Hiwatt SA112 Reissue

Hiwatt SA112 Audio Bros. mid 90's amp. PTP no circuit boards. 50 watts has enough power for most indoor gigs. This Hiwatt is well used and must be broken in because it sounds very good with crap tubes it came with. Only a Hiwatt can sound like this, that's why I bought this 1x12 combo, TONE.

My 2 guitars are Gibson LP 1994 standard birdeye premium plus and Hamer Monaco Super Pro. The clean sounds are the best I've found, lays my ex-twin reverb in it's wake. The pure tone and sustain from my Hiwatt is everything I want. The amp takes clean boosts and overdrives and analog delays very well, don't believe me, listen to Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd. My amp is pretty quiet at high volumes, I don't even use a noise gate.

From the looks of my loose cabinet and dented chassis I would say it's already seen some heavy use. Hiwatt lap joints are shit compared to finger joints, well nothing is perfect. Will be reinforcing the corners. The build and parts quality of the chassis is the highest quality ever executed in a guitar amp.

I had a mint condition SA112 a few years ago I sold for a nice profit and tried alot of other tube amps all over again and this one sounds fatter and warmer than the other one I had. Sounds huge with the Fane ceramic speaker from the 70's. Fane AXA12 sounds a little warmer to my alnico magnet preference ears.

Mine is a early-mid 90s (93 i think) sa112 with Fane speaker made by Audio Brothers and I bought it in 96. I bought it second hand because I wanted the Bernard butler sound that he used and at that time in England (where I'm from) these were incredibly unfashionable amps...this meant that the cost of them was dirt cheap BUT they were'nt actually for sale really...just totalled ones, but none that i could afford to repair. so i waited, and waited patiently always checking the small print of ads in local newspapers etc...

One day my luck arrived and i found a little note saying "Hiwatt Custom 50 Combo..have it cheap if you like"...when i got to the place (2 hours drive) i couldnt believe it...as new..but actually covered in dust buried under a pile of junk in the "warehouse" type tiny building. After we pulled it out, i played it..the sound i was looking for was there...just perfect... chunky,meaty but somehow controlled yet raucous.

I bought it for the same price as a top end skateboard (probably equivalent to $300US at the time) and it has been the only amp i have owned ever since that day.

It is a very purist amp, there are no frills on it...you get basic features but in return you get a consistent sound day in day out. so if you know what sound your favourite artist uses, and he/she uses this...the chances are you can get that same sound just by buying one.

I rate the features as 5 purely because there aren't many.

I originally used this with an Epiphone Riviera (dual humbuckers)...a very warm chunky sound.

Now I prefer something slightly crispier so i use it with a tele and an SG.
As i said before, the sound is chunky, but controlled.

I guess the best word for it is "confident".

By the way...its so LOUD for a 1x12.

Never evr had to do a thing except change the valves occasionally..when you do this, this amp really brightens up but its an occasional thing and i really have never had a problem.

I contacted Hi Watt in the UK to buy the valves from them...really great guys...in fact i chatted to them about speaker cabs and they told me that there were some speaker cabs if i wanted them, i could have them for pennies as they were sitting around taking up space (and they knew i was broke too!)..really friendly bunch and down to earth and the valves were cheap compared to some "specialists".
Sadly i never took them up on the speakers offer. and it was truly not much cash for it.

I would like to try out a more portable version of a hiwatt combo...i guess one of the problems with this amp, is also one of the pluses...it IS built like a tank...so it weighs so much that now i am on the look out for something more "portable"
i am thinking of a hiwatt custom 20 combo or an Orange AD15/rocker30.
But i'll hold onto my Custom 50 thanks ;-)

HIWATT SA-112 (HIWATT CUSTOM 50 1X12 COMBO) audio bros. mid 90's re-issue. these rare amps cost over $2000 to get one imported to the USA. this is an exact re-issue hiwatt 4 input point to point amp with partridge transformers. ALL TUBE 4 12AX7'S, 2 EL-34'S no b.s. this is a basic amp with tone so the less features means better tone to me.

currently using 1997 custom shop gibson usa lp and godin artisian carved top strat and this hiwatt sounds great straight up. it takes effects very well through the jumpered inputs. the clean to breakup tones are adjusted through a hi-tech device i have on my guitars called a volume control! i always use the norm and bright channels with jumper wire to combine channels. NO OTHER AMP WILL SOUND LIKE A REAL PTP HIWATT. The stock fane sounds good enough. sounds good through my 2x12 cab as well. 50 watts is plenty of power in a live band situation so breakup is just right.

this ptp hiwatt could not be more reliable. recently re-tubed amp will last forever.

audio bros. is derailed but this amp is an exact copy so i have schematics if i ever need to repair amp. fernandes who owns the hiwatt name in usa refuses to make a real hiwatt so we have to go to england and plead to get amp shipped to usa and pay huge shipping and customs fees.

i have never seen a original sa 112 1x12 combo for sale so i decided to get an audio bros. hiwatt re-issue to try and i'm impressed with the quality parts and construction and most importantly the sound. the parts are a step up from the h.j. amps built in the 90's and are considerably quieter as well. excellent recording amp. i've had many amps in the 24 years i've been playing guitar and this sa 112 is staying in my small collection of amps due to the killer hiwatt tone in a portable package. music ground u.k. currently owns the hiwatt name so you better have $2000+ if you want to aquire one in the USA.

An exact replica of the originals from the late 70's right down to the Partridge Transformers and no PC board all hand wired construction.4 Channel, 2 Brilliant 2 Normal.Very Simple and basic controls but each control is very responsive.Master,Presence,Treble,Mid,Bass,Brill Vol, Norm Vol .No effects loop.

AWESOME tone!!!!!!!!!!! This amp is a pedal lover!!!!! It will give you that HIWATT clean that we are all searching for. I use it with a very large pedalboard and my tone still remains responsive.I use either a Strat 57 Reissue or a PRS Customm 22 Semi-Hollow. This is a high quality amp made by hand with original parts. I'd take this over a TWIN anyday!!You can get just about any tone you wat out of ths amp with the right pedals.

Reliabiliy doesn't get any better than this. I would gig without a backup since they are so expensive.As long as you check the tubes you should never have a problem.

Bought it from HIWATT UK Musicground, had it imported, service was decent but I wouldn't buy from them again because the high shipping and insurance fee of $223 + $76 in duties really hurts the pocket.The amp did arrive in perfect condition though. I'd try to find one on the net in the USA but that is next to impossible.These are sooooo rare. Generally if you e-mail them you'll get a response within a day or 2.

I've been playing 12 years .An excellent amp that I couldn't live without.Going to the grave with me. If you can find one I suggest you jump on it. I did compare it to a Custom 50 head from 1979 and they are both awesome but I like the 1x12 version with the Fane Reissue in it better.I am giving it a 10 because you can't get better tone , reliablity, and build quality in any other amp!!!Price was ridiculosly high though but you forget about that after awhile

this amp is a faithful repro of the original sa112. it has the the traditional clean punchy loud hiwatt sound in a small package. it does not have an effects loop,headphone jack,diagnostic trifibulator or any of that other junk that robs an amp of tone.

using a prs,strat,or 335 it sounds great. unlike many amps it does not crap out when using pedals.

the amp has never give any problems.

when i emailed the factory for a schematic for another amp ,i got a response the same day! quite a change from other companies that never reply.

most players are always searching for the ultimate tone.after playing for 12 years i have settled on this amp for the ultimate in tone.