Hiwatt Amps: A Brief History of Legendary British Tone 🎸🔊

Transcription:

He's going to need a bit. Is this guy okay? Yeah, I'm at Chicago Music Exchange. Uh, Nathaniel Murphy is a... Yeah, the guitar guy. Yeah, yeah, he's having a... I think, we think he's having an episode.

Hi folks! Nathaniel here at Chicago Music Exchange, joined by David.
Hello, how's it going?
Good, you've been working on your English, I see.

I've been working on it, man. Yeah, I do, almighty.

All right, we're in David A. We have got some crazy Hiwatt guitar...
No, not even...

This is a crazy guitar, look at this guitar! I don't know how you would play this guitar, it's got so many knobs. It's heavy as hell.

Hi folks, Nathaniel here at Chicago Music Exchange. I'm joined by David. Hello, how are you doing?Good, great! Hello, we're in, we're in, we're in... Let's go!

Right, so recently we had a crazy vintage amp collection. It was predominantly Marshalls, but those of the keen eye would have spotted some really cool, uh, well highly sought-after vintage Hiwatts. And you're going to tell me all about them, because I don't know much about them.

Yes, we have an incredible collection of vintage Hiwatts that came from... Well, one of them didn't, this guy, but these two came from that Marshall collection that we had. Um, the big thing is that we are now carrying Hiwatt, right? That's like the big news, the news! We're carrying Hiwatt, which I'm very excited about. I'm a big personal fan of the brand. I own a '73 and a '77 custom 50. I've played them for years. I think they're some of the best amps being made, uh, and it kind of starts with, like, the history of the amps, like these guys right here, and Dave Reeves, who started the company in the 60s, um, and what his vision was for these amps.

But, so anyway, let's get to them. So this Hiwatt, this is called a Hiwatt script. This is rare as rare as... Very rare. Um, we believe it is one of the very first 100-watt heads that Dave built, and it's called a script because it's Hiwatt script as opposed to the Hiwatt that we now know. Um, this one is really unique because it's, basically, it's got two channels that are separated, you know, normal and brilliant here. It's interesting because this presence almost acts like a master volume, so it's, it's, it's interesting, yeah, but it sounds so good.

And this was when Dave was just kind of figuring out, um, you know, his circuit and starting to build these amps and get them into the hands of artists of the time. The cool thing is that when he started building amps, like, you know, guys like Leo, or even, even Marshall at the time they were building, they started with smaller wattage amps. And then the bands would come to them and say, "Hey, man, I, I can't be heard! I need my amps to be louder!" Well, when Dave came into the scene, he had already kind of entered the stage when everybody wanted loud amps. So Hiwatts just came out of the gate loud, right, like hundreds. I mean, like, just beasts! I mean, they look beastly and menacing and awesome. They look like mac trucks, and they were meant to be loud, but high fidelity, very transparent amplifiers, you know. Um, and Dave did a great job of squeezing as much as he could, tone-wise, out of the amps. Partridge transformers were the heart of the amps. All of the, the work inside, like all of the component work, the, um, the wiring is so meticulous, like he was super OCD about it.

Yeah, so I think it was in '71 when Harry Joyce kind of took over the wiring for Dave, you know, he was like, "Look, man, this, this shit's got to be tight, bro!" Yeah, and it is. I have, actually, a Harry Joyce... Like Harry would, like, write his name on the chassis, right? And, um, it's just kind of a cool thing.

But, meticulously built, very loud, tons of headroom, but, but not... I, I don't want to just pigeonhole them as loud amps. They were extremely dynamic!

Yeah, when you hear, like, you played through, through this one...
Yeah.

Like there is a, there is something special about the low end of these amps through a 4x12 Hiwatt cab.

Yeah, that's like tight, but it's not muddy.

They're so clean!

They're so clean. That's, that was the... So on that day, obviously, I'm, I'm going between Marshalls, and then this Marshall, you crank it, obviously, over this just stays so clean at high volumes, which was a shock to me, but great, though.

And you can still drive them, they will still break up, of course.

Yeah, but, uh, you know, one of the fantastic things about these amps is they're great for... I mean, they're, they're great for Gilmore, David Gilmore obviously used these, Pete Townsend used these, um, uh, but they will do, they're great pedal platforms, great for prog, great for punk. I mean, a whole genre of artists have used these amps because they are so incredibly versatile. Long story with Hiwatts, I love them because I think they're an amazing canvas.

Yeah.

Create whatever the heck you want out of them!

A little point of trivia, this is kind of neat. So Dave Reeves was building amps for Sound City, which we have that right there. He did not build that, that was post Dave Reeves, but that is a '69, I believe it's a '69 Sound City, still very sought after.

Yeah.

Um, but Sound City wanted a line of amps, and they commissioned Dave Reeves because he was, Dave Reeves was working for Mullard, Mullard, uh, in the 60s. At one point, got rid of, basically, the vacuum tube and kind of went solid-state, and laid him off. So he was trying to, you know, start his own thing, but he also needed to work. So Sound City was looking for an engineer, yeah, you know, who could build them amps. So Dave comes in and is, basically, building Hiwatts.
Yeah.

That's why you see a lot of the artists we know, you know, I know Forrest had a lot of those, like, Sound City heads, because people in the know know that those early Sound Cities, they were, basically, Hiwatts. They were built by Dave Reeves, they were his circuit. Um, but then Dave was like, "You know, I'm going to go do my own thing, I'm going to start Hiwatt." So Sound City sued him, took him to court, and they were like, "No, no, no, no, that's our proprietary, uh, intellectual property, you know, you don't own it."

Yeah.

So, in court, Dave Reeves asked one of the guys from Sound City, he said, "There are two holes on the chassis, can you tell me what they are?" All right, and the judge looks at him, looks at the other guy, the other guy, and he's like, "What is it?" They're like, "We don't know."

Case dismissed!

They said it just like that, didn't they?

They said it just like that. Case dismissed.

Yeah, case dismissed.

So, um, so then Dave was able to continue the Hiwatt name, or take it back, or, basically, use his, um, his circuit and claim his own circuit.

All right, so, obviously, a lot of info on this. What, what, uh, what is the actual year of this?

This is a '67, uh, it's the oldest known 100-watt Hiwatt.

Wow, so it's very rare.

It's really rare. Um, and I, it's such a part of history, you know, there's so many builders that, that we have now, but, but back in the day, I mean, there was Fender, Fender had a distinct sound, Marshall, Marshall had a distinct sound, and then Hiwatt. And Hiwatt had a very distinct sound, like, so it's just cool, like the beginning of, like, these circuits, these people, like, trying to, trying to build something completely unique. And artists loved it, man!

Yeah.

Dave Reeves, too, like, he never paid, he never paid artists to use his stuff. He was like, "I'll give you a discount, but I'm not going to pay you." I mean, I think other builders were paying artists which is why, perhaps, some of those amps are being used, right? But, um, but these were being used because they were darn awesome!

This guy, right here, this was built, uh, by Dave Reeves in '69 for Ron Wood when he took over, uh, was it Steve Marriott?

Yes, yeah, for, uh, when he took over his role, and then Rod Stewart ended up singing.

Yeah, so very documented, there's a ton of, ton of history on this. We can probably include links to, to the, uh, Guitar World, Guitar World... I think it was Guitar World, uh, or Vintage Guitar magazine. Some magazine did a great article on this, and we'll include a link to that so you can read all about it, but man, the thing sounds incredible.

Very cool thing about it as well is it's here in the States because it ended up in California, and it was very common for a lot of artists with these big cabs and heads, you know, that weigh a lot, they would tour through the States. At the end of the last day of the tour, whatever it was, end of the tour, they would sell them in the States because it was cheaper than to ship it back home because they weighed so much. I mean, it makes sense, but that's still crazy. Would they not, like... Was storing stuff not a thing back then?

Clearly, it wasn't, was it?

Oh, you mean having like an A/B rig, an A rig and a B rig?

Well, that, but even like, if they knew they were going to be coming back in 6 months or something, like...

I don't think they knew. And not only that, like, I, I think too, and this is all my personal opinion on it, but I wouldn't say that they were disposable because they weren't. This is a big amp, you know, and they cost money. But, um, I think that they didn't know the value of it, you know, back then. It's kind of like a burst, you didn't know that burst was going to be...

Discard them, yeah.

I just kind of, like, yeah, I don't need this thing, like, you know, whatever. I mean, this thing has ended up in, like, uh, pubs, it was used as, like, a backline for open mics or something like that. So, uh, I mean, it's been, it's got a very storied past, but it's highly documented. It's, and it sounds fantastic.

This amp is very interesting. This is a 1982. Now people who know Hiwatts, uh, will know that there's the four-hole Hiwatt, then there's the two-hole Hiwatt.

Yeah.
Most people consider the four-holers more coveted.

Okay.
And the reason being is that when they switched over to the two-hole, my understanding is it was Dave Reeves trying to do a little more of the Marshall kind of thing. They were a little more gain-y than the four-hole Hiwatts, um, not like a Marshall gain, but they just, they weren't quite the original circuit.

Yeah.
Um, which is why these are much more sought after. I mean, this is highly sought after, it's a Ron Wood owned, you know, rig. But outside of that, if it were just a normal four-hole custom 100, this would be more coveted than this.

Yeah.
Um, and also very important is that, you know, 1982 Dave Reeves dies. I believe March of '81, right? The employees take over Hiwatt, and I will let you all read about what happened after that, uh, but it was not good. Um, but at that point it, be, it goes from the, known, being known as the "Hi-light" era of Hiwatt to be known as the "Biacrown" era of Hiwatt. "Hi-light" is what everyone wants because that's Dave Reeves, and then post Dave Reeves everything changes because the employees are cutting costs, they're not using Partridge transformers, they're not paying people, they're not using the right components, you know. Within two or three years they had, like, run the company into the ground, which is pretty sad because it's such a... Course I mean, my gosh, it's like this iconic sound, one part of the sound of rock and roll. So I know that's a lot of history and whatever, but I think it's cool, and I know you think it's cool, too. I can see you over there going, "He got that wrong."

Anyway, I'll let you know. You'll let me know. Let me, let me know in the comments.

Right, so obviously we got three incredible vintage ones. Now just over there we got a new one, custom 50, custom, uh, Hiwatt 50, uh, because we are carrying Hiwatt now. Um, the now, you know, knowing the history of this, obviously, the new owners who took it over in 2016 know how important the name is, so they're trying to continue that legacy. So, uh, one of the most important things about Hiwatt are those Partridge trans... Transformers, um, the transformers they're using are recording them as close to spec as they could possibly get it, which is important. Uh, the components that they're using are as close to the old ones as they can get them, they're handwired, um, the chassis are made of Sheffield steel...

Sheffield steel.

Sheffield steel, yeah, which I think is cool, that would be a great name for someone's new band. I'm just saying. Um, do you know where Sheffield is?

It's three-quarters of a mile from Manchester.

Almost. Not quite. Not quite. Three-quarters of an hour from Manchester.

Miles over here. We call that 45 minutes over in these parts.

So they, you know, they're carrying a whole line. They've got the custom 50, they got custom 100. They have the Lead Series and the T-Series, which are solid-state, but they're, they're voiced to sound like tube amps, but they obviously want to be, you know, in a price range that's approachable to people. So, um, which is, you know, most every builder is doing that, you know, you can't have all these multi-thousand dollar heads, you kind of got to have something that's, people can, can afford. Um, they're using really fantastic speakers, um, the custom shop, uh, cabinets are using, basically, their version of Fane speakers. So they're really trying to hone in on the legacy that made these amps so popular. Um, they look great, they look...

Yeah, they look, they look awesome, dude. Every... I mean, we know our friends and idols are using them, Killers are using them, All Them Witches...

All Them Witches.
All Them Witches. Shout out to All Them Witches, yeah! You know who you are.

Try... Wait, I, I... They're awesome! I love that band! Damn, they're so good!

I mean, there, there's lots there...

They're so good, that's such a great band.

Um, no, Noel Gallagher is using them, who else does... I'm trying to think of more. King Gizzard is using them, Amyl and the Sniffers, the Beaches, I believe, uh...

The movie's so good, did you cry?

Well, as in Leonardo, no, dude. Bette Midler, bro.

The Beaches, you, too.

Okay, all right.The Beach... Oh, Sturgill Simpson.
Simpson, yeah. I mean, there's loads there, there's loads, and for, obviously, for a good reason.
Russian Circles.
Russian Circles.
Russian Circles, one of my favorite bands.
Mike, I love you, Mike, all right.
Yeah, Mike, he's got great hair.You got great hair, Mike.
Um, a lot of bass players, too, a lot of bass players using them.

Well, uh, yeah, Dev and Idols is using them. Um, they're just, they're, you see them on the road, like, so I think you see them on the road a lot more now because, um, the R&D and the team over there have really made it a point to, again, yeah, resurrect this historic brand and, and try to voice the new ones as close as you can to the old ones. Nothing will ever be this, you know. And it's just, the components are just different. I don't care what anybody says, unless you want to get in the time machine and go buy all the part transformers, maybe, you know, but um, but you can get close, and I think that they have achieved that, and we're very excited to be carrying them again. So, yeah...

Obviously, we mentioned that we've got these in the shop, but they're only new models that we have, or is there more?

We have just about everything. So I got my little computer here, my little cheat sheet... Hello.

All right. So we're going to have the DR, the 504... uh, well that's the 100, the 504. We're going to have cabs, we're going to have the leads... uh, which I think is going to be kind of Bulldog... Uh, think of the... the hello that you just did it out. So...
[Music]

Good. All right.
[Laughter]

It, let's do it again. Let's do it again. Should I do it again?

I'm... he's going to need a bit... Guy okay, we need to get a doctor. Sometimes that happens, sometimes just like...

[Laughter]

Holy [Laughter]

Yeah, I'm at the Chicago Music Exchange. Uh, Nathaniel Murphy is a... Yeah, the guitar guy. Yeah, yeah, he's having a... I think, we think he's having an... an episode. Can you send something?

Sorry, I'm sorry. All right, don't do it again, though, 'cause I'll crack up.

Okay, okay, I won't do it again.

Right, sorry, sorry, we're back, we're back. Right, so that's the new one we've got. Is that, is that like the only model we've got? That's the...
[Laughter]

One... I'm sorry. All right, all right, we go again. Cut. Everyone's crying. Nathaniel is having a moment, so I'm just going to take over from here. We've called an ambulance, they'll be here shortly. So we're carrying, basically, the entire line of Hiwatts. We're going to carry the 504, we're going to have the DR 103, we're going to have the leads, we're going to have the high-five, five-watt, the T20, the Leads 50 with Reverb, uh, the Hiwatt T40, hello, the Hiwatt DR20. We're going to have it all, we're going to have it all, it's going to be fantastic.

My... All right, should we roll with that?

Yeah.
[Music]

Which out of these three, if you could choose?

Ooh... Oh, the script.

Yeah? Is that just because it's so rare, or the sound?

Combination of... it's the sound, man. I, I've played... this one sounds really great, but this sounds really great, too. It's also very rare. I've never seen... I've, I've never seen one of these, I'll probably never see one again. Maybe not.

Well, I'm going to plug in some of these and see how they sound. Are you going to stick around?

Go deaf? No, man! I'm, I gotta, I gotta go and do stuff. I gotta, I got, got to sell some of these Hiwatts. I gotta sell some Hiwatts, got to sell these Hiwatts, man.