AMPS IN THE ZONE #8 HIWATT DR103 PETE CORNISH MOD
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ต.ค. 2024
- The legendary Hiwatt DR103, and this one's been modded to be just like David Gilmour's amps, with the inputs tied together... Owned and operated by John Shanks (Bon Jovi)
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![One of the Best Amps in the Helix - HiWatt DR103 [Dave Gilmour's Amp]](/img/n.gif)
Finally! HIWATT!!! No other amp on the planet sounds like a HIWATT! Not just Townshend and Gilmour, but Tommy Bolin as well among a myriad of others.
@KKMcK1 so you listen much to the late great Thomas Richard Bolin I have so much of Tommy's music on the Mount Rushmore of musicians for sure he did so much in his life so many great albums he played on I didn't discover Tommy until I learned he was a huge influence on the still great Jake E Lee around 1984 I will always listen to Tommy Bolin until I die
Lifeson started using Hiwatts around 1978 - which was when they first toured in the UK. He always had Marshalls before then, at least live (there's a lot of rented Fenders on the early Rush albums, and for A Farewell to Kings, he used HH solid state amps). I'm pretty sure he got them while they were there. He met Pete Cornish there as well; Pete would design and build his rigs from then until the mid-80s.
Hemispheres and Permanent Waves are all Hiwatt, pretty much. For Moving Pictures and Signals, he added the Marshall Club & Country combo amps, which have a very unique sound when distorted ("Limelight" is a good representation of that tone). He decided to ditch the Hiwatts after the Signals tour. His gear was always changing and evolving, as was his playing style. Not many players went from playing 335s with a few pedals and an Echoplex into Marshalls, to playing funky Strat-style guitars with active pickups and Floyds into solid state Gallien-Krueger amps with a huge rack of stereo effects within the span of 10 years.
I’m a huge Rush fan so thank you for bringing up Alex Lifeson. He’s been a super huge influence on me and his Hemispheres tone is my favorite. I’m considering getting a hiwatt because of Alex
@@braden2112 He's been a huge influence on me as well...just look at my avatar!
You may also want to get an MXR Distortion+, or a similar type of pedal. I believe he used one of those during that period, at least for leads.
@@kalebaldwin5398 I’ve always been chasing the chorus sound he had on hemispheres? Do you know what chorus it was? I’ve got some sources saying it was a Boss CE-1
@@braden2112 it was either the CE-1 or the chorus effect from a Roland Space Echo. I can’t remember which, but I know he used both around that time.
@@ProfVonW I always heard about the Space Echo. Can it also be used as a chorus unit? That chorus is just something else on that album.
Recently got into Hiwatts. One thing that I noticed is how extremely sensitive they are with differences in input - a volume knob or pedal provides much more input than with other amps. Also the Fane speakers are a big part of that sound and are more sensitive and harder to break up ... they just sound tough. I like to say that Hiwatt/Fane combos are like an old Pontiac big block V8 - tons of torque and will just slap the crap out of you but also a bit quirky. Love my Hiwatt but also ordered and waiting for my Hi-Tone to arrive. Great stuff, thank you!
It has a high headroom preamp that can take a lot of input. That's why Gilmour used them, and Rick Wright as well. The preamp gain design was to make them versatile for any instrument. Organs, electric pianos, ect... The clipping stages were deliberately engineered to sound good because clipping is an almost unavoidable thing, not so much because guitarists wanted overdrive. Distortion was just starting to become trendy at that time. It was the first master volume amp, long before Fender, Marshall and Boogie. Way ahead of its time.
Just acquired a Reeves Custom 50 PS. My first Hiwatt style amp, so still getting acquainted with it. Torque” is a great description of this circuit. I’ll add to that “chime” and “immediacy”. When the amp is overdriving considerably, it still has this cleanish undertone. Lots of depth to the sound. My favorite amp I’ve ever had so far, and I’m mostly a tweed guy.
I still have my 1973 DR103. The loudest amp I ever played through. To play clubs, I'd have to face my 4x12 backwards and throw a sleeping bag over the speakers. Sound guys hated it, and they'd tell me to get a new amp. Plenty of stage volume to get over the loudest drummer, for sure. I dusted it off 10 years later to use as clean power for my ADA MP-1. Now, I'm using it as a bass amp. It hasn't needed service in decades. I love the sounds Pete got out of the amp. I'll have to plug a BE-OD and CC Hybrid Fuzz into my Hiwatt just for kicks.
I had the same experience, had a 74 I used with a Marshall 4x12 and I can't blame anyone for hating me bringing into small clubs and bars, I hated dragging it around too and got a 79 SA112 combo to use and kept the big boy at home. Sold them both in the early 2000's and sad I did, paid $800/900 for them which would never happen today
@@MrKevbo82 Yeah, I'm glad I hung onto mine, even though there was a time I was tempted to sell it. If I were to buy one today, I'd definitely check out a Hylight Custom 50 VR504. They are supposed to stay pretty true to the Dave Reeves circuitry.
how did the be of test go? I would love to hear that.. I currently have a crappy hiwatt t40 combo with a be od in front and that thing (the amp) si BRIGHT.
Pete, thank you for mentioning Alex Lifeson. He’s one of my favorite all time guitarist. Alex mainly used Marshall’s from when he was renting a Marshall 50 watt that he later bought and we first heard it on their debut album in 1974 and he was using them all the way up to to 1977 on the A Farewell To Kings tour and afterwards he started using Hiwatts from Hemispheres all the way until Signals and afterwards he was experimenting with different amps. The Hemispheres tone is my favorite of Alex’s guitar tone and it’s one of my favorite guitar tones of all time.
Pete’s tone on Live At Leeds is the best guitar tone I’ve ever heard. ❤️ The P-90s in his SG are key to that tone as well. Love that MacMull Tele in the intro.
Agreed. Check out the restored live at Hull too.
The 'Georgia Satellites' band used Hiwatt. You can really hear the tone of those amazing amps...I have a 1971 w/ matching cab...crystal clear tones.
I had a very talented guitar teacher early on. He was college trained jazz-boundary pushing technical, honestly first thought he was a bit snobby/pretentious. I remember asking about some Alex Lifeson techniques and he told me he was an ALIEN. "Always thought he'd hear him make a mistake as he had that hitchy-burst style of improvising and playing leads. And he NEVER made a mistake...EVER!" and my teacher (Kevin) went on to say he was a very complicated player whom was comfortable with his abilities and authentic style. This video brings up old memories, feels good. I remember the local disc jockey always preceded playing a RUSH song "With talent on loan from God, here's (insert song here)-RUSH" Watching this made my day. 🤘🤘 Thanks Pete
Man, this was great to hear about Townsend, Gilmour, and Lifeson. Your interpretations of their rigs (setup) is intriguing. Thank you so much for sharing.
Great stuff as usual! I've got a HIWATT CP-504 (the 50-watt version of the CP-103) and it sounds glorious. It does have a similar tone to the "DR" amp, but it also has a wonderful top end chime -- kind of makes me think their is some Vox-like mojo in there as well. I only use input 1, as Pete did.
Cheers Pete great vid. I've had my 1972 dr103 for 35 years I've lost count how many gigs with various bands we have done together and it never lets me down. (Apart from the time the 4 screws that hold the chassis in the case had vibrated loose and the guts fell out in the van and smashed all the tubes check your screws kids) Great as a Bass amp too .
I wouldn’t object to an “Amps in the Zone” with a Marshall Major.
Just saying… 😇
A Marshall major or the sound of a jet engine, whatevers easiest to capture 😎
Pete’s neighbours might object
Do it outside!
Good enough for Ronson!!
I second this ^^^
Totally love this series Pete, also big huge ass kudo’s on the hot for teacher Mitch Malloy video. That was KILLER dude!! Rock on!
Everyone seems to forget Foghat,they used Hiwatts extensively and they got a killer sound out of them.One of the best bands ever!!(the original line up)They always nailed it live.
Roger Earl. Amazing drummer. Very cool guy.
Rod Price may be one of the most underrated slide players ever !
@@miker9184 Amen to that!!
The Hiwatt has always held a bit of mystique for me, I've never played one but love what I hear.
I make clones!
Awesome job, Pete! You really nailed those classic tones.
A friend had one of those Hiwatts , I opened it up and it's amazing how clean the wiring is .
Immaculate circuit layout with twine tying all the wires perfectly .
Awesome thanks for this Pete! I went down the Gilmour rabbit hole and bought everything and I mean everything lol. Even the Yamaha ra 100 rotating speaker. I was shooting for the Comfortably Numb outro solo tone. Never even came close. :) to be fair I’ve never heard anyone else come close either.
Sounds so good! Love Hiwatts, always a big Townsend, Lifeson, Bolin fan and had a Custom 50 and Lead 100 in the past. Nowdays I have a 100 watt D-style amp where the OD channel is based on a Hiwatt103 and either channel can lift the tonestack depending on what sound you want.
What about Gilmour? :(
The port on the Hiwatt cabinet removes a bit of britghness and at the same time, in a big room, gives it more bottom end. On a dead room the Hiwatt cabinet doesn't sound so good, and with the port "closed", there's not enough thump. It sure is a good sounding cabinet, but a bit diferent of the usual 4x12s we're used to!
Definitely hear that different "ah" vowel quality in the power section. So much different than say a Plexi. I've had the pleasure of playing the old DR103s. Still prefer a Plexi or AC-30, but they're awesome. You do need the cabinet. Great video Pete.
I sold other amps, lost a '72 Thinline - but kept the '73 HiWatt close.
We "re-formed" after not playing for 26 years and I dragged out the old Dr-504. I made a single closed box with a fane ascension in it. I used to play it through a big bass quad box on 5-7 with 100-2,000 people venues but now can't use it past about 1. I still love her at 50 but use stereo AC15's
Finally, The almighty Dr103. Please Pete, try out different drives/fuzzes and also time based effects with it. I've heard it is a great pedal platform. Can't wait!
Yup! Took both fuzzes I threw at it with ease, sounded great
@@PeteThorn Can't thank you enough man. Keep on rocking for another 50 years.
It is; I have one. Especially fuzzes.
Thank you Floyd
Tommy Bolin favored Hiwatts and used an Echoplex among other effects. The Lifeson bit sounds amazing! Thanks for the great video; keep 'em comin'.
Check out Tommy B's Wild Dogs, and also Wishbone Ash's Warrior for some classic HiWatt tone.
Instantly recognizable as a Hiwatt, it’s a unique sound.
The classic Hiwatt “kerrrrrrrrrrang”. Glorious
That amp has such a nice clear attack and cool saturation texture, so the drive is really pleasant to the ear. This is something I ever search for in my tone.
Over the years of watching Pete demo everything, I’m convinced if he demo’d an amp that sounded like rusty bed springs and used a wha pedal the burped on the up and farted on the way down and his volume knob sounded like that screaming goat he could compose a masterpiece with them. His ability to adapt to any tone and have the creativity to make a song that sounds like “oh, so that what piece of equipment should do/sound like” is mind bending.
Killer demo ! I have the Ceritone “Hey What ‘“ and it has the Cornish mod with the two channels internally linked . There is also an overdrive pot which appears to be somewhat unique . Mine is the
50w DR 504 clone and I was fortunate enough to have original Partridge transformers and Mullard tubes . . It’s perfectly paired with a 76 Original cab loaded with purple back Fanes .I have a video posted on my channel with it . Not the best quality sound but the overall,sound and tone comes across.
I used to own a ‘79 DR103. I wish I still had it. I sold it a long time ago. The cabinet had the Fane speakers too. It sounded amazing. Oh if I only knew then…
Best clean hi gain amp ever. Absolute best for pedals of all kinds .
Love this series . Would love someone to do this type of review for Scholtz- Rockman rack gear and early tech 21 pedals and pre-amps .
Always loved the effortless headroom and almost acoustic response of the Hiwatts😎
Pete, that was a very accurate representation of the subtleties of Dave Gilmore's technique!!! A lot of guys get the notes, but that was incredible with the vibrato and actual placement of the notes!! Very detailed!!.
@petethorn1 Hi Pete, I'm not sure what to do?
Awesome video!!! I love Townshend's playing. We ahould remember that Pete was also responsible for the Marshall stack. He went Jim Marshall and said make me an amp that's as loud as a ( i believe) fender Bassman. The result was a 100 watt head and a cabinet that had 8 twelves. Marshall cut the cab in half because the 8 12s was just to big to be sellable.
And then Entwistle goes to Sound City when Dave Reeves is there, and Pete follows and helps shape the future of the Hiwatt as well (you can clearly see the Sound City face plates on the heads he and John are using during "Quick One" on the Stones Circus.
The "result" then, when PT came to JIm M. , was 35 watt JTM 45 with 2 5881 tubes. The100watter came much later, a JTM45/100 with two output trannies
I’m fairly certain Lifeson’s Hiwatts were outfitted with the “Canadian Mod” which was performed by the Canadian distributor to overdrive the front end of the preamp. Lifeson’s tone on Hemispheres is phenomenal with a decent amount of overdrive as is the same on Permanent Waves. Lifeson did not use an overdrive pedal on those albums for his sound and I can only assume the overdrive came from the modded Hiwatts. Phenomenal tone on Hemispheres.
The Hemispheres tone has always been one of my holy grail tones. I think part of the magic of that tone was also the white 355.
I inherited my brother's DR103 after he stopped playing professionally. It had the Canadian mod, too. I personally didn't like it so I reversed the mod, bringing it back to original. I followed the instructions on Mike Huss' great website dedicated to Hiwatt gear. My 4x12 cab moves too much air for a home studio so I run it into an open-backed cab with a pair of Vintage 30's.
where did you read he used Hiwatt only in studio?
@@sega62s Did you use basically the same setup on Hemispheres?
All the same guitars, with the addition of a new Gibson ES-345 and a Roland GR-500 guitar synthesizer. I eventually gave the 345 to one of our road crew as a birthday gift and bought a black 78345 to replace it. For amps I used Hiwatt [21750 Main St., Matteson, IL 60443] tops and bottoms exclusively.
Alex’s response to the question in Guitar Player interview in 1980
Hey Pete! Coming back to this great video after 6 months, and I learned something you might find interesting: one of Gilmour's many lead tones, I gather primarily in the ANIMALS/THE WALL period, came from plugging straight into a Boogie Mark I (or just "a Boogie," as it would've been called then), diming both of the Boogie's gain controls, and then using its slave out straight into the front of a Hiwatt DR103. He essentially used a whole Boogie as a very sophisticated distortion pedal, and he got the Mesa's overdrive texture with the frequency response and feel he preferred from the Hiwatts. (This must've been apocalyptically loud, of course, since an original 100-watt Boogie and a DR103 can both shout down a 100-watt Plexi without breaking a sweat.) I don't know for sure where DG used that technique, but I'm *very* curious to learn if it was on the first guitar break in "Comfortably Numb," because that was my first instinct when I learned about all this ... and speaking as someone who's played a couple Teles into a lot of Mesa/Boogies, DG's really biting crunch sound on "Pigs" is another solid candidate.
I could definitely hear Pete's tone in there. Loved it!!!! I looked under chairs!!! I looked up under tables.....
Pete,this was a very useful demo video of your Hiwatt custom 100.
Super fun to see - thanks for checking it out Pete! I am lucky enough to have four Hiwatts myself, and I love them. I wish I could find even more :D
...Also, can I just say, kudos for getting our main Canadian guitar hero in there. That was righteous!
Thanks for the video Pete! Good info on Hiwatts. Great job on the guitar playing and expaining this amp! I liked the way the chorus pedal sounded with this amp too.
I used Hiwatt as a pedal platform. It is greaat for that purpose, because it has some unique flavour of clean and very loud. And it is great for metal as a pedal platform.
the Hiwatt and the Vox AC are perhaps the best examples of valve amps where playing open chords with distorted harmonics works and doesn't just sound like mud pushing you towards barre chords.
Thanks for the video Pete. After getting back into guitar after a 20+ year break, your videos really inspire me to keep at it.
At 8:10 that totally nails "The Seeker" tone.
That moment where the text comes up saying GREAT ROCK TONE! … wow, you ain’t kidding Pete
Pete, love this amp in the zone series within your channel.
All the classic sounds I've always loved! ❤️
Hiwatt + Tele + Alex Lifeson + "New World Man" = Killer tone and song!!!!
No idea how I missed this video. Hiwatts strike me as masterpieces of amplifier design, based on the rudimentary knowledge I have of amp design. It's also an incredibly honest amp. If you suck it will tell you pretty darn fast! Owning one cleaned up my playing tremendously! :D
That piece from Comfortably Numb solo always puts a smile on my face
Lawd Jesus!! That is a sweet sounding amp! I remember the first time I saw one at the old Boston Tea Party venue. I think I was drooling!!
That 'New World Man' tone was incredible. Great thorough review of this classic amp Pete! Thanks.
Wow some of my favourite tones there. Thank you Pete.
The CP-103 is basically the Hiwatt PA head, excepting 4 inputs (6 on the PA). The inputs were tied together inside, so we would often "dime" the multiple channels - like jumping channels on a Marshall.
I owned a 103 in the mid 90s. Sold it on before this stuff was sought after unfortunately, would be worth a fortune now. Mine was actually previously owned by Big Country guitarist Bruce Watson. It had the best clean headroom I've ever heard in an amp, great sound too & as you mentioned fantastic pedal platform, this is how I used it.
My 79 DR504 is my grail amp. Hiwatts are so unforgiving in the best possible way. Every little detail comes out of the amp. Crystal clear and fricitave, even when saturated. Brash, shimmering, roaring clang. I can tell they were the most hifi sounding amps of their time back in the day. Their harmonic structure is just... something else. I also completely agree about the speaker/cab combo! I feel it's a disservice to these amp heads to say that if it doesn't have the Fanes in the traditional cab that it ruins the sound. It sounds great through anything I've put it through so far, Fenders, Celestions, Eminences, nameless Ampeg speakers from the 70s, American, English, you name it.
Loud n clean, great platform for pedals - speaking of pedals, I am ULTRA ANXIOUS for that upcoming Sinvertek pedal demo, and it would be cool to show the comparison between the new 3D version and the old N5+. Mine is being built, I was invoiced for the Gold version two weeks ago/will take a few more weeks to ship, so I am stoked big time to hear your demo
That reissue Tele that Alex played on "New World Man" is his preferred guitar for songwriting. He's said in interviews that most Rush songs since 1982 have been written on that Tele, or at least the parts that he contributes.
interesting kale
I love my Hiwatt Custom "Little P". Great tone and no breakup whatsoever so is a great pedal platform.
Excellent video.. I’m going to try some of these settings on mine. Mine stays clean way up in volume!
Alex Lifeson rules ! throw in an Echoplex and you got that Anthem tone from Fly By Night that song crushes .... Nice Playing on Rush with the chorus tune !
If you ever think about sinking a couple of grand into an amp then a HiWatt should be first and last on your shopping list. I have one (similar to the one here with the linked input) with a HiWatt cab. It sounds simply epic. From almost zero on the master it is capable of causing serious internal injuries yet it retains a clarity that I've never heard in any other amp. The detail you get with these things is spectacular. If you truly want to hear a guitar plug it into a HiWatt. Everyone should have a go on one at least once in their lives just to know. Great intro there Pete. Really showed the versatility of the amp and how it brings out the character in all the various guitars.
I always wanted you to demo a Hi Watt thank you, it was worth the wait. This amp is so interesting since not that widely aviable.
For us tone nerds, these videos are awesome! Thank you!
Brother, you've got some wonderful amps there. That Hiwatt is Awesome. 👍👍
To me Hiwatt is the best sounding amp that I've heard you play on.
Great stuff! Back in 1975 I had a friend who let me play through is Hiwatt. I thought it was nice sounding but then he said to me
"cool right? now crank it up dude"
so I did and all I could say was holy shit!
The Lifeson bit was perfect, thanks Pete!
Wow! Absolutely Love The Gilmour Tone , Sounds Awesome! 👍
I have a 94? Audio Brothers DR504 that I got from a friend, he did hundreds of gigs with it, it's been repaired many times over the years, even had to replace the preamp transformer, went with a Mercury, anyway my friend passed away about fifteen years ago, I keep the amp as a keepsake, I power it up sometimes, it looks pretty cool, however nowadays I only play for self enjoyment, I primarily use my vintage 71 Fender Champ I fully restored...I sold my mint two input 1977 Highlight DR103 that I used back in the day for only $1800 :(....the kid I sold it to seemed pretty cool, anyway I know it's been/being heavily used rather than collecting dust in my home.
Huge nod to Pete's Rock Face.
Notes cannot be bent correctly without proper face.😎🎸🎶🎵
Nice history of the HiWATT models here right up front. Great video as always. Cheers
These are my favorite episodes. Thanks!
Thanks Pete! I love Hiwatts! I used a 50 watt during my band days in the late 70's though the 80's. The 100 watt was WAY too loud for clubs. These are extremely loud amps with huge headroom and dynamics, which is probbably why they ar such great pedal platforms. I used a few pedals TC distortion, Univox Superfuzz Memory Man, etc. I loved the sound. Sound men hated me because it was so friggin loud though. ANd that was just the 50 watt! I was and still am a Townshend guy (Gilmour too) Back then it mainly Townshend though. So I loved loved loved this episode! Thank you!
Excellent Video Pete, incredible intro music and a fantastic, in depth look at a timeless classic!!! Keep on Rockin' Bruddah!!
A good friend of mine had a DR103 that he purchased back in 1973 (I think he told me it was 73). That amp got passed around like herpes within the local music scene. Everybody played through it, except for me. I never did get a chance to play through it before he sold it.
He gigged with that amp, along with another with a nameplate that read "Lowatt" (which I believe he also sold), for decades. But around 6 years ago, he switched to a little Roland Cube. Seriously. And he makes it sound like a million bucks.
Pete, you are continuously rising your own bar... Really inspirational! Thanks for the great music and demos!
100 watt Hiwatt amps- whether Cornish played with the guts, or not- are gold. Equally so with Paul Rivera Sr. Built Riveras, and early Marshall plexi models. These things have an amazing broad array of tonality and gain. If ya have one, Keep it! Amazing varietous gain structures at your fingertips!
The Old Fanes aren’t great with a Marshall/modded Marshall sound like Greenbacks are, but they emphasize the mids and muscle of a Hiwatt the same way GBs emphasize what can be so great about a Marshall. Running a Marshall clean through Fanes is a cool different sound though
Since the choice of speaker used can have more affect on the overall tone than any one other component in the amplifier, designing an amp's circuitry isn't done like; 'okay, so here's what we'll do with this amp, then we'll see which speaker we can tag on later...' *
Selecting the speaker is an integral part of the basic design of the amp. That's why the real players in the game have that phenomenon of; great speaker for this amp, but not good at all with that one...
Often players disagree with the initial design and change the speaker to suit their own tastes, which is perfectly fine - maybe even necessary for real players. **
* that said; I'm sure that many manufacturers, during certain years, did exactly that - just whatever speaker was the cheapest at the time. but I'm talking about REAL amp designers - people who care about music, tone, players, etc...
** I'm not in the camp of, 'it's old, so it must be 100% original as the day it was made!' How many pristine examples of vintage gear do we really need in order to keep the history alive? 5? 10? Beyond having enough for a few museums, the rest is completely doable by building anew using those old units (guitars, amps, pedals - all) as examples. So when I see a modded 1964 Fender or Marshall, and it's selling for 30% of what a pristine version would, I love it! 1st, it's completely normal to customize gear, so; 'big deal!' 2nd, I can restore the modded amp back to original if I want to. 3rd, I'm probably going to mod it myself anyway. So why should I care?? :-)
I myself first learned about the Hiwatt brand from the Tommy Shaw interview for Guitar Player mag from 40 years ago (it was made available online 15 years later). Tommy mentioned at the time using a Mesa Boogie head and a Hiwatt cabinet.
Thanks Pete for the video! Enjoyed hearing the Hiwatt, took me back to Live At Leeds! Not a bad sound at all! Thanks again Pete!
That amp just sounds so amazing and lovely! Thank you sir!
Townshend would be proud! I also think he would love that Macmull guitar as it is the perfect cross between an SG with P90s and the Schecter Telecaster he used for a long while too.
MACMULL AND HIWATT! Truly an ear opener.
Thanks for the great demo, Pete. It may interest you to know Dumble used a 100k Middle pot, as did Marshall's 1984 Studio 15 amp. Even Mesa got into the act using a 100k mid on the Mk V. Rock on!
@Pete Thorn great video and love the Lifeson content! Is it safe to say that Alex probably used the “Canadian Mod” Hiwatts? That would explain the extra dirt. Lots of folks don’t like the mod but I enjoyed it on the 70s DR504 I had. Wish I didn’t sell it…
Love my 72 Hiwatt. I don’t have the matching cab but the Hi-tone 2X12 I got sounds amazing. It’s got the DR-F eminence speakers in it that were modeled after the rare 78 fanes speakers from Jesse Valenzuela’s cabinet of the Gin blossoms. Highly recommended. They recently came out with a Crescendo clone as well I really want to try. Apparently they worked on that the speaker with Gilmour’s tech to get it just right. The clips I’ve heard of it sound great.
Interesting video!
I think you should really try to find a cab with fanes or maybe EVs. The sounds I was hearing seemed hiwatt-ish with the marshall cab and greenbacks.
Holy moley - what a tone machine! Great video, Pete.
I love the pure tube tones, thanks Pete
Guided By Voices comes into focus. Great video
After the Hot For Teacher sound last night I think you are the go to guitar sound man. I knew it anyway but now it is like roadbridge concrete!
Rush old Tone! That's what is 4 sure know & Loved, went long on this Hiwatt, TY! Never knew what was their secret but Pete U never fail after VH tease! That made me have chill bumps again as 1st time see VH live! U brought em back, TY bro, Also TY 4 schooling on Hiwatt, again feeding us G-nerds Brains!!
I had a HIWATT Custom 100 and a HIWATT 4x12 150w Cab back in the early ‘70s. Sold them in the early 90s to a Female Japanese guitarist. Been thinking of getting a Custom DR20/0.5 Little Rig Head and either a 1x12 or 2x12 Cab with Fane speakers.
Awesome video as always, Pete! Loved your cover of New World Man especially!
Hiwatts have such mystique. I was once doing an album with an 800 that blew up part way through, but instead of trying to find another amp that sounded the same we used a Custom 100 for the other half. Also, an Amps in the Zone episode on Vox would be great.
Pete - phenomenal video, and one I've been hoping you would include among the Amps in the Zone! I don't know Hiwatts super well, but I've been researching them lately, and what immediately struck me when I started looking at the front panel is that, along with the first Boogies, this has to be one of the very first amps with a master volume, right? I mean, I was SHOCKED to see a British amp from the first half of the ’70s with a master, particularly given that Hiwatts have such a reputation for impeccable engineering and construction among the kind of, uh, let's say "sophisticates" who tend to have disdain for anything with a master.
Also, I could be wrong about this, but my impression of David Gilmour's preferred mod was that the inputs were not only internally bridged, they were also cascaded so that DG could get more preamp gain - kind of a proto-José Arredondo thing. As you'd know better than anybody by now, a Hiwatt DR103 pushed hard enough to distort the power section heavily is, in the most literal sense of the word, UNBELIEVABLY loud. So loud that you can scarcely comprehend the physical effects of that much volume. I saw this doomy/stoner metal band many years ago, when you could still be loud on stage, and the guitarist had a massive multi-amp rig, but her main tone was a DR103 with the master volume on 10 (and what looked like the matching cab, so probably those face-melting old Fane speakers). It was in a club with maybe 250 capacity and a sound system that barely worked, and even compared to stadium-sized gigs, it remains the loudest guitar sound I've ever heard.
A couple more Hi-Watt users to add: Robert Fripp King Crimson, and Atlanta's favorite guitarist Spencer Kirkpatrick from Hydra.
I've got an original DR103 from 1972. Just killer, but too loud to use in my world anymore. You mentioned the CP103, but there were some other variations of the DR103 as well. The Gilmore amp is a DG103. And Page played a more heavily modified version called the JP103. I believe I also hve seen photos of one labeled "The Ox" - I am sure you can guess who used those.
Hi Pete! I really enjoy this amps in the zone series. I would humbly request more!
This video premieres in 12 hours
I feel like a kid again ---- the night before Christmas
Thanks 🎅