any HIWATT love here?

[bolero]

anyone here using a HIWATT with their Heritage?

 

such great amps but I don't think I've seen them mentioned much here..

 

 

I've had a couple: one was an '81 DR504 halfstack with G12-65's & the other a '72 DR504 halfstack with old Fanes

 

 

fantastic sounding amps with that brash sound & glorious cleans...the '72 had better cleans than the '81, but the '81 got more distortion at lower volumes, which was sorta useful

 

 

one of my favourite HIWATT recordings is the descending "keerang-ing" chords Gilmour plays at the end of "dogs"

 

that & "live at leeds" by The Who

 

 

HIWATT = best ever name for an amp, IMO

[big bob]

I have a pre Hiwatt sound city, great amp.

[Steiner]

Never got to play one but I'd love to investigate the brand. Any circuits that can appease Pete for so many years is worth a look.

[kbp810]

I'd love a CP103 and/or DR103 ala Pete - every now and then I keep my eyes peeled for a Sound City too.

[wdelaney72]

I've always wanted to try one.....

[bolero]

woah Bob, that sound city is a beast...6 EL34 power tubes??

 

is it a bass or PA head? can't imagine needing that for guitar lol

 

wdelaney: apparently Jimmy Page used one extensively fairly early on, that has a bit of a unique circuit.....that was a hot amp for the modders a while back

 

from Mark Huss' amazing webpage

 

http://hiwatt.org/tech2.html

 

schem link:

 

http://hiwatt.org/Schematics/DR_Pre2InputJP.gif

[bolero]

actually here is my old amp, it was a '78 oops....it's now in Japan somewhere:

 

 

more chassis etc pics at the bottom of this page:

 

http://hiwatt.org/ipage.php?n=2

[kbp810]

I've often teetered on the edge of building a clone of one... but it's one of the few amps that I might actually be more interested in the novelty of ownership more so than the tone potential (or at least "as interested"; I would fully expect it to sound awesome as well, of course); which leads me to seeking out an original.

[bolero]

I can't read schematics very well, KPB do you see anything special in that Page Hiwatt link? what exactly does the footswitch do? bleeds some signal to ground?

 

just for kicks I might record a clip of the '72 halfstack....I'm sure my neighbors will love me after that!

[JohnCovach]

actually here is my old amp, it was a '78 oops....it's now in Japan somewhere:

 

 

more chassis etc pics at the bottom of this page:

 

http://hiwatt.org/ipage.php?n=2

 

I've got one of these that I've had recapped (also removed the added distortion stage that some of these had). I use a Y chord to jumper the channels and run it through a Reeves 4 x 12 cab with the purple faux-Fane speakers. These are fantastic amps, but you'll have to get most of your distortion from stompboxes. There are great with pedals.

[wdelaney72]

woah Bob, that sound city is a beast...6 EL34 power tubes??

 

is it a bass or PA head? can't imagine needing that for guitar lol

 

wdelaney: apparently Jimmy Page used one extensively fairly early on, that has a bit of a unique circuit.....that was a hot amp for the modders a while back

 

from Mark Huss' amazing webpage

 

http://hiwatt.org/tech2.html

 

schem link:

 

http://hiwatt.org/Sc...Pre2InputJP.gif

 

I'm familiar at a high level with the Jimmy Page HiWatt story. I'll have to find the link, but there was a a guy on the Metroamp forum years ago that claimed to have all the info on the Page modded HiWatt. I think he started offering to build it for people, but there was some communication problems and some people weren't happy....not sure how true it was.

 

Page isn't what I'm after, so if I were to go and build a HiWatt, I'd start with a sstock DR103. Biggest thing are the Partridge spec transformers. Not sure if those are available. Having the proper Output transformer is the biggest factor in a replica...you got that, you can build it.

[kbp810]

I know Heyboer makes a nifty partridge look-a-like transformer - Mojotone sells them; I've never checked into building one, so not sure what's out there - I just recall seeing those so it came to mind.

 

I can't read schematics very well, KPB do you see anything special in that Page Hiwatt link? what exactly does the footswitch do? bleeds some signal to ground?

Not sure which one you are referring to? (I took a peek through the links you posted and wasn't sure which one you were talking about)

[bolero]

oh there is a direct link to .gif of the Page Hiwatt preamp...here it is again:

 

http://hiwatt.org/Sc...Pre2InputJP.gif

 

 

here is an old LPF thread where Ed A talks about getting one built ( hope it's ok to link another forum here? )

 

http://www.lespaulfo...ad.php?t=140152

 

as far as transformers, the best marshall replica's I've ever heard are made by Chris Merren at Merrin Audio...he makes incredible stuff & from what I hear other mfrs have bought his, pulled them apart to improve their designs

 

 

http://www.merrenaudio.com/

 

I bet he could make a spot on Partidge repro

 

*edit*

 

well here ya go...he already makes one..at the bottom of the marshall OT page

 

"

Reproduction of TG7549 Partridge 100W Output Transformer used in HiWatt DR103 amplifiers.

Primary Plate Load impedance: 1.75K Ohms

Secondary terminations: 4, 8, 16 Ohms

This output is wound in the same winding geometry and tradition Partidge made famous.

This is the only reproduction of this transfomer to be using the more costly correct grain oriented core material, responsible for the strong, explosive low frequency response expected from a Hiwatt amp."

[JohnCovach]

If you want the classic Hiwatt amp, have a look at the Reeves stuff. It's expensive but most folks think that's as close as you can get without having one built or restoring a vintage piece.

[wdelaney72]

oh there is a direct link to .gif of the Page Hiwatt preamp...here it is again:

 

http://hiwatt.org/Sc...Pre2InputJP.gif

 

 

here is an old LPF thread where Ed A talks about getting one built ( hope it's ok to link another forum here? )

 

http://www.lespaulfo...ad.php?t=140152

 

as far as transformers, the best marshall replica's I've ever heard are made by Chris Merren at Merrin Audio...he makes incredible stuff & from what I hear other mfrs have bought his, pulled them apart to improve their designs

 

 

http://www.merrenaudio.com/

 

I bet he could make a spot on Partidge repro

 

*edit*

 

well here ya go...he already makes one..at the bottom of the marshall OT page

 

"

Reproduction of TG7549 Partridge 100W Output Transformer used in HiWatt DR103 amplifiers.

Primary Plate Load impedance: 1.75K Ohms

Secondary terminations: 4, 8, 16 Ohms

This output is wound in the same winding geometry and tradition Partidge made famous.

This is the only reproduction of this transfomer to be using the more costly correct grain oriented core material, responsible for the strong, explosive low frequency response expected from a Hiwatt amp."

 

Taking nothing away from Chris Merren's tranny's...many have found his stuff to be top notch quality. I stand behind Brian Wallace (MARSTRAN) as the king of iron. Brian is IMO the best period.

 

I've never dealt with Merren, but he was feeding some highly false EVH spec data a while back and unrealate, he crossed George at MetroAmp to the point where he blocked him out of the MetroAmp forums. I've met George and done business with him for years, and if you pissed him off, there's something wrong, cause he's as tolerant, easy-going, and honest as they come.

 

Heyboer does a great job if you give them the correct details....I have no problem with them offering a relica transformer, I just would want to verify who spec'd it out for them and off of which transformer.

[bolero]

the metro issue was due to i guess to what you could call intellectual property, people were reverse engineering his stuff and he got annoyed

 

Chris was building transformers YEARS before any of these guys got the clone businesses going

 

back when Louis Electric was still building his own speakers from scratch Chris was making him transformers

 

anyway don't want to drag any of that out as I'm just a bystander

[wdelaney72]

MetroAmp thread

http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=16257&start=75

 

His name was Eric Hand...aka Myopic Void. I never tried to buy one of his amps, but my dealing with him on the Metro forum was always positive. Hell of a player and always pleasant to talk details. Someone had a disagreement with him, but I'd find it hard to believe he'd be taking people for a ride.

[wdelaney72]

Yeah...like I said, everyone always spoke positively about the quality of Chris's work. I'm sure his tranny's are good. I've just always felt most comfortable with Brian Wallace. He's as detailed as they come, he's a great guy, his prices are reasonable, and he always answers questions.

 

Correct, though...Chris has been doing this FOREVER...well before the others.

[bolero]

hey no sweat....wow this thread sure has got interesting!!

 

agree with John on the REEVES amps, also HARRY JOYCE makes them too, he was involved with the originals

 

 

but for the price I think you can get a real vintage HIWATT for less than a "new" one...last time I looked?

[big bob]

woah Bob, that sound city is a beast...6 EL34 power tubes??

 

is it a bass or PA head? can't imagine needing that for guitar lol

 

wdelaney: apparently Jimmy Page used one extensively fairly early on, that has a bit of a unique circuit.....that was a hot amp for the modders a while back

 

from Mark Huss' amazing webpage

 

http://hiwatt.org/tech2.html

 

schem link:

 

http://hiwatt.org/Sc...Pre2InputJP.gif

It was made as a guitar amp. Has a great clean none... and lots of headroom... takes pedals really nice too.

[big bob]

Got transformers..