Hiwatt Lead 50 Head

This amp was made in 1987. It is an all valve two channel amp, one high gain and one clean(er). It has a line out socket and all the usual stuff. Mine is the 50 watt version which is LOUD and certainly has enough volume for any gigging situation.

I use a Gibson SG with humbuckers and it sounds absolutley awesome through this amp. I wanted to get a vintage tone similar to early Pete Townsend and this is exactly what i get. This amp responds superbly to rolling off the volume if you want to clean things up on channel one (which is the only channel I use) and means you can go from a crunchey bluesy tone to cystal clear just by flicking the selector switch. The lead channel (channel two) is very muddy at low volumes and at first i agreed with the earlier reviews which stated it was basically unuseable. However i then cranked the amp and it sounded superb. The distortion is a bit too heavy for my style but it does sound a billion times better than the lead channel on the Marshall JCM 2000 DSL i used to own which i thought was very thin. For me channel one is where its at. The sound is just like the early 70`s Dave Reeves designed amps and as far as i am concerned i aint heard anything better.

I bought my amp seconhand and it looks quite tatty on the outside. However it sounds first class and i use it 2-3 times a week for practicing and then for gigs at weekends. It has never let me down.

N/A- Never delt with them.

I have been playing for six years and have owned various Marshalls (Bluesbreaker, Jcm 2000 dsl etc) and have been looking for this tone for a long time. I like Marshalls but i dont think i will ever go back to them after owning this. If it were stolen i would definately buy another because they are so cheap at the moment. Even if they were`nt i would still buy one!

I know this amp was produced in the 80s, but i don't know exactly what year. This amp can really rock the house, it has two channels, let me rephrase that, two GREAT channels. It has an effect loop and what not, it also has a 8ohm/16ohm switch... The only thing I wish the amp could have would have to be a 50/25 watt split, it is incredibley loud, I am using a Marshll 2x12 cab with it right now and I can barely have the volume past two when I am at home, the amp sounds great around 5 - 6ish. All around thought, this is the best sounding amp I've played/owned.

This is a tube amp.

Well I use an array of guitars [Strat w/Invader humbucker, Tele [tex mex], Mustang w/lil screamin' demon] it works great with every guitar I've plugged in. You can hear each guitars different voice, and thats what I really love about this amp [and tube amps in general]. It was a little rattley at first, but then I soon remembered the amp is almost 20 years old, so I forgave it and soon enough the rattleing stopped. Like all tube amps if you push the amp enough the clean will start to break up and distort. The distortion is marvelous, to die for actually.

I found out how to get this amp sounding great. What you do is actually fairlly simple:

Turn the overdrive to roughly 5-6 and turn the lead volume up, then adjust the master voulme accordingly, if you put the overdrive up all the way your guitar might turn to mush... I turn the bass up to 9-10 and the others to 6-7ish, and I have the presense to 6 [ I think ], but if you toy with it, you will get great tone.

I will definately be using this giging, but I do plan on bringing my jcm, just to boost leads and what not, but not as a back up. I have not yet had to get repairs done on the amp.

I have not dealed with hiwatt yet, I don't know how it would work , what with Fernandes and all.

I've been playing for 3 1/2 years and I really enjoy this head, I would compare this head to a Marshall jcm 800 2205, I was orginally looking at one of those but once I was introduced to the Hiwatt my mind was made. I love every thing about this amp, it has a great look to it, old school plexi kinda look. If stolen I would try to find another one, I have only seen one other one though, but it was 100 watts [too much].

If you are looking at this amp, but it, it is very much worth the money... it might be a little scuffed up and torn here or there, but its not the looks, its the tone, the amazing tone this amp has.

Made in 1986 this is a 50 x watt class A/B valve head.I honestly thought there was something wrong with the lead channel as it is dire and basically unusable but as it turn out there is obviously a design fault.Not to worry though as the rythmn channel more than make up for it and ithis is one of the best amplifiers I have ever come across in 30 x years of playing.When your "rythmn" channel is as good as this who needs a lead channel !! I thing the earlier review says everything.

I play lound rock and this hiwatt is where its at.It will shatter brick walls at 1000 yards if you want its to and yet retain a musical quality that is majestic.

Ive had it nearly a year now and its handled every gig without the slightest hitch.

I cant quiet fathom who are marketing hiwatt now ( I think its the guitar shop "musicground" in the UK).

I payed #60 for this amplifier and for that #60 I also got the matching 4 x 12 hiwatt cab,Both in pristine condition.The seller bought it new,hadnt played it in years and was getting hassle from his wife to make some space and get rid of it.No problem mate!!!

Its a 1986 Hiwatt L50 50watt head, with 2 channels, and 1 input. Channel 1 is the rhythm channel, and features volume, treble, bass, and presence. Channel 2 is the lead channel, and features volume, overdrive, treble, middle, bass, and pressence. There is also a master volume on it, and a line out in the back with its own volume knob.

This guitar amp sounds F'ing amazing! Actually, the rhythm channel sounds F'ing amazing...the lead channel pretty much sounds like a really bad distortion pedal. I have always played Marshalls, but was looking for something new. I have had so many different marshalls, that I knew that I had to look somewhere else. I took a chance with this amp...I am so happy I did! I am using this amp with a THD Hot Plate to get the natural overdrive sound, and playing it through an older JCM800 Marshall 4X12 Cab. With the rhythm volume up around 7, and the master volume around 7, this amp screams! With my 1980 Les Paul Standard it sounds like a Marshall with way more note definition and way more tone. And the best part about it is all you have to do is back off your guitar volume, or turn the rhythm volume down on the amp and you get awesome clean tone...with a little dirt on it. If you back the volume way off on the amp, you get very warm clean tone that sings over a Marshall! I mean, its no Matchless or anything, but for a class A/B british amp...it sounds awesome. I am so impressed with this amp...I am a full-on Hiwatt fan now. Next buy would definetly be a DR504 head.

So far, so good. I think it still has the original tubes in it, and it still sounds beautiful.

Well...I don't even know who Hiwatt is anymore...there is the Fernadez Guitar thing, and then theres Hiwatt USA, and then theres Hiwatt UK...I don't even know who to talk to. I had a question about getting a footswitch for my amp, since I bought it used and didn't come with one. So I emailed all the Hiwatt companies, and still haven't heard back from them. I even called Hiwatt USA and left a message for the tech, and still haven't heard from him! So far...very flacky service!

If this was stolen, I would definetly replace it, or get another Hiwatt of some sort...probably a DR504 or a Custom 100...something older. But for now...I no longer prefer Marshalls for the rock n roll tone, Hiwatt is where its at!