Hiwatt question - Page 4

Electrophonic · #61 01-04-2013, 06:51 AM

I borrowed a Custom 100, brought one of my own Precisions, and went to a store yesterday to try out three different Hiwatt cabs. (They only had a 20 (?) watt guitar amp head in store)

4x10: Great, solid tone. I don't know what it is, but I haven't fallen completely in love with the 4x10 tone.

4x10/1x15: Wow! This is where heaven begins - and ends: especially looking at the price. Everything else is just wonderful.

4x12: One of the guys in store first refused to allow me to play it since it's made for guitar. Hah! I said I'd buy it if I broke it and put my card on the table. It sounded sweet! Full range, not so much bottom end rumble, but a good sound. They can easily advertise these as bass cabs as well - as long as you know what you are doing and not push it very loud on a low 5 string bass.

I've got some decision making to do when it comes to cabs. It seems I have to go for a new one since I haven't seen a decent used one yet. I've got a few decent offers for used heads.

Ah, the Hiwatt heaven!

bertbass666 · #62 01-04-2013, 08:00 AM

Back in the day there was no difference between 4x12 guitar and bass cabs. They both used the same speakers. Just had to use 2 cabs for bass. Great sound. 2 heads and 4 cabs sounded amazing but quite a lot to move around though. I thought it was worth it at the time, actually, I still do but stages seem to have got smaller of late.

Mr. Foxen · #63 01-04-2013, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electrophonic

4x10/1x15: Wow! This is where heaven begins - and ends: especially looking at the price. Everything else is just wonderful.

Try this but unplug the 15, might be the thing you miss in the 4x10 is the top end of the cone output that is missing your ears, the height from the 15 underneath solves this, the 15 itself will tend to add uneven response rather than volume combined with a 4x10.

Electrophonic · #64 01-19-2013, 12:12 AM

I ended up with this rig.

godofthunder59 · #65 01-19-2013, 06:15 AM

That is awesome!

Zentner · #66 01-19-2013, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electrophonic

I ended up with this rig.

That is AWESOME.

johng999 · #67 01-19-2013, 10:28 AM

Just for clarity the early Hylight amps were not P2P (which means point to point) but were turret board design. The wiring and attention to detail were superb. These were very well built and turret design is very rugged (old Fenders and Marshalls also used this design, but not with the attention to detail and perfection of the wire routing found on a Hiwatt. Hylight switched to pcb in late '80 or early '81. These amps are also built to the same level of quality, but with a printed circuit board. Pcb's are cheaper with much less labor to install components. After Dave Reeves death in '81 Biacrown continued to manufacture, but things were in constant flux - Harry Joyce no longer was employed, transformers, changed, etc. I won't say these are bad amps, but they have the potential to be quite different. Biacrown closed its doors in '84. This was the end of the original Hiwatt. After that the name was sold and used by several companies (Sterling Imports, Fernandes, etc.) and I know some of these varied pretty far from the original design. I think today the organization in England is making amps that are pretty faithful to the original design, but I can't verify this.
I too like these amps, but ended up buying a Reeves 225. It is built to the same level of detail as the old Hiwatts, and has superb transformers. While the vintage amps are great, they are expensive and really most need a pretty major overhaul to be reliable. The Reeves was ready to go and sounds great.

bgmww · #68 01-19-2013, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electrophonic

I ended up with this rig.

Awesome dude ! Congrats !

Electrophonic · #69 01-20-2013, 12:41 AM

Thanks guys. Couldn't be happier. This rig sounds a million!

Calaverasgrande · #70 01-20-2013, 07:31 PM

Wow, jealous.
Dang it you guys are gonna make me buy another tube amp when I am supposed to be saving up for a class D amp.

Don't be surprised if some talk bass knowitalls try and tell you that cab is wrong. Forget them, if it sounds good...it is!

Electrophonic · #71 01-22-2013, 12:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calaverasgrande

Wow, jealous.
Dang it you guys are gonna make me buy another tube amp when I am supposed to be saving up for a class D amp.

Don't be surprised if some talk bass knowitalls try and tell you that cab is wrong. Forget them, if it sounds good...it is!

I don't pay much attention to what "knowitalls" says if it's negative. I dig this rig. I used to have a 200 with a 4x12 guitar cab and it sounded great! A lot of people knock that idea and say it's not possible to get a good sound with a 4x12 guitar cab, but I did. I might even swap this 410x415 cab for a 4x12, who knows?

Calaverasgrande · #72 01-23-2013, 08:43 AM

the Marshall stack was actually originally intended for bass guitar. So using a 4x12 sealed back cabinet is perfectly orthodox.

Electrophonic · #73 01-25-2013, 01:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calaverasgrande

the Marshall stack was actually originally intended for bass guitar. So using a 4x12 sealed back cabinet is perfectly orthodox.

I know! That's why I think people shouldn't categorically say that a 4x12 "guitar cab" can't be used for bass.

Try it and then make up your mind, is my advice.