Heritage Lobo

[GuitArtMan]

Some of you already know a week or so back I pulled a Brentrocks and bid on something on eBay that I didn't expect to win: a Heritage Lobo amp. Well she arrived yesterday, and after a brief moment of tube layout panic (the auction photos provided the needed info) I was able to fire her up. This is one sweet sounding little amp! It's loosely based off of a Black Face Deluxe, but only has one channel and no tremolo. Like the larger Fender amps it has a mid control and a presence control. I definitely noticed the Black Face Fender in the tone, but one thing I didn't notice was the loose, farty, flatulent bottom end that tends to plague smaller Fenders (Princetons/Deluxes). This stays nice and tight. The amp develops a nice crunch when turned up. I hesitate to say it sounds Marshally, but it had a slightly different voice than I'm used to from small Fenders. I remember Jay saying he wanted an amp that would hold together and not get muddy when turned up with buckers - they succeeded. The reverb is very strong, but tended to get a little washed out when turned up high. Maybe a different driver tube is needed or just don't turn it up so high.

 

Two unexpected treats:

A vinyl slip cover. It's a funky blue color, but is lined and should help keep the tolex looking nice.

A couple of hundred bucks worth of vintage tubes! The only tube that was not vintage was the rectifier. Did they ship that way, or did a previous owner do some tube swapping?

 

Overall I'm very impressed. It seems to combine the lower volume (it's still plenty loud) and portability of the smaller Fenders with the bolder tone and versatility of the larger Fenders. It's a shame these aren't still being made.

[fxdx99]

Nice report - congrats on the new amp. I'm not familiar with the Heritage amp line, but what you describe sounds really really good - a tweaked DR. Cool. Is it a combo with 2x12?

[golferwave]

Everything you've said in your report are the same things I've heard from others who have one of these gems. A simple circuit that delivers the goods. You can do everything else you want outboard, like trem and reverb. Dibs if you ever want to sell it.

[golferwave]

Oops..I guess I said you could do reverb outboard but the Lobo has reverb. Too early on Saturday morning for the brain to be fully engaged I guess.

[GuitArtMan]

Nice report - congrats on the new amp. I'm not familiar with the Heritage amp line, but what you describe sounds really really good - a tweaked DR. Cool. Is it a combo with 2x12?

1x12 combo - just like a Deluxe Reverb. The Heritage amps were marketed by the same guy (Lane Zastrow) that marketed Heritage guitars but were made in Nashville, not Kalamazoo. The have ties to Holland amps (the Lobo was a Holland amp before Heritage came along) and to Paul Cochrane of Tim/Timmy fame. Sadly they are no more as they really had some nice amps.

[JeffB]

Sounds like a nice combo. You guys dont realize how lucky you are having all that cool boutique(what ever that means) gear so accessible. We are pretty starved over here for cool stuff like this.

[koula901]

GuitArtMan - interesting to read your report.

There's a lot to learn about so many amps, that reading these reports is quite helpful.

Enjoy! Btw, how much does it weigh, how many watts?

[GuitArtMan]

GuitArtMan - interesting to read your report.

There's a lot to learn about so many amps, that reading these reports is quite helpful.

Enjoy! Btw, how much does it weigh, how many watts?

I seem to remember reading it was around 42 lbs. It didn't feel quite that heavy to me, but it's definitely heavier than my Tungsten Crema Wheat. I believe it is rated at 20 watts - it's actually called the Lobo 20.

[FredZepp]

OH Yeah ... That is one sweet amplifier there. And it sounds like it lives up to it's reputation.