The Lone Wolf Outlaw is a dual-channel, 18W
amp head and separate twin- 12” speaker
cabinet with some unique features and a very
high-quality build profile (it’s also available as
a 1x12 combo). The dual channel setup differs
from most amplifiers in the sense that there
is only one signal path available to the output
section, as opposed to dual channels where
there are two optional paths, usually regulated by a channel switch of some type. The
two channels consist of two preamp sections
(bright and dark) controlled by separate pots
labeled volume 1 and volume 2, respectively.
The two channels seem identical except that
the dark channel has the highs and upper
mids rolled off sharply before the signal hits
the tone stack, which consists of the usual
Treble, Mid, Bass and Presence—which in this
case is called “brilliance.”
an attractive woven fabric. There are heavy
metal corner protectors on each and every
corner. A large, Plexiglas Lone Wolf (howling
at the moon) logo graces each cabinet, with
the top one being back-lit at the flip of the
power switch—too cool!
are additive, so things can get loud in a
hurry—and when I say loud, I mean LOUD.
These are 18 of the biggest watts on the
planet, thanks to the straight-ahead circuitry,
the huge output transformer and power section, and two growling Celestions. As with
most amps (but not all) the louder volumes
sounded best, and I think there is more to it
in this case than the Fletcher-Munson effect
(look it up). This amp was born and bred to
be played in medium-sized clubs.
The bright channel runs a full-range signal.
The two “channels” are then added together
with a summing circuit, and from there on
to the output section, which consists of two
EL84 pentodes running in class AB (
push-pull) configuration, and a very beefy output
transformer. The power section uses a 6CA4
(EZ81) tube rectifier and a likewise very beefy
power transformer. Other front panel features
are two 1/4” input jacks, one labeled “high,”
the other, “low” (both feed both preamps),
an On/Off switch and a Standby switch.
The rear panel reveals an IEC power plug
jack (for the separate power cord), two fuse
receptacles, a three-way 4/8/16-Ohm speaker
impedance switch, two speaker jacks, a “
pentode/ultralinear” switch (more on that later),
effect send and return jacks, and a plugged
hole labeled “footswitch” to be used on a
future model. The chassis top shows us three
12AX7s (the first two being preamp tubes
and the third the phase inverter), the previously mentioned output and rectifier tubes
and transformers, plus a major-sized choke
and two very large filter caps.
The speaker cab is loaded with two 12”
Celestions: one Vintage 30 and one GH- 12,
both with 50oz ceramic magnets and 1. 75”
voice coils. Add the weight of the cab and
the head and we come up with a total amp
weight of 79lb. Before talking about the
sound of this specific amp, it might be good
to gain a bit of historical perspective.
Back in the late fifties, Vox released the first
amp designed for rock and roll: the AC15,
which utilized, you guessed it, the EL84 output tube. They wanted to get away from the
country and blues amps so heavily favored in
the US and come up with something different
for the burgeoning rock market. The EL84 has
a tight (but not necessarily punchy) bass, a
chimey mid, and sparkling highs—and when
pushed, sounds downright raunchy.
The effects loop worked well, as expected,
using distortion, reverb, etc., and flipping the
pentode/ultralinear switch—which actually
converts the EL84s to triodes—lowered the
volume and “browned” the sound a bit. At
rehearsal the other night our harp player, who
is an amp builder, modifier, and general fanatic, spotted the amp in the studio, plugged
in and, using the dark channel, produced
some of sweetest “Walter” tones at some of
the highest volume (without feedback) ever
to grace a small room. Not only is this a fine
guitar amp, but as an added bonus, thanks to
the dark channel, an A1-choice harp amp.
Moving on to the audition, I couldn’t wait to
let that Wolf out of its cage. This amp comes
from the “less is more” tradition that most
of us old vintage cats admire. I used multiple
guitars with multiple styles of single coils and
humbuckers to let her howl. I must say that
we (my neighbors and I) were impressed. I
didn’t find much use for the dark channel on
humbuckers at clean, normal volumes. As I
started to get into Strat and Tele territory, I
found myself adding some dark channel to
fill out the bottom… superb for pluckin’ that
chicken. When I ventured into mild overdrive
territory by turning up the gain and backing
down the master, I basically got lost in one
of the nicest classic blues tones my mini-humbucker Tom Anderson Cobra Special has
ever generated. About three hours later, I
decided to give my ears a rest before putting
the pedal to the metal.
Buy If...
You love the sound of EL84’s singing their hearts out in a roadworthy
amp in medium sized clubs; and
you can deduct or depreciate the
cost; or price is no obstacle.
Skip If...
You don’t dig the sound,
need more watts, can’t afford it.
Rating... 4. 5
The chassis interior reveals very neat point-to-point and turret board solder joints. All small
components, including the tone circuits, are
mounted on the turret board, a nice reliabil-ity touch. The caps are high quality, and the
resistors are low tolerance. The CTS pots are
full size and have the look and feel of good
quality units. The cabinets are sturdily built
from multi-ply Baltic birch plywood with dovetailed corner joints and covered with black
Tolex accented with white piping. The grill is
Turning the gain(s) and master up produced
some very smooth and singing overdrive.
The compression envelope of the power
tubes, rectifier, and output transformer provided good attack and note definition along
with that sweet song. I did not get up the
nerve to dime both gains and master; I was
sure something (other than the amp) would
be damaged—like my aging ears. Here I
want to reiterate that the preamp signals
ONTHEWeb
Head online to hear sound samples of the amp in action at
premierguitar.com
Lone Wolf Amplification
MSRP $3050
lonewolfamps.com
