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Pignose B-100V

nonsqtr

nonsqtr

The emperor has no clothes!
Aug 29, 2003
3,994
25
Burbank CA USA
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#1
Does anyone have one of these amps? That's a kickin' little tube amp. I was playing one for a minute this morning, it has a beautiful sound. Not much power, relative to a big Mesa or something, but it sure does sound nice. Very good price point too. :)
 
#2
Doesn't seem like people are jumping all over this thread. Hmmm. I guess Pignose doesn't have much of a rep in bass circles.

I've been dying to check this little amp out. 100 watts. All tube. Only 31 lbs! Designed by Dennis Kager, so it has a proper lineage. And as you say, nice price.

I need a low power amp for smaller gigs and this looks dee-lish. I was thinking of just getting a used 50-watt Fender Bassman head. But the appearance of this puppy makes things more interesting. I would use it with one EVM 15 in a small Genz-Benz box. Sort of a modern B-15.

Maybe 2-KT88s would have been my preference for getting 100 watts, but hey, 4 6L6s can sound great, too. I used to gig with a Bassman 135 and found the tone to be wonderful. I'm a KT88 ho, so I can't help myself.

Did you think it was built well? Good tone controls? Reasonable headroom in the pre-amp? Inquiring minds want to know.
 
#4
nonsqtr said:
Does anyone have one of these amps? That's a kickin' little tube amp. I was playing one for a minute this morning, it has a beautiful sound. Not much power, relative to a big Mesa or something, but it sure does sound nice. Very good price point too. :)
Click to expand...

Can you give us any more insight into the tone of the B-100V? How loud did it get? Can you power an external speaker? Does it adjust for various ohm settings?

Thanks, Tom.
 
#5
According to the Web site, it's available as a head or a combo. Both have 4 and 8 ohm speaker jacks.

I always have concerns about tube bass combos -- vibrations always seem to rattle stuff loose. Maybe they've taken that into consideration, but still. . .

Plus, the weight of the head at only 31 lbs. is certainly enticing. I know that it's no 10 lb. solid state job, but certainly much less than the 60-or-so lbs. for my Sound City Bass 150!!! Which is what I use for my smaller gigs.
 
#6
MrBonex said:
According to the Web site, it's available as a head or a combo. Both have 4 and 8 ohm speaker jacks.
Click to expand...

Are you looking at the G-60VR, or is there a tube bass head? All I see on the website for bass is the combo, and that head seems to be for guitar. Am I missing the bass head?
 
#10
Ah, excellent! I was hoping this thread would come back. :)

Yes, the only downside that I can see is that the speaker in the combo version is a pretty tight fit. If you were to try to replace it with a nice EV or something (which is a little deeper and fatter, in terms of the magnet), it might be tough to do. But, IMO, it sounds just fine the way it is.

The speakers in general are a bit of an issue with the Pignose combos. For example, the G-40V is a kickin' little guitar amp, as long as you drive good speakers with it. The internal speaker is a little weak. I wanted to replace mine with a Weber, but Ted and I figured out that it wouldn't work. So, I made a head out of it. :D

The G-60VR is okay, but it doesn't quite have the punch and character of the G-40V.

But the B-100V is a nice sounding bass amp, just the way it is, and with no mods. 100 tube watts is pretty loud, and it does have the big 15" speaker, to make the most of those watts. Plus it's got this really cool semi-transparent grill on the amp part, so you can see the tubes glowing in the dark. :)
 
#12
I looked long and hard at teh PigNose. I was looking to do the head version and a Bagend S12 cube as a small jam rig. I was concerned about the size and longevity of the transformer (I heard of no failures... just a few concerns from owners).

I ended up with a Sunn head (pair of 6550)... but sold it off and got a BIG tube head. So now I might look at the Pignose again :bassist:
 
#13
tombowlus said:
What do you think of using the head version with some quality cabs (EA, Bergie, Epi, Accugroove, etc)? Would this be a good combo, or does it add to the overall vibe to get the combo?
Click to expand...

IMO that would be a good combo!

I just tapped out of mine, running into a Bag End S-15.

It sounds phenomenal.

The speaker does change the "vibe" a little, but the amp is so flexible that you can dial up just about any sound you want.

I just tried a new Turner Electroline fretless through it. Very spectacular sound. I could probably wish for a little more volume for a live situation, but I'm definitely going to be using this amp in the studio (assuming I can recover my health, which is going in the right direction at the moment). :)

It's not that the amp isn't "loud enough", it's just that my drummer likes to beat on the skins. :D
 
#14
i've been interested in these for a long time. problem is, there's little info online, nobody i know has one, and they're not in any shops. i'm sure it'll be loud enough for what i'm playing, a silverface bassman 100 was doing the trick a month ago.

i too, was thinking of matching it with a bag end s-15b (another item i can't find in stores).
 
#16
I got the head only (B-100VH) mated to an Eden CX110

It seems to like 10's. I tried it with the 15" in my Ampeg B-15R, an EA-CXL112,
and a SWR Big Ben :rolleyes: . The Eden takes whatever the Pig can throw at it without
farting out, etc., plus it's a light cab that's easy to tote around. Mind you,
this was with a four stringer. Although...TB alum Peter "Smugness" McFerrin :hmm:
had the CXM110 combo and does play a fiver. He gave it a good review at
BGRA

As James H mentioned, there is a concern Re the transformer. IMO, it could be
a bit beefier. But that would probably offset the light weight (portability) of the
head. When I first tried the Pignose-Eden combination, I had a wacky idea; I figure,
the head's rated @ 100 watts, the cab, 200. Sooo...let's turn the Pig up to 10 and
see what happens :rollno: . The Eden took it! (including some open E thumpin') and
it was freakin' LOUD. I wouldn't recommend doin' that for an extended period,
unless you need sumpin' to fry eggs on in addition to a good little practice/jam amp
 
#17
nonsqtr:

If I were to pick up something to use for a "rhythm guitar rig" - which is an octave up signal coming out of my Unibass pedal - would you think that the B-110V (or head with another cab) the G-40V, or the G-60VR (or G-60VRH with another cab) would be the best choice? I do want it to sound like a guitar, but I want a full sound.

The octave up out of the Unibass is normally a bit thin sounding (I then run it through a Daddy-O overdrive, which has an EQ and I can dial some meat back in). The rig that has sounded best so far, has actually been two Epi T-112's driven by a WWU. But I am wondering if a small tube setup might be the best route here.

Thanks, Tom.
 
#20
nonsqtr said:
Does anyone have one of these amps? That's a kickin' little tube amp. I was playing one for a minute this morning, it has a beautiful sound. Not much power, relative to a big Mesa or something, but it sure does sound nice. Very good price point too. :)
Click to expand...
i don't have a pignose amp, but i got a pignose strat
it's good for waht it is, but certainly needs new pickups before any guitar player will come near it
 

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