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Pignose-Gorilla, commonly known as Pignose, is a manufacturer of portable, battery-powered guitar amplifiers, as well as AC-powered practice amps and guitars. The company was founded in 1969 by Richard Edlund [1] and Wayne Kimbell. In 1985, Pignose Industries was acquired by Howard Chatt and called Pignose - Gorilla. In 2023, Pignose was acquired by Aria guitars, based in Japan. In the United States, Pignose is distributed by LPD Music International, based out of Madison Heights MI.
The first Pignose amplifier was a battery-powered, five-watt portable guitar amplifier with one five-inch speaker. It is considered the first portable electric guitar amplifier. [2] [ dead link ] The inventors gave 65 prototypes (with rubber volume knobs shaped like the end of a pig's nose) to some of the most famous musicians of the era, including Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Eagles, and The Who. [3] Terry Kath (of Chicago) was given one which led to a partnership with the group and its management team in 1972.
Pignose Industries was started by Terry Kath and other members/associates of the band, Chicago, in 1972. They introduced their product (designed and patented by Wayne Kimbell and Richard Edlund) to the music industry at the 1973 Summer NAMM show, with tongue-in-cheek hyperbole, as the "Legendary" Pignose Amplifier. Now known officially as the "Legendary 7-100," the amplifier is still in production and used primarily as a portable practice amp. It has also found a role in recording studios, having been used on records by Joe Walsh, Eric Clapton and Frank Zappa.
The 7-100 includes hanger buttons for a guitar strap, allowing a musician to carry the amplifier while standing or walking. The 7-100 is powered by six AA batteries or an optional AC adapter and weighs between five and six pounds (2.27-2.72 kg). Another feature is the hinged case design, allowing the user not only to store objects like the cable and strap inside the amp, but also to open the case slightly to alter the tone to the player's preference. [1] A feature for the more serious musician is the preamplifier output jack on the rear, allowing it to be connected to a larger amplifier for use as a guitar distortion effect. [3]
In addition to the 7-100, the company offers two battery-powered portable models called "Hog" that use integral rechargeable batteries, as well as small solid-state amplifiers. [4]
Around 2010 Pignose began manufacturing travel guitars with built in amplifiers.
Vox is a British musical equipment manufacturer founded in 1957 by Thomas Walter Jennings in Dartford, Kent, England. The company is most famous for making the Vox AC30 guitar amplifier, used by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, Queen, Dire Straits, U2, and Radiohead; the Vox Continental electric organ, the Vox wah-wah pedal used by Jimi Hendrix, and a series of innovative electric guitars and bass guitars. Since 1992, Vox has been owned by the Japanese electronics firm Korg.
A guitar amplifier is an electronic device or system that strengthens the electrical signal from a pickup on an electric guitar, bass guitar, or acoustic guitar so that it can produce sound through one or more loudspeakers, which are typically housed in a wooden cabinet. A guitar amplifier may be a standalone wood or metal cabinet that contains only the power amplifier circuits, requiring the use of a separate speaker cabinet–or it may be a "combo" amplifier, which contains both the amplifier and one or more speakers in a wooden cabinet. There is a wide range of sizes and power ratings for guitar amplifiers, from small, lightweight "practice amplifiers" with a single 6-inch speaker and a 10-watt amp to heavy combo amps with four 10-inch or four 12-inch speakers and a 100-watt amplifier, which are loud enough to use in a nightclub or bar performance.
A DI unit is an electronic device typically used in recording studios and in sound reinforcement systems to connect a high output impedance unbalanced output signal to a low-impedance, microphone level, balanced input, usually via an XLR connector and XLR cable. DIs are frequently used to connect an electric guitar or electric bass to a mixing console's microphone input jack. The DI performs level matching, balancing, and either active buffering or passive impedance matching/impedance bridging. DI units are typically metal boxes with input and output jacks and, for more expensive units, “ground lift” and attenuator switches.
A public address system is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound source or recorded sound or music. PA systems are used in any public venue that requires that an announcer, performer, etc. be sufficiently audible at a distance or over a large area. Typical applications include sports stadiums, public transportation vehicles and facilities, and live or recorded music venues and events. A PA system may include multiple microphones or other sound sources, a mixing console to combine and modify multiple sources, and multiple amplifiers and loudspeakers for louder volume or wider distribution.
Terry Alan Kath was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who is best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He played lead guitar and sang lead vocals on many of the band's early hit singles alongside Robert Lamm and Peter Cetera. He has been praised by his bandmates and other musicians for his guitar skills and his Ray Charles–influenced vocal style. Jimi Hendrix cited Terry Kath as one of his favorite guitarists, and considered Kath to be "the best guitarist in the universe".
Peavey Electronics Corporation is an American company which designs, develops, manufactures and markets professional audio equipment. It is one of the largest audio equipment manufacturers in the world, and is headquartered in Meridian, Mississippi.
Marshall Amplification designs and manufactures music amplifiers and speaker cabinets. Founded in London by Jim Marshall, shop owner and drummer, the company is based in Bletchley, Milton Keynes, England. Marshall Amplification is one of several divisions of Stockholm-based Marshall Group since March 2023.
Scholz Research & Development, Inc. was the name of the company founded by musician and engineer Tom Scholz to design and manufacture music technology products.
Ampeg is a manufacturer best known for its bass amplifiers.
A radio pack is mainly used for musicians such as guitarists and singers for live performances. It is a small radio transmitter that is either placed in the strap or in the pocket. The receiver is connected to an amp or PA system and the user simply connects the transmitter into the instrument. By using a wireless system, musicians are free to move around the stage. This has meant that more elaborate stage shows are now possible, with musicians performing a long way from the amplifier or speakers.
Richard Edlund, ASC is an American visual effects artist and inventor. He was a founding member of Industrial Light & Magic, having already founded Pignose amplifiers, and later co-founded Boss Film Studios and DuMonde VFX. He has won four Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, as well as two Special Achievement Awards, two Scientific and Technical Awards, and the Medal of Commendation. He is also a BAFTA and Emmy Award recipient.
The Vox AC30 is a guitar amplifier manufactured by Vox. It was introduced in 1958 to meet the growing demand for louder amplifiers. Characterised by its "jangly" high-end sound it has become widely recognized by British musicians and others, such as George Harrison and John Lennon of the Beatles, Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones, Brian May of Queen, Dave Davies of the Kinks and Hank Marvin.
A bass amplifier is a musical instrument electronic device that uses electrical power to make lower-pitched instruments such as the bass guitar or double bass loud enough to be heard by the performers and audience. Bass amps typically consist of a preamplifier, tone controls, a power amplifier and one or more loudspeakers ("drivers") in a cabinet.
The Deacy Amp is an electric guitar amplifier created in 1972 by Queen's bassist John Deacon, who is an electronics engineer by training. The amplifier circuit board from a Supersonic PR80 portable radio found in a builder's skip (dumpster) was fitted into a speaker cabinet and powered by a 9-volt battery. The amplifier had no volume or tone controls and for most of its history it was never broken and thus never repaired. It was used along with Queen lead guitarist Brian May's Red Special electric guitar and treble-booster to produce sounds reminiscent of various orchestral instruments, such as violin, cello, trombone, clarinet, or even vocals, starting from the songs "Mad The Swine" and "Procession" from the 1974 album Queen II.
Distortion and overdrive are forms of audio signal processing used to alter the sound of amplified electric musical instruments, usually by increasing their gain, producing a "fuzzy", "growling", or "gritty" tone. Distortion is most commonly used with the electric guitar, but may also be used with other electric instruments such as electric bass, electric piano, synthesizer and Hammond organ. Guitarists playing electric blues originally obtained an overdriven sound by turning up their vacuum tube-powered guitar amplifiers to high volumes, which caused the signal to distort. While overdriven tube amps are still used to obtain overdrive, especially in genres like blues and rockabilly, a number of other ways to produce distortion have been developed since the 1960s, such as distortion effect pedals. The growling tone of a distorted electric guitar is a key part of many genres, including blues and many rock music genres, notably hard rock, punk rock, hardcore punk, acid rock, and heavy metal music, while the use of distorted bass has been essential in a genre of hip hop music and alternative hip hop known as "SoundCloud rap".
The Fender Bassman is a series of bass amplifiers introduced by Fender during 1952. Initially intended to amplify bass guitars, musicians used the 5B6 Bassman to amplify other instruments, including electric guitars, harmonicas, and pedal steel guitars. Besides being a popular and important amplifier in its own right, the Bassman also became the foundation on which Marshall and other companies built their high-gain tube amplifiers.
QSC is an American manufacturer of audio, video and control products such as amplifiers, loudspeakers, cameras, video endpoints, and digital signal processors including the Q-SYS networked audio, video and control platform. QSC and Q-SYS products are used by audio and video professionals for commercial applications, including corporate, higher education, sports venues, themed entretainment, and cinema customers worldwide.
The Ampeg SVT is a bass guitar amplifier designed by Bill Hughes and Roger Cox for Ampeg and introduced in 1969. The SVT is a stand-alone amplifier or "head" as opposed to a "combo" unit comprising amp and speaker(s) in one cabinet, and was capable of 300 watts output at a time when most amplifiers could not exceed 100 watts output, making the SVT an important amp for bands playing music festivals and other large venues.
Roland CUBE is a series of guitar and bass amplifiers manufactured and distributed by the Roland Corporation. The CUBE series use amplifier modeling technology.
A keyboard amplifier is a powered electronic amplifier and loudspeaker in a wooden speaker cabinet used for the amplification of electronic keyboard instruments. Keyboard amplifiers are distinct from other types of amplification systems such as guitar amplifiers due to the particular challenges associated with making keyboards sound louder on stage; namely, to provide solid low-frequency sound reproduction for the deep basslines that keyboards can play and crisp high-frequency sound for the high-register notes. Another difference between keyboard amplifiers and guitar/bass amplifiers is that keyboard amps are usually designed with a relatively flat frequency response and low distortion. In contrast, many guitar and bass amp designers purposely make their amplifiers modify the frequency response, typically to "roll-off" very high frequencies, and most rock and blues guitar amps, and since the 1980s and 1990s, even many bass amps are designed to add distortion or overdrive to the instrument tone.
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