Both 'Angus' and the 'Big Pig' are lookin' SWEET there FdB!!! 
Thank you sir, thank you very much. Big Pig was a dismal failure at first… then I zapped it with 18-24 volts instead of 9 volts and Viola! (hehe) and it now fights better with the Dwarf. I plan to eventually build a even smaller-cabbed version to better accomodate the slightly smaller Visaton BG 13P 8Ω 5” speaker that I like so much. (A real performance bargain compared to the cost of an actual Pignose replacement speaker from Pignose, or even the Jensen MOD 5/30.)
Those Birdcords look like a useful solution to a number of probs! I bought one of the original
Volto pedalboard batteries when they came out and it has worked well... I can get @ 2-1/2 gigs out out of it using a small pedal board... usually have it charging in the car on the way to gig, as I sometimes forget!
www.amazon.com/Pedaltrain-Volto-Rechargeable-Supply-PT-VT3/dp/B07MZGB7B1
Considered the Volto power supply here (and others) but went with the BirdCord and battery bank instead because less-expensive & I’m cheap (thrifty, tight, etc.) and the BBs are easy to simply velcro to the back or inside of the little amps and still remain more portable… BUT with as many of these little monsters that I sometime have powered up here together, a Volto (or similar) might be a good option for me as well.
EDIT: A closer look at the specs for the Volto 3 notes 6200mAh compared to the battery banks offering 10400mAh and 50000mAh (both BBs priced under $20.00 ea.) and then add a 5-way daisy chain cable from BirdCord @ 8.99 (Euro) - plus the cost of a Birdcord with the discount? Maybe less expensive to go the BC/BB route, by about less than half the price of a Volto 3? Unless I'm missing something.
My pal Sherm gigs weekly with a similar BirdCord/BB pedal setup, whereas I am normally restricted primarily to “coffee table” use. I’ve four of the BBs so far and they each rotate charging on a multi-unit charger. (Usually every other week or so, if I remember.) Some of the BBs have indicator lights as “charge-level available” indicators but the Blackweb BBs have a digital display readout… so there’s no guessing. And sometimes they’re even used to
actually charge phones here.
Ok, Birdcord it is, but what is a good USB Battery pack that is quality and in-expensive ?
The inexpensive Blackweb BBs are pretty good. They do have some weirdo sticky coating on them (grip or finish protectant?) that I don’t like. Maybe not on the black-colored versions? Silver: model BWA18W1052
Of the four pictured here previously, the black & red one (eBay source) drops power and resets itself IF burdened with a pedal while also powering an amp. So, it’s my least-favorite BB - but it works well enough when only powering a portable amp alone. Again however, I prefer a little reverb, delay or echo pedal when noodling around here, so occasionally must use two BirdCord/BB (BC/BB) combos for that… and especially if I’m pushing absolute maximum volume from a particular amp + pedal too.
The silver Blackweb BBs ($9.00 each on sale from “NotAmazon-Mart”) are my solid favorites and they’re rated@ a mere 10400mAh / 38.48Wh. The all-black BB pictured previously is via eBay and it’s rated@ a whopping 50000mAh / 185Wh… and while I don’t always trust these ratings, the black one has proven to be very strong & powerful. Each USB port on BBs are rated in amperage output. Often sellers will note a total
combined rating for this, and when noted individually - this rating can be as much as 2.4 amps each. Typically it’s more like 2.1amps each - and in the case of the black & red BB… it’s 1 amp for one port and 2.1 amps for the other one. (Probably why it falters / fails with a pedal also attached.) I would not buy another black & red BB.
The black BB (from eBay) is model AS283-H …if interested. 50000mAh.
www.ebay.com/itm/50000mAh-Dual-USB-Backup-External-Battery-Power-Bank-Pack-Charger-For-Cell-Phone/261917443920?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649So if you’re planning on only powering one of the Vintage Portable amps,
without also trying to power a pedal at the same time with the same BB… any of the above four will work with a BirdCord. Add a pedal on the same BB and that’s where you have to pay attention to individual USB port amperage output ratings.
However, the newer (
modern) portables come normally with a myriad of already built-in EFX / echo, chorus, delay, reverb, etc. so they don’t have these concerns as they only require the one BC/BB connection. I still prefer the Vintage Portables though. (Made in USA.)
Dieter (of SongBirdFX / BirdCord -
www.songbirdfx.com) speaks highly of / recommends(?) the Anker brand of BBs. I’ve never tested or owned one due to their higher cost. But should someone here try one out, do please report back on your findings. Again, note the mAh and Wh ratings (the higher the better / available power-wise)… as well as check the amperage per USB port output ratings. Made a mad dash here to buy an Anker BB recently - when the Mini-Rock was discovered to require mo’ power… as one Anker BB was listed as 4.8 to 5 amps. Turned out that this was a combined output rating for both USB out-ports added together. I wanted more than 2.4 amps for the Mini-Rock. No sale… back to D or C
dry cell batteries for the Mini-Rock. [Mini-Rock has a 6x9 speaker similar to that of the Big Pig’s 6/15 Jensen speaker, thus ≥ more power required?]
Note: For those that might be considering a BC/BB setup for a stock Pignose (without an updated accessory power-in port). Dieter also offers an adapter with a male input-end for the “stock” Pignose. Polarity changers are also available - if you are not likely to shorten the cables and add your own plug as I have often done. Again, check
www.Songbirdfx.com for more info / details. Really not all that complicated, but if polarity is wrong… caps may blow. (And yes, I
have made that mistake.)
I plan to cover the speaker-out mod & alternate power-in port here, later. *Original Pignose power-in port can be root of some problems. And with the new port you can venture into powering the Pignose with 12+ volts or more (at yer own risk).
Pignose port mods with added speaker-out port.
According to author Mick Ekers in his “Zappa Gear” book,
only 50,000 Pignoses were produced the first year. So just imagine how many have been made since 1972! So, I’ve no qualms about hacking in new ports or other mods on even a 25th Anniversary Edition Pignose (black & gold one pictured above). But I won’t change a 1972 first-year model. Nope. I have seen an added “speaker out jack installed inside on the metal shroud covering the Pignose PCB if you don’t care to mod the cases as I have done. Wiring instructions for the added speaker-out jack, here:
https://www.tdpri.com/threads/nad-i-finally-got-a-pignose.983744/page-2#post-9386303Had no idea about these. Fender tweed always sparked my interest. Pretty cool that zappa used them.
Very interesting info on Frank’s
mysterious Pignose in Mick Eker’s “Zappa Gear” book on pages 94-96 and I’m certain… a veritable plethora of mucho more interesting stuff. But the more recent Tweed-covered Pignose amps are most likely not any different in sound / performance over any other version of Pignose. (Later production was shifted to Asia / the orient.) But basically, they’re all still really pretty much the same - unless you have one of the very early germanium versions of the Pignose and those didn’t come in Tweed. (And there is
the opinion that the first germanium-based Pignoses are not all that different compared to the newer ones.) And while Tweed covering might look cool it doesn’t warrant mo’ money IMO. Naked, underneath… a Pignose is a Pignose… is a Pignose.

1/8” thick plywood, sans the naugahyde cover
OR... "I'm your Father, Big Pig".
What guitar is that hiding behind those amps? Les paul?
Yup, that’s an LP Studio hiding behind the amps. Good eye there, Custos.
frank zappa!
oldschool
The above, (sez the guy who’s website is named “oldskoolDAW”)? Shade or no?
What was the name of that movie where “The Karate Kid” goes up against Steve Vai? (Actually Vai vs. Ry Cooder playing.) “Crossroads” wasn't it?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMAkr_Z74E8 And then there’s this “old school”:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWBYjjzKvIw May want to check out
www.zappasgear.com and maybe even have a look at the actual book before they’re all gone - POOF! Secrets and many-many various other
electronica surprises inside.
Again, one of the primary premises here was that you don’t have to spend a bunch of money to get a sound and / or tone very similar to that of an original 1950’s Fender Tweed amp or a even a much bigger, more powerful and expensive
modern amplifier. Recording techniques and even extension speaker cabs can provide more than some ever really imagine from these much older vintage portables*. (*not the same, but pretty darned close.)
Do I need a new Mac capable of running Catalina?
OR how well and more versatile is my good ol’ G4 running OS 9 at accomplishing nearly all that I really want to do?
More to follow.
Author
Topic: Chasing Tone - Pignose & Dwarf (Read 16439 times)