Hiwatt Custom 100

The features are limited on this amp - which is exactly what its designed for. This amp has no fx loop, no reverb, no gain channel. it just amplifies. Very well.

Okay to start.
The guitars used:
Custom strat with kinman woodstocks and a LP classic with Seymour Duncan antiquities.
the style is 70s oriented prog/psych rock although a bit "harder" than either of those genres.
The amp is designed to be played clean. and it does it oh so very well. Hearing an amp like this is hard to explain. it does not have distinctive characteristics like a marshall, fender etc... it just sounds warm and clean natively. the volumes needed for this amp to distort involve way too much pain - it is a *very* loud 100 watts.
This amp also excels at being a palette for pedals... it is so transparent that your finger tone and pedal tones will be all that colours your sound.
So good.. warm.. tube clean tone.

I had it less than a year and its broke? Doh :(
I am still waiting for it to come back from the shop to see what exactly is broke.

I am way to far away to deal with hiwatt directly but their distro in .au has taken a month so far to fix it... its such a basic amp i am pretty peeved at how long it is taking.

I have only been playing 4 years and have owned a laney and a marshall... both were too coloured for my liking.
I mainly love this amp gives me a pure clean warm valvey palette for anything else I wish to do to my tone. its amazing from that point of view.

Made in England by Hiwatt in late 70s. Forget the solid state rubbish, this is the real deal - the best. Many use the Hiwatt 103 Custom 100 (a guitar amp) for bass, but this is better - much more bottom end on the Normal channel. An all valve bass amp that is very loud and ballsey - none better. This is the best bass amp avaliable - ever. I am using it to power a 4 x 12 cab, loaded with heavy duty speakers (Celestion G12H I think). Twin channels, Normal and Bright. It has Normal and Bright inputs. Controls are: Normal Volume, Bright Volume, Bass, Treble, Middle, Presence, Master Volume, Standby and Mains on/off. Use pedals for effects. Note: the Bright channel is identical in sound to the Hiwatt 103 Custom 100, so makes it an excellent guitar amp too.

Using a Fender Jazz bass and no effects through a 4 x 12 cab this is the best loud gigging amp avaliable for bass.

Twenty five + years old and still regularly gigged. I have two Hiwatt 101 heads and alternate them. Very reliable.

I understand that Hiwatts are now being made by a company in the Midlands. Easy to find a tech to work on them.

Been playing 20 years. Regularly gig in clubs and halls. Forget the rest, nothing beats a Hiwatt. An excellent amp.

Great looks and design, very easy to handle with just basic knobs. If you want more bottom, you can link both channels together. I am a bluesman and bought this amp around 1975, has never reflected on any other amp.

With this amp you get the best sounds with humbuckers if you like a bit of the distored sound, otherwise for countrymusic the amp can deliver a totaly clear tone (best use singlecoil then). It allows your instrument to be heard without adding anything you dont like.
I add pedals as boost and overdrive, you dont need anything else if you like the sound of P Green. The perfect combination is with a Hiwatt-cab, nothing sounds better!

I have changed the tubes one time in 30 years, nothing has never been broken.

Is is very simple and strong built, you can give the job to any educated within electricity, if you have a problem with it.

Total satisfaction garanteed if you can live without all effects included, when you buy a "modern" amp. With this you need to have some pedals, but it is your choice.

1976 Hiwatt 100 watt Custom hand-wired, all tube (Mullards), 2 inputs, Bright and Normal, no reverb. I've been playing for 20 years and presently play in an 2 guitar lead Classic rock band, most gigs we play are outdoors and this amp loves it as much as I do. As far as it being versitile can can only give it a 9, as you can get away with playing Blues, but forget about Jazz or Country - she just wants to ROCK - HARD!

I play both a 1990 US Stratocaster and a 1974 Epiphone Scroll SC-550(fancy SG). This amp seems to love humbuckers so much that I put a Seymor-Duncan hot-rail in the bridge position of the Strat. This amp is absolutely silent with infinite tone. I use the Bright input with about 50% preamp volume and Master as needed (usually @3, never had the need to go past 5). I play thru a homemade infinite baffle cab with 2 12" Force 65watt speakers. There seems to a huge variation of sounds just by varying guitar volume/tone/pickup selection and pick attack. This amp hasn't reverb, put in a wood floor hall you can understand what sound the inventors of reverb were trying to achieve. For songs with more edge I use a Tonebone tube preamp with absolutely no power boost. This give this amp a crunch that makes a Marshall blush. Controlable feedback is amazing, it seems this amp likes to play guitar as much as I do!

I bought this amp in 1987 and have never even dusted it. It will outlive me.

Can never imagine needing it.

I also own a 100 watt Marshall & a 65 watt Peavey Studio pro, both have their places but not beside the Hiwatt. Sorry Marshall fans, its just seems these amps give away Tone for Crunch. With a little help the Hiwatt can develop incredible Crunch, but there's nothing you can do to give a Marshall Tone.

Your usual hiwatt, if you're reading this, you know what features they have.

some say they're really basic, but to me thats a good thing. I'd rather have 7 knobs which actually make a differance to tone, rather tan 50, each one doing bugger all!

I've got 3 of these things (have had 5) and they are the loudest, most "hi-fi" amplifiers ive ever heard.

I use P90's in an SG with it, cos I'm a shameless townshend fan, and it really makes the amp sing! I play alot of 60's rock n roll, and 70's rock, for this type of music, it can't be beat! Stuff marshalls, really, this is where its at!*

Really fat clean sounds, jangly, with sparkle (spangly?!) and real bright. Once again, super super loud, and very pedal friendly. If you dare turn it up to get your distortion, you'll be pleased, it crunches up better than any other amp I've heard. It doesn't offer singing sustain, but thats for marshalls, if you want definition, clarity, and all out balls, get one of these!

good for jazz, and blues too, stays clean nicely, but like i said, with it crunching up, you can get some real sweet blues sounds with humbuckers!

Can I depend on it?!

Yes!!! It's a hiwatt, compare its build quality with anything else out there and you'll be stunned, it really is a thing of beauty!

Tis also good I've got 3, i don't keep 2 for spares (i dont need too!), i use them all at the same time! :-D

Company's been long gone, but MusicGround are okay if you just want info.

but, if you get one, you'll never need to contact the company.....well, maybe to say "cheers for the amp, its the best sounding in the world ever!"

What can i say? My amp for life, without a doubt. It'll outlast me, thats for sure. If you can find one, buy it, you won't be dissapointed.


....and if you are, not only will i mock you for having no taste, i will also offer to buy it off you! :-D

Made sometime in 1970's This is the most Versitle amp ever!
Suits My Metal scene with it's Tank-like features
2 Channels, Unfortunatly no effects, reverb.
This Beast has more than enough power to blast out my riffs.
As with all good amps, TUBE!

This Amp is the Best sounding amp on EARTH! It has a nice clean sound which doesnt need effects to cover up crap sound. NO NOISE WHAT SO EVER Nice, Warm overdriven sound (Almost lost my hearing getting it to overdrive) No built in Distortion but nothing a Pedal cant fix. Awesome clarity. I use 2 Humbuckers

Never has and probably never will breakdown. The Tubes (to my knowledge) havent been replaced since new and hasnt been seviced since 1974
Would do a gig with a million people and not run a backup.

Havent contacted them, dont know if they exist anymore.
Dont think it has a warranty anymore

I have been playing for 5 years and If this was stolen or lost i would go to the ends of the earth to find it or another one. Awesome Bands have used Hiwatt's and they have ultimate sounds. Have had 6 offers for it since i started giging (3 Months) I would pick this over any amp and would recommend Hiwatt to anyone, Good luck finding one though!

1974 HIWATT DR-103 Custom 100, 4-input(Hi/Lo Normal & Brilliant), 2-Channel. Built like a tank, it's nearly unbreakable. No Reverb, no FX Loop. This amp is very "pedal-friendly" and doesn't produce any noise. The best amp I've ever had. Equipped with Mullard Tubes ..... it sounds amazing. This thing is louder than hell!! I use it on stage and in the studio. Enough power for everything I would say.

I mainly use Gibson SG's and Les Paul's with this amp, but also a Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster. I've tried different pickup-combinations. Just try out! My music style is mostly hard rock, alternative and blues. If you need a good clean amp .... this is the real deal. With a good distortion/overdrive pedal you get a FAT tone. Nearly everything is possible. This amp isn't made for Hi-Gain-Sounds, but hey ..... with the right pedal you will blow every rectifier away. You have to drive the Hiwatt at very high volumes if you want distortion! This could blow your speakers ...... :)
Very versatile!

Hey ..... it's an HIWATT. Any Questions?

You could smash several guitars on this head and it would still do his job. A friend of mine dropped his DR-103 down the stairs ... and it survived the fall!!!

Again ..... it's built like a tank. Wired after Military-Specs. Easy to service! Perfect!!!!

NO Customer Support! The production stopped in the 80s!

There are two Hiwatt websites on the net (for US: www.hiwatt.com /Fernadez Guitars; for UK www.hiwatt.co.uk). But I would not contact them, they only built reissues. ;)

Everybody who knows how to read a schematic and knows about amplifier electronic will easily repair your amp! I did it by myself.

I've been playing about 14 years, tried different amplifiers (Marshall, Soldano, Mesa Boogie, Fender, ....) and the Hiwatt is one of my main amps next to a Mesa Boogie. For clean tones and crunch distortion I use the DR-103, for harder stuff or hi-gain Mesa Boogie!

I would definately try to get another one if it were stolen, but only one of the older (4-input) models.

If you find a good one .... buy that thing!!
Look for the Partridge Transormators inside!!

This is my third Hiwatt Custom 100. Bought this one because it was in very good condition and my other was looking a bit tired after 10 years of road work. All valve. Made in early 70s. Single channel. Reverb would have been nice. Using a pedal board in front of it for effects. Very loud through a 4 x 12. Top end sparkle and bottom end grunt. Never mind the bollocks, you just can't get the sound through a tranny or digital amp. This is why valve amps are far superior to solid state. You also need loudspeakers with a heavy magnet assembly - whatever make they are.

Playing 70s - present covers on club scene. Through a 70s Marshall 4 x 12" with greenbacks.
Very clean. No hum or hiss - even at silly volumes. What you play is what you get, so no excuses!!! Use a pedal board for effects. I use a DS1, Wah, Vol boost, reverb + chorus.

Change the valves sometimes - thats it. I only gave it a 10 because there wasn't an 11! Used Marshall JTMs for a while in the early 90s but there were major reliability issues. Post 80s Marshalls are overengineered rubbish.

N/A

Been playin pro + semi over 30 yrs. Currently own lots of guitars, but mainly play a custom Strat with Lace sensors, Les Paul Studio or a Yam SG.

This amp was given to me from the father of a child that my mom babysat, thank god for him. I'm guessing it's around 30 years old. I play punk rock, jazz, electroclash, rock, plenty of stuff. It has two inputs, normal and bright, with seperate volume controls. There's a bass, midrange, treble, prescence, and master volume control. No FX hooplah, nice and simple the way it should be. I play in a band, it's definitely loud enough and it cuts through. It's a tube amp.

As of right now I play a strat with a seymour duncan humbucker, I can get some nice warm tones out of it even though it's a strat. It screams and chugs, too. It fits my styles perfectly, there isn't a single sound I can't get out of it. In my garage it picks up AM radio stations, it might be my guitar though. It doesn't do it on stage. No static noises or buzz. You can get an awesome overdrive with the normal volume higher than the master, the only reason you would get an overdrive pedal or a tube screamer is for the switch. Sounds awesome. It's obvious why The Who and The Damned used Hiwatts.

Hasn't broken down yet. Pretty sure it won't.

It's an old amp so I don't think customer support is even around for it anymore.

I love my amp, it is perfect. I would not modify it. Plus it was free.

This is a 1971 HIWATT DR 103 CUSTOM 100 watt head,four inputs, two normal, two bright, with individual volumes,the amp comes with the normal EQ,bass, mid, treble and presence. Having used just about every Marshall amp going I tracked down my first love a HIWATT! although this amplifier will not appeal to thrash metal merchants I feel with pedals in front it will cover any other style. I play a lot of Hendrix and this amp simply blows away the usual competition.It is powered by four Svetlana EL34s, and puts out an incredibly musical sound whatever the EQ settings, my fave being master on 3'oclock the two channels linked by a small patch lead and the channel volumes on 1'0clock...heaven! I am using a JD sessionmaster for the overdrive, but you don't have a HIWATT to mask the basic sound. I am using this amp for touring, rehearsing and recording, for me it has all the features I need, but if you must have a multi switching all singing amp....look elsewhere, this is a players amp and is very unforgiving if you don't get the notes right, it has tightened up my playing no end, without tons of distortion to cover up sloppy playing.

I use a Strat with Lindy Fralin 69's and get a very organic sound that suits my style, it is also very quiet, due no doubt to the military spec wiring. The amp also is all purpose though I doubt it would suit a modern day bass player, but I can get some amazing Jazz tones from it,( if only I new any jazz chords!)The amp will not distort unless wide open, and if you like that sound you will need a powerbrake, or get in the queue for your hearing aid!

I feel I can rely on this amp without a backup, when i purchased it it had been serviced and had new valves.But I can use my JD sessionmaster (pre-amp) as a backup as I know only too well things can go wrong.

As it is 32 years old I think the warranty may have expired! but any amp tech who knows his stuff can work on these amps.

I have been playing over 33 years. I run the HIWATT through a reissue Marshall 4x12" loaded with greenbacks I run the guitar through a modified Jimi Hendrix wah,Voodoolab microvibe,Award JD sessionmaster then into a Danelectro Danecho.