bolero Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big bob Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I have a pre Hiwatt sound city, great amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steiner Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbp810 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I'd love a CP103 and/or DR103 ala Pete - every now and then I keep my eyes peeled for a Sound City too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdelaney72 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I've always wanted to try one..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbp810 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCovach Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdelaney72 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbp810 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 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) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 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." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCovach Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdelaney72 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdelaney72 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdelaney72 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted December 15, 2011 Author Share Posted December 15, 2011 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big bob Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big bob Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Got transformers.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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