Pignose Hog 30 Amp

In my previous 4-star review, I didn't have a chance to play out with other musicians. Now I have, and I give this amp 5 stars. Other players have commented how clear and easy to hear this amp is. Each bass string is reproduced with equal volume. I use it with a Guild acoustic bass guitar, and that combination gives a pretty good simulation of an upright bass. Not identical, but certainly adequate for outdoor jams. Indoors, the amp provides more than enough volume and fullness. The amp is light enough to carry easily to gigs, holds its charge well, and is simple to use. Nice job, Pignose!

I'm a bass player and an audio engineer. I measured the amp outdoors on the ground. At 9 feet away the maximum undistorted SPL was 83 dB to 91 dB depending on tone settings and the string played. (70 dB SPL is about conversational level at 1 foot, 92 dB is loud but not painful.) With the bass tone control set to max, and mids and highs set to minimum, the frequency response was 0 dB at 1 kHz, +2.5 at 100, +10 at 150, -5 at 90, -12 at 40, and +2 at 2 kHz..The low E string does not sound deep, but has enough volume in its harmonics so you can play with other acoustic musicians outside.With the amp on the floor inside and against the wall, the amp provides a louder sound with deeper bass. It's not as loud and deep as a larger amp, but it definitely lets you be heard when you play with acoustic guitars, banjo, mando and fiddle.

This amp is very easy to use and very portable. Technically, it's a guitar amp, but it a very decent battery powered bass amp. I did a three hour busking gig with a Fender P bass and the battery power totally held up. I've tried other battery powered amps for bass and while none of them sound like a powered amp (how could it?), this one seems like the best bang for the buck. I didn't want to spend in the $600 range, and you do get what you paid for, but this one will work. It was up against a guitar going through a Fishman, battery powered PA, and a cajon, and it held its ground. I would have liked more bottom end (although, the bass actually sounded better out of the back of the amp!) and the Funk Bass switch just adds more unnecessary distortion. The bass is already distorted, so just ignore that switch. I did have to roll off the tone on my P bass to about 1/2 way, boost the bass and a little mids on the amp, and roll off some of the treble on the amp. Playing more toward the bridge helped tighten up the tone too. But all in all, for the price it was fine. The only other negative is that the fit and finish isn't great. There are several places where the tolex was peeling away right out of the box, but Gorilla glued them down.

Like other people have mentioned, this is a guitar amp that you can you use as a bass amp. But it is listed as a bass amp. It sounds awful, the guitar center house brand bass amps sound better then this for almost half the price on sale. I was shipped two amps that were DOA, the third finally worked. Sounds awful but works.

The ad says it's a bass amp. The brochure that came with the the amp say it's a guitar amp that can be used for bass or keyboard. As it is it does not sound good as a bass amp. The cover material was loose on the back panel (inside the cabinet) and I had to use contact cement to glue the stuff back down so it wouldn't rattle. The cabinet is made of fiberboard, not wood. I replaced the speaker with a true bass guitar speaker - the amp now sounds pretty good. I would have returned the amp but Guitar Centers' online return policy stinks. I would have to pay return shipping AND my refund would be less than I paid because the 'free' shipping would be deducted from my refund. Oh, the Pignose box (not the shipping box) was unsealed. I'll keep and use the amp (now that I swapped out the speaker). The battery power is great for acoustic jams.

Dollar for dollar, pound for pound this can't be beat. I play bass and get a very nice sound from it. I'm using it at parks with acoustic players and they can't believe it. Keep in mind that this is a very small combo. It's great on the back porch! Seems to hold a charge forever, you'll probably wear out before the batteries do. I'd buy it again. FWIW I've been playing for 40 years. God bless, Jim.