Pignose Hog 20

Its exactly what it claims to be. A very basic amp. Whoever buys this thing knows not to expect a hell of a whole lot. Its built well tho.

So here's the deal. My guitar is a Gibson Les Paul Voodoo. My main amp was a Marshal AVT50 Combo. Not anymore. The marshal is in the corner of my room gathering dust and waiting for a new owner. The new star is my HOG20. I plug my LP into a GNX3 effects box and run that into the pignose, toggle to "Rectify", add some delay and I'm in Heaven. I mean, It sounds so good I can't bring myself to try anything else! I'll be the first to admit that as far as my playing goes i suck. But I know a good sound when i hear it I've been stuck to the same sound for over a year now and am still in love with it!

I've had it for almost five years now. It sat in my closet for three of those years and was used by a bass player friend of mine as a practice amp for a year. I started using it when he gave it back to me and it hasn't missed a beat.

Dunno

If it were stolen i would definitely buy another one.

while limited in it's 3 knobs (volume, squeel and grunt if i remember correctly) this little bugger is about 1 thing, playing and sounding good on the move - mission accomplished

believe it or not this thing has a great sound. I tend to use it for garagey style rock, but it handles indie sparkle through to fuzzy noise remarkably well. not great for metal and struggles with heavyend bass noise, but otherwise great.

very impressed with its noise

no problems and i have had it for over a year. the thing seems to run on batteries for a LONG time at decently high volumes which is good.

no contact

this amp was bought for out and aboyt playing and playing at home when I was unable to make lots of noise. I havea a orange tiny terror as my main amp, but the pignose is still my amp of choice in the house.

If this Amp was stolen it would break my heart as it is such a cool little amp. definately get another one no question and have no reservation in recommending it to others (except you metal playing guys that is).

This Hog 20 amp is the business.Everything on it is simple yet effective.Its got a headphone jack which i suppose can be useful i never use.Everthing about this amp is solid well made.
You can line the Hog 20 out but in doing so cuts off the speaker which is an odd feature.Cutting out speaker that is.
(squeal control) which is overdrive , a volume control, tone control ,Big solid on off switch.
All simple features but is capable of a lot of different sounds.
Its very Versatile.

I am a professional jazz saxophonist and blues player.So i am into sound big time.I use the Hog 20 for blues harp.As everyone knows its got to be a valve amp small wattage overdriven for most harp players who are into the Chicago thing right.
Well The Hog 20s no valve amp but its not a bad second and for the money you cant beat it.By chance one time my preamp was off the road and so was my valve amp so i goes to my Hog 20.Incidently the Hog goes to most gigs with me as a form of back up.Well for some reason the line out wasn't working and under mormal circumstances i would have used perhaps preamp and used Hog 20 as a monitor.
So miked up the Hog 20 and as the flying Ace legend Biggles would say "Chocks away"
Man it took the roof off.
Its not the ultimate Harp sound but man every Harp player should have a Hog in the armoury.

Reliability.
All i can say here is that i have had mine just under six months and Whether i use it or not it goes in the car.I take care going to the gig but as often as not when the gigs over things can get thrown about a bit. No problenm so far its tough pig for sure.
Just one thing charge it up regularly otherwise it dies.The charge can last up to ten hours but if your using the Squeal ,thats the hogs name for overdrive be less than that.
Anyway adaptor comes to use mains anyway and light would change to warn you.Secret is if used just charge up after say 2 to 5 hours use you will be ok.In short the Hog 20 is tough

I dont know about customer support so far touch wood havent had any problem.
I guess in a year or too my bigest problem will be where to get new battereies from.Im sure it wont be too much hassle.

I am a pro if it were stolen id go buy another one immediately.
Then id seek out the people who stole it have them tried for treason
taken from the quarter deck and Hung drawn and quartered.
Its great value just a very good piece of kit.

It's a bit high on the treble side and really hurts the ears. No brown sound. The pignose fuzz sucks and is too harsh for anything usefull.

It has one channel. I wish it had real distortion instead of solid state clipping.

I bought this to use it as a portable amp.

The sound is really horrible. Much too trebly. Nothing brown about it, it's pale.

Should have a better distortion for the price. Probably have to buy a seperate pedal to use this amp.

Seems rugged and reliable.

Their website sucks.

This really sucks. It's no wonder why so many people are selling of theirs cheaply on Ebay.

I bought my Piggy in '03, I think. I use it mostly in my living room as a practice amp. It's a pretty basic amp without many frills. I won't knock points off for this, however, because I knew what I was buying didn't have a lot of frills!

Man the Piggy 20 rocks. I play mostly blues, with rock and punk following closely behind. I use it with a '58 LP Jr. knockoff, a Fender Tele, and an American Standard Strat. The Hog 20 sounds damn decent with all of them, but remember...know what you are buying. It won't keep up with my Super Reverb...should I take points off? The amp is very clean and amazingly loud for it's size. The distortion, labeled "squeal" isn't dirty enough for me, but I just use my effects pedals with it.

I've never had any problems with the Hog 20 itself. I had to replace the batteries after a year and a half or so, but that was due to my overcharging them. Most of the problems I've heard about the 20 is about the batteries. This is because most of us don't understand sealed lead-acid batteries. They are finicky. They like to be topped off all the time (NEVER, EVER DRAINED!!!), but not overcharged. I found a new set of batteries at a ham swap for $3 ea. Then I searched on the net and bought a small 500 milliamp battery-tender type charger ($10) and wired it for the piggy. Now it can stay plugged in constantly without overcharging, and it's ready to pick up and go whenever I want, fully charged. Batteries should last a LONG time this way too. Again, I'm not taking away points for my stupidity and forgetting to unplug my charger.

I've never dealt with them, the Piggy has never let me down.

I've been playing for years and still stink. I've got way too much other gear to list. I've got amps from big to small and way too many guitars for my meager talents. If someone swiped my pignose though, I'd get another one as soon as I found them on sale again. The only thing that could have been better about the Hog 20 is that it could have been delivered by a supermodel, pornstar, or at least a hooker. Seriously, the battery-tender type charger would be a nice feature to come from the factory. This would prevent a lot of problems down the road.

The Hog is strictly practice/small venue stuff. The tone is fine if you don't mind some element of distortion in just about everything you play. The squeal effect pretty much left me cold. Some might like that kind of distortion, but it just grated on my ears. I would rename it 'shrill'. I don't gig the amp, so it certainly has enough power for my purposes. I wouldn't call it completely portable, in the sense that the inbuilt battery would make for a sore shoulder if you were a busker on the move. Having said that, the battery holds a charge for what seems like forever.

I tend to play blues, jazz and some rock. The Hog isn't really suited to jazz, but seeing I only practice with it, that is fine and I am the only one who really has to listen to it.

While it comes into its own playing rock, I am, however, disappointed with a rattle in the speaker when I play it hard. While I appreciate that some amps 'break-up' when driven hard, I don't want it to happen literally. Perhaps mine is a unique experience, but it leaves me with a slightly bad taste in my mouth.

See my comment above.

This is a boutique unit here in Oz and I found it in a little shop on the Gold Coast while on holidays. I don't know who the distributor is, so I am unable to complain about the speaker break-up.

While it probably sounds like I am dissatisfied, overall I actually like the Hog 20. I just love it and I certainly don't think in retrospect that it was really worth what I paid for it, especially as a warranty which I cannot claim on is worthless to me.

Would I buy one again - no. If I was to compare it to a Roland Microcube the Roland would win hands down for versatility, sound, value and price. Silly me for not trying the Roland first and for listening to the raves of others about the 'vintage' sound of Pignose amps.

I bought my Pignose Hog 20 new a couple of years ago.I consider myself a blues/rock guitar player.This amp has one channel with two inputs.No effects loop. No reverb.I do wish it had reverb, but I don't miss it that much.I use it only at home so far.I wish it had an exstension speaker hookup, reverb, and a line out (like the little Pignose does).It has a squeel switch that is a distortion switch.

I play a Dean Tonic, and a Telecaster.This amp is a blues machine as some others state below. They are not kidding. So it fits my style very well.Now with my Dean Tonic it sounds pretty decent-but with my Telecaster it sounds fantastic!Then I'll plug in my littel Guyatone OD-2 and it gets even better.I would consider taking this amp to a blues jam and miking it.I set the "squeel" control at about 1/3-1/4 and leave it there.I give it a 10 with my beloved Telecaster-it might be an 8 with my Dean.

Mine has been 100% reliable.Zero problems in the last couple of years of ownweship.For reliability then, I have to give it a 10.

There are places to ship it off for repair. I have emailed a few with replys.Since mines been great, I haven't had to deal with them when the chips are down, so I'll give them an 8.

I'm a 51 year old player that has played(off and on) for about 35 years.If mine was stolen I would immediateley buy another Hog 20.In fact, I'd like to get another one and play them together with a hookup allowing that for more coverage.I love the portability of this amp.I love the sound with my Telecaster.It takes pedals very well(Guyatone OD-2, BD-2 Blues Driver,TS-7 Tube Screamer, etc.).I love the fact that its battery powered.Its a street buskers dream.If this thing had an exstension speaker plug and a line out it would be even better.I compared it to the Crate TX-15/Taxi, and I believe this amp sounds better and is cheaper too. I would like to try the Crate 30 and 50 watters though.
I want to list my other amps so people don't think this is the only amo I've ever used or something.In the past, I've owned a Fender Bandmaster head, an Acoustic 150 head, a Peavey Classic combo with two twelvws, and a Park/Marshall RCD30. I now own a Fender Blues Junior, an Epiphone EP-SC210, a Crate GT-50 Stealth all tube combo, a Pignose 30/60, a little Pignose, and a Fender Deluxe 112 Plus and an Electar Tube 10.
I would love to hear the Hog 20 miced with a band if someone would have the guts to do it.The little Pignose has a pre amp out plug so you can run a line to a bigger amp or a PA system-the Hog 20 should have that also.

Bought this amp in 98/99, new, as I wanted a portable amp and it had more features than the conventional pignose and a bit more relatively clean headroom. Features are few - volume, tone, "squeal". It's main feature is it doesn't need mains (but see below about problems with the batteries).

Being playing for about 32 years now (saying that makes me feel old...), and I gig and record professionally. Currently using Telecaster and ES135 plus a Bennet lapsteel. My current usual amp setup is Marshall JTM30 (used without built-in reverb)for clean tones and Laney for dirtier (in particular a Class-A Laney LC 15 with Phillips valves fitted). I also have a 50watt Plexi but it needs to be set far too loud to get a decent tone at the volumes I require, and the LC15 can compete in the volume stakes with most 50watt amps and some 100watt. I've also owned Mesa and Fender amps in the past plus a few heally horrible solid-state things. For effects Boss chorus and a Fender reissue valve reverb unit. I usually use 50s/early 60s kinds of sounds so the point where single notes are clean and chords begin to crunch with plenty of sensitivity to plectrum attack and guitar volume is important to me. The Hog simply can't compete with the valve gear in this respect, but I've yet to find a solid state amp that can.

The Hog clean sound is better than it deserves to be (pretty close to some of the 1950s clean(ish) blues tones) - kind of early tweed Champ running clean. I guess it's the speaker starting to break up that is responsible for this. "Squeal" "overdrive" seems to mostly boost treble plus a bit of harsh high-frequency fuzzing when cranked; it's not in the slightest bit touch sensitive. The single tone control starts with "lots of treble" and turns up to "painful". It's tolerable as a practice amp but if I switch from the Hog to the Laney there's a world of difference. For the money the Hog sounds decent enough, but it's let down by a lack of reliability.

This is possibly the most unreliable anything I have ever owned since the cheap transistor amps of the 70s.

As new the built-in lead acid batteries last about 6 hours. However. THe "manual" (a bit of paper containing the name "pignose" and not mush else) and stickers on the batteries say "keep me charged or I'll die young". But. If you charge this thing up before it's fully discharged, or leave it plugged into the mains - eve when the amp is switched off) for more than about 6-10 hours it will overcook the batteries and they won't work any more. There was no warning about this in the "manual" at all. If anything it implies you should leave it on charge (plugged in but not switched on)when not in use to keep it charged and to prolong battery life. Replacement batteries are very hard to get in the UK and cost nearly as much as a new amp.

The speaker grille is steel with a cast metal Pignose logo rivetted to it. When you play through the thing the logo rattles against the speaker grille like mad - louder than the amp. So remove the logo.

The amp's socket for the wall wart plug is very fragile and doesn't grip the plug at all well. It has a habit of breaking under even home usage (I've found this as have a couple of mates who have owned Hogs). The wall wart is inclined to fray through the outgoing DC power cable where it exits the transformer case = shorts and blown fuses. The transformer is a sealed unit so a quick fix with a soldering iron isn't possible without demolishing the thing. The pots are very noisy from new.

Would I buy another? No way. Get an ordinary Pignose - it's far more reliable and it's cheaper.

This is your classic little cheesy amp; rechargeable, play it anywhere on batteries. If you wanted features, you wouldn't be buying this amp. But it has its purpose. Gets a three which is a tall saddle for this lil horsie. But that is what makes them so affordable.

Call me nuts. But this is a killer, killer blues amp! 'Ya herd me rite! No one here seems too keen on workin that squeal. I turn mine to 7 and use a steel slide - WOW!!!! I play my Dean GCE resonator and it is slide heaven. It really enhances the slide without distorting what you are playing.

I have had it for a month now and thought it very average but nice. I wanted the convenience it offered. But then I turned on the slide. I can sell my Blues Cube 60 now. Just kidding but so you understand I know tone a little, I do play a BC-60 and a Peavey Triump with tubes.

So if yer lil amp is sittin there lonely, find an open tuning and get a slide, turn on some squeal! But that is only half the fun.

Next time you finish off your Mrs. Smith Apple Pie, save the tin. Place it on front of the Pig and wail away. You can touch it with your foot to deaden it and pull it off. It sounds like a snare roll on some parts of what I play. Instant drummer backin yer nasty slide. Oh oh ohhhhhhhhh. With some mods, you can even emulate tube break up. Not bad fer a lil amp and an apple pie to boot.

It is a take where you want to go amp. Light. It should last forever. No tubes to replace. Long as there is electricy in the land, you should do fine with it.

Since this is my main amp now, I will support the company regardless. Don't fail me now.

I must hold the record for playing the longest and never getting any better. But its a hobby. I have a small stable of guitars and amps. I bought this Pignose on ebay. I first bid on a Danelectro 30 because it is so cool. But now looking back, the Danelectro can't hold a pietin to the Pignose. I am looking for gigs at Nursing Homes and church clubs. The pignose should be more than adequate.

How do you lose an amp? Like really. Someone might steal your messa boogie or high priced gibson goldtone, but think my Pignose is pretty safe.

I went to New Orleans and saw this blues guy on the street playing a homemade amp that looked like it had a pietin in front. Thought it was kind of quirky and cool all at the same time. If you have a working history of blues players and the mods they used, I would like to hear from you.

Squeal, Volume, Tone. 2 inputs. Headphone jack. And mine came with a charger/AC adapter.
I bought the amp for street performances and it works great! There's power to spare!
I think an external speaker jack (or mono output) would be a little more useful than a second input. I use it sometimes as a preamp and it's a little tricky using a mono cord, you have to plug it in just right.
Oh yeah... I almost forgot! You've got to buy a NEW one, because Pignose amps smell really good for a few months.

I love the squeal! I wish I could find a effects pedal that sounded like it! I use a few different guitars and they all sound good with the amp. I plugged a bass into the amp and it sounded pretty good!Even with the little 6 inch speaker! The clean channel distorts if the battery is low, but this has only happened to me once.

I've dropped it and thrown it around a lot. One of the rubber feet fell off, but that's all. Just keep the battery charged and it will work fine.

I haven't dealt with them personally, but from what I read in the instruction manual they really want you to get a new battery if you need one.

I looked all over for this amp, and I'm really glad I found one (for a great deal!)