Hiwatt Amps

[Pandemonium]

Re: Hiwatt Amps

Hiwatts are great for guys that like to get their distortion with pedals. With the right pedalboard setup you'll have lots of flexibility.

[flank]

Re: Hiwatt Amps

right on man....im glad you like yours.......i recently got my old DR103 and im not diggin it anymore, i just dont get along with it.... tradin it for a 73 super lead tho, so im happy anyways

[Duncan]

Re: Hiwatt Amps

O.K. fellas.....I did the deal! So I'm now the proud owner of a 1982 Hiwatt Custom 50 DR504 AND a 1988 Marshall JCM800 2204 !

Let's just say I now have a Weber MASS on order & leave it at that!!!!

DIOS MIA....THIS THING IS LOUD!!!

I picked up the Hiwatt on Tuesday & man is this one smooooooth amp! It seems to stay clean for days, but has a nice growl to it when pushed. All original in really nice condition; minor dings on the corners....it has 4 Mullard ECC83 & 2 big a$$ GT 6CA7s in it. At the moment, I see no need to change that!

Congrats on the score. The Hiwatt is a great amp, particularly for cleanish tones with depth and punch (there is a reason you see a lot of pics of guys in the 70's with a Marshall and a Hiwatt head - they tended to A/B them with the Marshall for dirty and the Hiwatt for 'clean' tones...

You've got the perfect combo IMHO, a/b switch them, stick a good OD/boost and wah in the chain, and you can pretty much cover every base you could want (well, I could want anyway....). I'd love a hiwatt, but they are rare as rocking horse **** in Australia. There is a Sound City head on ebay in Australia at the moment, buit I don't know enough about them, their link to hiwatt or build construction to make a call on it....

[flank]

Re: Hiwatt Amps

sound city came before hiwatt, they are similar amps, just as loud as hiwatts, but perhaps not quite as much texture and depth.....and Sound citys were built to the same military specs as hiwatts, so they are very dependable.....the reason Dan Reeves left Sound City to start Hiwatt? i do not know...

http://vintageamps.com/PlexiPalaceUBBcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=9

check that out for some info

[Duncan]

Re: Hiwatt Amps

sound city came before hiwatt, they are similar amps, just as loud as hiwatts, but perhaps not quite as much texture and depth.....and Sound citys were built to the same military specs as hiwatts, so they are very dependable.....the reason Dan Reeves left Sound City to start Hiwatt? i do not know...

http://vintageamps.com/PlexiPalaceUBBcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=9

check that out for some info

Thanks for that. I knew there was a link between them, but didn't know the exact nature of the link. Worth having a look at then??

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Hiwatt Amps

Sound City amps break down... I know, I had one. A 200w monstrosity

Congrats on the DR504, that's my favorite Hiwatt amp, I prefer the early 70 ones, of course they're more expensive. You're amp is a bit dirtier, but maybe that's not such a bad thing... the breakup on Hiwatts are an amazing thing, to get it earlier is even better I wanted one after Pearl Jam used them (Eddie Vedder still uses his DR504).

Great platform for distortion pedals and you have a wonderful amp that is different than a lot of other people's stuff to create your own sound!

[kevlar3000]

Re: Hiwatt Amps

Very nice score, I would have made that trade as well. At some point I will add a Hiwatt to the collection, I really want the different voice. All my heads are Slightly different takes on the Plexi sound. The only decent Sound City to shoot for is the L100 which is very close to the Hiwatt we know. The 50 watter and 120 watter there own set of goofy quirks and sounds.

You gotta post some clips!

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: Hiwatt Amps

Congrats on the score. The Hiwatt is a great amp, particularly for cleanish tones with depth and punch (there is a reason you see a lot of pics of guys in the 70's with a Marshall and a Hiwatt head - they tended to A/B them with the Marshall for dirty and the Hiwatt for 'clean' tones...

You've got the perfect combo IMHO, a/b switch them, stick a good OD/boost and wah in the chain, and you can pretty much cover every base you could want (well, I could want anyway....). I'd love a hiwatt, but they are rare as rocking horse **** in Australia. There is a Sound City head on ebay in Australia at the moment, buit I don't know enough about them, their link to hiwatt or build construction to make a call on it....

Thanks man...I guess it worked out that most of the music I play is 70s rock & the tone just struck me when I played it. I had planned on just sticking my Vox wah & Mesa Boogie Bottle Rocket in front...nice to see someone else thinking that way.

And Chris & Kevlar: Sounding different is what really drew me to it too. It's one of those lush cleans that I could never put my finger on when hearing a song.

So far, I'm quite pleased. Aside from it showing every little mistake I make!!!

[Hoss]

Re: Hiwatt Amps

WoW!!!

now that sounds like a trade and a half!!!

now go make someones ears bleed!!! LOL!!!


and of course...

NEW STUFF ROCKS!!!

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: Hiwatt Amps

Been playing most of the afternoon.

All I'm gonna say is: Tele into both inputs via a Y-splitter, amp into the open-back Marshall 2x12.....AMAZING!!!

Best move I've made since putting Duncans in the LP !!!!


Bring on that Marshall!!!!!

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Hiwatt Amps

How is that Mesa Bottlerocket pedal? Does it kick up the gain nicely on the Hiwatt?
I was at the Mesa store last week and they were pushing some other pedal, not made by Boogie...the Valveboy.

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: Hiwatt Amps

I haven't thrown it in the mix yet. I've just been playing it clean trying to find the "right" spot!

On the Tech21, it was a little harsh without the EQ...I'd like to just go wah->Bottle Rocket->A/B->amp...if not, I'll throw the EQ in too.


BTW...went to GC today for a few new cables........they had a used Matchless Chieftain in there, $2699.00!!!

You'll be glad to know I didn't touch it!!!

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Hiwatt Amps

If I saw a Matchless Chieftain, I'd be running to play it myself. You're a smart, smart man

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: Hiwatt Amps

Man, I just stood there drooling!!! The GC guy must've smelled blood 'cause he ran right over to "help"...I let out the big sigh, "Nope....just looking!". I knew if I touched it, bad bad things might've happened!!!

Besides, I've got bigger fish to try!!!