Heritage Colonial: Tell me as much as you can, as fast as you can :)

[Gasp100]

Might have the possibility of a local deal on a Heritage Colonial head. The last thing I need right now is ANOTHER AMP. But, I have this kick ass Avatar 2x12 in the emporium and I haven't even really played anything much through it yet. I grabbed a Marshall slant 2x12 for my incoming Ceriatone 2061x (just had to, no choice!)

Anyway, I don't have (and really have never had) any amps with EL34's. From what I understand this can run EL34's or 6L6? The reviews were glowing and it sounds like it can really pull off a Plexi tone (at sane volumes with a good MV) and also gets into a Tweed character??? How that works I have no idea, but it might be the perfect fit in my little home studio. I would be running this through a Hellatone 60 and CL80 for starters. I'd love to hear your opinions, this might not last long.

 

[jpage]

Fantastic clean tone and takes pedals incredibly well. If I were to stumble across one, I would set up several great pedals with different voicings--and I'm not a pedalboard guy. A few guys I knew in Denver had these amps and damn if it wasn't like they had 3 or 4 different boutique rigs when they played. Don't really even know if their amps had master volumes to be honest.
It goes without saying how well built these are also. And they sound great with singles or hbs.

 

[Leonc]

Early Marshall JTM-45s were quite a bit like Fender Bassman, darn near identical, from what I understand. And the Colonial is a lot like a JTM-45. There's no master volume. You will not be getting "plexitone" at sane volume levels. These are loud amps, if you want to play it where it's really grinding good, it'll be too loud for most clubs (at least the ones I play in).

But as jpage pointed out, these amps are fantastic with pedals and are really about as close to ideal as I've heard as a pedal platform. Yes, can run EL34s, 6L6s and a few other types of tubes as well. But I've been happy with 6L6s in mine and have just left them in there.

There are switches that you can use to switch a few values of parts around on either side of the tonestack. You can also switch between SS or tube rectification and you can dial in the amount of negative feedback you like (makes it feel a bit squishier, more grindy).

Overall, it's a very flexible amp, great platform for pedals and produces a big, fat, juicy clean sound that's hard not to love.

 

[Veritas]

I owned one for about a year. KILLER amp. Great pedal platform, great cleans, and great grind if you can get it that loud. Smokin' amp.

 

[Gasp100]

Wow, sounds great. I googled and found a really cool thread of most of you guys talking about it in depth. If I play my cards right, I might be able to get it for a good deal (~$850 for the head in mint condition, pickup only - no problem, the person lives very close to work). I could take a long lunch break, test it out, maybe jam a bit and see how it goes. Normally VERY loud amps are not good in my situation, but you all mentioned that the cleans are SO GOOD it's worth it to get some nice pedals to put in front and let it do what it does best. I have been contemplating going with a pretty clean, Fender-ish platform but I think the possbility of having 6l6 OR EL34's is pretty intriguing. Call me crazy but I like ss rectifier's too. I also have a hot plate on the way, I would at least test it out using the hot plate too.

 

[GAT]

I had one, they really sound good. As good as anything out there, IMO.

Mine worked great with a Komet Airbrake attenuator.

 

[thilton59]

Just bear in mind that Heritage Amps (the company) isn't around anymore, be it temporary or permanent. That being said, my Patriot is a great amp. The build quality is superb and the thought behind the design is pretty swell too.

 

[meterman]

Pretty sure Paul Cochrane of TIM/Timmy fame designed and built those in his time with Heritage. I heard one at the Nashville NAMM a few years back and talked with him about it for awhile. If memory serves it actually has two separate power sections with separate transformers, one for the 6L6s and one for the EL34s, and can run from tweed Bassman to JTM45 to Plexi sounds. Also has a very cool variable negative feedback control. I've wanted one since I heard it, and would love to hear one cranked through my new Ho attenuator, the decibel police at the show wouldn't let you come close to opening it up, it's a loud one....

 

[saurudi]

I also own one and it´s a fantastic amp...but also loud as HELL

really depends for what you will use it. like the other guys mentioned it´s a great platform for pedals.
one thing i really like about the colonial is the fact with some guitars it´s possible to get great feedback even when played clean.

 

[Dave LaP]

Another owner here. It's a great giggin amp and rivals many amps costing twice as much. 850 is a great price....I got mine used for 1200 and thought that was pretty darn good. I'd jump and try it out. If it doesn't work for you sell it easily at 850 or bump it up a few bucks if you're feeling "entrepeneurial".

 

[Dexter.Sinister]

That is priced too low. Offer more money.

I agree with everything said above, except it is perfect for gigging around here. Just love mine. It is perfect much like a Komet is perfect, even though they feel and sound so different. The Colonial is very well laid out, built with the highest standards, voiced nicely, and has useful options in it. Just a very nice amp.

DS

 

[shark_bite]

Greg, you may want to send a note to willhutch - the stuff you're talking about with EL34s and 6L6's, plus the SS rectifier stuff is all stuff he just did with his most recent JTM45 build, and it sounded fantastic. Just awesome.

 

[meterman]

BTW that IS a great price, you could take the $400 you're saving and buy a Ho Attenuator and really crank it!

 

[Last Nerve]

I don't know, Gasp.
Didn't you have some threads going about finding a nice bedroom amp?
Everything was too loud?

Not being rude, just try to watch out for you. It sounds like something my wife would say about a new pair of shoes she'd like to purchase - they're such a good price, and they might go well with some suits I have, but if not, I could always pick up some other suits, since these are such a good price.

I mean..yeah, smoking deal, but the Colonial is a 45W NMV amp.
Don't buy it just because it is a good deal.

JUST AN OBSERVATION, Gasp. NO disrespect meant at all. I hope it doesn't come across that way.

 

[fr8_trane]

Might have the possibility of a local deal on a Heritage Colonial head. The last thing I need right now is ANOTHER AMP. But, I have this kick ass Avatar 2x12 in the emporium and I haven't even really played anything much through it yet. I grabbed a Marshall slant 2x12 for my incoming Ceriatone 2061x (just had to, no choice!)

Anyway, I don't have (and really have never had) any amps with EL34's. From what I understand this can run EL34's or 6L6? The reviews were glowing and it sounds like it can really pull off a Plexi tone (at sane volumes with a good MV) and also gets into a Tweed character??? How that works I have no idea, but it might be the perfect fit in my little home studio. I would be running this through a Hellatone 60 and CL80 for starters. I'd love to hear your opinions, this might not last long.

Greg you know how I feel about my Heritage Victory... Great amp thats a total Deluxe reverb killer.

Looks like the colonial is a bassman/plexi hybrid with switches to let you set the preamp to all the major variations. It looks like WAAAY to much power for your setup.

If I was you I would SERIOUSLY start looking for a victory head,. The Vic head has a tube driven FX loop that also doubles as a switchable extra gain stage. Theres no reverb but you get the sweet victory cleans and then an extras level of gain that the vic combo doesn't have. My vic combo is a clean machine even at 22 watts and I may even shoot Paul C an email to find out about a simple way to increase the gain that I heard he offers.

And yeah I think the Hertiage amp line is on permanent Hiatus. Paul C left more than a year ago. I think someday these babies will be considered collectible classics... they're THAT good.

 

[Dave LaP]

Greg you know how I feel about my Heritage Victory... Great amp thats a total Deluxe reverb killer.

Looks like the colonial is a bassman/plexi hybrid with switches to let you set the preamp to all the major variations. It looks like WAAAY to much power for your setup.

And yeah I think the Hertiage amp line is on permanent Hiatus. Paul C left more than a year ago. I think someday these babies will be considered collectible classics... they're THAT good.

It's more power than I need for my setup but it sounds great a low voulmes. You need pedals to get OD anyway. The larger transformers/greater power give the notes a girth and stoutness that lower powered amps don't generally provide.

Of course if you're looking for something you can crank at reasonable volumes to get some power tube distortion, than the Colonial isn't it. High power or lower powered: Depends on what "school of rock" your camping in presently. They both work, just differently. One thing I've noticed about the cleans with higher powered amps is that I can solo on them without my tone sounding wimpy. This is true to my ears even when playing at lower volumes.

Just my .02

 

[saurudi]

It's more power than I need for my setup but it sounds great a low voulmes. You need pedals to get OD anyway. The larger transformers/greater power give the notes a girth and stoutness that lower powered amps don't generally provide.

Of course if you're looking for something you can crank at reasonable volumes to get some power tube distortion, than the Colonial isn't it. High power or lower powered: Depends on what "school of rock" your camping in presently. They both work, just differently. One thing I've noticed about the cleans with higher powered amps is that I can solo on them without my tone sounding wimpy. This is true to my ears even when playing at lower volumes.

Just my .02

Couldn´t have said it better, this is the beauty of the colonial. the cleans are so FAT when you you´ve got a good overdrive pedal you´re already set.

 

[saurudi]

Since there are many colonial owners here, do you favor some guitars ?

I´ve got a R7, Heritage 535 and a PRS Standard while all of them sound very good i think the colonial is a great match for Singlecoils.

 

[Frankenstrat2]

First- if it was offered to me for $850 I'd grab it and get an Ultimate Atteniuator. Done deal.
Second-Paul designed the Colonial to feel,sound, and react exactly as a 100watter but in a 50w chassis. The transformer is a patented design and is brilliant.
Its LOUD !
Buy it and get an UA. You.ll be done.