does anybody have experience with using a pignose amp for harp play (or general impression of the amp)?

Yes, I used to use a Pignose every weekend to play for tips in Venice beach and other places around Los Angeles. I didn't play through a bullet though, as my partner and I were doing a "Sonny & Terry" type of acoustic act. I played through a Shure SM 57 on a stand. It worked well for me.

I've only owned a solid state Pignose that my friend pulled out of the dump for me. The speaker was torn, and it sounded cool for the couple of times that I played it.

Otherwise, I know they're sold as possible harp amps, and that some people play them. I haven't seen too many out and about, though.

First off, if you want to practice amplfied harp, the most important thing is your cupping technique. This actually doesn't require anything more than a tennis ball, or the cap off of the laundry detergent. You just need something to hold your hands in the same position as if you were holding a mic. I'm much less nimble when holding a mic, so I have to practice holding something.

As for gear, getting "that sound" depends on your taste and your experience. Just about any amp/mic combo sounds cool when you're new to playing amplified harp. As you progress, you start to hear why, for example most guys don't play solid state, or why certain guitar amps make the best amps for harp.

An off-the-shelf "Green Bullet and a Pignose is a fine place to start. You'll get a sound, and it will be ok. If you decide to get more serious, then the sky's the limit. You can seek out classic amps, build your own kits, buy a boutique custom harp amp, etc. (same goes for microphones.) It all depends on what you want.

Make sure you go to harpamps dot com for more info. Also, there's a great video by Ryan Hartt on youtube called "Hand Techniques for Amplified Harmonica". Further, there's a guy whose handle is "harpsucker" on youtube. He has a ton of videos showing different amps used for harp.

Pignose Amp

I don't know anything about using one for a harp, but I do have a pignose tube amp that is a pretty impressive little sucker for guitar.

http://www.pignoseamps.com/index.php?disp=detail&s...

One of my friends (currently contracting in Iraq) ordered it and had it sent to me. It wasn't that impressive out of the box (although it did have tubes!), but I think the majority of what was holding it back was the 10" speaker.

It actually has 4 and 8 ohm outputs though - so I plugged it into my Peavey Windsor 4x12 cabinet, and HOLY CRAP - that little sucker could ROCK!!!

You wouldn't believe 20 watts could crank like that - but tube amps are different than solid state amps.

We stuck a 10" 'Tone Tubby' speaker in it (damn near sliced my finger off installing it), which improved its stand alone use considerably - and while I still stick to my '84 Peavey Roadmaster 120W tube head and 4x12 cab for rocking out, and my '67 Ampeg Gemini 1 for blues/jazz - I have to give the Pignose props.

We occasionally have other guitarists come to our jam sessions, and it is nice to have something for them to plug into - it still doesn't have the low end crunch that I like, but it cuts right through the mix.

You should probably check out some place like guitar center/musicians friend - don't necessarily buy from them (I try to give my business to local smaller shops) but they are a great place to try stuff out - they usually don't care how long you spend there, and will let you try out various equipment.

Take your harps, and see if you can borrow a mic similar to what you are thinking about using - plug into some different amps and let it wail!

Check pawn shops too - I actually found my '67 Ampeg (all-tube 1x12 combo) for $160. I've had it literally eat amps that cost 10 times as much. People stare at it and go 'how the hell is that thing so loud???'

AND it sounds awesome!! Tubes all the way baby!!

Good luck!!!

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