Guitar used: www.zioguitars.com/shop/brad-linzy-the-guitologist-signature-meteorite Mics used: Guitar Cabinet - sE Electronics VR1 Passive Ribbon amzn.to/3KiVsCN EV 635a amzn.to/3YK8ZHR Drums were miced up with ONE Shure 565: amzn.to/3SdKfVP Audio Technica AT4040 used as a room mic amzn.to/3IhYV1x *SHOW YOUR SUPPORT* 1: Become a Member on Locals: theguitologist.locals.com/ 2: Donate via Paypal: paypal.me/guitologist?locale.... 3: Buy Merch: bit.ly/GuitologistMerch
Hi Brad! Love the videos especially this one! Got a question regarding tubes. Where can I get my hands on a good matching set of 6 6550’s? The tubes available here in Medicine Hat are garbage
Viewing the innards of a HiWatt amp is like bumping into Margot Robbie at the mall......astounding beauty, flawless construction, impressive performance, and (most likely) way more than you can afford ;)
I have a friend who was recording in Electric Lady Studio back in the early to mid 70s with Clarence Clemens and a few other folks. In walked a man who asked if his boss could come in and lay some tracks down with them. They said sure but my friend being a major funk player at the time had no idea who Pete Townsend was. In he came with his assistant pushing in a Hiwatt halfstack. After the session (I've seen the pics and heard the tracks) Townsend packed up his guitar and left but didn't take the amp. My friend was able to track him down and in a phone call Pete told him to keep it because Hiwatt gives them to him. Well, he still has it and I've played through it. It's a friggin' beast and I had a chance to buy it but there's no way to pony up that much cash. The amp has been authenticated. Townsend used to spray a large spot of orange paint on the inside of the cabs and the head as his security "mark". They both have it and the serial numbers are correct. Great, historic amps.
That is an informative comment on several points. I work as a Union stagehand and have encountered some artist-endorser arrangements and might unload from a few onward up to a pallet load of Mr. Headliner's latest signature model to be signed and sold or given away. Pete can com rock out at my place anytime, and I'd have to track him down also, if he left a Hiwatt behind. I'd gladly assume all responsibility for one, should he leave it behind. It would be no bother to tend to it for him.
Those amps are a thing of beauty. I was 15yrs old back then. I was playing all the amps from that era. HIWATT was known for how loud they were while remaining fairly clean vs a Vox or Marshall. Fenders back then were clean but not as loud or robust comparatively speaking. They have their own "crunch" voice when driven and are superb pedal platforms. HIWATT was truly a mil-spec amp and repair techs loved them back then as they still do today.
Another well-done video. I'm fortunate enough to have 1974 DR504 that I bought used back in 1980 for $240(!). It's a great amp that I used as my primary gigging amp thru the 80's. It was 100% reliable thru that period, but started developing some issues in the mid-90's. My amp tech called it "motorboating". I think it got upset probably because I wasn't using it enough. I had it re-capped and re-tubed and it was restored back to its previous greatness. I had an adjustable bias circuit installed too. It's a powerful and muscular sounding amp that stays very clean into very high volume levels on its own and serves well as a great pedal platform.
I had already posted 2 comments mid-video, then had to run a quick errand & came back to finish watching. Man, that amp & guitar sounds amazing! Very impressive. Cool licks too! I used headphones, and even after the compression of youtube, I can really tell how ballsy that amp is. NICE!!!
Oh boy! My favorite amp! At the time, mid 70s, I was working as an amp/guitar tech in Gothenburg, Sweden, called MUG, Music Unlimited, in english. We got the opportunity to sell HiWatt for the Swedish and Skandinavian market. But....There was a big hurdle to get over, SEMKO! Similar but much more rigorous than FCC...... I got the task to go and see if Dave on how we could alter the amps to fit the skandivian market. 1 IEC power socket 2 two slowblow 6.3 amp fuses for the heaters. 3 up the grid resistors to 5 watt, stupid since the valves was idling at 50% 4 Speaker outlet, female Anyway, I met Dave at his office in 197x, two long narrow stairs up. I presented what we needed to change for the market and he just flat out said NO. I am ok if You do the market adoption, because the units are safe when they leave here. End of story. I have done thousends of SEMKO conversion during the 70s and 80s for the Skandinavian market and yet do not have one! It is built like a Tank.
Awesome story! Thanks for sharing that. The IEC plug is just an improvement no matter how you slice it. Pretty sure the wire wound screen grid resistors are 5W in this example anyway. I think heater fuses are probably overkill since any short in the filament circuit would blow the Mains fuse anyway. Very interesting.
@@TheGuitologist There used to be stacks of them in secondhand stores. Pick them up from 100 uk pound and up. You dont see them nowadays nor the secondhand stores they've all gone. But when you do see one pop up on ebay then they want top dollar. I had 50w Sound City for a while and a really great WEM 50w head that was covered in white leather. Someonestole it as well as other good stuff. Those were the days people didnt realise what they had !
@@TheGuitologist If you remember the old Angela Instruments catalog, the dude would buy piles of these amps over in England and ship them back for resale in the States. A Selmer Treble 'n Bass for $150, etc. was common. 2203 heads for $400 all day long. Fun times.
@scottdunn2178 Yes, those were awesome times. Ìf only I had a time machine. A fairly large time machine. To bring back a truckload of Dave Reeves and Harry Joyce handiwork. Then I'd bring them back to present day, sell them all. Then go back to the 60's with a bankroll.
Morning Brad! You and Uncle Doug are long time heroes of mine. This is the 4th account I’ve been following you guys from over the last 8 years. I asked Uncle Doug if he would recap and change the power cable to a 3 prong to my 1962 Gibson Les Paul GA- 40T Crestline Amp. I figured I’d ask him first and then ask you. He said he’s got too much work ahead and to ask you instead. Either way, I’m not in a hurry and it would make a great video. The amp is a minty closet queen with paperwork and schematic . It was sold for 289 dollars in 1963. I bought it in 2010 for my 30th birthday and the only thing I did to it was retube it and change some fuses that kept blowing . It gets super hot if I play it for more than 10 minutes and still blows fuses. And the tremolo never worked. It’s a beautiful amp that I would be honored to have you revive it and it would make an awesome video, especially since I know you love old Gibson amps. Also, Im not in a hurry at all, so I don’t care how long it takes. Please take on this project for me bro! -Matt
Hi nice amp and nice drum playing too , you said one day that you have a young daughter playing the drums; my 9 old daughter is playing the drums too since her 7 years old, I'm very proud of her, girls rock !!!
The drumming daughter is the one in this video. She's been jamming with me here and there. I'll get her there! She loves music and has an excellent memory for it.
The attention to detail is amazing. When you showed all the pots and all the labels were facing the same way… now that’s ocd level attention to detail.
That Hiwatt, wow the handwired workmanship is just outstanding. 😎 What a sweet amp! That wall of Supro's & Silvertones behind you at the end though.. I would've died and gone to heaven. 😍
Great to see an amp repair video again, m ore of these please! This one was an absolute beauty, a pleasure to see you work on such a fantastic amp. Fantastic so see the imaginative demo section at the end too, that must have taken a lot of time and effort.
This is why TH-cam is the best thing to happen to this world. Much gratitude to you Sir. The universe owes you good Karma. Cheers and thanks for sharing. Edit: I left out the part about how fantastic you are at explaining what you are doing. Again, Much gratitude. Cheers.
I set my 1970 JMP 50w bias to net me 40w operation and it is still small stage capable but with a breakup I can use. I’m very happy with it. I bought this amp new and will never let it go.
Beautiful. That was my first guitar amp (my Dad bought it for me used around 1976-1977). It had a couple of cigarette burns on the Tolex and had a slight smell of smoke and beer once the tubes warmed up. I figured it was probably made in the late 60s to early 70s then spent some time on the road. I sold it in the late 80s for $200 when getting out of debt. If I had a Time Machine I would go back to tell my younger self to give my head a shake. 😂 No idea what a late 60s to early 70s Hiwatt Custom 50 is worth today.
That Custom 50 SMOKES! I have an original '73 Hiwatt Custom 100 I am also endorsed by Hiwatt. They did not give me the '73 :) I also have the matching 4/12 cab wall of sound! Thanks for posting our band is FireBug we are based in Joshua Tree CA
Thank you once again, Brad. I am just about ready to get my 'metaphysical' teeth et al. into this most welcome upload/contribution: given free, gratis and for nothing! All of it to yours, and you. Stay free. Rab 🕊 PS. Never forgetting the delineation of linear and logarithmic pots! 🍻😎
@@TheGuitologist Thank you, Dear Brad and your darling Weans. Almost out of the woods, re my Darling Mary's recent bad fall (damaged pelvis and lower spine) and subsequent Zimmer-frame routine, until her badly-degraded hip joints are renewed (linear or logarithmic?). With our Love. Mary and Rab. 💖
You got the electronics nerd in me excited again! I used to build everything HEATHKIT back in the day! I also restored antique radios from the 1920's - 1940's and my share of vintage ham radio gear. I swapped a bunch of Heathkit and historic Ham Radio gear with Joe Walsh back in 2000, he's also a licensed ham, WB6ACU. 73's Paul W9BBR
I bought a Hiwatt just a few months ago. It says Custom Hiwatt 20 on the front though model is SA20. It's frigging lovely! Loud! Tons of headroom, and takes pedals well. I run it thru a BOSS TAE coz of neighbours lol
Great video - dragged up some old memories of HIWATT 100 amp head I bought in the early 1980s. It didnt work but luckily the issue was vacuum tube related only so easy to fix. I ran it through a cheap speaker cabinet which looked like a Marshall but wasnt. I didnt know anything about HIWATT amps at the time and sold it for $130 which was more than double the price I bought it for. I thought I did well out of the deal - silly me. I then saw Pink Floyd’s live film called “Live at Pompei” and HIWATT amps were used and shown in some of the songs. UK company which was recently bought by a Canadian business man and restarted. I had a lot of gear in the 1980s which was second hand from the 1960s and 1970s. Easy to buy at the time. Kicking myself today. (Had a Rhodes piano with 4 keys that didnt work and also a nice Hammond organ with rotary speakers. Sold them for some reason- probably to buy a Roland D-50 and various drum machines and multitrack recorders. Cant have everything😢)
Isn't it annoying when we think back at all the 60's amps we went through in the early/mid 80's and how much cash we would be sitting on today.. I remember selling a 1970 Marshall bass 100 for £100 to somebody in about '85. the only one I have left is a very nice Laney Session 50 topmount built 6/67... and a couple of late 60's WEM things which have that typical sound...
This is my first time seeing one of your videos, and I’m really happy to have found it! Considering how clean your sound is, that amp was singing buttery-smooth. What are those, PA-58s? I don’t recognize the guitar you’re using, but it would be cool to hear some of those riffs you playing arranged into a song and really taking that amplifier to its fullest…whilst you let the volume knob on your guitar and all 10 of your fingers elicit Jeff Beck like sounds from that amplifier. It’s a totally different setup, (what am I saying?!). Sorry. Awesome video and beautiful work with your soldering iron. That "work" looks so good it’s more like art on a circuit board. Great video and well executed. Thank you. I’m subscribed.
I'm at Hiwatt fan since 79 My buddy had a HW 100, also brothers HW 50 that was never used, so I used it for bass. It took me awhile to realize how fortunate I was to have used one so early in my musical adventure. I've been through a few amps since then, Traynor , Acoustic, Roland, and now I have a 86 Bass 100, it's been gone through and functions great. Probably a holy Grail amp to me, I know it's not a early 70s DR but, honestly, it's the next best thing to me. I really appreciate the sparkling sound and unsurpassed bottom end. Thanks for sharing this video. Next HW may be a 70s dr50 They seem fairly reasonable cost wise, unlike the DR 100 watt Love the sound and design and they are built like a tank!!!! Edit Loved the end jam Sounds great!
Awesome video Brad. You definitely made that amp sing. Your tweaks were spot on. The amp sounds great and your guitar playing I really enjoyed. Thank you Brad. Look forward to your next video!!
I forgot to post in my original comment, that truly is one very well-made & tidy amp. For most novices like me, the wiring of many amps looks like someone dumped a wad of spaghetti in there & patted it down "level", lol.
Back in the mid ‘90s I bought a couple of 1970/71 Dr-103’s around $500 from Black Market Music in Los Angeles. I traded my Marshall JCM900 once I heard the Hiwatt. I still have them to this day! I would lose sleep if I had an issue with one of them. I met some old timers that knew out to service them - the genius of Greg Leon! Later on I met Don Butler who worked on converting my Super Lead to 6550s. Hiwatt is by far my favorite amp!
Sounds radd. I have a pretty rare 1973 DR103S. It's two input with a foot switchable gain cut/ boost. Few years back I put in my best Telefunken 12ax7s and a quad of 1968 tesla 6ca7s and man did make a huge difference over the electroharmonix that were in it.
@@TheGuitologist agreed. Despite what people say proper tubes go along way. Back then they could scrutinize quality of tubes because it was as common as lightbulbs, some stuff they let slide today because it's such a labourous process to make so they still put em out even if they are not that good.
Very enjoyable to see the "Brothers Brad" jamming....However, one of the things that I have enjoyed most about your channel through the years is hearing "Just" the guitar/amp...something I think to many people avoid with their demos. ALSO my older brother has, and played live for years, through one of these (Slightly newer) and YES!!!... That is what a HiWatt is supposed to sound like. Keep them comin'...(P.S., Thanks for the return of SPF.)
The golden age of British amplifiers! A ex band member had a 100w version and boy it's was gloriously dirty sounding... I think they are very underrated amps and now and then they come up for sale and for around £2k they are a steal! Beautifully made also..
@The Guitologist I think they are a much better buy than a old fender amp that are just crazy money. Unicorn do a clone of the Dr103 custom 100 and I've seen them as low as £500!
HUMMM: Is this Brad Zappa or Brad Linsey.Verry cool Brad HIWATT amps are great,real works of art. JUST LIKE YOU!!! Great video. Looking forward to more repairs.
pretty blessed life Brad, reliant on no one and able to push some boogie on your lonesome, fugg yea, a small farm and it couldn't get any better, rock on son, your still young do it man, get yours...
Thanx for leaving the bugle boy el84’s and ef86’s in Mike’s Roberts tape recorder amps. Those amps were first turned into micpres and then one became an Ac4 and the other became a Mini Z. Both in a custom case! Someone’s gonna get a killer studio rack set on Reverb.
Really cool video. I remember working on one of these 25 years when I was a snotty little upstart. One of the caps let go like a shotgun cartridge. I went flying backwards off the chair. Last thing the tech I was working under said was don't sit down when you are working on an amp that''s plugged in. Snotty upstart learnt the hard way. Even in those days these amps were quite rare. It's a shame they never had the success that Marshall's had. Fantastic amps. Fantastic video. thanks Brad, really enjoyed it.
I had one that was even cleaner, exactly the same amp...a 71, It was halfway between a Marshall 2204 and a Fender Twin, sound wise. I think it was louder than my Marshalls w 6550 power tubes. I traded it for a perfect plaintop sunburst Gibson Standard, an '88. My first 'burst- I had two 2204s, so I figured i wouldnt miss it. I paid $225 for it in a pawnshop...on PAYMENTS, LOL. Clean as a whistle, inside and out. Now that ive worked on a few 2204s, i wish id kept it. But i enjoyed it for about ten years, never any problems. And the Les Paul was fantastic.
I owned a 1972/3 Harry Joyce, Dave Reeves DR504 for quite a few years, now Ive got another one and a Hi-Gain 50 combo. Best amps I've ever had. Soo much Headroom and take any pedal in its stride from Chorus to any O/D, Distortion, Fuzz! Built like tanks and I abused mine falling out of tour vans, falling down stairs... the usual. The other parties always came worse off.
Guitar used: www.zioguitars.com/shop/brad-linzy-the-guitologist-signature-meteorite
Mics used:
Guitar Cabinet - sE Electronics VR1 Passive Ribbon amzn.to/3KiVsCN
EV 635a amzn.to/3YK8ZHR
Drums were miced up with ONE Shure 565: amzn.to/3SdKfVP
Audio Technica AT4040 used as a room mic amzn.to/3IhYV1x
*SHOW YOUR SUPPORT*
1: Become a Member on Locals: theguitologist.locals.com/
2: Donate via Paypal: paypal.me/guitologist?locale....
3: Buy Merch: bit.ly/GuitologistMerch
Hi Brad! Love the videos especially this one! Got a question regarding tubes. Where can I get my hands on a good matching set of 6 6550’s? The tubes available here in Medicine Hat are garbage
Viewing the innards of a HiWatt amp is like bumping into Margot Robbie at the mall......astounding beauty, flawless construction, impressive performance, and (most likely) way more than you can afford ;)
And if they were for sale all the time, they'd put us out of business.
Good to see you again uncle doug
Stay free, Uncle Doug et al.
All the best.
Rab 🍻 😎
PS. To Rusty (Rest In Peace) and your beloved KittenKatz. 💖
Margot Robbie is just marketing, you can trip over more beautiful women in a mall actually ;)!
I have a friend who was recording in Electric Lady Studio back in the early to mid 70s with Clarence Clemens and a few other folks. In walked a man who asked if his boss could come in and lay some tracks down with them. They said sure but my friend being a major funk player at the time had no idea who Pete Townsend was. In he came with his assistant pushing in a Hiwatt halfstack. After the session (I've seen the pics and heard the tracks) Townsend packed up his guitar and left but didn't take the amp. My friend was able to track him down and in a phone call Pete told him to keep it because Hiwatt gives them to him. Well, he still has it and I've played through it. It's a friggin' beast and I had a chance to buy it but there's no way to pony up that much cash. The amp has been authenticated. Townsend used to spray a large spot of orange paint on the inside of the cabs and the head as his security "mark". They both have it and the serial numbers are correct. Great, historic amps.
That is an informative comment on several points. I work as a Union stagehand and have encountered some artist-endorser arrangements and might unload from a few onward up to a pallet load of Mr. Headliner's latest signature model to be signed and sold or given away. Pete can com rock out at my place anytime, and I'd have to track him down also, if he left a Hiwatt behind. I'd gladly assume all responsibility for one, should he leave it behind. It would be no bother to tend to it for him.
Those amps are a thing of beauty. I was 15yrs old back then. I was playing all the amps from that era. HIWATT was known for how loud they were while remaining fairly clean vs a Vox or Marshall. Fenders back then were clean but not as loud or robust comparatively speaking. They have their own "crunch" voice when driven and are superb pedal platforms. HIWATT was truly a mil-spec amp and repair techs loved them back then as they still do today.
Obviously, nothiung has changed - has it?😜
That's a sexy amp there, like noting else i can see until now, just pure gold and sounded crazy too
Had a 50 watt 'Bulldog' HIWATT combo back in the 90's. They were beautifully constructed to military specs. Wish I still had it!
Another well-done video. I'm fortunate enough to have 1974 DR504 that I bought used back in 1980 for $240(!). It's a great amp that I used as my primary gigging amp thru the 80's. It was 100% reliable thru that period, but started developing some issues in the mid-90's. My amp tech called it "motorboating". I think it got upset probably because I wasn't using it enough. I had it re-capped and re-tubed and it was restored back to its previous greatness. I had an adjustable bias circuit installed too. It's a powerful and muscular sounding amp that stays very clean into very high volume levels on its own and serves well as a great pedal platform.
I had already posted 2 comments mid-video, then had to run a quick errand & came back to finish watching. Man, that amp & guitar sounds amazing! Very impressive. Cool licks too! I used headphones, and even after the compression of youtube, I can really tell how ballsy that amp is. NICE!!!
Probably your best video ever. Thanks Brad
Oh boy! My favorite amp! At the time, mid 70s, I was working as an amp/guitar tech in Gothenburg, Sweden, called MUG, Music Unlimited, in english. We got the opportunity to sell HiWatt for the Swedish and Skandinavian market. But....There was a big hurdle to get over, SEMKO! Similar but much more rigorous than FCC......
I got the task to go and see if Dave on how we could alter the amps to fit the skandivian market.
1 IEC power socket
2 two slowblow 6.3 amp fuses for the heaters.
3 up the grid resistors to 5 watt, stupid since the valves was idling at 50%
4 Speaker outlet, female
Anyway, I met Dave at his office in 197x, two long narrow stairs up. I presented what we needed to change for the market and he just flat out said NO. I am ok if You do the market adoption, because the units are safe when they leave here. End of story. I have done thousends of SEMKO conversion during the 70s and 80s for the Skandinavian market and yet do not have one! It is built like a Tank.
Awesome story! Thanks for sharing that. The IEC plug is just an improvement no matter how you slice it. Pretty sure the wire wound screen grid resistors are 5W in this example anyway. I think heater fuses are probably overkill since any short in the filament circuit would blow the Mains fuse anyway. Very interesting.
I had one just like this back in the mid 80s. It was a work of art.
"check out the big brain on Brad"
Really like your explains and your tech skills.
Great amps! Battle proven and stout!
I remember when you could buy these amps as well as WEM, Selmer, Sound City and others for peanuts !
We never see that stuff where I live hardly. I owned one Sound City a few years back. It's the only one I had ever seen in the wild, so I bought it.
@@TheGuitologist There used to be stacks of them in secondhand stores. Pick them up from 100 uk pound and up. You dont see them nowadays nor the secondhand stores they've all gone. But when you do see one pop up on ebay then they want top dollar. I had 50w Sound City for a while and a really great WEM 50w head that was covered in white leather. Someonestole it as well as other good stuff. Those were the days people didnt realise what they had !
@@TheGuitologist If you remember the old Angela Instruments catalog, the dude would buy piles of these amps over in England and ship them back for resale in the States. A Selmer Treble 'n Bass for $150, etc. was common. 2203 heads for $400 all day long. Fun times.
@scottdunn2178 Yes, those were awesome times. Ìf only I had a time machine. A fairly large time machine. To bring back a truckload of Dave Reeves and Harry Joyce handiwork. Then I'd bring them back to present day, sell them all. Then go back to the 60's with a bankroll.
Morning Brad! You and Uncle Doug are long time heroes of mine. This is the 4th account I’ve been following you guys from over the last 8 years. I asked Uncle Doug if he would recap and change the power cable to a 3 prong to my 1962 Gibson Les Paul GA- 40T Crestline Amp. I figured I’d ask him first and then ask you. He said he’s got too much work ahead and to ask you instead. Either way, I’m not in a hurry and it would make a great video. The amp is a minty closet queen with paperwork and schematic . It was sold for 289 dollars in 1963. I bought it in 2010 for my 30th birthday and the only thing I did to it was retube it and change some fuses that kept blowing . It gets super hot if I play it for more than 10 minutes and still blows fuses. And the tremolo never worked.
It’s a beautiful amp that I would be honored to have you revive it and it would make an awesome video, especially since I know you love old Gibson amps. Also, Im not in a hurry at all, so I don’t care how long it takes. Please take on this project for me bro! -Matt
FINALLY an amp repair video !
I almost died when I saw the underside of the chassis. It was so gloriously beautiful.
THE BRADS ROCK! 🤘🤘
Hi nice amp and nice drum playing too , you said one day that you have a young daughter playing the drums; my 9 old daughter is playing the drums too since her 7 years old, I'm very proud of her, girls rock !!!
The drumming daughter is the one in this video. She's been jamming with me here and there. I'll get her there! She loves music and has an excellent memory for it.
This was great! I just bought a couple of the new Hiwatt offerings and am enjoying being part of the legacy.
Alright Brad. Been watching for yrs, but that one earned the subscription. Cant imagine how much work went into this but definitely appreciate it.
The attention to detail is amazing. When you showed all the pots and all the labels were facing the same way… now that’s ocd level attention to detail.
That Hiwatt, wow the handwired workmanship is just outstanding. 😎 What a sweet amp!
That wall of Supro's & Silvertones behind you at the end though.. I would've died and gone to heaven. 😍
Who needs art on the walls? :D
This amp is a jem of simplicity and tidiness, the heaven to the Mesa Hell!!! Nice to see you on the drums again, nice groove!!!
Agreed. Mesa is way too complicated the layouts are suspect. Multi-layer boards are crap. Amps should not be rocket science.
Ahhh, yes. That organic 60s and 70s crunch tone these old English amps produced so effortlessly.
It was BEYOND loud in the room to get that crunch. Hearing protection recommended!
Now THAT REALLY DOES sound like the 60s and 70s! Now I MUST have one (just as soon as I win the lottery). MMMAN! More videos like this!!! 😍😍😍
I never get tired of watching Pete Townsend topple that full stack BAM!-Right down on the hard stage floor... and it still worked!!!
The Kids Are Alright clip? 😉
@@vayabroder729Yup!
As an old electrician and a nerd , I do love this channel.
Great to see an amp repair video again, m ore of these please! This one was an absolute beauty, a pleasure to see you work on such a fantastic amp. Fantastic so see the imaginative demo section at the end too, that must have taken a lot of time and effort.
This is why TH-cam is the best thing to happen to this world. Much gratitude to you Sir. The universe owes you good Karma. Cheers and thanks for sharing. Edit: I left out the part about how fantastic you are at explaining what you are doing. Again, Much gratitude. Cheers.
thanks for playing the amp with the other tracks, love hearing old equipment that way!
I set my 1970 JMP 50w bias to net me 40w operation and it is still small stage capable but with a breakup I can use. I’m very happy with it. I bought this amp new and will never let it go.
Beautiful. That was my first guitar amp (my Dad bought it for me used around 1976-1977). It had a couple of cigarette burns on the Tolex and had a slight smell of smoke and beer once the tubes warmed up. I figured it was probably made in the late 60s to early 70s then spent some time on the road.
I sold it in the late 80s for $200 when getting out of debt. If I had a Time Machine I would go back to tell my younger self to give my head a shake. 😂
No idea what a late 60s to early 70s Hiwatt Custom 50 is worth today.
50-60% plate idle dissipation is plenty for a Hiwatt 50. I love the David Reeves era of Hiwatt amps. Great job Brad.
That sounds excessive to me.
Why not crank it all the way up and enjoy Class A goodness? 😕
50% ?!
You're doing yourself a massive disservice running these amps that cold.
70% and it should sound massive.
That Custom 50 SMOKES! I have an original '73 Hiwatt Custom 100 I am also endorsed by Hiwatt. They did not give me the '73 :) I also have the matching 4/12 cab wall of sound! Thanks for posting our band is FireBug we are based in Joshua Tree CA
Great analysis, technical review, workmanship, and I love the band as well! Keep up the great work!
Wow sounds of those classic Amps are heaven, great jam at the end too wicked
Nice arrangements at the end, sweet variety of tones too
Excellent! I have a 100 watt version from the same year.
sweet!
Thank you once again, Brad. I am just about ready to get my 'metaphysical' teeth et al. into this most welcome upload/contribution: given free, gratis and for nothing!
All of it to yours, and you.
Stay free. Rab 🕊
PS. Never forgetting the delineation of linear and logarithmic pots! 🍻😎
Good to see you, Rab! Thanks for stopping by, as always!
@@TheGuitologist Thank you, Dear Brad and your darling Weans. Almost out of the woods, re my Darling Mary's recent bad fall (damaged pelvis and lower spine) and subsequent Zimmer-frame routine, until her badly-degraded hip joints are renewed (linear or logarithmic?).
With our Love. Mary and Rab. 💖
You got the electronics nerd in me excited again! I used to build everything HEATHKIT back in the day! I also restored antique radios from the 1920's - 1940's and my share of vintage ham radio gear. I swapped a bunch of Heathkit and historic Ham Radio gear with Joe Walsh back in 2000, he's also a licensed ham, WB6ACU. 73's Paul W9BBR
There's still deals on old tube gear here and there if you know where to look.
Really enjoyed the full band testing at the end....really puts the amp's tone in reference.
I bought a Hiwatt just a few months ago. It says Custom Hiwatt 20 on the front though model is SA20. It's frigging lovely! Loud! Tons of headroom, and takes pedals well. I run it thru a BOSS TAE coz of neighbours lol
I loved the full band jams at the end.
Thanks. I’ll probably do at least a little of that from now on.
Great video - dragged up some old memories of HIWATT 100 amp head I bought in the early 1980s. It didnt work but luckily the issue was vacuum tube related only so easy to fix.
I ran it through a cheap speaker cabinet which looked like a Marshall but wasnt.
I didnt know anything about HIWATT amps at the time and sold it for $130 which was more than double the price I bought it for. I thought I did well out of the deal - silly me.
I then saw Pink Floyd’s live film called “Live at Pompei” and HIWATT amps were used and shown in some of the songs.
UK company which was recently bought by a Canadian business man and restarted.
I had a lot of gear in the 1980s which was second hand from the 1960s and 1970s. Easy to buy at the time.
Kicking myself today. (Had a Rhodes piano with 4 keys that didnt work and also a nice Hammond organ with rotary speakers. Sold them for some reason- probably to buy a Roland D-50 and various drum machines and multitrack recorders. Cant have everything😢)
Isn't it annoying when we think back at all the 60's amps we went through in the early/mid 80's and how much cash we would be sitting on today.. I remember selling a 1970 Marshall bass 100 for £100 to somebody in about '85.
the only one I have left is a very nice Laney Session 50 topmount built 6/67... and a couple of late 60's WEM things which have that typical sound...
There’s a lot of stuff I wish I had back too. Can’t keep it all.
Thanks for the repair vid! Always fascinating.
You bet
Wow, this amp is a piece of an art! By the way, your music at the end is genius!
Haha.
This is my first time seeing one of your videos, and I’m really happy to have found it! Considering how clean your sound is, that amp was singing buttery-smooth. What are those, PA-58s? I don’t recognize the guitar you’re using, but it would be cool to hear some of those riffs you playing arranged into a song and really taking that amplifier to its fullest…whilst you let the volume knob on your guitar and all 10 of your fingers elicit Jeff Beck like sounds from that amplifier. It’s a totally different setup, (what am I saying?!). Sorry. Awesome video and beautiful work with your soldering iron. That "work" looks so good it’s more like art on a circuit board. Great video and well executed. Thank you. I’m subscribed.
Wow, what a GLORIOUS display of crystal clarity matched with the most muscular OOMPH ever...pure Hiwatt perfection, masterfully tuned! 💖
such a pleasure to see you work on these amps and what a bonus hearing you play through them afterwords . you are an electrical magician musician .
I'm at Hiwatt fan since 79
My buddy had a HW 100, also brothers HW 50 that was never used, so I used it for bass. It took me awhile to realize how fortunate I was to have used one so early in my musical adventure.
I've been through a few amps since then, Traynor , Acoustic, Roland, and now I have a 86 Bass 100, it's been gone through and functions great. Probably a holy Grail amp to me, I know it's not a early 70s DR but, honestly, it's the next best thing to me.
I really appreciate the sparkling sound and unsurpassed bottom end. Thanks for sharing this video.
Next HW may be a 70s dr50
They seem fairly reasonable cost wise, unlike the DR 100 watt
Love the sound and design and they are built like a tank!!!!
Edit
Loved the end jam
Sounds great!
The creative sound demonstration / performance is stunning.
Well done.
Nice to see you happy.
Thank you very much!
Brad...
I always was impressed with the Military Standard workmanship on these. 🙂
Awesome video Brad. You definitely made that amp sing. Your tweaks were spot on. The amp sounds great and your guitar playing I really enjoyed. Thank you Brad. Look forward to your next video!!
Glad you liked it! Thanks John
Great amp, I’ve got a Dr504, Noddy Holder of Slade had a 200watt version!!
I forgot to post in my original comment, that truly is one very well-made & tidy amp. For most novices like me, the wiring of many amps looks like someone dumped a wad of spaghetti in there & patted it down "level", lol.
Ooooo I had a 1971 100. IMO a HiFI Marshall with boutique build quality before “boutique” existed
i accidentally pushed the thumbs up button twice. Not only the guts look good, these amps sound absolutely killer!
Back in the mid ‘90s I bought a couple of 1970/71 Dr-103’s around $500 from Black Market Music in Los Angeles. I traded my Marshall JCM900 once I heard the Hiwatt. I still have them to this day! I would lose sleep if I had an issue with one of them. I met some old timers that knew out to service them - the genius of Greg Leon! Later on I met Don Butler who worked on converting my Super Lead to 6550s. Hiwatt is by far my favorite amp!
Sounds radd. I have a pretty rare 1973 DR103S. It's two input with a foot switchable gain cut/ boost. Few years back I put in my best Telefunken 12ax7s and a quad of 1968 tesla 6ca7s and man did make a huge difference over the electroharmonix that were in it.
An amp that nice deserves good tubes. Putting JJs in an amp like this is like putting Wal-Mart tires on a Ferrari.
@@TheGuitologist agreed. Despite what people say proper tubes go along way. Back then they could scrutinize quality of tubes because it was as common as lightbulbs, some stuff they let slide today because it's such a labourous process to make so they still put em out even if they are not that good.
Uncle Doug and Cousin Brad...2 Wild & Crazy Guys !! 👍🤨
The coolest jam on your channel yet! Thanks
Great video Brad. I've been waiting a while for more tasty amp stuff from you.
Hope it was worth the wait.
I used to have a 71 50 watt just like this one. That thing was killer.
Digging the drumming. Very interesting video, way above my head.
Very enjoyable to see the "Brothers Brad" jamming....However, one of the things that I have enjoyed most about your channel through the years is hearing "Just" the guitar/amp...something I think to many people avoid with their demos. ALSO my older brother has, and played live for years, through one of these (Slightly newer) and
YES!!!... That is what a HiWatt is supposed to sound like. Keep them comin'...(P.S., Thanks for the return of SPF.)
What I might do going forward is a bit of both. Maybe a minute or two of solo guitar, then bring in the backing jams.
I really enjoyed the drum/guitar mix at the end. Making good use of all the different sounds that guitar is capable of
Glad you like it!
Wow!! The layout of this anp is top notch!!
That was a great watch, thanks.
Always a pleasure to see the inside of a Hiwartt😁
I miss my HIWATT. Early 70s 100w. Bought it new.
Wow! This is incredible!
IKR!
What a treat. Hits the spot. Thanks, B. 🤙
Rocking drumming skills my man!
The golden age of British amplifiers! A ex band member had a 100w version and boy it's was gloriously dirty sounding... I think they are very underrated amps and now and then they come up for sale and for around £2k they are a steal! Beautifully made also..
The word is pretty much out on these, so if they are up for sale at £2k, it's a buy.
@The Guitologist I think they are a much better buy than a old fender amp that are just crazy money. Unicorn do a clone of the Dr103 custom 100 and I've seen them as low as £500!
Reeves era Hiwatt prices have gone through the roof in the UK. Lots of fakes around though so watch what you're buying, folks.
I enjoyed the replay and your playing
Thanks Janice
Wow!!! Awesome rig, awesome tone! Great playing on the skins and strings man!
HUMMM: Is this Brad Zappa or Brad Linsey.Verry cool Brad HIWATT amps are great,real works of art.
JUST LIKE YOU!!! Great video.
Looking forward to more repairs.
Amps sounds great, guitar sounds great, playing sounds great, drums sound great.
Killer snare. You tuned it up nice. I miss my kits. My god. Great video my friend. Learned a bit about biasing.
Loved your demo at end. Better than noodling.
Congrats master.
Thats a work of beauty....I am drooling.
I had one of those in my youth, great sounding amp. Nice choice for a video.
pretty blessed life Brad, reliant on no one and able to push some boogie on your lonesome, fugg yea, a small farm and it couldn't get any better, rock on son, your still young do it man, get yours...
You got that right in the farm thing! Can’t afford eggs or beef anymore!
I have five at the moment. There really is nothing like them on the inside. Amazing amps.
…Also that master volume is set to “Vaporize” 😮
Remember the ECC81 in that one position. Master Volume has to be that high to break up with the ECC81.
Thanx for leaving the bugle boy el84’s and ef86’s in Mike’s Roberts tape recorder amps. Those amps were first turned into micpres and then one became an Ac4 and the other became a Mini Z. Both in a custom case! Someone’s gonna get a killer studio rack set on Reverb.
the first 9 minutes of this video are like some weird kind of guitar meditation content. i love it! especially the 2 minutes ater 07:00
Great amp, great sound, great job,and...a nice fan at the end!. Congrats, Brad, and thanks for sharing your knowledge with us once again.
What a brilliant performance
Really cool video. I remember working on one of these 25 years when I was a snotty little upstart. One of the caps let go like a shotgun cartridge. I went flying backwards off the chair. Last thing the tech I was working under said was don't sit down when you are working on an amp that''s plugged in. Snotty upstart learnt the hard way. Even in those days these amps were quite rare. It's a shame they never had the success that Marshall's had. Fantastic amps. Fantastic video. thanks Brad, really enjoyed it.
I break the sit down rule all the time. I'm not standing for hours, no way. As for the exploding cap...been there. It's scary as hell.
I had one that was even cleaner, exactly the same amp...a 71,
It was halfway between a Marshall 2204 and a Fender Twin, sound wise.
I think it was louder than my Marshalls w 6550 power tubes.
I traded it for a perfect plaintop sunburst Gibson Standard, an '88.
My first 'burst-
I had two 2204s, so I figured i wouldnt miss it.
I paid $225 for it in a pawnshop...on PAYMENTS, LOL.
Clean as a whistle, inside and out.
Now that ive worked on a few 2204s, i wish id kept it.
But i enjoyed it for about ten years, never any problems.
And the Les Paul was fantastic.
Great video, I enjoy your walk throughs and the jams at the end were a bonus!!
Nice shuffle at the beginning of the jam!
Around louisville in the 70s I didnt hear a hiwatt very often but when I did they always sounded really good . Remember Copperfield They had hiwatt .
The Beard is back ….
Sweet jams 🤙🤙
PS:The X100B LIVES!!! 💪🔥
Super tone ! Love the 50w Hiwatt
Great playing and a great sounding amp! Where's mine? I would bet the farm that you are a big Tony Iommi fan.
You kidding? Tony’s the man.
You may be the most entertaining individual on TH-cam!
I owned a 1972/3 Harry Joyce, Dave Reeves DR504 for quite a few years, now Ive got another one and a Hi-Gain 50 combo. Best amps I've ever had. Soo much Headroom and take any pedal in its stride from Chorus to any O/D, Distortion, Fuzz! Built like tanks and I abused mine falling out of tour vans, falling down stairs... the usual. The other parties always came worse off.
That was excellent, very informative as usual, plus tone to die for at the end, thank you!
Great stuff! Classic amp, classic tone! Great job and thanks for the alternate biasing tutorial...takes me back...Cheers!
I really liked your playing . Very cool music . And the Hiwatt sounded great .
Дуже дякую за відео, по технічній розробці один з найкращих гітарних підсилювачів👍🙂 Дивлячись на шассі, компоненти і туретборд очі радіють якості 👍🤗🙂