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Excellent for what it is Nov 24, 2008
First of all, let's get this straight: this is a classic, portable practice amp. For its purpose, it does its job very well. You won't get a full bodied tone out of it due to the physical limitations of its speaker size (5"). It also is sort of a one trick pony. Even though it is solid state, it distorts beautifully and gradually as the volume is increased. It's not a Neu Metal distortion at all but rather a Classic Rock type of distortion. It also works well as a preamp in front of a larger more powerful amplifier (I have several, and it works well with them all). In my opinion, it sounds better with single coil pickups versus humbuckers; the clarity is a little better with the former. I have found that you can get clean sounds out of it, but you have to use your guitar to do so. By turning down your guitar's volume pot, the sound cleans up. With my Stratocaster, I get the cleanest sounds with the guitar's volume pot around 7 or so and the Pignose's volume at about 3:00, which provides decent volume too. This amp also can be very loud despite its 5 watts and small speaker. Fully cranked this amp is surprisingly loud with awesome distortion, which sounds even better recorded. Speaking of recording, by using a Shure SM57 microphone it sounds huge. So it's a great recording amp for distorted tones. It really shines as a recording amp. This amp also takes to pedals very well. I have several classic pedals that sound great through it. Modelling effects also work well with it and can considerably shape its tone. By using a Korg Pandora PX4D in front, I can actually get clean tones out of it at high volumes, which is impossible plugging in direct (plugging in direct has its own charms though). It even works well to amplify vocals. I have even used it to amplify my bass guitar too, but not with very good results. I have to turn the bass' volume pots very low, and I can't turn the amp's volume up much past 4:00 or 5:00 and expect to keep the sound clean. Needless to say, there isn't much bottom to the tone when amplifying a bass either. But keep in mind this is designed to be a guitar amp, not a bass amp. All things considered, if you're looking for a small, go anywhere amp that has Classic Rock to Blues tones, this amp is your ticket. Just don't expect to get either huge or clean tones (unless you use modeling effects in front of it) out of it. It wouldn't be my choice as a primary amp, but it is an excellent and portable tool to add color to your tone.
6 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 here's an honest rating of this amp Dec 30, 2007
I want to be honest so others aren't dissapointed when they order and receive this amp.
Its reallly overpriced for what it is.A tiny solid state amp which runs off of either ac power ,if you pay extra for an adapter,or off 6 double aa batteries which will last app 5-6 hours.
If you want this amp for a novelty type amp for its history and vintage looks and are not too concerned with quality or sound ,you may be satisfied.However,if you expect this amp to sound good and be used in any serious recordings etc,you most definately will be dissapointed.It has only a volume control which turns the amp on and off and adjust volume up or down.You get kind of a clean sound ,or kind of a muddy sound,or at full volume a useless sound which sounds similiar to a blown speaker.For the price this amp is,if you want a nice quality playing amp which runs off ac or dc,look into the roland micro cube.I have the micro cube also,and it totally blows he pignose away.Not evben in the same ball park.Also,when I received my pignose,it has very obvious splits in the fake pigskin covering on the bottom and the top of the amp which just shout out cheap construction.I emailed their customer service who said they all are like that due to no other way of seaming the material.Ok,that will be their little secret.
If you have money to burn and want the amp for its nostalgic look,go for it,but,if you want an amp that is portable and actually useful and sounds good,their are many others available out there for just slightly more money,such as the roland micro cube,vox,and others.This amp should be sold for app half the price it is ,in my opinion.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent Practice amp Mar 25, 2007
This is a great practice. At low volumes you can get a semi-clean tone to play some SRVs tracks like Lenny and Rivera Paradise. At high volumes the distortion is mild. Overall it is the best sounding practice amp I have ever used.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
an important note Jul 03, 2006
an important note
The Pignose cannot produce a clean sound. It is distorted no matter what you do. The distortion is not exteremly heavy, so if you want a good bluesy distortion this is great for you. But if you want to be able to hear chords clearly then you should know that this amp cannot do that. I am disappointed that it doesn't say anything about this in the description of the product.
I dont have any problem with the Pignose, just thought everyone should know about this.
11 of 11 found the following review helpful:
How to make a living using the Pignose Jan 06, 2006
Once, many years when lunch was half a loaf of fresh bread (baguette or ficelle) and a bottle of white wine, I lived in Paris (France) and my entire income was derived from playing a beaten up Strat (I wish I still had that guitar!) through a Pignose in the Metro. The sound was perfect, the subway provided georgeous reverb, and the tone was thrilling. I played well enough that the cops didn't move me on too much, and the skinheads that surrounded me, despite my fears as I was a long-haired hippie in those halcyon days, loved my my extended version of "red house" - I dragged it out to nine or ten minutes expecting to be beaten up at the end! They over-tipped and and cheered like a football (ok soccer) crowd. Here's the secret with pignose amps, you can create all sorts of different tones by opening and closing the door at different angles, and how the speaker is pointed is crucial in a reverberent room - or hall. Sadly I have a real job now, but still play - with a much larger and more expensive amp! http://beesdeluxe.com
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