...the thing Honks...
It is sweet for what it is...a practice/bedroom jam/picnic, beach, van...

I use it for harp, and the sucker honks with a JT30 when properly cupped...it is dead silent, clean sounds, sure with my harp, and a loose cup...now guitar...clean, not with Humbuckers...with a tele, sure, but quite...this thing sounds sweet cranked with a slide...
FOR THE BLUES...root's music...not metal...
its 70 bucks...so stop this "my 800 dollar amp sounds better", of course...it better, or your a fool...

I would trust it...but for 70, it might make sense to buy another...very simple, not much to it...

Ive been play harp for a few years...bass for around 10...
I love it...70 bucks buy alot more practice time...and more jam opertunities...I love the sound, the weight, the look,
I hate...the fact that it is made in china...
I am sick of folks compareing 100 dollar items to 2000 aka, my vibro king sounds better, or even my bassman ri...duh...a dodge viper will be faster then a Mustang
come on...its 70 bucks...it's less then most effects...its great for practice, I like it for Slide guitar, (I suck at though), if you need more volume, then mic it...its not a boutique amp, its not tube, its a little kick butt practice/harp amp...
Go try it out...you might be supprised, if not, at least you don't have to be pissed for buying something un tested...

1 input. 1 volume pigsnout.1 preamp output.
Battery powered.6 AA 's.\ 9 volt adapter.
It is somewhat like a mini trunkcase,with a speaker and amp in it.
The case is very sturdy"solid".Nothing vibrates"no loose parts", when latched or unlatched. A sturdy handle. Strong metal corners,although not level.
Speaker grill is very strong.Ive heard it is real pigskin covering,but I wouldn't know.The seams of the covering could have been given more attention,but from a foot away it looks perfect . It has a cool look to it I like it. Strap buttons.I give it a ten,because it is a practice amp,with pre amp out!!The tone control is the case being closed"bassy" to different degrees of the case being open.+++batteries. Tough case. I don't know what those other people are talking about. Use your resources.

I use a fender strat.Noiseless p.u.I play folk ,funk, rock, reggae,jazz-fusion.When you turn the amp on,1mm of a turn,I get clean loud enough to sing with tone.I do turn my guitars tone to more treble. I like the sound I get.Sounds better then a mini twin !.
Distortion is smooth,I do have prefrences with the case being open,sounds better open a bit.Metal heads will need a distortion,to please themselves,and you might be able to fit a boss size pedal in the case. Strike a note on your guitar,turn pigsnout to desired vol. and tone.while your turning listen to the changing tones,I always find one to use. For a 5 watt practice amp This is loud,not loud enough to play with a band,unless ran through a pa or 2nd amp.
A time tested warrior.

Strong,tough,totally reliable..

It's a practice amp!!

Mine is a new 2002 model and not versatile at all. Not a very good for much other than distortion. Very heavy box with one knob. Runs on batterys. Might make a good bird house. Jimmy page may have used it but who knows what happened to the sound after mixing. They can make a fart sound good in the studio. In fact a fart sounds much better!
Poor quality, China construction with miss-aligned parts, and very bad covering job with open seams everywhere.

Fender or Les paul sounds nearly the same, no mater what the settings.
The sound is very Brutal distortion and I have not found many settings that are usefull.

Batterys last for serveral hours. The Five dollars worth of circuity should last forever.

I've played for 30 years and can not recommend this to anyone. A Vox Pathfinder 30 or better yet the 30R, reverb, runs $50-60 up used and not much more new and is very versatile. Both of these have the tremelo that is very nice. Almost anyone came find a Pathfinder tone that they like with most guitars. Check online in the archives for guitar player magazine for test results for other small amps. Good luck.

Pig snout..er...on..and..off! Open/close (open and closed back speakers?)....

I play alot of different guitars with it: hollowbodies and a fender Jag. Look, you can get a cool tone from it, kind of warm and it gets loud enough to practice, but I got to tell you: You NEED AN EQ PEDAL. It can work with hummers, but they'll be muddy, you need a good eq or a tone altering pedal to get some more versatility out of it. I run a pearl od5 (built-in parametric eq) before it (sometimes other pedals), and it works nicely, not perfectly clean and glassy, but clean with a slight breakup. A nice sound for me. With the right eq altering pedal, Ive got alot of sounds out of it....With a hollowbody, I like it closed, kind of warm and jazzy with my gretsch Tennesean....

Id suggest using a power supply... when the battery start to fail, it loses it oomph....

Dont know, but the circuit is simple, I guess a stereo repair man could fix it.

Its a nice little deal. I live with my guitars and stuff in a small apartment in Korea. Not room to open a big amp wide, so I heard this was a cool little blues amp. It is, its not the toy everyone thinks it is, its a serious little jamming/recording tool. Id like to try a gig with it (I played a wedding with it, a medium sized hall, but everyone was quiet, so it worked well). Frank Zappa, Eric Clapton, and others. and thats just the tip. Pick one up for that extra flavor. BUT GET THAT EQ PEDAL.....

Five inch speaker, battery or A/C powered, and an on/off/volume knob. I give it a "9". Less is more.

I needed an amp for my apartment and something I could travel with very easily. This is a great amp for just that. I can get great tone with my Fender American Standard Strat although I missed not having reverb. I took care of that problem with a Danelectro Corned Beef Reverb pedal. Not a great reverb, but it's perfect for this amp. Good bluesy tone. I am very pleased with the sound.

I think I can depend on this amp. Just like anything, if you take care of it, it will last. And besides, they are inexpensive.

N/A

I love the sound and portablity of this amp. I also like the fact I can plug it into a multi-track to record. I'm glad I went ahead and purchased the A/C adapter. Definately worth the extra ten bucks. Great little amp, I just wish I had purchased it sooner.

I use this guy with my Fender strat with stock single coils and my Tele with Texas specials. This amp really sounds great with single coils. I have not tried it with high gain humbuckers but I don't think it would work that well with them. The nice thing about this amp is you get the tone of an amp totally pushed to the edge without dealing with insane volume levels. Alot of players are realizing that the best tone you can get is from a tube amp and speakers pushed very hard, but run in a isolation cab or through a power attenuator. That way you get power amp distortion. The interesting thing is that these little amps pull it of rather well for being a solid state amp. They sound very tuby. My favorite tone is where the amp is breaking up into overdrive when played harder but more subtle clipping on softer parts. I can get that with my Tele running at half volume. I have my texas specials kinda set low so I get better tone, but less gain. My strat with bright stock pu's actually overdrives the amp to a good point at about 1/3 volume. If you turn the amp up all the way it has a very nice hard OD that sounds very good. I think the beauty of this amp is the fact that all stages of the amp and speaker are pushed to the edge. Amazingly the amp is quite loud, so if I am going to practice at half volume to get my tone it is too loud for nighttime sessions without laying it face down on the carpet to keep the volume down. I really like this amp for recording, the amp sounds unbelievable close mic'd, I am always amazed when I play back a track I have just recorded, it just sounds fat and big like a large amp. One of these days I am going to try it on stage mic'd through the PA. One time I drove the amp with a sonic distortion cranked up all the way. Wow, it was amazing. You must understand this is not a clean sounding amp, so if you are going for a bright clean tone you will not find it here. This is a blues machine, good for slight subtle breakup all the way to full OD. It does the job well for this.

2003 Pignose battery powered combo
5" speaker; one knob

Features? Please !

OK - if you use a guitar with humbuckers or P90s - STAY AWAY FROM THIS AMP...even for practice in the bedroom. It sucks ass. That being said, I really like this little amp with my strat or tele (I play LPs, LP Jr's SGs, strats and tele's) but ONLY like the sound of the Fender sc's thru this amp. Humbuckers & P90-s sound like a fuzzy pile of s?*& from audible volumes onward; no clean possibilities

With the strat and tele it really sounds great - try a TS-9 tube screamer on the front end and you're set for great practice sessions

If I sound schizo it's because this amp sucks with Gibsons but really excels with Fenders etc.

so far , so good

If you've got the right axe and the right expectations this little amp has no equal (see coments above)

Bought in May 2002. No features on this amp but that ain't its purpose. This amp is perfect for me at the moment, living in an apartment. I've given it a 4 here because it is very limited, but then it's meant to be that way.

I play a bit of blues, and a bit of rockin' out. I love the sound of this thing. It's possible to get a good bluesy tone out of this amp(particularyy with the neck pickup on my '52 Reissue Tele), and with only the volume control to find it it doesn't get any easier than this. Can't wait to get it outdoors and give her a blast..

Seems pretty reliable so far, is built like a solid little bugger.

Very helpful. I was unable to find a shop in Dublin that sold these so I got in touch with the head office in the States who put me in touch with the UK and Ireland distributor who in turn directed me to a shop where I could find one..

I've been playing for 12 years now, and I'd recommend thius amp to anyone. This would never be your main amp, but for the cost is a handy addition to anyone's basement.

Brand new in 2002. 1 knob for On/Off/Volume, 1 input, 1 output, and an AC adaptor input. I wish someone would invent a small amp like this with reverb. I bought it for camping. For a battery amp, the features are good.

I tried it with a single coil 50's reissue Strat, and a Les Paul Classic. This thing sounds like a turd under a pillow. With a 50's reissue Strat, ANY amp oughta be super-trebly and clean. This Pigshit was so muffled, I had to conclude that there must be something wrong with it. In addition, no matter where the volume was set, or where my guitar's volume was set, there was a "ghosting" distortion/fuzziness behind every note. I felt that if the treble were as strong as the bass on this little bastard, it'd probably sound quite ass kickin'. I'd heard these were loud for their size, but mine was not so impressive.

...seriously though.

Returned it an hour later, so I don't know. However, I believe customer support starts BEFORE the purchase, so in this case it shits.

I looked around for a month for one of these amps to take to camp w/ me. My local music store is awesome, so they ordered one for me. It took 2 weeks to come in. What a frigging disappointment.

Simple one knob does all. It has a controlled output jack to drive larger amps or for recording. It's very compact and very versitile. Unfortunately, there's no headphone jack. For AC it needs a well filtered power supply or you'll get some hum. RadioShacks 800ma universal unit works well.

The sound is what really makes this sing. I have a vintage Danelectro Guitarlin that sounds great, but what I use it for mostly is unusual. I've made this an alternate to my audio system for listening to vintage recordings. I drive a sub-woofer with it and the warmth will melt you away. The sound is very tube like and is perfect for the application. You do need to pad the input though, because of the very high gain.

It's built like my Jeep and what's more reliable than that?

I haven't needed any support.

I've often thought of getting a second one for stereo. It could be all anyone needs, along with a sub-woofer for a fantastic compact audio system, or maybe even dualing guitars. My only complaint is the signature knob. It's really hard to grab but you don't mess with a signature, so it stays.

The pignose switched volume knob
instrument input jack
preamp out jack
9v adapter jack
total portability

Seriously, a great practice amp by itself, and a very nice preamp to use for gigging. It has a nice sound that is great when amplified using a larger amp, and for all you heavy-metallers and anyone else who likes a lot of bass in their tone out there, plug your pignose into a bass amp - very good crunchy tone. What can i say, it sounds like a les paul going through a big muff into a marshall, a tone that is unmatched by anything else in the world.

you cant get a clean tone with humfuckers with this amp. As soon as the volume knob is turned up to audible levels, the amp becomes overdriven (if you have powerful humfuckers, not an ibanez equipped with shithummers) and sounds like your constantly playing with a fuzz-pedal.
Of course, as i mentioned before, i get the exact tone i want out of this thing, and if you use single-coils, you can get a very nice blues tone, but as i am not skilled to play anything that sounds good un-distorted to the shithouse, i cant say this is a good point for myself.

this thing is too small to inflict damage upon itself if dropped. I am yet to see what its like sitting on top of a large amp, its small weight is likely to let it fall off while gigging. Bring on the gaffer tape.

It is reliable, and if it ever breaks down, then fuckery.

huh, that was an e-mail address i saw, apparantly it was a mirage.

I own an Ashton bass amp, a 5-string neck-through bass, an old charvette 270, a dunlop crybaby, and an ibanez smashbox. This all seems to go together well, apart from that damn crybaby, too damn trebly for my little pignose.

anyway, all is good, and everyone should own one of these.

What? Basic on/off volume switch shaped like a little pigs snout. On/off switched at instrument line in. Preamp out for connecting to another amp.Close case for bassy,open for treble. Surprisingly it did come with REAL pigskin covering. Not imitation pigskin looking vinyl.Amp is really cool and has good sound.Higher you crank it the more distortion you getand it's louder than it's size would lead you to believe. Not ovrerly heavy distortion. But that good bluesey sound and even a little of that AC/DC crunch.Several posts have wished for reverb on this unit but I noticed it even had somewhat of a reverby sound at higher volumes.Usually rated as A 1.I give it a 2 'cause they sent the real pigskin.

Played a Peavey Predator(strat style single coils) and a Peavey T-60(humbuckers with single coil capabilities) As expected more bassy and muddy with the humbuckers. Better treble, mids and overall sound with single coils.Playing with the opening of the case improves sound quality depending on the type guitar you're using I'm using it with baterries-no hissing popping.Ac/DC and Gearge Thoroughgood sound really good. I expect any bluesey type would sound good.

Don't know about reliabilty for this unit so I wont assign a rating,however,a Buddy of mine has had one for about 12 years w/o any problems. Comes with a 6mo. warranty. Also, there is Pignose website. I checked it out and there dosen't seem to be many complaints about the 7-100. Maybe 1 or 2. I would recommend buying from a reputible dealer as there appears to be some "gray market" production of this model. Like with vinyl skin,plastic knobs or no hognose knob.

6mo. warranty. Customer website listing service centers. Way better warranty than I've seen for other "mini" amps.

Been playing for about 6 years. Got Peavey guitars,Fender amp Zoom 505 effects.This thing sounds better than the first 2 Peavey practice amps I had. Bandit and an Audition 20. Also have a korean no name batery amp I bought for 20$. Sounds like 4 yellow jackets in a beer can compared to the Pignose. This thing is too cool. For 60 bucks every guitar player sould have one! If this on craps out or gets stolen,I'm gettin another one. Maybe I'll get one anyway and line in for stereo.

one channel, one input, line out, 9volt power-batteries or supply. Made in 1998.

No clean sound at even half volume. Distortion is gravely sounding. Does sound good for playing old cream cover songs. It is loud enough for 3watts though. Sustain does not improve with volume increase. This amp cuts out with 16 ohm pickups with use of wah pedal at more than 50% volume.

I've had it for a month now and have used it very hard trying to get the tone and sounds I want. Still works just as it did the day I got it.

it comes with a 6month warranty but I bought it through musicians friend and paid for an extra 6 months warranty for a total of 12 months. Will be interesting to see what happens.

Been playing 15 years. I have Carvin, Peavey, Crate, and Ibanez amps. Several different guitars. I dont know if I would replace it. With an eq I was able to get full volume clean tones as well as great metal distortion tones, with 2 eq's set right you could have both. A friend of mine has a early 70's model that sounds far superior to this model. This is not really like the original in anyway. Even the construction was much stronger back then. I think its a very cool looking amp.

I was looking for an inexpensive practice amp that sounded good and could make some noise, and that's what the Pignose is all about. I didn't buy this amp so that I could fool around with a bunch of knobs. A lot of amps I've used sound like crap no matter what you do to them. The pignose has one knob, for volume, and that's all it needs. Plus, the knob is shaped like a pig's nose. What more could you want? Plus, it has a line out, and it sounds cool when plugged into a bigger amp. AND it can run on batteries.

I'm using it with a '62 reissue Strat, and I like the way it sounds at any volume. If you want crazy distortion, all you have to do is turn it up. At low volumes it is never really completely clean, but I really like the warm fuzziness. It sounds great, and it can get quite loud for its size.

I've had it for almost a year, and I use it quite frequently... not a problem yet. The batteries last an incredibly long time.

A few (like 3) weeks ago I went to the Pignose website and sent them an email with a question, and I never got a reply. If I called and tried to talk to a human person, they would probably be helpful, but then what would be their reason for having an email address? I was disappointed.

I am an extremely poor college student, and this is the only amp I currently own, other than a Danelectro Nifty 70 bass amp for my Longhorn bass. My roommate has a Peavey Classic 30 and sometimes I use that. Every once in awhile I have the opportunity to play through a larger and more expensive amp, which is nice, but I am never disappointed to come home to my Pignose. If it got stolen or lost or dropped from a 15-story building I would cry, and then I would steal money from vending machines so that I could replace it.

Amp is now 6 years old. Line in. 6" speaker. On/off volume switch is a snout. Never used the pre-amp out. Features? This amp needs nothing and gives you its all!!! Squeals, chortles, and OINKS of DISTORTION!!!! Whoa!! Very sweet-cutting threshing tubey-like overdrive crunch and chunk.

Les Paul Std.
bluesrockpunkjam.
Very noisy - tough to get a pure clean sound even at low volume.
DISTORTION!!!! Whoa!! Very sweet-cutting threshing tubey-like overdrive crunch and chunk.

Lasted me six years. Never a problem. Always happy with the DISTORTION!!!! Whoa!! Very sweet-cutting threshing tubey-like overdrive crunch and chunk.

Cheap, inexpensive amp - so who cares whether it can be repaired and/or by whom. If it broke, I would fix it or pay to have it fixed just so I could BACON some more DISTORTION!!!! Whoa!! Very sweet-cutting threshing tubey-like overdrive crunch and chunk.

over 20 years of jammin'. I own a tube amp and a marshall here and there. This is a fun little amp! Great for practice; I have gigged with it and used it as a back-up. I also recorded one of my favorite all-time leads using the little pig (not boasting - really). Rates well for good overdriven tone. DISTORTION!!!! Whoa!! Very sweet-cutting threshing tubey-like overdrive crunch and chunk.

Portability, flexibility. I am thinking of buying two and plugging them into my little "stereo" Korg AX1G. The thought of being able to take them easily anywhere in the world without hassles or sacraficing tone, cash or room in my already crowded duffle bag is appealing.

I was recently temporary duty in Las Vegas and listened to one played at the Excaliber. A wandering minstel had a violin pluged into it. Amid the casino noise and accompanied by a little band it seemed to have both good volume and sound.

I will let you know. I was thinking of spending spending $500.00 on an amp that I would not be able to take with me = zero sound. Must try this first.

I have an Ibanez AS200 that is vintage burst. I have had a Samick, Stat, Hamer and a different Ibanez. I dig anything if its good. Mostly blues and rock.

Features? What Features? It's basic, a small portable, battery powered amp with one input, and a volume knob shaped like a pigs nose.
A 5" speaker, the amp is 9" high, 4" deep, and 6" wide, weights in at about two lbs. Sold by Pignose industrys of Gardena, CA, and made in Hong Kong. The amp has a handle on top, and a latch to close the back, to give it open speaker or closed cabinet sound.

Gets fairly loud for a small amp, good and clean up to about half volume then it starts to distort. Fully cranked up it has a nice runchy phat cut sound which is great for rock n' roll strat guitar.
I use it with an Epiphone Chet Atkins Nylon string electric which give it great tone for acoustic mylon string. For it's size and cost the sound is really good. Vary the tone by opening or closing the cabinet.

The amp takes six AA batterys which seem to last a very long time. If it doesn't work just check the batterys one of them may have fallin out. Never had a real problem with the amp it always work fine. All solid state, no tubes, simple is good.

Heard good things about the company but I really don't know.
Never needed any service, no problems.

My 7-100 pignose is the 25 th anniversary model with all gold tone hardware. I've always wanted one of these since I saw a guy play a bar gig with one in 1985, I was amazed to hear it cut through over a five piece rock band. I've had mine almost two years and it's well worth every dime I spent for it. The combination of small size & weight, portable battery power (No plug), low price (under $100), and
fairly loud good quality sound is hard to beat. I'd recomend it highly.

New Amp. Just bought it a week ago.

I mostly play any style that I know of, just for practicing, but for actual live playing, I rely on my blues.

And I have to say to those of you looking for a versatile practice amp: the Pignose is not your thing!

It has one switched input jack (if you pull the chord out, the amp turns off), one output jack at the back (you can actually hook it up to a 4x12 box) and one (1!) channel. It has a natural distortion. That means that if you turn the volume up, the distortion will intensify (and vice versa).

I wish it had just a little spring reverb or so, just because it would even sound cooler than it does (see below). But for my needs, it's perfect.

I use the Pignose as a small carry-on practice amp, as a very good effect for blues recordings/sessions and as the amp I can take to the lake, to the beach or wherever I wanna go.

The amp is solid state (see below), and it has a 3W (don't let it fool you, go and hear for yourself) power output through a 5W speaker (so you shouldn't be able to blow the speaker).

The cool thing, however is, that you can run it off a AC/9 volt converter out of a power plug, or through six 1 1/2 volt size AA batteries!!!

It even has knobs on the side, so if you take an extra guitar strap, you can carry it around!

The tone settings are pretty much limited to another feature: the amp opens up, and this creates a more treble tone (see below). Good thing though is, that you can store the converter and your picks and stuff inside the Pig. So you might not even need a extra bag.

It comes with a 6 month warranty and an instructions manual (totally senseless for the amp but funny looking).

I give the Pig a 5 because although I love it, it is very, very very limited!!

I'm playing a Mexico Fat Strat through it.

Here comes the big thing to say: The Pig is blues! No other thing to mention. This thing sounds so much like the authentic thing (the old blues records with the slightly distorted guitars) that you will find yourself singing (or at least playing) the blues immediately.

So, for all kinds of blues-related music, buy it (hey, it's priced like a toy, and it's better than most blues pedals which go for the same price)!



But other than blues and rock, I wouldn't even try to get this little guy to do it. I normally play a Fender amp, and you cannot get a superclean sund out of the Pig. No way!



You can play AC/DC, NeilYoung, any distorted blues, some Clapton stuff and so on.

You can even kinda work your way to a sort-of-grunge-sound (although not a very good one).

By opening the thing up, you can get from the mushy, swamp sound to a more biting, dry sound. But I prefer my Fender for clean and biting sound.

The amp does hum if exposed to any strong magnetc field. But if you can't move this one, then you are not capable of carrying a dictionary, it's almost the same wheight.

By fumbling with my tone and pickup settings, I can change the Pig's sound into a variety of blues sounds, which should suit every blues occasion. But don't expect a very brutal screaming metal distortion. The distortion is pretty close to a blues pedal, and it even sounds better.

The only drawback is, that, if you want to do some serious recording with it, either you put it into a cabinet and get the sound from there, or you have to work a bit to get all the rattling inside the amp to shut up.

Also you might want to consider using reverb pedals, because this should make the Pig sound even better! Just as the real thing!



And if you don't believe me - just check out this user list:

* America * The Band * The Beach Boys

* Jeff Beck * Stephen Bishop * Jackson Browne * Cheech and Chong

* Chicago (who originally produced the Pig) * David Clayton Thomas

* The Eagles *Eric Clapton * Faces * Peter Frampton

* J. Geils Band * Elton John * Doug Kershaw * Led Zeppelin

* John Lennon * Kenny Loggins * Paul McCartney

* John McLaughlin * Madura * Dave Mason

* Jim Messina *Metallica * Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

* Poco * The Pretenders * The Rolling Stones

* Leon Russell * Santana * Seals and Crofts

* Steely Dan * Steven Stills * Jimmy Stewart

* Sly Stone * James Tayior * Ike Turner

* Joe Walsh * War * The Who * Hank Williams Jr.

* Edgar Winter * Johnny Winter * Bobby Womack

* Stevie Wonder * Ron Wood * Frank Zappa



Everyone has one. Why not you?

I have no idea. Just bought it a week ago. But it seems decent enough. And even if something breaks-you just take your break then. The Pig has nothin that an soldering Iron and Duct Tape can't fix!

Bought it at Guitar Center. So I think you shouldn't have any problems with finding a dealer.

I've been playing for 7 years now, and own a buch of guitars and some amps. I have never seen such a decent offer before: Pay as much as 75$ (which included the 9v converter), and get a good little amp, which will sound just like a blues pedal with the advantage of taking the thing and going out on the lawn and play it. Put it into your car, whatever you want to do, do it. And if the neighbours complain, it's even light enough to pick it up and run from the cops.

If it were stolen or lost, I'd buy another one, for sure. I originally looked for a small practice amp. But they are either too expensive for a little amp which is not soo great (Park...) or they sound sooo crappy (no name amps...). So this is the best thing I have seen, and I did quite a lot of research. Plus it is so much more than just a practice amp.

I love the blues sound. I hate that (even though it has "only" 3 W) I can't turn it up all the way without eventually getting complaints from the other people in my house.

The only thing I also thought to buy beside the Pig is the Vox Pathfinder, but this is a totally different price range and size problem (you can't carry that along all the time).

The next bigger thing would be the Crate Taxi Amp or the CanAmp by Fender. But again, different price range!

I wish it had a reverb...but that's a question of taste, so I don't complain. And after all, what else do you want for 75 Bucks? A full stack???

I'm only annoyed that they stopped using real pigskin as a covering. That would be even cooler!



So, all in all:

If you're into blues, then go down to the next GC and buy one. Stop by a gas station and get batteries, go to the beach and have a mellow day. It's sooooo cool to relax in the sun. And for a change with your electric guitar!

Check out the Pignose website: http://www.pignose.com/

This is really value for money!

This is the little original Pignose Portable. One channel, input and pre-amp. Turned up LOUD the distortion will curl your hair. At half volume still a pretty loud, but fairly clean mix. In the 25 years I've owned it, I have yet to run it on batteries, so I can't say about that feature, as to their life expectancy, etc. It gets loud, period. A very cool sound with the slide.

There really isn't a lot to say besides what I've said already. Did I mention LOUD. Did I mention DISTORTION. 'Nuff said.

A few momths ago I noticed a tear in the speaker. It could have been there since day one, as I couldn't really hear any difference. Did I mention DISTORTION.

Here's where the Pignose company outdid anyone else. As I have mentioned, there was a tear in the speaker. So I contact the company to see if I could buy a new one, as they still make basically the exact same amp after all this time. I get an email from HChatt at Pignose saying he will send me a NEW speaker FREE of charge. After 25 years!!! These guys are UNBELIEVABLE!!!

If this thing were lost, I'd cry. Kind of like losing a little toe. You don't know how much you use it til it's gone. I've since graduated to bigger, pricier amps, but this thing remains plugged in as my dedicated harmonica amp. If you get points for longevity (and in the end, that's ALL you should get points for) this thing is TOPS!!