Hiwatt DR-105 Head

DR 105 100 watt head.2 imput jacks,1 normal and 1 brilliant.It has partridge trannys however one of them has a different style sticker than the other so may have been replaced but all the solder connections still have a blue coating on them and look factory. Preamp tubes were still origional Mullards but it had 2 GE & 2 Japanese Sylvania power amp tubes . I lucked out and got a set of Brittish Sylvania 6CA7's at my local parts store . The amp is dated 06 10 77 on the test sticker and it has Harry Joyce Canada markered on the bottom edge of the chassis. The only downfall was that one tube socket had been replaced with one of unknown quality. The amp is very versitile, loud and clean in the norm. channel and gets a great blues tone by just cranking up the norm. vol.Lots of crunch in the brill channel. Leads sound superb but a foot switch would be nice. As for volume, typical Hiwatt LOUD!I get manny compliments on this amps tone.

I play a strat with single coils mainly, but also an Ibaneze roadstar with a Gibson humbucker out of an old SG, plugged into a Boss distortion ped. so I can switch from clean to distorted easily but prefer the amps own distortion.This amp will stay clean as loud as you want and has that great 70's rock tone too.Versitile and the quietest tube amp I.ve heard. High quality.

Never had a backup and never needed one. Blew a power tube at practice once, other than that nothing in 12 years

D.N.A.

Been playing over 20 years , also have a couple of Fender tube amps . Wasn't in a band when I got this amp,just wanted a tube amp for at home when my friend let me bring it home to try.Extreme overkill for sure but sounded better than anything else I tried plus it was a smokin' deal.I would have to spend at least a couple grand to replace with something comparable.

1977 .. Two Input hand made British masterpiece..This particular Hiwatt is a hard rocker, plugged into the brilliant (bright) channel..I don`t mind that because I primarily use it for hard rock..It`s a stripped down amp by todays standards..I don`t wish for anything else, it has tone, and is beautifully made..I use it live sometimes, and it will be on the next CD....Tubes are 4 EL34`s, 3 12ax7`s and one 12ta7..I got it from a second hand store, someone had put a fan in it...I had my tech replace a couple of caps that it needed.. I had a quad of Mullard EL 34`s sitting around, so there in now..NO bias control, but one can install a bias kit I don`t know what possess this person to get rid of her so cheap, I thank that person every so often regardless..

Well, it sounds big rich and alive..everytime I plug her in I get a thrill, it`s a killer, mine sounds and feels more Marshall`ish` than other Hiwatts I`ve had over the years..Most likely due to a lower plate voltage this one is running at,(that may be the secret) it sounds killer when you down-tune too, it retains all the clarity..It is a crunchy amp and isn`t clean sounding in the least, I have had Hiwatts that are tight and wirey sounding, but not this one..I just add a little push from a good overdrive unit, and man forget about any Boogie buzz box which I was using for a while before lucking out on this beast..I have had many dozens great amps, this one is in the top 5 ..I`ve been playing for over 25 years, mostly hard rock..this one got the #@$^@
I use a THD Hot Plate, cut it back 4 DB`s and still the Master is on about 3 (9:00 oclock)live, I think it may be well over 120 watts..To get that hard rock/metal type tone, I have the treble at 7:00 oclock , middle at 6:30, bass almost all the way up full at 5:00 , Presence same as Treble at 7:00..Normal volume 3:00 oclock, brlliant 2:00-2:30..One Barber Direct Drive, a Vox 846, and a Dod 308 preamp ovedrive at the end of the chain to boost solo`s.. Played lately live through one 1973 Marshall 4-12 cab with Celestion whitebacks, I`d like to try a Hiwatt Fane loaded cab to compare, but never see the old Hiwatt cabs much...)

Hand wired and built to last..still has the original Partridge trannys too..So far so good...

Who the heck knows who`s got the Hiwatt name now, it`s an ongoing soap opera..Mine has Harry Joyce felt penned on the inside, but who know`s if he did or did not sign it...Either way it`s special amp..And I thank Harry and Dave, for making these incredible machines...A good tech will be a priceless asset regarding these amps as well..if not sure who would be a good tech; ask the pro`s, real players will know of somebody..

I play Mostly Gibsons (Les Paul Black beauty, Flying V, Explorer) This amp works great with all of `em...I believe anyone looking at used Hiwatt, should check for the original Tranny`s..That has alot to do with the sound of these amps..I was looking for a Laney Supergroup (hard to find in these parts)because of the Partridge trannys, then I found this DR 105 up the road..Another tidbit is plate voltage, at this lower rate Marshall guys will like these better, you can ask your tech about that..I love Marshalls too and have `70`s JMP and a first run JCM 800, this Hiwatt feels and reacts very similar to them.Except it has very warm handwired tone that is on a level of it`s own..

These were never big on excess features, just a basic tone machine that you plugged your guitar or bass and any effects into.

These were cleaner than most amps out there, hence the use for bass rigs sometimes. The original Hiwatt is long gone. There have been several resurrections. Good sound if what you need is loud and clean, but there are modern alternatives.

About as good as tube amps could get.

See your local amp technician. The American Hiwatt distributor is not the original company. It doesn't exist anymore. Your only support is the used market and your local amp tech. Partridge NO LONGER makes audio transformers, and many of these old Hiwatts were stripped of their output transformers by audiophiles that could get a complete used amp for less than new Partridge transformers. They then put in a generic transformer and resold the amp for about what they gave for it, essentially getting a Partridge transformer for free. BUYER BEWARE! Your amp value is SHOT to a real Hiwatt collector if the original Partridge transformer isn't installed, and they know how to check it out.

I'm just letting you know that buying a used Hiwatt is very risky. Many people have been ripped off because a lot of these amps get stripped of the original Partridge transformer which is a BIG part of the sound quality and downright expensive to build these days. A used Hiwatt is also not really the smart thing to do unless you run across a screaming bargain. The Matamp brand is VERY similar to Hiwatt in sound and build quality, and they have been in production continuously since the company's inception. They build in Huddersfield, England, on a custom basis. Matamp and Orange were the EXACT SAME AMP in the old glory days of tube amps, being only a name change for marketing purposes in the north and south of England. You would be better off getting a new or late model Matamp if you could afford it, and I'm sure most UK guitarists know this, but a lot of overseas guitarists are sold into the Hiwatt mystique as Matamp was never very popular overseas. Notice that a lot of Hiwatts that get sold out of England on the used market go to foreigners. I'll get a Matamp if I ever go this tone route. Matamp was always "boutique amp quality" before the phrase was even coined. Early Fleetwood Mac and many others used Matamp. Hiwatt was more a less a copy of Matamp and Orange. Another good amp of the era was Garnet out of Winnipeg, Canada. Just as good as Hiwatt and probably still available on eBay at a reasonable price. The original manufacturer is still doing repairs and mods in Winnipeg, Canada, so it is a better buy than Hiwatt as well. Randy Bachman used nothing but Garnet amps, as he probably still does to this day. Another boutique amp before the phrase was coined. A used Hiwatt's price exceeds its value at this point, I am afraid, but that depends on the deal you find.

1978 100 watt, normal and bright channel, 4 6CA7`s, 4 12ax7`s. Basically a Canadian version of the DR 103..Has `dave` signed inside the box, must be Mr. Reeves..This amp has no fancy gadgets or switchable anything, it was made for tone, as it should be.I don`t use the bright channel, the normal channel has the tone in my opinion.This is a very loud amp clean or dirty..Beautiful Hand Wired work..The sure knew how to build an amp when this one was done.

A handwired legend, it sounds like a legend..forget all that Who stuff, sure I love the Who, it can sound like Pete cranking out the power chords, but it`s so much more..I use the normal channel and use with the normal volume around 7 to 10 oclock, Master wherever needed...A Barber Direct drive on most of the time for tone, and a Turbo Rat or Boss SD1 to kick up solos..I may use a Boss DD6 on the end of the chain, and a Colorsound Wah at the guitar end. I get everything I want from it< You can go from Jazz and blues, classic rock to Metal using just the amps tone and pedals to get it..What a great studio tool this is too.. and you can play bass with it too..Brilliant!!

Built extremely well, even though I blew a resister recently..It was sitting around for years before I bought a short while ago..So reliabilty It appears to be OK now..I`m sure it go for years, it`s built like a Mach truck..

Dave is gone, now so is Harry..with a good amp tech no sweat for repairs, techs love these amps, there very easy to work and fix(most of the time)

I had a DR 504 stolen in the `80`s from my apartment, a year before my strat was stolen, being a working musician it was a big drag..I swore off Hiwatts after that too sad. I saw this one in a freinds store, plugged it in and went woah!..My old Hiwatt had returned in a way..I felt as though I finally got mine back. That feeling came back when I first played one....The 100 watt sounds bigger and meaner than my old 50 watt, way more clean headroom too...It`s a true classic, and after all the new mass produced nonsense out there, this one makes sense...Good tone never goes out of style..