Hiwatt bass amps

[Wasnex]

Those must be very scarce.

I looked for 3-4 years and 2-3 came up world wide. They looked beat up, did not include tubes, and the asking price was north of $5K. Eventually a lightly used Reeves 400 came up for sale on Talkbass and I pounced. I also have a Hylight era DR103 and one of the six EL34 versions of the DR201. I am very happy with the Reeves.

 

[supershifter2]

I would like to find 2 1970's DR201 with the 4-KT88 tubes. I would trade the 73 DR405 for 2. I already have 2 of the 1970's 6-EL34 DR201 amps and dont want any more of those.

 

[Wasnex]

I would like to find 2 1970's DR201 with the 4-KT88 tubes. I would trade the 73 DR405 for 2. I already have 2 of the 1970's 6-EL34 DR201 amps and dont want any more of those.

From what I have read, the KT88 version of the DR201 makes about 30 more watts and has a bit fuller lows.

Honestly I would stick with what you have. IMHO Hiwatts are not great for output drive and I really like the extra power for bass.

If anything, trade one of the EL34 amps and pay the difference, which I believe is between $500 and $700.

I paid $1,900 shipped for my EL34 version in 2014. It had a fresh cap job and good tubes. The KT88 version seems a lot more rare, but I think I have seen them go for $2,400 up. I am talking Hylight era amps.

 

[supershifter2]

From what I have read, the KT88 version of the DR201 makes about 30 more watts and has a bit fuller lows.

Honestly I would stick with what you have. IMHO Hiwatts are not great for output drive and I really like the extra power for bass.

If anything, trade one of the EL34 amps and pay the difference, which I believe is between $500 and $700.

I paid $1,900 shipped for my EL34 version in 2014. It had a fresh cap job and good tubes. The KT88 version seems a lot more rare, but I think I have seen them go for $2,400 up. I am talking Hylight era amps.

And thats why I want 2 DR201 KT88 amps. More lows for bass. The DR201 EL34 is great for geetar but KT88 are way better for bass. Played bass through my Marshall Major with the KT88 and way more bottom end than my Marshall JCM800 with EL34. Imo KT88 or 6550 for bass and EL34 for guitar.

 

[Wasnex]

And thats why I want 2 DR201 KT88 amps. More lows for bass. The DR201 EL34 is great for geetar but KT88 are way better for bass. Played bass through my Marshall Major with the KT88 and way more bottom end than my Marshall JCM800 with EL34. Imo KT88 or 6550 for bass and EL34 for guitar.

I don't think you can draw any conclusions by comparing a Marshall Major to a JCM800 as they are two very different amps AFAIK.

Have you ever played a KT88 version? Honestly, I don't think the difference will be as significant as you are expecting. Between my DR103, DR201, and Reeves 400, I would say the DR201 is the stiffest and brightest. But let's keep in mind the DR103 is running EL34s as well, so it's not necessarily because of the tube type. My DR103 is a 79, so it has to two input preamp. While the DR201 has the earlier four input preamp; that could be difference. Also the tubes in the DR201 are biased pretty cold (60%); probably because the plate voltage runs 711V. The amp does not have variable bias and that's how it was setup when I got it. Anyway the cold bias could be why it sounds a bit bright and stiff.

I do prefer KT88 and 6550 for bass, but not necessarily because of the sound. I don't think the guts of EL34s are robust enough for bass duty. I own a couple of Sadowsky SA200s which were designed for EL34s. IMHO one of the best sounding bass amps ever made, but the recommendation now is to install KT88s.

 

[Rockbobmel]

I would like to find 2 1970's DR201 with the 4-KT88 tubes. I would trade the 73 DR405 for 2. I already have 2 of the 1970's 6-EL34 DR201 amps and dont want any more of those.

Why not check out a Reeves?

 

[The Owl]

Hiwatt is my dream tone for bass and the DR103 is the amp that gets it for me. The Reeves 225 is a worthy clone worth checking into. However you should know that it represents a very clean, piano like tone that won't really dirty up without using pedals or preamps/eq's. Entwistle, Greg Lake and the bassist from Cheap Trick used them. Probably tons of others I can't think of right now.

Part of the King Crimson backline in the 70's

 

[supershifter2]

Why not check out a Reeves?

I want the original Hiwatt amps. I do have 8 Reeves vintage purple speakers.

 

[Wasnex]

I want the original Hiwatt amps. I do have 8 Reeves vintage purple speakers.

My DR201 came from one of the partners who owns Hi-Tone. There are a few gut shot photos of it on the MHUSS pages that are left over from the Vintage Hiwatt Restorations (VHR) days. I believe VHR eventually grew into the company we know now as Hi-Tone.

I bought a pair of Hi-Tone 412s and think they sound fabulous. Course I have never heard a real Fane, but the Hi-Tone driver was designed with extensive crowd sourcing competitions at sequential Vintage Hiwatt Conventions. Basically they had a competition to choose the best Fane purple and then had Eminence make a bunch of performance clones. Then they had additional competitions to choose which clones where best. I think there was at least three rounds of competitions before they settled on the driver in my cabs.

My take is Reeves is a bit more modern take on a Hiwatt clone and Hi-Tone is closer to the original. Hi-Tone makes 200 if you are interested. HT200 DR - Hi-tone Amplification

IMHO both companies make fabulous amps.

Also a new company bought out the rights to the Hiwatt name in 2016 and has been making efforts to restore the name's reputation for quality and performance. I could swear they had prototyped a DR amp with eight KT88s that they showcased at one of the big music trade shows and also on their Facebook page(s), but it appears their largest amp is currently a DR201.

Hiwatt Genuine Amplifiers UK

A Hiwatt representative reached out to us in Jan 2018 but has not logged on since Mar 2018. Hiwatt

 

[purplehearted]

I'm about to buy my first Hiwatt amp ever - the DR103 ; What do you guys think based on the pics? Anything to look out for?
Are the partridge transformers not supposed to have a cover on them? I see some on the internet that do and some that don't. Does missing that cover indicate a chance that the inside of the transformer has been fixed/changed?
Thanks all! Can't wait to try it out!

 

[micguy]

hiwatt is fantastic, but i would never off my svt to get one. i would, however, like one.

one???

You're stuck in "or" thinking. You need to think "and".

A lot of guitarists switch amps when they go from clean to dirty. Picture this: 4 full stacks of 410's, each driven by a Hiwatt head. That's your "clean" tone. Next to that, 2 SVT's, each driving two 810's (as originally intended) - 4 more stacks - that's your "dirty" tone. With a blend circuit in the path as well.

 

[Lammchop93]

I'm about to buy my first Hiwatt amp ever - the DR103 ; What do you guys think based on the pics? Anything to look out for?
Are the partridge transformers not supposed to have a cover on them? I see some on the internet that do and some that don't. Does missing that cover indicate a chance that the inside of the transformer has been fixed/changed?
Thanks all! Can't wait to try it out!

Looks legit to me. Not sure where you are located, but make sure you have that voltage selector set correctly before you fire it up.

 

[Wasnex]

The serial appears to date to 1977. The preamp has 4 inputs, which also suggests mid 70s.

Ref:
MHuss Hiwatt Amplifier Pages - Dating Info
MHuss Hiwatt Amplifier Pages - Tech Info


Not certain, but the lack of end bells on the transformers may relate to era of production. My 76 DR201 does not have the end bells; my 79 DR103 does.

Electrolytic capacitors in the power supply have been changed.

 

[JimmyM]

one???

You're stuck in "or" thinking. You need to think "and".

A lot of guitarists switch amps when they go from clean to dirty. Picture this: 4 full stacks of 410's, each driven by a Hiwatt head. That's your "clean" tone. Next to that, 2 SVT's, each driving two 810's (as originally intended) - 4 more stacks - that's your "dirty" tone. With a blend circuit in the path as well.

If I hire a road crew, I could do that, otherwise it ain’t happening.

 

[Marko 1]

. Picture this: 4 full stacks of 410's, each driven by a Hiwatt head. That's your "clean" tone. Next to that, 2 SVT's, each driving two 810's (as originally intended) - 4 more stacks - that's your "dirty" tone. With a blend circuit in the path as well.

I'm picturing it...



and now I have to take a couple Advil.

 

[Wasnex]

@purplehearted Not a bad idea to ask how the amp biases. My understanding is these amps may run a bit hot on modern tubes, and frequently the bias supply is not capable of producing enough voltage to keep the tubes in a safe range. If this is the case, the solution is to build in a voltage doubler that includes and bias control.

If amp the biases to an acceptable range, I would leave it alone...until it doesn't.

My 79 has the voltage double mod.