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'67-'68 Hiwatt amp - Entwistle's?

#41
Hey guys - it's just an old amp!
The amp does not know that Entwistle played it, and you are not Entwistle, if you use it.
( I hope you'll live much longer than him)

Well, I would give you 100 Dollars for it and you don't have to block space in your house anymore with that old thing.
 
#43
I was thinking some more last night, and I'd like to change my suggestion.

OP, play that amp all the time. Every gig you do, every session you play on, every time you record.
Don't worry about it getting damaged in a dive bar. I've seen what The Who did to their gear; a dive bar every day where it pulls double duty as a coaster is a calm and soothing retirement for that amp!
 
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#44
azwhofan said:
If it were me (and I wasn't going to use it live or at home), I would sell it at auction and turn around and donate the proceeds to John's family.
Have you tried contacting Steve Luongo? You could post a pic to his twitter account and blow his mind :) https://twitter.com/drumcrusher
Click to expand...

Why would you get rid of the amp and give the MONEY to his family? I'm sure they would rather have something connected to him rather than meaningless cash (and they could always sell the amp later if they so chose). And why would you give them meaningless cash anyway? I'm sure they're VERY well taken care of.

I say either keep it and (carefully) continue to play it and enjoy it, or sell to an organization (like the R&R HoF, bastards that they are) that will put it on display so it can be enjoyed by many as you count your greenbacks.
 
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#45
Thanks for all the thoughts and suggestions.

To answer a couple questions that have been asked:

I got the amp from a friend of a friend about 1979. I think I paid him $100 for the amp and a Woodson 2x15 cab loaded with 2 JBL D140s. Combined, I think the two pieces weighed in around 150 lbs. I was tipping the scale at about 135 lbs back then. The Hiwatt alone weighs about 50 lbs. I gigged with my Rick 4001 and that rig for a couple years, then built myself two 1x15 reflex cabs, modeled roughly after the Sunn reflex cabs that John was using at the time. I gigged that setup for another 7 years or so, then got a smaller 1x15 cab and retired the Hiwatt in favor of a much lighter (but sonically inferior) Hartke head.

The suggestion that this could be a Leeds amp was raised by a previous commenter. Believe me, I consider that a very outside possibility, at best, and have seen some photos of the Leeds show and, while none that I have seen show John's rig clearly, I am doubtful (though it's a pretty nice fantasy). In the shot that was shared of Pete's rig at Wight, the top amp head looks exactly like mine. I have seen another shot of John's rig somewhere that shows an amp that looks like mine, but can't for the life of me remember where I saw it.

This has been a very fun journey of discovery. I've learned a lot more about the amp, all of it good. I can't thank Clayton Callaway at HiTone enough. He has provided a wealth of information and shared his vast knowledge and love of early Hiwatts generously without hesitation.

I really just need to figure out what comes next. I didn't think to get in touch with Steve Luongo (John's drummer in his last solo band), and that's a good idea. I have met and spent time with Steve when John's band was touring, and actually brought up the subject when I last talked with him, before John's death, but it didn't seem to go anywhere. I have also thought of trying to contact the Experience Music Project in Seattle to see if they have any ideas. Much to chew on...

Please keep postings thoughts and suggestions. I'll update as things happen.
 
#46
Omega Monkey said:
Why would you get rid of the amp and give the MONEY to his family? I'm sure they would rather have something connected to him rather than meaningless cash (and they could always sell the amp later if they so chose). And why would you give them meaningless cash anyway? I'm sure they're VERY well taken care of.

I say either keep it and (carefully) continue to play it and enjoy it, or sell to an organization (like the R&R HoF, bastards that they are) that will put it on display so it can be enjoyed by many as you count your greenbacks.
Click to expand...
the estate has sold most of JAE's possessions already because they needed the cash. JAE did not leave them in a good position financially wen he passed.
 
#47
Wow, and I thought I was cool for having an amp that was played on The Tonight Show. If that amp was really Entwistle's, that would be awesome. Considering how much of a collector of guitars and basses that John was, I wonder how many have made their way into the hands of other people.
 
#50
Might be a long shot, I but I wonder if an insurance company might have an old list of insured gear, or perhaps a freight manifest from a cartage company from one of the tours might?

Just trying to think of businesses, etc. that might have serial numbers or other identifying info of that sort in the archives.

Of course, said business would still have to be in business, and still have 50 year old paper records, or data entries of those records done after computers became the norm.

That's about all I cqn think of...shipping companies and insurance companies.
 
#55
That is quite a catch, congratulations. I just happen to be between amp heads and would be glad to take the amp off your hands if you no longer have a use for it! :laugh:

There is plenty of good advice here. If I were you I would make sure it got to a home where it was really appreciated. That's a major piece of history and belongs somewhere special or with a player who can afford to use it and take care of it.

Good luck! :bassist:
 
#56
Listen here buddy boy, you bloody well better bring that little gem to the next Oregon bass players GTG this summer so that we may all be mightly Gobsmacked with the veritable God like presence of such a beastly beauty of an iconic talisman from such a historic past. So that we may all gather round her and lay our hands upon her and commune with her and be at one with bass universe! ( I did that laying on of hands thing once with the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum many years ago, I thought I felt something, maybe it was just a rock) but I digress! You must bring her so that we may worship! I COMMAND THEE !!!!!!,!.....(please...pretty please) oh yea and why not get Conrad (Sunn) Sundholme to build you a nice 2000S cab to use with it. I'm sure he would be happy to. He still does that sort of thing.
 
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#60
I would ask Clayton at Hi-Tone if Glynn Reeves might have any old paperwork etc. from his dad that would detail early sales and endorsements by serial number or whatever. It's a longshot, with the Hiwatt name having been bought and sold several times over the years, but you never know.
 

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