Rory Gallagher used a Dwarf amp as a practice amp, and just in general for warming up and for playing his electric guitar outside of a stage setup.
I used to bring a Martin around with me, but now I’ve got a tune-up amp called a Dwarf, it’s like the Pig-nose, but you know the way the Pignose is very fuzzy. This one’s dead clean, but you can fuzz it up if you want.
Rory Gallagher, International Musician 1976
The Dwarf amp was produced from 1974 to 1079 by a company called Twenty-First Century Products located in Ignacio, CA. It was a small battery or cable-powered amp advertised as a “low-noise portable recording amplifier”.
Contributors: Ingemar
I grew up just off Ignacio Blvd. On the east side of the 101 overpass, Ignacio turns into Bel Marin Keys Blvd. It was one of the earliest “Industrial Parks” up there in NorCal. Lots of cool, early tech stuff going on. I think Broderbund Software started there. George Lucas had his glass shop there and whatnot. Legendary amp stuff happening around this time up in that neighborhood. Those first Randall Smith ‘Mesa Boogie’ amps were blowing roofs off every venue. 100 watts in fine wood cabinetry w/ cane grills you could carry around without casters. I think that’s probably where Dwarf got the idea for the raw wood cabinets. I really love those solid oak cabinets on the Dwarfs. A cool moment in Rock.
To claify, Bel Marin Keys Blvd runs parallel to Hamilton Drive, when the company was located.
Yup. Right there.
I just scored one of these in Dunsmuir California for $30.
I consider it a great acquisition!