# Hiwatt amps



## LaRSin (Nov 27, 2006)

I may have a chance to pick up a Hiwatt 100 Custom Head , And wondered what you think of them , I never see anyone with them on here , Any thoughts ?? kkjq


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## bbigsby (Mar 23, 2009)

I had a love affair with Hiwatt once. I seeked to aquire the same setup as Pete Townsend. At one point in my little appartment I had 1 Salt and Peppar 4x12, 1 black grill 4x12, 1 custom 100 2 input, 1 custom100 4 input and a custom 50. As much as I idolized Pete Townsend I found I liked Marshalls better.

Great amp and all 3 heads had slightly different personalities. Clean and crunchy is a great characteristic of Hiwatt, but I tend to like the Marshall sound more.

If you like the sound of Jet you may want to buy a Hiwatt, if you like ACDC stick with Marshall.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

I have an '81 Custom 50. There are a few different eras of Hiwatts:


'68 - '81 = Dave Reeves/Hylight ....went to PCB in about '78
'81 Reeves passed away, the company became Biacrown. Essentially a continuation of the later Hylight production
Several failures and renewals thereafter

Around the same time they went from PTP to PCB, the 50's (I am not sure about the 100's) went from 4 input to 2 input. Both PTP and 4 input are somewhat more desireable than PCB/2 hole.

Again, not sure about the 100's, but on the 50's the Canadian distributor in the 70's and 80's was doing a mod to add more gain to the bright channel. A 50 W Hiwatt is extremely loud. A 100 watter can go well beyond ridiculous :banana:

My '81 is PCB, 2 holes, and I'm pretty sure has the gain mod as this thing is a monster with the pre on the bright channel above noon. Also, although it is VERY bright, there is a boost of gain in about the last 10% of the top end of the presence knob. The normal channel is clean well up the dial, tons of headroom. The channels are NOT switchable, even with an AB/Y box. On the 4 holers, the channels can be jumpered to get interactivity of the volume and tone and gain pots and might be switchable via an AB/Y.

Here's the site that is probably the best with respect to the history of Hiwatt http://mhuss.com/Hiwatt/index.html There's a page on there where you can date them by serial number range.

Here's a gut shot of mine (this is before the tech cleaned it up, but shows what the PCB circuit looks like in a 50)









And the manufacturer/serial plate will look something like this. By the way, the little orange sticker lower right is Ontario Hydro's certification. I don't know the full story there, but know it's not uncommon to see.:









I forgot to answer the question. I LOVE mine, from the day I got it it's been #1 in the stable. I also own Fenders, a Marshall, and 3 Voxes.


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## LowWatt (Jun 27, 2007)

handwired 2 holers were made a little longer actually. I had a '79 2-hole Hiwatt 100w combo (that I still regret selling...so much!!!) that was handwired and signed by Harry Joyce.

I'll take a Hiwatt over a Marshall any day, but it really is a personal preference thing. Hiwatts have got big and bold down better than marshall, but Marshalls definitely have badassed growl down over the Hiwatt.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Actually, I read that you should be able to use an AB/Y to change channels on a 2 holer. I can tell you that I have tried unsuccessfully.


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## LaRSin (Nov 27, 2006)

if the deal goes through , I post more info on it , Any info would be good ...
Thx LarSin..


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

Hiwatts are great amps...built like tanks, with that big strident sound


you can get the killer live at leads sound with them cranked, or use FX like gilmour for a very versatile cleaner sound....although pete used a fuzz too


whenever I hear that fantastic descending chord prog @the end of SHEEP by Pink Floyd, I can visualize a blasting stack in a stadium belting it out!!


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## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Have tried the newer High Gain Head and it was amazing, to bad no one uses it..such different tone but in a great way.


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## LaRSin (Nov 27, 2006)

*Here's a pick*

the inside scope


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## LaRSin (Nov 27, 2006)

*more pic's*

this before 










After


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## LaRSin (Nov 27, 2006)

got it working , But it's going to need new tubes..That's where I'm going to need help from here., What to put in there and if anybody knows a good amp Tech here in Toronto or the Durham area, 

It looks like the original Mullards in there now and are still working ..But I couldn't afford to get them, If you can find them..

It took a lot of cleanup and more to come ..Just hope it's not going to be a money pit..But I do like projects :smilie_flagge17:


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## Greg Ellis (Oct 1, 2007)

keto said:


> Actually, I read that you should be able to use an AB/Y to change channels on a 2 holer. I can tell you that I have tried unsuccessfully.


What happened when you tried?

One channel just wouldn't produce any sound?

I wonder if they're sensing the jack insert and disabling the second channel.


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## LowWatt (Jun 27, 2007)

LaRSin said:


> got it working , But it's going to need new tubes..That's where I'm going to need help from here., What to put in there and if anybody knows a good amp Tech here in Toronto or the Durham area,
> 
> It looks like the original Mullards in there now and are still working ..But I couldn't afford to get them, If you can find them..
> 
> It took a lot of cleanup and more to come ..Just hope it's not going to be a money pit..But I do like projects :smilie_flagge17:


For a good amp tech in Toronto, I always recommend Tim Dudley. He was the amp tech for Song Bird Music for the longest time and now he works with ex-Song Bird Guitar tech Zak Hanna on Dundas at Dovercourt. www.superfuzzaudio.com quality work, experienced techs, fast turnaround, and great prices. Really hard to top those guys.


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