# HIWATT amps kick ass....!!!



## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

:rockon2: 


:banana: :banana: 


:food-smiley-004:


that is all



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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

hum..ok...wich one?


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## Guest (Jul 29, 2008)

My 'custom 100' does it for me.


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## faracaster (Mar 9, 2006)

I hear you got the matching head to the cab I sold you.
Now I know why you are saying that.......I was saying it too. That amp is like GOD came and threw his/her hand into the mix. I LOVED that amp.

Cheers
Pete


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

I was looking at the HIWATT website..man, nice combo's they have there, but almost lost my breakfast when i saw the prices..hehehe...i miss the 80's when music gear was still cheap..


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## LowWatt (Jun 27, 2007)

al3d said:


> I was looking at the HIWATT website..man, nice combo's they have there, but almost lost my breakfast when i saw the prices..hehehe...i miss the 80's when music gear was still cheap..


I don't get how the new Hiwatt company does it. The original ones are cheaper than the new ones, built better and sound better.


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## Scottone (Feb 10, 2006)

Still kicking myself for not buying one when they were cheap. A few years ago, nobody wanted them.

An old bandmate of mine has a Hylight era Custom 100 and it is incredible. I've played through a couple of Custom 50's as well and they are really nice too


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## caaustin02 (Nov 1, 2007)

The best way I can describe the sound is big and full. But if a lot of power tube overdrive for hard rock is your thing, this ain't the best amp - the monster is loud (the DR103 anyway)
I like the fact that you can dial in a sound with the brill and normal pre-amp volumes, and the master volume is not like most master volumes. The tone doesn't really change with the varying the gain (volume) of the master, as long as you like clean. At a certain point however, depending on the settings for the preamp volumes you can get a little bit of power tube dirt in the tone - key word being little.
Anybody have other setups and sounds for the DR103 or DR504 that they wouldn't mind sharing??


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

faracaster said:


> I hear you got the matching head to the cab I sold you.
> Now I know why you are saying that.......I was saying it too. That amp is like GOD came and threw his/her hand into the mix. I LOVED that amp.
> 
> Cheers
> Pete


haha, yes, I am over the friggin MOON right now....this thing really is the tits with a les paul

thx Soldano :banana:


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## Archer (Aug 29, 2006)

I had an early 70's Hiwatt Custom 100 years ago. Cool amp but WAY loud.

I now have a Harry Joyce Custom 30.....beautiful sounding amp.

http://harry-joyce.com/index.htm









look at that wiring....it is like art


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

nice! is that with EL84 tubes?


here are some chassis shots: similar, but grungier with age


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

action pic:











stuck a mic in front of it, recorded a short clip while trying to figure out this ACDC tune:



http://www.myspace.com/galactagog


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## moonlington (Jul 3, 2008)

that is so hot.


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

Hiwatts are awsome... those Fane speakers rule too!


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## Nemo (Oct 18, 2007)

*... and they take names!!!*

Very clean looking interior.

Try jumpering the Normal and Brilliant channels, it sounds even better!

N.


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## caaustin02 (Nov 1, 2007)

KHINGPYNN said:


> Hiwatts are awsome... those Fane speakers rule too!


The cab does make a difference.
I was playing through a Marshall 4x10 and made the switch to an se4123 later, and it was quite a difference.
Heavy as hell, but such a nice sound.
Fanes do sound awsome in that setup.


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## Vox71 (Mar 25, 2008)

I agree with Hiwatts kicking butt. I just recently sold my 1970 DR-504 4-input head and cabinet. It was such a sweet sounding amp, but, unfortunately just a little too loud and bulky to transport around. The new Hiwatts are way overpriced, and don't sound nearly as nice as the older ones.


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## Soldano16 (Sep 14, 2006)

bolero said:


> thx Soldano :banana:


Most welcome.:food-smiley-004:


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## rwe333 (Feb 18, 2006)

Very likely my fave amps of ever...


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

oops, cleared out the pics by accident...here ya go:


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## sproul07 (Jun 23, 2007)

Hey I've been offered a '77 DR103 the 2 input version. What are people's thoughts on the 2 input versions? Do they still stay nice and clean like the 4 holers?


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## Groupx (Oct 18, 2006)

I have an early eighties 1x12 combo and it has the same loud and full tone as the earlier ones. It is PCB not point to point - don't know if that makes a difference to you.


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

I had a 2-holer & didn't like it at all...sold it to buy this 4-holer

it had a thin & anemic clean sound, the distortion was ratty and, for lack of a better term, it sounded like the amp was being starved. had a tech check the bias & everything too


but it had the "canadian mod" the importer did to them all. you could probably undo it, all the rest of the parts are the same. I was going to "fix" mine, but didn't need 2 of those amps!!


the 4 input model I have sounds glorious...anything from big cleans, to warm JTM45-ish blues to "Live at Leeds", it's there in spades


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## sliberty (May 17, 2008)

The early to mid 70's Hylite era 4 holers are the real deal. I have a 73 Custom 100 that kills birds flying over my house. The powerful clean punch of a HiWatt is so amazing that you don't even need distortion (One reason distortion became popular because it was the easiest way to get sustain and feedback, but good HiWatts do taht clean!).

But if you insist on a crunchy tone, get a nice clean boost pedal, like a SHO or an LPB1 or build yourself an AMZ MOSFET Booster. When it hits the first stage really hard, the amp gots very crunchy in a beautiful way.

My preference has always been to use my HiWatt with a Marshall cab. They sound great with Celestions. Just be careful. A 100 watt HiWatt can easily blow a quad of 25 watt Greenbacks - I speak from experience.


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## keefsdad (Feb 7, 2006)

I had a 100 watt head about 20 yrs ago. Great amp, but even back in those days of excess it was a bit too much amp. I was always trying to tame it. Great for stadiums, I'm sure:rockon2:


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

Scottone said:


> Still kicking myself for not buying one when they were cheap. A few years ago, nobody wanted them.
> 
> An old bandmate of mine has a Hylight era Custom 100 and it is incredible. I've played through a couple of Custom 50's as well and they are really nice too


I feel your pain. A guy offered me his old 70s 50 W Hiwatt head in the 80s for $50. He was trading up and getting a Marshall with mosfets "instead of this old valve amp crap"  
I was flat broke and couldn't afford it 
Wanted that amp.


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

$50????



damn....I woulda started collecting beer bottles


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