Monz Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 So just recently I wondered into Music Ground at leeds to play on some basses and ended up playing through this HIWATT custom 400 and a 4x10 and 1x15. The sound using a Bongo was earth shattering and treacle smooth at the same time. Saw they had them up on ebay so did a bit of digging and found out they are the manufacturers of HIWATT now (or at least the owners of the brand). Not being a tube devotee (but might soon become one) What is the FOAK's opinion of these amps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noisyjon Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 (edited) aah Monz, don't say things like that! Never heard the Hiwatt bass amps in action but I love the spec and look of the 200W version and you've just nudged that GAS attack a little closer JTB Edited March 24, 2009 by jonthebass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 [quote name='Monz' post='444027' date='Mar 24 2009, 05:52 PM']So just recently I wondered into Music Ground at leeds to play on some basses and ended up playing through this HIWATT custom 400 and a 4x10 and 1x15. The sound using a Bongo was earth shattering and treacle smooth at the same time. Saw they had them up on ebay so did a bit of digging and found out they are the manufacturers of HIWATT now (or at least the owners of the brand). Not being a tube devotee (but might soon become one) What is the FOAK's opinion of these amps[/quote] Never tried a real one and could never afford one, but fwiw my favourite sim in the Bass Pod XT Pro is the Hiwatt 200, has a life all of its own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Love the HiWatt's & valves in general, but would never give Music Ground any of my money or custom. Just my personal opinion. BTW, they own JMI as well, who make spot on Vox AC15/30 replica amps, and have also built some ToneBender MkI & II clones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noisyjon Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Went into the Bass Cellar on Denmark Street today to try out a Hiwatt 400W bass amp and guess what...the only one they had in the shop (and the whole of Denmark Street it would seem) would not power up! I actually wanted to try the 200W Hiwatt bass amp but there wasn't one in anywhere. Any idea where I could hear a 200W Hiwatt and/or an Orange AD200B Mk.3? BTW the 400W amp head was a lot bigger than I imagined! Cheers, JTB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beerdragon Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Blimey, not cheap are they!. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BRAND-NEW-HIWATT-CUSTOM-400-BASS-HEAD-AMPLIFIER-DR405_W0QQitemZ310089950290QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL?hash=item310089950290&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1761|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BRAND-NEW-HIWATT-CUS...%3A1|240%3A1318[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmesa Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 No they arent Would like to compare the 400w Hiwatt against my 400+ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noisyjon Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 [quote name='jmesa' post='445173' date='Mar 25 2009, 05:27 PM']...Would like to compare the 400w Hiwatt against my 400+[/quote] That's what I wanted to do, as I have a Mesa Bass 400+ too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sifi2112 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Went to Electro to test Hiwatt Custom v Ampeg SVTVR & came away with Markbass Classic 300 ! none of em are cheap tho ! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Funk Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 If you're going to spend over £2000 on a bass head, give Denis Cornell a call. He makes Clapton's amps. For £2000 he'll design any bass head you want to your specifications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzz Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 (edited) Ah, so the Customs are bascially the same as the 50/60's amps that built Hiwatts rep, what with them being hand point to point wired. Quite expensive at ~£1500 for the 200w, but also fairly labour intensive work, so I can see why they cost quite a bit even if a bit is markup. Does make you wonder what Orange are playing at with the AD200b though, as that's using circuit boards to a large extent with quite a few cost cutting measures on board, such as pots wired to the pcb, just how on earth they can charge £1200ish while Hiwatt are only charging £200/300 more for a full point to point hand wired amps. Edited March 25, 2009 by Buzz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thornybank Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I've had 2 400w heads. They are big, heavy and awesome. I can't believe the new ones can match them for build quality - and I[i] know[/i] the valves won't cut it the same way the old Gold Lions did it. Cost is now around £600 to revalve it with the good stuff. But still way huge.... The 200w - same story. I have 2 old ones that I think are worth the £1500. I would take an old one with a clean set of old British KT88s over a new one, even if there is a re-cap job on the horizon. And mine come with a valve set worth £300+.... Anyway - fantastic tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleal Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I played bass through an original hiwatt custom 100 (dr103) for around 10 trouble free years, what an awsome amp, to give you some idea of the power these things are capable of, i ran it up against a 400w rms peavey head running through 4x10 & 1x15 cabs so down to 2ohms (full power) the hiwatt was hooked up to a marshall 4x12 angled bass cab running 16ohms & made the peavey completely gutless in comparison, so i cannot begin to imagine the power of the 200 or 400 watt heads, I also started using a trace elliot gp12smx preamp through the hiwatt head with amazing results in giving me a more modern tone & a slap sound to die for, but this was an original 1970's dr103 so i have no idea if the new ones are the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monz Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 Oh bugger and damnation.... I was hoping you were all going to say don't bother they are crap but I guess my take on it wasn't far from the mark then From the replies I've had I'm guessing the 200W will be plenty for pub gigs and the occasional club gig. Now the stinger question... If they are so powerful do I need to get a cab capable of handling more juice? Like a 400W or 600W to match to the 200W head? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleal Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Most definately, i would go for a 400w cab to be on the safe side, are you sure you need a 200w hiwatt head, the dr103 that i had was a 100watt all purpose head & that was more than powerfull enough for any venue that i played, even the wedgewood rooms in southsea, the output rating seems to be totally different to any modern bass head that i know of, you need to try a hiwatt head next to another brand of the same wattage or higher & you'll see what i mean, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 [quote name='Monz' post='446059' date='Mar 26 2009, 02:55 PM']Now the stinger question... If they are so powerful do I need to get a cab capable of handling more juice? Like a 400W or 600W to match to the 200W head?[/quote] Although valve heads sound a lot louder they don't put out any more power than a s/s head run equally hard therefore the same rules of thumb apply. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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