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Any HiWatt fans about?

wishmerelax

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Feb 8, 2019
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5
love the sound of them, but man.. east coast they're rarer than hens teeth. i've never seen one in DC in 10 years, i never saw one for sale in pittsburgh in 12, and only place i've ever seen them is chicago or milwaukee... or the internet.. always loved the ones i heard played... duane denison's was way nice...
 

wishmerelax

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Feb 8, 2019
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The Hiwatt Customs are really good amps, however, they do break up a bit - especially with humbuckers - to give some nice mid gain light crunch.
They are also very loud. I played a Custom 20 that I really liked, and I assume the 50 is similar
The OCD is an OK pedal. It is principally mid-gain voiced, and does some nice crunch sounds. Plenty of gain to it. However it sounds like a pedal. There is a fizz in it that you can't dial out, and it does NOT clean up as well as other pedals.
I would be recommending a Blackstone Mosfet - i've heard equally good things about the Tim or Timmy pedals, or an Okko Diablo. If you really want to splash out, get a Pete Cornish SS3 / G2 duplex pedal.
If you want to get a Hiwatt from America, get a Reeves instead. You can buy a UK Hiwatt OK as it is made by a different company. Alternately, as David suggested, get a Harry Joyce amp.
 
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wishmerelax

New member
Joined
Feb 8, 2019
Messages
5
love the sound of them, but man.. east coast they're rarer than hens teeth. i've never seen one in DC in 10 years, i never saw one for sale in pittsburgh in 12, and only place i've ever seen them is chicago or milwaukee... or the internet.. always loved the ones i heard played... duane denison's was way nice...
 

kats

Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2005
Messages
274
'72 Dr103 with a '72 SE4122 Cab.

HUGE FAN!!


hiwatt.jpg
 

Stu

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Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
262
Never seen one of those DR508's in the flesh.

:biggrin:

Neither have I. :##

I should have included at least a brief description: first photo is a '69 DR504 on top of a '68 DR504 - you can see why they stopped using Rexine; second photo is a '66 Arbiter Power One Hundred on top of a '67 DR506. :)
 

cincyguitar

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Jul 30, 2015
Messages
431
I could kick myself....had a chance to buy a Hiwatt 4x12 a few years ago for$350...never pass a good deal by...even if ya have to borrow a few bucks....:##
 

ourmaninthenorth

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Mar 28, 2009
Messages
7,119
Neither have I. :##

I should have included at least a brief description: first photo is a '69 DR504 on top of a '68 DR504 - you can see why they stopped using Rexine; second photo is a '66 Arbiter Power One Hundred on top of a '67 DR506. :)


ser1.jpg

DR508_SN.jpg


Stu, am I right in remembering the DR506 was the bass version of the DR508...?
 

Anje

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Joined
Jan 3, 2002
Messages
1,170
Old thread but that reminded me of some good old days :salude

Loved the old Hiwatt DR+SE tone & feel, kind of unique and one of the best platform to build your personal soundscape on especially if you like adding effects IMHO (having such a broad clear and defined spectrum/sound with great dynamic and headroom available).
I've had and played a few stacks, especially a couple of early 70's DR103 + SE4121/4122 cabs, and as it was said above the Fane cabs were a BIG part of the tone & feel signature IMHO; I gotta say I almost appreciated the cabs even more than the amps, and played some with old Marshall & Laney heads as well.
One of the best "wow" guitar tone moments I can remember was when I plugged a good strat and old school Treble Booster into an old Marshall Superbass on top of one of those SE4122 Fane cabs.
 

Emiel

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Joined
Oct 30, 2015
Messages
71
A couple friends of mine own DR103's, it's such a great allround amplifier. I remember fondly the day that we got together in this sports hall and cranked them. Even with earplugs the volume was deafening!

I am a big fan of The Who and Pete Townshend playing a SG Special or LP Deluxe through a few stacks of Hiwatts is one of my favorite sounds. Here in Europe, Hiwatts are very rare, and the shipping costs and import taxes make an American replacement like Hi-Tone/Reeves very expensive indeed, so I had a friend build me a CP103 clone using many NOS parts including Philips mustard caps. The only thing holding it back I think are the transformers that come from a Laney Superklipp. They are Partridges but different than the Hiwatt ones, we had to use a VVR to lower the voltages. Any advice on (European) transformers is welcome!
 

shakti

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Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
494
Count me in. I go through phases with my amps, currently Hiwatt is on a big upswing. I have a '73 DR103 with matching SE4123 cab. Killer sounding amp and the perfect pedal platform as has been said. I also have a CP103 built from scratch with NOS parts and new Heyboer transformers based on a particular 1969 amp. I'm using that with a '69 Sound City amp which has heavy magnet Fanes similar or identical with the Fanes used in the same era Hiwatt cabs (i.e. the "herringbone" type cabs such as used by Townshend/The Who around that time). I also used to own a clone of the infamous Jimmy Page model.

I've just been on a binge, buying up several old Hiwatt slave amps which I am going to convert to some more famous models, most likely another CP103 "The Who" and a "Jimmy Page" model. And to top it all off, I also just bought a '71 SE4122 cab. It should be very interesting to compare this with my Sound City cab. Different cab construction (ported back panel in particle board vs closed back plywood), but the speakers should be somewhat similar.

There was a DR201 in the KT88 version for sale locally a few years ago which I would have loved to buy, but it was quite expensive.
 

agogetr

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Joined
Jan 22, 2019
Messages
451
Never been a fan.
i fell into a dave reeves 100 with cab, in the mid 80's sqeacky clean almost unplayed. i cranked it up and it sounded like a huge frog croaking, at least to me.
i didnt try it with a pedal after hearing the natural tone i was done. i stuck with my tweed bassman although not as loud.
the clip on this post does sound really killer with amp and pedal (pre amp?)combo. i heard the matchless superchief was based off the hiwatt ?
 

Progrocker111

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Dec 10, 2003
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4,013

ourmaninthenorth

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Mar 28, 2009
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I swear my trousers were flapping just listening....:hee

Thanks for posting Pal.
 

Supronaut

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Jun 29, 2016
Messages
46
Always wanted a JP Custom 100W Hi-Tone. From the videos I've seen it seems to sound amazing.
 

metropolis

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Sep 14, 2018
Messages
390
I love the sound of HiWatts - how could I not when they're on most of my favourite albums of all time? - but I've never been able to play one in person.

That said there are two big coincidences with Hiwatt. I currently live around a mile from where Dave Reeves was building them in '68 (New Malden) and my friend's dad used to work for them in the 70s and told me the feedback from players was that they sounded beautiful clean but always wanted more break-up.
 

Progrocker111

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Dec 10, 2003
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told me the feedback from players was that they sounded beautiful clean but always wanted more break-up.

Interesting is, that the first truly gainier Hiwatts appeared in 68-70 (only some from this timeframe, others were like classical early 70s preamp scheme) and then in 77 and later 2 input ones.
 
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