Hiwatt DR-103

2 inputs, normal and bright with a volume for each, high, mid, bass presence and master volume controls. 100 watts.

I love this amp but lets be realistic here. It is not nearly as versatile as basically any of the new amps on the market. That does not mean the amp doesn't blow them out of the water though.

I got this amp and didn't have a chance to test it out before bringing into our rehearsal space and then from there straight into the studio.
I ran in through both a factory Orange 4x12 cab and a Marshall JCM800 cab I had loaded with 2 Eminence private jack's and 2 Eminence Texas heat. Guitar wise my main guitar was a 1967 Gibson SG jr but I also used a Gretsch 6122 62 reissue, Gibson The Paul Firebrand and a Baker PRS copy. We also tried it with a Tube Screamer and some other pedal that our drummer had(he plays guitar in a metal band and swears by it).

I think that qualifies this as well tried out.

Firstly the amp sounded great with all combinations of gear and pedals. In the end what sounded best was My SG and the Baker(had p90's also) run through the normal channel with the normal volume cranked and the master at about 80%. This amp was absolutely deafening at this setting but we sat in the next room to do my guitar tracks which made it tolerable. Sadly it won't see this volume much as I got it for my clean amp in my rig.

For a clean amp it sounds exactly how I wanted it to. You can really hear the partridge transformers sound coming through and I love it.

This amp is 27 years old and has everything all original. It is one of the last Hiwatts made before Biacrown took over later in 81. I am pretty sure I could drop this down a set of stair and only have to replace the tubes.

I got this used and it will only ever see professional amp techs so I can't say.

This amp is my favorite amp in my collection with my Morris coming a close second. I have owned a ton of boutique and vintage amps and currently have a Soldano Hotrod 50+ xl, Morris Single Channel 45watt head and a 1974 Marshall 50watt JMP non-master. For somebody who wants a good all around amp they will more then likely hang on to forever I strongly suggest a hiwatt.

Mine is an 8XXX serial number (circa 75). Had the original Mullards in it up until 2006, when I finally had to break down and put in a set of Sovteks.

The 103 has exactly two features: excellent tone, and LOUD LOUD LOUD. Got mine at a used equipment store in Minneapolis in 1990 for a whopping $200 (as soon as I saw it sitting there, my checkbook was out) and it subsequently accompanied me on 5 national tours and the recording of four albums. After a seven-year hiatus, I plugged it back into my carvin 4x12 and it still sounds every bit as fanfuckingtastic as it did on day 1.

As others have said, the operative word here is "loud." Unbelievably loud. Spasm-inducing loud. Sufficiently loud that, despite the fact that I play in LOUD damn bands, and in venues ranging from 100-capacity bars to 3,000-seat theaters, I have NEVER turned the master volume up beyond 40%, and usually run the 'Normal' pre at about 30% - and it's still earsplitting. By way of comparison, I used to run my ampeg V4 (another killer amp) at about twice that to get the same levels.

Would've been KINDA nice to have a nasty old spring reverb in these (I used to love the sound of the V4 being dropped an inch or two with the volume and reverb full on) but I'm more than happy to accept the tradeoff for better tone and power.

My main guitar is an SG; my primary onstage backup is a Kramer 3000, and I also have been known to play strats, a Guild S-275, and a bizarre takamine electric through the 103. The common denominator is that all sound fantastic through it.

The clean sound is crystalline - which is great, since I love the sound of the three different distortion pedals I routinely play through (primarily a ProCo Rat). On my semi-hollow Gibson it gets this magnificent warm jazz tone that's smooth as silk - and it stays that way no matter where I set the volume.

I've never needed a backup - the Hiwatt's ALWAYS worked. I've burned up Marshalls and blown out cabinets plenty of times, but the Hiwatt just keeps coming back for more. AS I said, I finally had to swap out the Mullards, but that was after I'd already owned the beast for 16 years - and someone else had had it for fifteen years before I got it. There's no sign of any servicing inside (it looked as if the cabinet had never been opened until I changed the tubes, really).

No such thing...Hiwatt proper died along with Dave Reeves and Harry Joyce. The fakes using the name now don't warrant consideration.

Now all I need is an original Hiwatt 4x12 with Fanes...

2 inputs, normal and bright. Built somewhere in the 80's. Bass, mid, treble, gain, presence, master.. 100 tube watts... loops... 2 cabs out... A really basic amps... perfect

Like the guys said this amp love humbucker pickups. I'm using it with a strat copy with an hot-rail bridge pickup and with a godin detour (nice cheap guitar). I also used it with my old jackson sl2h soloist (piece of s*** "made in the usa" by mexicans!) it was quite good but the best is still the hot-railed strat. The cab I'm using is a thd 2x12 cab. The first time I turned it on, it took 20 minutes to the tubes to warm up beacause the amps didn't play for a lonnng time. Then a miracle happen lol. Seriously... this is the most versatile amps I ever tried. It has one channel with 2 modes but I can get any sound I want. It has a beautifull clean: I can get a really warm jazz clean or a blackface (mid cut) like clean. The "bright" mode is a bit weak at low volume but when you turn the gain all up and you put the master at 3... get the **** back. It like an old marshall sound but with a lot more crunch and... tone! again from blues to rock to hardcore this baby does it all (exempt for shredding which is the enemy of crunch) and if you have an overdrive it sound even better for solos. oooh yeah be carefull this thing if really really really really louuuuddd! I'm sure you can kill somebody when it cranked all up... so loud...

well.... it about 25 years old (older then me!) and still sing like a charm. don't know how old are the tubes but they still sound good. The only problem with the dr-103 is that I heard that you can't bias this amps so you can only use specific (nos) tubes for this amps or they will always blows.

well... this is a serious amps that have a lot of potential. I didn't try the new ones but I like mine and everytime I play with it I am astonished by it sound. Don't be fool by people who complain about the sound in the custom 100 page, these people did'nt take the time to realized that "custom" is the serie and not the model of the amp! my others amps are a randall rg100 and a micro-cube (small beast hehe!) but compared to the randall it is completely different. Finaly this is a good website for hiwatts fans:

http://mhuss.com/Hiwatt/index.html

I think mine is a 1975. It has Harry Joyce written on the edge of the chasis. I'm not sure if it's real or a forgery as I've never seen his signature (other than on my amp).

Here's the trick with mine. If you use an amp switcher (I'm currently designing one but the one I'm using in the meantime is the Voodoo Labs amp switcher), you can "jumper" all 4 inputs. This is how to get the most grind and WAY more bottom out than just jumpering 2 inputs. There is no other way to do it. You can't get there by cross patching. I mean it's way, way ballsier and the low end just blossoms. Really quite unbelievable. If you try this you will find that you have a completely different amp than you thought. My main amps are my '69 Superbass Marshall and this. I'm trying to add a Laney Supergroup but it keeps arcing and blowing components. The difference between this and the Marshall is that the Marshall doesn't need to be pushed as much to achieve saturated tones and feedback. The Marshall isn't as tight in the low end either and needs the bass frequencies managed to keep it tight sounding. The Hiwatt is always tight. When pushed hard it's real mean. If you don't hit it hard with your guitar it will taunt you and call you Nancy. I like to leave the fuzz on to show it who's boss. Perhaps the finest amp ever made, surely one of two. I give it an eleven.

Can't hurt it. Components will surely fail after 30+ years but it's ridiculously easy to service as the layout is by far the cleanest and best in the biz. No amp has ever compared. I give it another eleven.

Everyone died, yet the amps live. Ye shall know them by their works. Fernandes owns them now. I've looked inside the current amps at the NAMM and they apparently tried to mimic the layout but it's not very close. The old ones are all wired at 90 degree angles and done on a loom. There is a grounding buss that is hidden underneath the boards so no sweeping wire runs are apparent. I understand this can cause some noise problems but mine is quiet as a church mouse...until I windmill a power chord! No one would dare to try to wire an amp like this. They would go broke in no time flat. Even the very well put together Audio Bros copies don't really sound like the Hylites. Very, very close though.

I need this and my Superbass. I own or have owned just about every British amp produced in the '60's or '70's and some American ones as well but they don't really matter.

This isn't like a line 6... and thank god for that!

this amp sounds like heaven. I'm running it into a carvin legacy 4x12 cab with Celestion 30's (60 watts each) and it sounds beautiful. The clean tone is amazing. If you crank the preamps and boost the volume with another pedal (like a Boss CS-2 for instance) you can get a pretty sweet fuzz that's only suitable for dark power chord stuff really, but it can sound a little farty. This amp is very loud, but don't kid yourself... For a REALLY loud sound, you'll need another cabinet at least... or more Hiwatts, but for most people this will be well enough. (I'm a firm believer that you need at least a half stack to gig anywhere...anywhere) :-) .:.Any other effects must be purchased seperately.:.

I'd say they're very dependable only because everyone else does... I've only had it a few months and it hasn't failed me yet hahaha But the fact it was the last one made in 1970 (serial 999) makes me a bit uneasy as to whether it'll go at any time, but I get the feeling it's really a tank

Hiwatt's long gone, you'll need to find your own tech....

Hiwatt > all else

1973.
I play classic rock/blues/metal. The amp does exactly what I want, only 100X better then I would ever think I could ask an amp to sound.
There is only 1 channel. No effects loop, no headphone jack.
I use the amp to play everywhere. And it can get louder then I would ever need it to get. 4 input jacks, two "normal" two "brill (brilliant)," 2 output jacks. One volume knob for each input jack types. Bass, Treble, Mid, Presence, and a master volume.

All tube, 4X EL34, 4X 12AX7.

Why not a 10? Because it only has one channel, and no effects at all. Which is perfect for me.

I play American Fender Strats, with EMG pickups. My sounds range from David Gilmour, SRV, Dave Murray, Page etc.

It suites my playing style perfect. I use a lot of stomp boxes, and I choose them very carefully. I use a HiWatt because it is the ultimate clean amplifier. Its clear tone will blow your mind, and it only gets better the louder it gets. So I want to hear the stomp boxes, exactly how they are supposed to be heard.

There is no distortion with this amp, its all about clean tone, at all volumes.

It's a 1973 amplifier, so I've gone through tubes, fuses etc. Nothing major, nothing unexpected. Hand wired, there is no better craftsmanship.

If you are looking for a head that can do most anything, without using many effects, THIS IS NOT YOUR AMP.

I've owned Mesa/Boogie Subway Rocket/Reverb, Mark IV, Lone Star 2X12, Marshall TSL100, Fender Deville... I no longer have them, don't need them with my HiWatt.

This is the best amp I've ever owned.

Year made: 1974

The features have been covered by the other reviewers in enough detail, all you would expect from Britain of the late '60s/early '70's - no frills or gimmicks, it just does what it says on the box.

I bought this along with a Marshall straight-fronted 4x12 Bas cab of the same vintage in about '80, and have used it continuously since, both pro and semi- for playing bass.

In that time I have played '50s Rock and Roll, 60s Mersey sound, 70s pop/rock, heavy rock, New wave/Romantic (I'd prefer not to dwell on that!) Soul, Slap bass, Country & Western and others that I've forgotten. Whether using it with a '73 Precision, '78 Rick 4001, the ubiquitous Hofner violin bass (hasn't EVERY bassist owned one of those at some time?) or a 1959 Hofner 500/5 (Stu Sutcliffe) bass, people have always commented on the incredible sound I get - surely it can't be a coincidence!

On the couple of occasions when I couldn't use it - the valves went in for a change in about '82 and I had it stolen a decade later (I got it back after a fortnight, just how close was that!) - the replacement amps I had (Trace Elliot, Laney and others) made my bass sound like a guitar with 4 strings - no bottom end, no fill-out at all, completely bloody lifeless, no matter how much I fiddled about with the settings. It was a nightmare.

I used this amp all through the '80s in a contemporary recording band, when it was definitely NOT cool to use one, but to me all the other bass rigs sounded shite - no bass frequencies, again. It's quite a good feeling now to find that everyone else envies me!

Having used it almost exclusively for bass, it has all the controls I need - I wouldn't know where to start with all those graphics sliders; in all the thousands of gigs I've played or attended, I've never heard anyone comment "Oh, it sounds OK, but he could do with a touch more on the 122Hz slider" - live bass isn't subtle enough for that crap. The Hiwatt gives all the top end you need, even with old semi-acoustic basses, but without it becoming muddy if you increase the bass setting; the two frequencies just sit alongside each other rather that entering into competition.

I used to use it with the bass setting very high, until months of sound engineers telling me I was too loud made me realise that, although I was too close to hear the really low frequencies, it was shaking everyone else to bits! I only use bass on about 1/3 now. In fact the band used to be fully miked up - except me! And they STILL said I was too loud!

I don't know whether it's just my amp, but I've noticed that as the gig progresses and the other band members turn up the volume (bloody guitarists!) the Hiwatt seems to keep pace as the valves get warmer and warmer - a few times we've played in some cramped spots where the rig is out of reach behind drummers or other gear, and I never feel the need to touch that dial!

Using it for bass, I have the master turned on full and control everything else through the Normal channel, so the only distortion I've ever experienced has been when I was doing a few pretty big, heavy rock gigs and the amp ended up flat-out! To be fair, I think it was mainly the speakers that were crying out in pain!

It needed a valve change about 20 years ago - to be fair we were playing 8 hours a night 6 days a week (ah - good old Deutschland!)
Strangely enough, I've just replaced another EL34, so it looks as though it's due again. If that's unreliable then Ghengis Khan was a human rights activist!

Any other failures? What do you think? Never used a backup - never need to, just take some spare valves and fuses with you (I carried that spare valve around for 22 years until I needed to use it!)

If there's ever a nuclear war, I'm going to build a bomb shelter out of them, because they'll just tell any explosion to f**k off! This thing will still be rocking when I'm in a box!

Never dealt with Hiwatt, never really needed to, but I don't suppose there would be any point in trying to talk to the new owners, the amp could be fixed by most competent electricians.

I reckon Hiwatt sowed the seeds of their own destruction - somebody should have told them about how built-in obsolescence can be a money-spinner. They just made them to last. And they do.

Can't imagine playing without it - nothing else has ever come close.

In short, this thing is the Dog's Bollocks - I'd love to be able to afford another one, because if I lost it again I would die. I love it more than the wife!

This amp was used as our back up amp in case anyone's amp broke down.

I play bass guitar and last used it about 2 years ago when my all singing, all dancing amp decided to breakdown minutes before curtains up. I remember plugging into this old amp and getting truely amazing sounds from it...and it kicked butt too.

To coin a frase, I liked it so much, that I've just brought it as a non-runner with the view of getting it fixed, regardless of cost for the sound!

well, it has finally broken down.. It's an original 1975 serial number 6700. It had been used and abused for many years and it has only now failed..and I'm sure that the problem is only a minor one at that!I would still rate this an excellent amp.

I am need of finding a good local repair man. I have contacted music ground who are the main dealers UK for Hiwatt. Awaiting feedback to e-mail, so can't be objective re customer support yet.

for some of you guys wishing to date your amps, this link will give you all the info you need. http://mhuss.com/Hiwatt/dates.html

The submission from Massacre at 02/03/2004 was spot on. I don't know if you'll ever read this Massacre, but I found your feedback on the Hiwatt very helpful..thanks.

It has a red light that turns on when you turn it on. That's about it. Probably the amp of choice for Fred Flinstone, but hey, what more do you need?

There are two volumes on this amp, silence and deafening. The doctor said my ears were in the worst condition he's ever seen for a 25 year old. If you have one and you keep thinking that the phone is ringing, it's actually the beginning of the end of your hearing. However, the sound is original and amazing.

The Hiwatt R&D department claims that Pete Townshend smashes 25 SG's over each head before they hit the shelves. After the holocaust the only things left will be cockroaches and Hiwatts.

When I asked most music stores in Australia 'Where can I find Hiwatt gear?' most replied 'we don't sell vaccuum cleaners.' These things are unbreakable, if you need parts to replaced I'd love to hear what you did to it (but please speak very loudly in my right ear).

This amp has many plus points. For instance, a week after I bought it, 12 units in my apartment block were vacated. This gives me much privacy and I can imagine I'll be able to pick up some cheap real-estate in the not-too-distant future. The other plus is you also start using the Hiwatt international greeting 'I beg your pardon?' much more often. You won't hear a thing anyone says to you, including parents, in-laws, parking inspectors, policemen and women, magistrates etc... It really is a great investment.

This amp was made in early to mid 1973. By Hylight Electronics in England.
Powered by hughe Partridge transformers, 4 EL34s and 4 ECC83s (aka 12AX7s).
There are two channels: Normal and Brilliant. Each has a hi and low imput. There are controls for bass, middle, treble, presence and a master volume that is effective untill around 5 or 6, at that level it just gets more and more searing as opposed to louder and this thing just starts sounding like the guitar on your favorite rock albums.

The amp is awesome in a studio environment as I've used it for a super tight sounding bass head (pushing a 1X15 JBL is super british invasion sounding), pushing an ampeg 8X10 is ultra rock with some growl that's a little tighter, bigger and more bold than say the "motorhead" bass sound. As for guitar you'll need a 4X12 with either Fanes or Greenbacks and you will quickly forget the notes because the sound will knock you into a tonefully induced stupor. Also take a patch cable and chain the normal and brilliant inputs (plug a patch cable into the Normal high input and Brilliant low imput and plug your guitar cable into the high brilliant input, both volumes will know be engaged for more gain. This is great for guitar but too much for bass). I love watching other guitarist use my rig at shows (if they're traveling light or just want a test drive) because they end up messing up and it makes me look better you know, Ha! They tend to get overwhelmed and freak out!
Now, with Two 4X12s... If you are or have been lucky enough to have played a HIWATT live through two 4X12 cabs with either fanes or greenbacks then you know. It is addictive and will make you seek out the big rooms to unleash is tone and power for your personal tone and power jones (just get some roadies or some friends to roadie for you and get them in for free). You may run the risk of losing some hearing but who wants to hear what's going on when you're old and set in your ways? I'd suggest ear plugs for atleast practice sessions. If you wear ear plugs live then stop reading now. I'll hollar at you when I'm old and burned out.

Whether clean, big and bold or a "scooped" sounding british tone with the mid backed way down you can't go wrong with one of these. Or turn up the mid (and the volume) for the huge WHO vibe. Also there's a great mod you can do to these amps by adding a rotary mid boost selector. I had this done in the rear of the amp in an available hole in the chasis (I'm a player and never plan to sell this amp so spare me on the scolding). It's great for different mid voicings in the studio or at lower volumes. This will allow you to get rid of any overdrive pedals. It will crush any "superlead" I've heard or played through.
I hear about other HIWATTS being sterile or sounding like "a can of nails," This, however, is nothing of the sort. Sounds more like an overly fertile can of whoop ass!
Much more mids than any marshall or Orange amp. Or you can bypass the mid boost and get that classic, chimey bite that is the HIWATT sound. Get that growling Stones tone from the Hyde Park concert, the tight glassy chime of 1970-? pink flyod or ballsy, shimmering overdrive of The Who. There were others like Blue Oyster Cult, King Crimson, Cheap Trick, The Damned, Lords of the New Church etc. that have used and recorded with these models and all for good reason.
They Rock!

I've used this head on several albums and the lead tones are superb.
This amp has more than enough power and actually sounds great if you remove the outer two tubes and cut the ohmage in in half (if a 16 ohm cab/load, switch the ohm selector to 8. If using an 8 ohm load, switch it to 4).
I've never used channel switching or any effects other than an echoplex, Crybaby and sometimes an old MXR dyna-comp pedal. I'm not really into reverb except on old fender amps and old ampeg amps. I've never heard a british amp with great reverb anyway. This amp isn't for surf... It's for Tsuna

I use a Les Paul Custom mainly with a 59 Duncan in the bridge and a 55 duncan in the neck. A 59 Les Paul Special with original P90s and sometimes a Les Paul Standard with PAFs. Also a Rickenbacker 4001 and 4003 bass and an old Fender P Bass. Each axe sounds fantastic through this head.

It more than fits my stlye as IT is my style. The amp when pushed is not silent and noisegates come in handy if using it in the studio and if using condensor mics to track it. If using dynamic mics (57s and so on) you can probably slap a mild gate on it and the small amount of noise will never surface. Partridge transformers sound incredible but they are not quiet. That's not saying they're noisy either but there are amps that are more quiet.

Live, you never notice "noisy" unless the venue has lame power. I'd also suggest traveling with a ground lift as the HIWATT amp has no polarity switch and some places have funky wiring.
However, saying this amp is nosy is like comparing it to a Harley Davidson and saying it's noisy. It is noisy while running idle but once you rev it up or are going about 35 plus mph... Everyone you pass gets a blow to the chest blast of raw power.
The distortion on my DR103 is perfect. If I'm playing with the pre amp volumes above half way and the master above 4 and let go of the guitar it will feedback everytime... It'll take right off. When it is set up at my live playing level and I hit a single note and roll the tone on the guitar down it will sing that note all night long.
Another thing about this amp that I've read somewhere is that it will definitely showcase the sound of your guitar. If you've got good sounding axes then they'll sound great. If you've got lame axes then they'll sound like big, bold and pwerful lame axes.
You can get the Vox AC 50 tone, you can get a tighter, thicker and bassier clean tone than that of vintage Fender amps. More distortion than vintage Sunn, Ampeg and Sound City Heads. And more mid than a superlead... although when cranked the mids tend to influence the lows giving it a low mid grind that is ultra rock'n'roll and probably unlike any amp you'll experience (unless you own an old MATAMP/Orange with that nifty "FAC" knob).

I've owned this head since 1993. It's been used as a PA head for practice, a bass head for live and studio and for the past four years a lead guitar amp on the stage and in the studio. I had the capacitors changed when I got the amp as the originals were dried up. I also had a variable bias adjustment knob added in the back. Once discovering the Sovtek EL34WXT or EH EL34 (the closest sounding mullard knock off EL34) I set it for those and disconnected it.
This is my practice amp (with the outer two tubes out) and my live rig with the same set up or with all four EL34s for medium and large rooms.
(KNOCK ON WOOD). This amp has not been serviced since 1993 and has been played at loud volumes for thousands of hours. Many US tours and a stint in Europe (probably more than that as I'm sure it was getting used by a band of the day as I'm the third owner and the second owner never played out... He was a collector that lived in a small house and neede to make room. He had the head shipped from England in 1988 when these things were super cheap).
I went across country twice last year with this head and even let people use it. I trust this thing like I trust "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out" or "Live at Leeds" when I need to get rocked aurally. Neither has ever let me down.
I do baby the amp physically and have a very thick padded cover but I need an ATA case for it. If this thing got ripped off I'd probably get a MATAMP... But I'd also get another DR103 and do exactly to it what I've done with this one.
These amps WERE built to last. And looking underneath the chasis you'll freak out. It's all there, in your face. Hand wired, big and obvious... super easy to replace if needed. I've heard a very reputable amp tech say that if every guitar player owned and used these heads and combos he'd have to go back to college 'cause he'd be out of work.

I doubt it... HIWATT is back in business and I'd imagine if you were willing to spend the dough they'd service it. Any amp tech that can read schematics can do this though. These were designed not to fail but if so could be easily fixed while out on the road.
Set the amp at proper votages and impedence and the transformers should last a life time. Never turn the amp on with out being plugged into a proper load. Play it often and keep the caps from drying out. And, change the tubes regularly every two years if they're good tubes and you play often. Some say once a year but who is out there playing these amps everyday for a year? If a fuse blows take it to someone if you don't know what's going on.
Most amp techs can and will work on these as the schematics are available. Warranty? I doubt you'll need it if the amp is set up and maintained properly. Did they ever warranty these amps? Good question... who do we ask?

As far as customer support on any thing that's "vintage" I'll have to give it the old "N/A" stamp. Get the "Tube Amp Book," that's all there was in the early 90's when I got this amp. I'm sure by now there are even more books/publications.
This is a quality, touring grade guitar amp that you can use practically all over the world (Australia, UK, Continental Europe, Canda and the US for sure.
This is not a washing machine that's going to eventually break. The glory of tube technology is that everything can be fixed. Ask the Russian and Chinese governments...

I've been playing since 1989 and have been touring and recording since 1993 (the same year I bought this head). I would never take another head on the road (maybe an old MATAMP or a Sperlead if someone said, "Hey, take this Superlead").
I did use Fender Blackface twins, pre CBS bassman amps here and there but for some reason I sold them on ebay. The only other amp I own is an old valco made Gretsch "Chet Atkins" two 12" combo and that's another story.

By no means am I saying that this is the best amp hands down. But once you get your tone and set up down and you don't have the money for a back up amp everyother tour and you don't want to throw away money on repairs and you like your rock'n'roll big, bad and reliable then get one before the price goes up even more. Not many folks/bands use these amps. Get one and be "the next new sound."