Pignose G40V

this is a tube amp with 6l6gc. the amp has just what you need: master,gain,bass,min,treble,presence

when i use it clean with a stratocaster i can get jeff buckley 's bright sound, and that makes me very happy :D, when i use it with a humbucker equipped guitar and gain up i can get soundgarden - like sound and that makes me very happy. when i use distortion, humbucker guitar and 4x12 cab i can get alice in chains sound and this makes me very happy with this little combo-head. this is what i was searching for. no more 100 watts modern amps with 10000 settings and basically no change of tone so i rate sound 10!

no prblem since now, only a blown fuse that i replaced and everything came back great

did'n dealt with company

I bought this only for the low price,i had 200 euros with no purpose and i wanted to try this, if i didn't like it i'd sell it, but when i heard this i was happy like no one on earth... and i decided to keep it and to gig with it. i did 12 gigs with it and the sound when cranked was awesome, the guitar players with i share the stage look me almost laughing when they see this tiny amp on the top of the marshall 1960 (4x12) before i start playing. when i came down from the stage they always have eyes open wide and they give me the hand saying "what a fucking great sound, how did you do?" hehe, this is a great support to my ego :DDDD
i love THE SOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!

2004 model from Zzounds. I only play through 1 channel Amps, I bought the Amp to use at rehearsal only. No matter what I did I could not get a good osund out of it. I changed the Power Tubes & Pre Amp tubes & still it didi not deliver a decent tube sound. What did I expect for $200 new.

This amp has NO Bottom End at all. I mean NONE. It's too bad because the over all tone is quite nice. I did change the tubes a month after I bought it. The new JJ-Tesla warmed it up slightly. Even if you change the Power & PreAmp tubes it's still far too bright sounding.

Other than a rehearsal type setting, I would not depend on this amp. They have these Amps running way too hot. The plate temps the amps reach are much higher than normal. Which tells me they're going to burn through some tubes.

The folks at Pignose are quite nice to deal with.
They answered all of my questions.

I've been playing 27 years. I own or have owned Marshalls, Hiwatts, Ampegs, Fenders, etc. I play through a Marshall Bluesbreaker most of the time. I would not buy this amp again. I don't know what I expected for $199. Even with $70 more for new tubes, it still didn't work in a rehearsal setting for me. It's the only Amp of it's kind for the $money$. A Tube Amp for $199, you might just get what you paid for.

I bought this amp about a month ago, and for $200 bucks, the value is INCREDIBLE. It has an all tube preamp and power amp, as well as preamp volume, master volume, and 4 band EQ. People always complain about the lack of more than one channel, or reverb, or an effects loop, but it's a TUBE AMP FOR 200 BUCKS. It's also "vintage" styled, so I wouldn't expect it to be comlex. It's a great practice amp, has a great sound, and honestly i've never used the effects loop, and i don't miss the reverb. It also has cathode tube biasing so you shouldn't need maintanance when you replace the 3 12AX7 or the 2 6L6GC tubes. It also has RF shields over all the preamp tubes, something you don't even see on a lot of high end aups. Finally, it can be LOUD: it is 40 watts, and even with a 10 inch speaker that is loud if you crank it.

I have played through my G40V with a 1970's Gibson SG special with P90's and an SG standard that is a year or so old. The sound is very crunchy... think AC/DC but maybe with a little more overdrive. This is with the stock chinese tubes, so i would think that it will sound better once i get some real tubes into it. Still, as is, it rocks. You just have to remember that it's a vintage kind of crunch, and not a modern super high gain overdrive.

I would depend on it. I have seen the circuit diagrams, and the design is very simple inside. It also has chassis mounted ceramic tube sockets, which means if one breaks, you can just replace that one and not have to worry about replacing a whole circuit board or something similar. I haven't had it long enough to break down, but I wouldn't anticipate it breaking.

Haven't needed any

It is a 40 watt tube amp that gets a great classic cranked crunch, and it only cost me 200 bucks. It looks nice, it's not to heavy, and i just love the thing.

2003 all tube amp has no extras very plain no effects loops, On and off switch is very cheap looking but seems to work well. This thing is a 40 watt but I think it is more like 60 watts. I wish it had A loop and reverb I play blues and old 50s-60s rock&roll works well with the rock&roll A bit twangy for the type of blues I play.

I play several types of guitars Strat,Tele,Ibanez, Artcore to many others to list. All stock pickups singles, humbuckers ect. This amp is not for head bangers or grung.Texas blues and old rock sound alright. I do not play with alot of distortion but it seem to handel it alright not to noisy that I can tell.

I do not gig anymore to old but if I were to I would not be afraid to use it. I have never had any problems in the year I have had it.
If it was lost do to whatever I would replace it. I am rating everything before I modifyed the amp.I will save the after mod. rating for last. The amp looks cheap but seems dependable and for 200 bucks I don,t think you can find a better deal. I will take sound over look any day.

Don,t Know never had to use them.

I have been playing for 45 years I also have a Fender Blues Jr.and a Crate GFX-65. I did not like this amp at all but after I did the Guitarnuts.com modification I have not used the other amps at all, If you like the Texas blues sound it is fine like it is but if you like a fatter B.B. King sound go to guitarnuts.com and do the mod.or have your local amp shop do it for you. You won't be sorry.

Mine is a 2004 model. Same features as everyone else. I'm thinking of adding a channel switch option by jacking up the level and creating a second volume pot. However, I haven't gotten the balls to do that yet. It works fine with an overdrive pedal (at least now it does, after a few mods). So that's enough for now.

It's not terribly versatile or clear from stock. It sounds a little like someone put a blanket over it.
I've got a single coil tele and an older beat up ibanez humbucker that I run through it. From stock, with the original speaker it was not very clear and had very little bottom end or even much mid-low response.

The distortion is pretty serious with the volume all the way up from stock however I have performed the following mods:
1) built a new cabinet with a Celestion 70/80 (open backed 3 cu ft. cabinet.
2) added resistor to input.
3) changed the mids capacitor, and the highs capacitor.
4) switched to a 12at7 for the second tube ala guitarnuts
5) changed the resistor going from the second tube ala guitarnuts website
6) most importantly, changed the resistor for the negative signal from the third tube from a 68k value to a 81k value (I believe it's resistor #25. Check blue guitar website for the values on this mod and the capacitor mods.

Anyways, long story short, the amp sounds much cleaner and more present now. Also, the treble and mids pots actually sound good at the 5 level. The amp is pretty sweet with the mods listed above. Therefore, if you are willing to invest a little and have the balls to take an iron to your new amp, you can make it sound like a much more expensive amp.

The rating is for my current sound.

so far no real problems except that the speaker it came with was a piece of crap that had cone rub. That's where when the speaker physically moves in and out, it rubs against itself and makes this horrible buzzing/friction sound. Replacing the speaker(and building a real cabinet) is worthwhile.

haven't dealt with this yet.

hate the effects, love the modified sound.

Also, this amp makes a great project amp and I have discovered how much fun modding an amp can be.

one chanel small amp whith 40w. pretty loud though!

Well... I've been looking for a small combo (all tube ofcource)for a while now. I'm sick and tired of carrying arround my bassman 100 silver face so I want a small combo with "the sound" in it. This one don't! I don't even know WHY they've (pignose) put a bass controll next to the mid and presens knob? 'cause it absoloutley sucks. it works up to level 4 and from 4-10 its absoloutley useless. the distortion you get wen you really turn i up is pretty ok but VERY bottomless!

is cheap and feels chap. and oh boy... noisy tubes :(

DON't Buy if you're not playing anything else than surf rock!!

No reverb and no standby switch, but this amp is STACKED for the price. Speaking of stacked, it has a full tone stack and an effective presence control. Only one channel, no effects loop, no headphone jack, but once again, this monster is $200.00 new. What do you expect. I use this amp mostly for home practice as I do not gig anymore, but I expect it would have enough power to play out with, but you might need to hook it up to a speaker cab. I am very happy with the features of this amp, but I am giving it an 8 because of the lack of a standby.

I play mostly Rock and Blues. My main guitar is an American Series Strat. With the stock Chinese tubes this amp was a bit noisy. I replaced the preamp tubes with Electro Harmonix 12AX7's and the power side with JJ 6L6GC's. No more noise and the amp just sings. This is some of the best pure rock tube distortion I have ever heard. No kidding. I push the front end with the Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster and talk about smooth. I can get relatively close to the old EVH sound with this setup. Not too bad for a $200.00 amp.

The first G40V I had came out of the box damaged. GC took it back and promptly ordered me another one. I question the reliability of the stock Chinese tubes, but you probably want to replace those anyway. The speaker has held up so far.

I called Pignose about the amp initially being noisy. The person I talked to was nice and very helpful.

Be careful about underestimating this amp. With a few simple modifications this is a true gem. I have been playing for about 24 years. I have owned many amps, and most of them I do not miss. I would definitely miss this amp if it was ever lost or stolen, and would get another immediately. I love the smooth overdrive achievable with this amp. Push the front end just a little and you are in OD heaven. Only the lack of a standby switch keeps it from getting a perfect 10.

this is simply an update on my review from 06/11/2004
i just bought an old les paul copy, nothing amazing by any stretch. but this amp sounds amazing! it definitely teams up the best with humbuckers. the bridge with some overdrive bites and growls, and with the neck pickup, tone rolled down, it spits out a very fat, very smooth jazz and blues lead tone.

update from 06/11/2004. this amp seems to have something wrong with the speaker. when i turn up the amp it makes a buzzing rattling noise. upon further inspection it appears to be coming from inside the speaker. i was not expecting it to last too long, so its not a surprise. i will eventually get a 2x12 cab and saw this amp into a compact head. then i'll be in business!

Single-channel, fixed bias so this gets a 5. No onboard effects, but I wouldn't use them anyway. I use a Korg AX1500 to get whatever sound I want.

2 6l6's and 3 12ax7's. All-tube for $200? Sign me up every time! I bought this amp expecting to mod it over time. I have already replaced the stock 6l6's with Svetlanas, and have heard some improvement.

Make no mistake, this is a "trebly" amp. But by screwing with the gain, presence, EQ, effects pedal and guitar tone pot, I've been able to get tones I like out of it, especially since I switched tubes.

No problems

I've been playing just over 2 years, basically nothing but metal. Mostly I play my ESP LTD EX-351, EMG 81/85 configuration. Works pretty well with the amp. I also play an ESP LTD MH-201, SD designed PUPs. This guitar may actually sound a little better throught the pignose than the EX-351. My Jackson DK3 with DiMarzio Tone Zone, DiMarzio Double Whammy and SD Lil' Screamin Demon - well, I can pretty much dial that puppy up to sound good out of just about anything. Unbelievable versatility.

I believe mine was manufactured in 2003-04.
I play anything from blues-classic rock, to modern heavy stuff. With my gaggle of pedals it does the job just fine. Not going to repeat the features, they've been done to death. Wish it hat an fx loop though, not that it isn't easy to drop one in. EQ could be a bit more responsive, but after tweaking it extensively I think I've figured out it's little nuances.
I've gigged more than a few times with it and rehearsed a ton with it. It has done well. Plenty of headroom considering it's size, and my drummer is a heavy hitter. I bought this thing with the sole intention of heavily modding it. The only thing I've gotten around to is pulling it from the combo and making a head out of it so far.
When you consider what a low wattage head cost these days, this is a really affordable alternative even before any mods.

I use stat styles with singles, and LP styles with humbuckers, all different makes and models. Since I made a head outta this I use a 2x12 that I custom built with V30's in it.
again, for the money, this amp suprizingly does very well. No, it's not a metal amp, but the right pedal can get it close enough for rock and roll.
I'd say it accepts pedals moderately well. It seems very sensetive to the signal path, more so than my Twin Reverb.
And as another review writer said, man this thing sound sweet with single coils. Very chimey and brilliant. I love to just plug straight into it sometimes and wank away ala SRV and Hendrix, it really gets my single coil out of phase rocks off.
I think some people are way too critical of it's live sound considering the most anyone would pay for this amp is $200-ish US. Would I record with this? maybe after some of the recommended tube changes/mods, but probably not in its stock form though I haven't attempted mic'ing it yet.
I play basically any kind of bar environment you can think of and it's been surprisingly noise free compared to the 5150 I used live in the past.
The clean sounds really good, very pleased with it. A litle break up but a change in pick attack can make or break it.
Overdrive isn't bad, just don't expect metal out of it. Man does it nail early AC/DC though.

So far so good. I've only had it since March '04. But I'll agree with some of the others here, man does it look cheap inside. You get what you pay for.

Not dealt with this issue. But I figure anything I run across in this catagory I will deal with on my own because I voided any warranty when I yank it from the original cabinet and repainted the chassis.

I've been playing for almost 30 years. Mostly as a rock player but broadened my horizons later in life. I also have a Vox Valvtronix AD120VT as well as a late 60's Twin Reverb that I use on occasion. The pignose stands up pretty well tonally when I compared it to the Twin Reverb. I'd replace it if it were stolen no question.
I love this thing. You have to remember you get what you pay for. Don't expect a Bad Cat when you order this thing just because a bunch of us here in the user reviews think it's a great amp. It's a cheap tube amp. Period.
If you consider the alternatives though, and you want something like this it's a fantastic bargain. A local store here is selling a crate vc508 (tube 5 watter) for $400!!! I'd buy 2 of these over that any day of the week.