Hiwatt Amps

PUCKBOY99

PUCKBOY99

Irish Flagologist
Anyone familiar with these guys, namely a Hiwatt 50 DR504 ???

A guy wants to trade me his Hiwatt for my THD UniValve. The Hiwatt is in pristine condition....The UniValve is very nice & I'll probably get more use out of it than the Hiwatt, but they're a dime a dozen & can be had anytime/anywhere. The Hiwatt is an '82-83 model & would seem to me to be a better "investment" ....

So, I guess my question is: How do they compare with Marshalls in terms of sound AND for collecting/resale. It seems EVERYONE wants a Marshall, but you really don't hear a lot about Hiwatts.

And me just buying the Marshall !!!!! :smack: :)

OH YEAH, & it's an English made Biacrown version w/original Mullards all around!
 
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Re: Hiwatt Amps

well as long as its still made by biacrown, i would do it.......

as far as sound, hiwatts are known to say pretty clean unless you really crank them.... but my biacrown model gets pretty dirty (the later ones like the one your lookin at have more gain).......and hiwatts are frickin LOUD and MONSTEROUS.....i mean they will blow you backwards......... i know its kind of a cliche....but when you throw a les paul into a hiwatt and hit some big open chords, you feel like your pete townshend..lol
 
Re: Hiwatt Amps

GOOD LAWD, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME????!!!!! :wink:

The trade is on!!!! I'll get back to ya' Tuesday!

In the mean time, compare the Hiwatt 50 DR504 to the JCM 800 2204......
From what I understand, the Marshall is all out balls to the wall crunch, great for '80s metal while the Hiwatt is more classic rock, very smooth clean, but cranked it will kick the Marshall right in the nuts!!!! :butkick:


Am I right in thinking this???
 
Re: Hiwatt Amps

PUCKBOY99 said:
GOOD LAWD, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME????!!!!! :wink:

The trade is on!!!! I'll get back to ya' Tuesday!

In the mean time, compare the Hiwatt 50 DR504 to the JCM 800 2204......
From what I understand, the Marshall is all out balls to the wall crunch, great for '80s metal while the Hiwatt is more classic rock, very smooth clean, but cranked it will kick the Marshall right in the nuts!!!! :butkick:


Am I right in thinking this???
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say so...the Marshall sounds like a great guitarist wailing through a Marshall.

The HiWatt sounds like...Pete Townshend. :smack:

Lew
 
Re: Hiwatt Amps

hiwatts arent really for wailing as for rhythm work ala townshend....... marshalls have more sing and sustain and crunch........hiwatts have a deep growl and punch (mine has a TON of bass) and they are very responsive to your playing.....you cant really cover up any mistakes with the hiwatt....

your just gonna have to see for yourself.....each amp is differnt, its true, some hiwatts could kick the marshall in the nuts, and vice versa.....
 
Re: Hiwatt Amps

sgstrat said:
So, would sounding like "Live At Leeds" be a bad thing? :question:
Click to expand...

Of course not...

It's just that HiWatts don't sound like Marshalls and Marshalls are the amps most guys have in thier heads.

I know I do!

Beck, Hendrix, Clapton, EVH...

Lew
 
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!

And the nicest thing is it sits perfectly on my Marshall 2x12 cab. I made some open back panels for the cab & those Mojos seem pretty d@mn sweet that way!

SO....once I get that Marshall back, the garage is gonna be rockin' big time!!!! :beerchug:
 
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Re: Hiwatt Amps

I personally prefer the Marshall JCM800, Marshall has a pure testosterone enhanced "kick in the nuts" sound and I love it. If you have the option to have nice clean classic rock sounds, and off the wall Thrashing mayhem, your set for life. Good luck with the new amp!
 
Re: Hiwatt Amps

I'll send ya a set of earplugs! LOL Did you say you lived in a Townhouse?

That Hiwatt sounds like a real cool one, tho. Now, you'll just need to find a practice amp, since the Univalve is gone. Since that Hiwatt is huge and fat sounding, I'd HIGHLY recommend that your next purchase be a Vox Tonelab floorboard. Then you can use that as a nice low volume practice setup with your stacks at any volume from a whisper to armageddon.
 
Re: Hiwatt Amps

Gearjoneser said:
I'll send ya a set of earplugs! LOL Did you say you lived in a Townhouse?

That Hiwatt sounds like a real cool one, tho. Now, you'll just need to find a practice amp, since the Univalve is gone. Since that Hiwatt is huge and fat sounding, I'd HIGHLY recommend that your next purchase be a Vox Tonelab floorboard. Then you can use that as a nice low volume practice setup with your stacks at any volume from a whisper to armageddon.
Click to expand...


AAAHHHHH, BUT I STILL HAVE MY TECH21 STUFF!!!! :)

Tell me about the Tonelab....and no, I'm not in a townhouse. Single family home w/a nice sized garage that we've done up as a game room/bar kinda setting.
 
Re: Hiwatt Amps

Congrats man and its as well as you stepped in and got that amp, because it has killer tones and also the original valves as well?

The great thing about Hiwatts is that they do stay clean and have unbelievable headroom - it will break up a little bit later than you would expect but man it will sing. I loved them way back in the late 70's and also used to have them wired up to my Marshalls (those were the days) for the fattest sound you could ever imagine.

BTW Dave Gilmour uses them as well and he actually bought my one when I sold mine.
 
Re: Hiwatt Amps

Norman_T said:
Congrats man and its as well as you stepped in and got that amp, because it has killer tones and also the original valves as well?

The great thing about Hiwatts is that they do stay clean and have unbelievable headroom - it will break up a little bit later than you would expect but man it will sing. I loved them way back in the late 70's and also used to have them wired up to my Marshalls (those were the days) for the fattest sound you could ever imagine.

BTW Dave Gilmour uses them as well and he actually bought my one when I sold mine.
Click to expand...

NORMAN MET DAVID GILMOUR??? YOU'RE MY HERO!!! :)

I'm really diggin' the tone on this thing...amazing at how long it stays clean but with a fullness. I have a Y-cable going into both inputs right now & it's GREAT !

What I plan to do is: guitar->effects->A/B box->A out to Hiwatt/B out to Marshall->amps out to the MASS via a Y-splitter->MASS outs to cabs. Use the A/B box for switching from clean to dirt (Hiwatt to Marshall) separately, not simultaneously.

I ran it by Ted Weber to see if that would be O.K. with the MASS & he said it would be perfect (as long as they aren't run simultaneously!). Should sound amazing!

But back to the cleans....how come you always here about Fenders cleans but never Hiwatts? Honestly, I'm new to tube amps. I've heard of Hiwatt but never played one & never really "heard" one in person. Fender is a nice fat sound & sounds great w/some reverb, but this thing sounds amazing clean AND gets a good bite for dirt...very nice break-up BUT SUPER LOUD!

Hopefully the MASS will help me saturate the hell out of both amps. I also got a couple of Yellow Jackets off the guy & he said the Vox-like vibe is definitely there...haven't tried that yet myself, still diggin' it the way it is!!!

To quote my Bud Hoss: "NEW STUFF ROCKS!!!! :headbang: :beerchug:
 
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.
 
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
 
Re: Hiwatt Amps

PUCKBOY99 said:
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!
Click to expand...

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....
 
Re: Hiwatt Amps

flank said:
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
Click to expand...

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??
 
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