Hiwatt SA112 Bulldog 112 Combo

I just bought this is amp used for $600. I stole it. The serial # that is on the back of the amp on a metal plate says it was made between 1980-81 but the date on the inside inspection tag says 3/5/80. Go to google and look up "dating Hiwatt amps". It's possible that they made the serial number tags after the amp was actually assembled. The reason why I am thinking this is because the serial number dates it at 1981. Regarless, this is the Holy Grail of combos and last of the Hylight year.. If you have one congrats!...

If you are thinking about buying a Hiwatt watch it because they were making a crappy version in Mexico in the 90's and it sounded like a turd.

The other 2 reviewers are dead on about this amp. I think that it is a very versatile amp if you enjoy using your vol on your guitar. I play Blues, Hard Rock, Country and Metal and with a TS9 on full tilt,plugged into the "normal chan" with both Vol and Lead Vol at 12 o'clock you will get the buttery tone you always have always wanted. Think Dumble /Eric Johnson. More on that in a second. The amp has Master, Treb,Mid,Base,and 2 Lead Vols, 1 for normal imput and 1 for Brite. I like the Normal imput setting for smaller venues. Have not had the oportunity to get this out on a big stage. The brite may come in handy for more head room.(If you need it)

This amp has no chan switching but reacts to an over drive on all the time and then use a distortion ped for the gain. This amp doesnt have all the garbage like headphone jacks. ( You would kill yourself) or xlr's .This is an amp for tone freaks and you know who you are.

I do not wish for any other features unless it could make me a drink while playing.

This amp has more than enough head room and really comes alive at around 1 o'clock. Plenty of power from those partridge tranny's. I have a Celestion 12/80 and not sure if it was orig for the amp. They usually have Fane. Still sounds stellar.

I can not comprehend how they made the cab sound so cabby. I am a Marshall man. I have a 1969 Superbass and a couple of Marshall 4x12's and this little combo sounds more cabby-r then the 4x12's. I have a 2000 Strat, 1969 ES335, 1978 Tele and Gibson Epi with Burstbuckers. All guitars sound like butter going through this amp. The amp reacts real well with the pick and guitar vol. Very sensitive and you can get that "clunk" that you hear Angus and Page get. There is not a lot of noise due to the point to point wiring. This thing is built like a tank. As far as sounds you definitly can get the "live at leads" tones out of it as well as acdc and zep. Like I said , using a over drive peddle like the Tube Screemer Ts9 ,keep it on all the time and dial in the tones you like on the amp. I have a Pro-Co rat that I dial up the distortion portion and click on it for over the top face grabbing tone. I also like the Real Tube peddle . It really butters up the tone nicely.

If you run the amp without any peddles you need to crank it up a lot and while it does sound great on it's own, you will have paint coming off of your walls and very mad neighbors. It is that loud, thus the peddles. You purists may poo poo the peddle usage, but many purists suck at guitar and have no clue anyway. Don't listen to anyone who tells you that you are ruining your tone by using them. It's how you use them that matters most.

it's been around for 20 years. It will be around longer than I .

I just found out that Hiwatt is making the heads at true to specks again so maybe there will be some CS suport for you techs out there..

I have been playing for 30 years. www.zipperheadrocks.com & www.rolloverrocks.com and this amp can be compared to the 30 watt Top Hat. I own the following amps:

-100 watt Superbass Marshall 69
-50 watt mkII Marshall 74
-50 watt mkII Marshall 78
-12 watt Lead Marshall
- 2 watt desk top Marshall
-150 watt Musicman RD150
-50 watt Musicman RD50 combo
-MesaBoogie F30 combo
-Hiwatt Custom 50
-Ampeg Gemini II w/ original 15inch Blew Bell
-Crate G10
-1978Champ
-1974Champ
-1978VibroChamp
-1976 Priceton
-1978 Musicmaster


Out of all of these combos I think the Tone Monster award goes to the Hiwatt. Friends say I need AA. Amps anonymous. Is it wrong? If this amp was stolen I would freak out. It's rare bird .

This guy is a 1981 sa112, right at the end of an era. pretty much the last good hiwatt(hylight) year. it's 50watts, 2 el34's, 4 12ax7's. one 12" 75 watt fane speaker. LOUD AS THE WHO. this is a two input hiwatt model (after late 77 all hiwatts were) one briliant or bright input, and a normal. volume controls for each, and a master volume. two speaker outputs in the back, and a slave out (which i also heard from good sources these slaves on the bulldogs could be used as dirrect outs for recording) treble, bass, mids, presence, all that good stuff. not the worlds most versitle amp, but i'll get into that bellow...

like i said...not the most versitle amp. but thats not the point, this isnt mesa boogie, this is tone heaven. CLEAN CLEAN LOUD thats the keywords for hiwatt. very loud amps, could knock down any clubs walls, and can stay crystal clean while doing it. i use tons of effects, so i just want a super loud clean amp with great tone. hiwatts are perfect for me! i use an american strat, sg/61 les paul custom reissue, and a prs mccarty through it. all sound great. fender sounds the best runing straight into it(just think david gilmour) with some overdrives and distortions the sg and prs are HUGE. i use a voodoo labs sparkle drive, and marshall shredmaster pedals, and it gets great tones from the who to acdc and all inbetween. There's zero noise out of the unit. this one was just checked over and retubed with ruby el34's, and sovtek 12ax7's. dead quiet at any volume. the amp is so touch sensative it isnt funny, and all hiwatts are. i have a 1974 dr103 head, and they both will respond emencly to any tickle you put on the strings. NOTHING can touch these amps.

built like an english tank (they've got strong tanks right...?) this thing is millitary spec, hand wired point to point. i think if a tank ran into it it might dent the tank...

the hiwatt name is slaped all around random countries and companies. none are truely the original. so there's no support to deal with. i would imagine calling dave reeves on the phone in the 70's, he would have been great help. as for audio brothers, fernandez and all the other wanna be's using the hiwatt name and making rip off amps that cant stand up...whatever. Mr. Reeves familly is still making true hiwatts in england. just cant sell them in the US cause fernandez owns the name here...

I just got this one, but if it treats me like my dr103 has im a happy, and lucky man. can wait to gig with the power and tone of a hiwatt in a 20" box.

Made in 1981, probably right around the time that Dave Reeves, the Hiwatt guru, died prematurely of a heart attack. Master vol, presence, treble, middle, bass, bright vol and normal vol. Bright and normal inputs. All-tube, point to point, military spec wired amp using all the best components. From glorious clean to angry crankage, this amp can do it all.

I use it with a Strat and Tele. The amp suits pretty well any kind of music but is most identified with rock (particularly of the Who variety). Super, super low noise level -- this thing is well-crafted. The thing basically plays like a grand piano: super touch-sensitive, a commanding bell-like tone and a solid bottom-end. Crank it up and you've got one of the best rock tones ever. Period. I have never heard a better amp. Forget Dumble -- this thing is the holy grail of amps. Wayyyyy tighter than those mushy Marshalls ("Mushall"?).

This amp is built to military specifications and could withstand a dynamite blast. The Hylight-era Hiwatts are famous for this.

N/A. Hylight has long been out of business, since Dave Reeves died. The layout of the electronics is so tidy that pretty well all repairmen love working on these things.

I found this thing available in like new condition and pounced on it. I have been looking for one of these amps for over twenty years, and when I heard one twenty years ago, I knew I had to have one eventually. It's a pity they are so rare. I have owned a number of different amps (Traynor, Acoustic, Peavey, Marshall, Hiwatt (Fernandes), Fender, Mesa/Boogie) but this is by far the best of them all. If I lost this one, I would probably never be able to replace it again, and that would be a crying shame. I paid a lot for this thing but it was in new condition and you would need to pay about three times what I paid to get an equivalent amp nowadays. Awesome.