Hiwatt Custom 20

2002. 1 channel of pure tube power.20 watts
Effects loop and line out jack and can be hooked up to a cab.
Presence, Volume, mid treble bass, gain switches.

Used with a 74 Hagstrom Swede and new Hagstrom f20.
Very good clean and good overdrive.Changed the tubes and speaker.
Used an eminence ramrod which is a great speaker better than a celestion G10.Tons of bass for a 10 inch.Used Mullard, tung-sol, eh 12at7 and ruby with JJel84 tubes.Original speaker was a celestion 1015 truvox.Sovtek tubes were very quiet and dark so I replaced them.

Seems very reliable. Made out of solid pine.

Very good and friendly support.

Good solid amp that works well with pedals.If it had reverb it would have been even better.Classic sound.Better than a Marshall haze any day.

This was approx. a 2007. I think it was made in England; I no longer have the amp, so I have no way to check. All tube. The amp doesn't have a lot of features, but that doesn't matter to me at all since I prefer very basic amps anyway. Approx. 20W, class A, EL-84's. The standard stuff.

I tested about 20 amps in the last year; mostly upper level or boutique, mostly class A, mostly in the 20 watt range. The best was the Matchless Lightning, the second best was the Dr. Z Maz Jr. the worst was the Soldano Atomic 16 and the second worst was the Hiwatt Custom 20.

I tested all of these through a Marshall 1960A, stereo, through just one side (2-12's; Vintage 30's). I tested each amp with three guitars: Fender U.S. Reissue '62 Strat; Gibson '57 Reissue Les Paul; Epiphone John Lennon Casino.

What a terrible amp. Hardly any clean headroom, but that doesn't matter because the clean tone was below average anyway; cold and brittle and thin. There are $300 solid state amps out there that have better clean. So I thought I would crank it and get some legendary Hiwatt overdrive. Wrong. When overdriven the amp honks like a goose.

What's pitiful is that these amps cost a buttload. $2,400 at Musician's Friend? What a joke! I tested a few amps that cost 10% of that, and they all sounded way better (Ampeg Jet, Crate Palamino 16, ect.).

What a bad experience. I had read that Hiwatts were known for their clean, and unusal amount of clean headroom. Not the Custom 20.

I suppose the amp would be reliable. It's simple, and built like a tank. I didn't have the amp long enough to really know first hand.

Unknown.

I'm giving it a 3 because it is built nicely, it looks good, and sound comes out.

20 watts, single 10" speaker, with both master volume and gain. Between those two knobs, and the bass, mid, treble, and presence, you can dial in everything from a Vox-like chime to a dirtier Orange-like overdrive. For a small tube combo, it has plenty of features and can cover a lot of ground.

Here's where I love this amp. Stock, it was ok, but once I put in an alnico speaker and replaced the tubes, I had a new amp on my hands. The speaker and tubes upgrade better represented how responsive the Hiwatt is to your playing and your guitar. I've recorded a LOT with this amp - just putting up a sm57 on the grill makes for a great guitar sound, and I've chosen it over amps from Fender, Vox, and others a bunch. It's a great amp to keep in your studio, but one that will give you plenty of stage volume and sounds great in a live situation. Plus, other guitarists always come up to check out the Hiwatt, which is pretty cool.

Never had an issue with it, and it's been gigged and recorded a bunch.

For what it is (an under $1k tube combo amp), it's perfect. The Hiwatt can rock, but it can also be clean and sparkly. It's a lovely amp and I'd be happy finding another.

Custom 20 head 2006, Hand-wired. Master volume. Bass, Middle, Treble, and Presence EQ. Two inputs.

I usally play a 57 Historic Les Paul into a Fulldrive II into this head. Keep in mind the cabinet and speakers affect the sound quite a bit. I have heard it through a 90s stock marshall cab, a '64 bassman cab, and a custom 2 12 with Jensen Neos (?). This head gets very dirty, but cleans up extremely well just by rolling back the volume on the guitar. This is one of the reasons people like Hiwatts so much--they are very responsive.

No problems with this amp. The wiring is immaculate and I do not see any problems other than the occassional change of tubes.

This is an excellent amp for those of you who are looking for a boutique, hand-wired, low powered amp at a fraction of the cost of a Divided by Thirteen or a vintage vox ac-15.

This is a Hiwatt Custom 20 all tube combo. Made in Korea. One channel 10" Speaker. Master, gain ,presence, treble, middle,bass. Line out, speaker out,effects send & return. These were made between 2003-2005 but you can still find them. I bought mine brand new. About 35 lbs, very well made nice job on the Tolex. Wish it had reverb, but hey,it's a Hiwatt.

I have a lot of guitars, all humbuckers, mostly Gibsons, so I don't know how it sounds with single coils. The amp is dead quiet. You don't even know it's on. The clean at low volume can be dialed in to be very impressive. Low volume distortion is pretty ragged, as that's not what this amp is for. Sounds great with any pedal, clean it's a great house amp. Turn it up and the 4 12AX7's and the 2 EL84's really come to life and tell you it's a Hiwatt. This amp is REALLY LOUD, and I mean REALLY LOUD. It just roars, it's raw power at it's best. More classic rock than hard core distortion. However, when I dump the Sovteks (which I don't like)for some GT's or JJ's I'll add an addendum.

Can't say as I just got it. I would gig with this, even at only 20 watts, it will easily overpower a drummer.

Well, there are different stories about the origins of these amps, mine came with no paperwork at all. I called Hiwatt and they are sending me a warranty card.

I've been playing off & on about 30 years. I go thru gear like no tomorrow, it's a hobby. In this same price range I also liked the 15W Palomino, and I loved the Peavey Valve King but it was a little much in the house. If you like that classic British sound you will like this. I think a tube change will really warm this up.

Newer Korean made model. Not the most versatile amp, but has master volume, bass, mid, treble, presence, and gain controls. Also includes a line out and fx loop. All tube combo w/EL84 power and 12AX7 preamp tubes. 10" celestion-made speaker.

I play mostly music thats somewhere between old country and rock, influenced by artists like Neil Young, Wilco, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, etc. Using the "stock" 10" speaker, this amp doesnt sound too great....maybe a "6" on a 1-10 scale. But...plug it into a good 4x12 cab, such as a Marshall 1960A cab, and the amp takes on a whole new personality....Big, Thick, Raw, and yet still well defined. Its quite loud through a 4x12 cab, certainly loud enough for playing in most band situations (unless youre into Metallica). I'd liken the tone to a big cross between Mike Campbells (Tom Petty guitarist) live tone, Eric Ambel's (Steve Earle guitarist) tone, with a bit of fat AC/DC'ish thickness thrown in for good measure. I'm a Telecaster/Esquire guy generally, and this amp sounds great with them, provided you crank the mid and bass, and dial back the treble and presence. With the gain knob at about 12 o'clock, and the master cranked up to about 3 'oclock, its goose bump city...SERIOUS TONE ! (of course when using the stock speaker, the tone it weak, even with these settings) It also sounds great with my Les Paul Jr and Les Paul w/bigsby. So, to recap...with stock speaker, it rates a 6....with a good 4x12 cab, a solid 9...

therefore, this one will be rehoused into "head" form, and used with external cabs.

So far its been very reliable. Havent had any problems, but I havent had it for very long either. Seems to be well constructed, but when I rehouse it I'll replace some parts with higher quality ones (jacks, etc)

Dont know...I'm about to seriously void the warranty by rehousing it, but oh well...amps are easy to work on. :)

For the price I paid, this amp is a STEAL ! To give you an idea of my equipment, I also have a 56 narrow panel tweed Champ, a BF 65 Twin, a 65 Deluxe (non reverb), a few Supro's, old Gibsons, a Egnater TOL50, a SF Bassman head, a Fender PA135 head, a Silvertone 1484, a Trace Elliot Velocette, and a few other small amps. As far as guitars, I have a 1963 Fender Tele Custom, a 1960 Esquire, a CS 1952 Esquire, a 1962 Esquire "clone", a 1985 Tokai Breezysound Tele Custom, a Gibson Melody Maker, a Les Paul STD, and a LP Jr. I've literally owned hundreds of guitars and amps...I love trading gear, and am a bit of a "gear junky"...but I think this amp might stick around for a while.

2003 hiwatt custom 20 tube, made in korea, 1 channel, pcb with cheap push on connectors. effects loop and extra speaker out jack. 1-10" cheap speaker to match this cheap amp. all-tube is it's only good point. the features than are missing is tone.

sounds ok but just ok. noisy? yea. capable of clean and distorted sounds. it sounds better than a dc-40 which still is'nt exactly a complement. distortion is ok only at full blast.

new out of box 1 power of the power tubes plates was glowing red. put new pair in and re-biased amp, no pot so you have to change the 10k resistor. sounded better than a pile of crap with all new tubes even though it had new sovtec crap tubes which was VERY noisy. new chinese 12ax7's and it almost sounded like a tube amp. broke new out of box and theeeeeeee cheapest construction i ever saw in a tube amp.

the new american hiwatt can lick my xss. fernandes does'nt respond. spare yourself the misery and don't buy a new hiwatt.

this custom 20 makes a laney look like a quality amp. p.o.s. i thought it was one of the audio bros late 90's but i thought wrong. if you like a cheap tone with no customer support then this new amp of mystery origin is your kind of amp. i also bought a hiwatt dc-40 a few years ago with similar lame tone results. i will not be trying any other new hiwatt products since there is no quality in them. fernandes is simply using the hiwatt name to dump crap amps on the un-suspecting public. i sold this amp the same week i bought it.

Bought it new in 97.
It is what it is...
A single channel little monster.
At only 14 watts, it is the loudest little tube amp I have used.
I use it live in clubs and don't need a mic.
These days, I use it mostly in my studio.

I use it with Humbuckers and strats and teles.
Mostly cleaner rock stuff.
I run it with both volumes at about 2:oclock.
It distorts nicely and in a "Big Fat" way.
It's also nice with 12 strings. It is similar to a Vox AC 15 with more growl.

I got mine in 97 and have used it hard every week since.
Used to use it every night for a couple years.
Not a sinlge hickup.
If something is to break, it will be a breeze to diagnose and fix.
It looks like it was wired by God....Point to point wiring.

I dealt with Audio Brothers a lot in 97-98.
I also purchased the Booker amp.
Service could not have been better.
Unfortunately, they don't appear to be in business anymore.
If I could get a response, I would have them build me another amp in a second.

Been playing for 30 years.
It's simply my favorite amp.
The only thing I'm not real happy about is the lack of an adjustable impedance switch....It sounds great through a big cabinet.
Mr. Gibbs please come back.....We miss you.
E.L.

This amp was made in 97 in England by the Audio Bros. before they were forced to stop making them due to legal problems with distributor. This is the only amp that they made in the Hiwatt line that wasn't a RI of an old head or combo(*i.e. hiwatt Custom 50 or 100), rather it's a "wouldn't it be great if" model. It's a one channel amp , with vol., gain, bass mid, treble. No speaker outs on the back, which is stupid cause they're so cheap to do and this amp screams to be played in a cab, 8 and 16 ohm taps which are located inside the chassis,like an old Vox(hey, i thought we're talking Hiwatt here?) which is difficult to access, again stupid and an easy fix, i got Steve Gibbs(one of the Audio Bros.) to install a switchable impedance on the outside- no charge. This amp has 12 AX7's in the preamp and EL 84's in the power amp, nothing startling. They claim it's a 13.5 watt amp, which is a joke, as it's clean headroom is like that of a healthy Deluxe Reverb, and it's distorted sound is LOUD. The master works, but is more like an old MV, and has to be turned up to get unconstricted tones. I miss reverb, biut the old Hiwatts never had em, and the other glitches mentioned above, but the size of this thing (small), and weight (45 lbs.)are definite bonuses, and the lok is very convincing and well done. Cab is made out of thick ply, and the wiring inside is super neaty, just like an old Hiewatts.

This amp sounds best to my ears with humbuckers, but others might disagree. Like an old AC 30 TB(I abed with an old one, plugging both amps into the bulldogs, and was surprised how close they were)with a touch less volume, tighter, more treble on tap and less warmth. More gain, less sweet warmth. Clean sound is clear, mildly bouncy, sort of Fendery but with the ability to dial in far more mids(not necessarily a good thing). Distortion is on the verge of cutting and fat- Very old amp like. An attention grabber in that mode. Overall, it's a Hiwatt, with a bit more warmth.

This amp is ridiculously well built, just like the old Hiwatts.

Steve Gibbs was very helpful, and would probably fix my amp even now,if i was stupid enough to send it back to the UK.They don't make Hiwatts any more, though, so it's hard to give a rating in this category.

Basically, if you're a Hiwatt lover, you need this amp. If not(like me), you'll probably like this amp, maybe love it. It's a very versatile, convenient little thing that kicks ass. Not a great amp, but the next best thing. Better than my matchless DC 30 or DR.Z Carmen Ghia- more immediuate and exciting than the first, and more versatile than the second

Two EL-84's running in Class A at 13.5 watts; single channel; Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass, and Gain controls; Two 10" Fane speakers. It's hard to believe so many sounds could come from such a simple package. But the tone controls really do shape the *nature* of the sound. I play the blues with a Gibson Custom Shop ES-335 - and the Custom 20's Middle knob fully cranked perfectly enhances the 335's natural thick, honky sound. And with the Volume all the way up and moderate Gain settings, I can get my guitar to howl for days. Yet if I wanted more of a rock sound I can simply dial the Middle down,boost the Treble and use a stomp box. So while the amp has no graphic EQ it truly doesn't need one. It also has no reverb or effects loop, but once again it doesn't need them. The cabinet's natural resonance (which gets bigger sounding as I walk away from the amp) needs no springs rattling to add girth to a sterile sound. The amp has all the richness I need. While the amp is relatively low powered, if you play at *sane* volume levels, it's volume level is just fine (it is a Hiwatt afterall) - you can make it howl without rattling your brains out. And for those who seek a two-channel amp to get clean and distorted sounds, the Custom 20 uses a very simple method - adjusting the volume pot on your guitar will get you from shimmering clean to thick distortion (and everything in between)...

Custom 20's sound is the best I've ever heard for playing the blues. Period. And I've compared the amp with all the other small Class A combos. By comparison, the Matchless Lightning sounded brittle and hard-edged; the Boogie sounded quite good but a little weak; and the Vox AC-15 reissue sounded downright bad. The Custom 20 is the most interactive amp I've every played through. It seems to encourage you to wail. And although it never gets overly distorted, the notes sing like crazy, and can be easily coaxed into controlled feedback - all the while preserving my 335's natural tone. Steve Gibbs, one of the Audio Brothers partners, tells me that he had the tone of Howlin' Wolf's old guitarist in mind when they were voicing the amp. It shows...

New amp... I looked inside, though, and it looks like it could withstand an nuclear blast.

Richard Senior (the other Audio Brother) was extremely helpful in my selecting an amp. I had no problem sending a check for what ended up being approximately $950 dollars (due to the 1.64-to-1 rate of exchange between the U.S. and the U.K.) for an amp I'd never played through. Unlike the big companies, these two are quite accessible and were willing to answer in detail any question I had.

I bought this amp direct from the manufacturer (The Audio Brothers) in England. While this is not as easy as going to your local music store, the amp has been well worth the little extra effort. The Audio Brothers paid all the shipping costs/import duties and said that I could audition the amp for 30 days or so ... if I didn't like it for any reason, I could return it for a full refund. That takes balls (or is it "bullocks"?)! If I ever need a smaller amp than the Custom 20, I'll buy one of their Booker amps. If I need a bigger amp, I'll either buy one of their more powerful Hiwatts or have them custom make me an amp - they're that good! I think Dave Reeves would be quite happy with how these guys are treating his legacy...