AMPS THIS BEAUTIFUL Don't Need 'Repair'…Only Love ❤️ - 1971 HIWATT CUSTOM 50 DR504

In this video, we'll look at a 1971 Hiwatt Custom 50 in need of some service attention. We'll also set the bias and talk about the pros and cons of setting the bias according to onset of crossover distortion on the oscilloscope vs the 70% plate dissipation rule. In the end, we'll demonstrate the tone in a band setting, complete with bass and drums!
Mics used:
Guitar - sE Electronics VR1 Passive Ribbon amzn.to/3KiVsCN
EV 635a amzn.to/3YK8ZHR
Drums were miced up with ONE Shure 565: amzn.to/3SdKfVP
Audio Technica AT4040 used as a room mic amzn.to/3IhYV1x
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#repair #electronics #guitar

[@TheGuitologist]

Guitar used: www.zioguitars.com/shop/brad-linzy-the-guitologist-signature-meteorite Mics used: Guitar Cabinet - sE Electronics VR1 Passive Ribbon amzn.to/3KiVsCN EV 635a amzn.to/3YK8ZHR Drums were miced up with ONE Shure 565: amzn.to/3SdKfVP Audio Technica AT4040 used as a room mic amzn.to/3IhYV1x *SHOW YOUR SUPPORT* 1: Become a Member on Locals: theguitologist.locals.com/ 2: Donate via Paypal: paypal.me/guitologist?locale.... 3: Buy Merch: bit.ly/GuitologistMerch

[@simonfettig1945]

Hi Brad! Love the videos especially this one! Got a question regarding tubes. Where can I get my hands on a good matching set of 6 6550’s? The tubes available here in Medicine Hat are garbage

[@UncleDoug]

Viewing the innards of a HiWatt amp is like bumping into Margot Robbie at the mall......astounding beauty, flawless construction, impressive performance, and (most likely) way more than you can afford ;)

[@TheGuitologist]

And if they were for sale all the time, they'd put us out of business.

[@wrenchhead6840]

Good to see you again uncle doug

[@RHR-221b]

Stay free, Uncle Doug et al. All the best. Rab 🍻 😎

[@RHR-221b]

PS. To Rusty (Rest In Peace) and your beloved KittenKatz. 💖

[@roderickbalt8993]

Margot Robbie is just marketing, you can trip over more beautiful women in a mall actually ;)!

[@brianlebrun2382]

I have a friend who was recording in Electric Lady Studio back in the early to mid 70s with Clarence Clemens and a few other folks. In walked a man who asked if his boss could come in and lay some tracks down with them. They said sure but my friend being a major funk player at the time had no idea who Pete Townsend was. In he came with his assistant pushing in a Hiwatt halfstack. After the session (I've seen the pics and heard the tracks) Townsend packed up his guitar and left but didn't take the amp. My friend was able to track him down and in a phone call Pete told him to keep it because Hiwatt gives them to him. Well, he still has it and I've played through it. It's a friggin' beast and I had a chance to buy it but there's no way to pony up that much cash. The amp has been authenticated. Townsend used to spray a large spot of orange paint on the inside of the cabs and the head as his security "mark". They both have it and the serial numbers are correct. Great, historic amps.

[@malcolmhardwick4258]

I remember when you could buy these amps as well as WEM, Selmer, Sound City and others for peanuts !

[@TheGuitologist]

We never see that stuff where I live hardly. I owned one Sound City a few years back. It's the only one I had ever seen in the wild, so I bought it.

[@malcolmhardwick4258]

@@TheGuitologist There used to be stacks of them in secondhand stores. Pick them up from 100 uk pound and up. You dont see them nowadays nor the secondhand stores they've all gone. But when you do see one pop up on ebay then they want top dollar. I had 50w Sound City for a while and a really great WEM 50w head that was covered in white leather. Someonestole it as well as other good stuff. Those were the days people didnt realise what they had !

[@scottdunn2178]

@@TheGuitologist If you remember the old Angela Instruments catalog, the dude would buy piles of these amps over in England and ship them back for resale in the States. A Selmer Treble 'n Bass for $150, etc. was common. 2203 heads for $400 all day long. Fun times.

[@gamjammallota78]

Those amps are a thing of beauty. I was 15yrs old back then. I was playing all the amps from that era. HIWATT was known for how loud they were while remaining fairly clean vs a Vox or Marshall. Fenders back then were clean but not as loud or robust comparatively speaking. They have their own "crunch" voice when driven and are superb pedal platforms. HIWATT was truly a mil-spec amp and repair techs loved them back then as they still do today.

[@maxykuipers]

Obviously, nothiung has changed - has it?😜

[@RealGengarTV]

FINALLY an amp repair video !

[@stiffrichard2816]

I never get tired of watching Pete Townsend topple that full stack BAM!-Right down on the hard stage floor... and it still worked!!!

[@vayabroder729]

The Kids Are Alright clip? 😉

[@stiffrichard2816]

​@@vayabroder729Yup!

[@sski]

I almost died when I saw the underside of the chassis. It was so gloriously beautiful. THE BRADS ROCK! 🤘🤘

[@lutboy2909]

That's a sexy amp there, like noting else i can see until now, just pure gold and sounded crazy too

[@dholzric1]

I had one just like this back in the mid 80s. It was a work of art.

[@mtacoustic1]

Had a 50 watt 'Bulldog' HIWATT combo back in the 90's. They were beautifully constructed to military specs. Wish I still had it!

[@RyanHemming]

Back in the mid ‘90s I bought a couple of 1970/71 Dr-103’s around $500 from Black Market Music in Los Angeles. I traded my Marshall JCM900 once I heard the Hiwatt. I still have them to this day! I would lose sleep if I had an issue with one of them. I met some old timers that knew out to service them - the genius of Greg Leon! Later on I met Don Butler who worked on converting my Super Lead to 6550s. Hiwatt is by far my favorite amp!

[@simonnotthepieman1581]

I bought a Hiwatt just a few months ago. It says Custom Hiwatt 20 on the front though model is SA20. It's frigging lovely! Loud! Tons of headroom, and takes pedals well. I run it thru a BOSS TAE coz of neighbours lol

[@jimaccord3341]

Great analysis, technical review, workmanship, and I love the band as well! Keep up the great work!

[@petersouthern7227]

Excellent! I have a 100 watt version from the same year.

[@TheGuitologist]

sweet!

[@SteveHacker]

Now THAT REALLY DOES sound like the 60s and 70s! Now I MUST have one (just as soon as I win the lottery). MMMAN! More videos like this!!! 😍😍😍

[@gibs8412]

thanks for playing the amp with the other tracks, love hearing old equipment that way!

[@rmdatv]

Alright Brad. Been watching for yrs, but that one earned the subscription. Cant imagine how much work went into this but definitely appreciate it.

[@andywitch666]

This amp is a jem of simplicity and tidiness, the heaven to the Mesa Hell!!! Nice to see you on the drums again, nice groove!!!

[@_Mr_C]

Agreed. Mesa is way too complicated the layouts are suspect. Multi-layer boards are crap. Amps should not be rocket science.

[@klauth_Yksyn]

This was great! I just bought a couple of the new Hiwatt offerings and am enjoying being part of the legacy.

[@orionwarren4244]

Ahhh, yes. That organic 60s and 70s crunch tone these old English amps produced so effortlessly.

[@TheGuitologist]

It was BEYOND loud in the room to get that crunch. Hearing protection recommended!

[@BigislandEJ]

As an old electrician and a nerd , I do love this channel.

[@Damaraja]

What a treat. Hits the spot. Thanks, B. 🤙

[@hippoferd]

Hi nice amp and nice drum playing too , you said one day that you have a young daughter playing the drums; my 9 old daughter is playing the drums too since her 7 years old, I'm very proud of her, girls rock !!!

[@TheGuitologist]

The drumming daughter is the one in this video. She's been jamming with me here and there. I'll get her there! She loves music and has an excellent memory for it.

[@kimmassey6596]

Probably your best video ever. Thanks Brad

[@hansemannluchter643]

That was a great watch, thanks. Always a pleasure to see the inside of a Hiwartt😁

[@R3TR0R4V3]

That Hiwatt, wow the handwired workmanship is just outstanding. 😎 What a sweet amp! That wall of Supro's & Silvertones behind you at the end though.. I would've died and gone to heaven. 😍

[@TheGuitologist]

Who needs art on the walls? :D

[@Twobarpsi]

Wow!! The layout of this anp is top notch!!

[@metricdeep8856]

This is why KZbin is the best thing to happen to this world. Much gratitude to you Sir. The universe owes you good Karma. Cheers and thanks for sharing. Edit: I left out the part about how fantastic you are at explaining what you are doing. Again, Much gratitude. Cheers.

[@julianmetcalfe1070]

Wow sounds of those classic Amps are heaven, great jam at the end too wicked

[@firebugmusic]

That Custom 50 SMOKES! I have an original '73 Hiwatt Custom 100 I am also endorsed by Hiwatt. They did not give me the '73 :) I also have the matching 4/12 cab wall of sound! Thanks for posting our band is FireBug we are based in Joshua Tree CA

[@peterstephen1562]

The creative sound demonstration / performance is stunning. Well done. Nice to see you happy.

[@TheGuitologist]

Thank you very much!

[@nealappleby8334]

Great amp, I’ve got a Dr504, Noddy Holder of Slade had a 200watt version!!

[@popeye089]

Ooooo I had a 1971 100. IMO a HiFI Marshall with boutique build quality before “boutique” existed

[@markn4526]

Another well-done video. I'm fortunate enough to have 1974 DR504 that I bought used back in 1980 for $240(!). It's a great amp that I used as my primary gigging amp thru the 80's. It was 100% reliable thru that period, but started developing some issues in the mid-90's. My amp tech called it "motorboating". I think it got upset probably because I wasn't using it enough. I had it re-capped and re-tubed and it was restored back to its previous greatness. I had an adjustable bias circuit installed too. It's a powerful and muscular sounding amp that stays very clean into very high volume levels on its own and serves well as a great pedal platform.

[@loumonte658]

Outstanding amp. Great playing too.

[@DetroitWrecker666]

Wow! This is incredible!

[@TheGuitologist]

IKR!

[@kennethoneill241]

The coolest jam on your channel yet! Thanks

[@strat0871]

Congrats master.

[@artysanmobile]

I set my 1970 JMP 50w bias to net me 40w operation and it is still small stage capable but with a breakup I can use. I’m very happy with it. I bought this amp new and will never let it go.

[@treed873]

Thanks for the repair vid! Always fascinating.

[@TheGuitologist]

You bet

[@hrsey71]

sounds great! good to see amp content

[@roncarter2188]

Beautiful Amp and beautiful job on the analysis and bias!

[@truthtorpedo99]

Nice arrangements at the end, sweet variety of tones too

[@simonegleton1790]

That was excellent, very informative as usual, plus tone to die for at the end, thank you!

[@howabouthetruth2157]

I had already posted 2 comments mid-video, then had to run a quick errand & came back to finish watching. Man, that amp & guitar sounds amazing! Very impressive. Cool licks too! I used headphones, and even after the compression of youtube, I can really tell how ballsy that amp is. NICE!!!

[@ralfhedstrom]

Thats a work of beauty....I am drooling.

[@peterburi2727]

I had one of those in my youth, great sounding amp. Nice choice for a video.

[@fiddlix]

50-60% plate idle dissipation is plenty for a Hiwatt 50. I love the David Reeves era of Hiwatt amps. Great job Brad.

[@RogerBarraud]

That sounds excessive to me. Why not crank it all the way up and enjoy Class A goodness? 😕

[@snowyrain5730]

50% ?! You're doing yourself a massive disservice running these amps that cold.

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

70% and it should sound massive.

[@calcariachimera]

Rocking drumming skills my man!

[@hlyangel1]

Great sound on the jam! Thanks for doing that.

[@martinmccann2112]

Cracking video of my dream amp,many thanks Brad.

[@208414]

I loved the full band jams at the end.

[@TheGuitologist]

Thanks. I’ll probably do at least a little of that from now on.

[@robertclarkguitar]

Killer snare. You tuned it up nice. I miss my kits. My god. Great video my friend. Learned a bit about biasing.

[@garymallard4699]

Uncle Doug and Cousin Brad...2 Wild & Crazy Guys !! 👍🤨

[@user-cv8ix5dg6o]

What a brilliant performance

[@embreesmith7613]

Brad... I always was impressed with the Military Standard workmanship on these. 🙂

[@sylvainbebert3704]

Super tone ! Love the 50w Hiwatt

[@robertbarbaree4190]

Great video, I enjoy your walk throughs and the jams at the end were a bonus!!

[@rockdaddy2168]

I miss my HIWATT. Early 70s 100w. Bought it new.

[@tamasnagy3723]

Wow, this amp is a piece of an art! By the way, your music at the end is genius!

[@TheGuitologist]

Haha.

[@frufru0071]

This is my first time seeing one of your videos, and I’m really happy to have found it! Considering how clean your sound is, that amp was singing buttery-smooth. What are those, PA-58s? I don’t recognize the guitar you’re using, but it would be cool to hear some of those riffs you playing arranged into a song and really taking that amplifier to its fullest…whilst you let the volume knob on your guitar and all 10 of your fingers elicit Jeff Beck like sounds from that amplifier. It’s a totally different setup, (what am I saying?!). Sorry. Awesome video and beautiful work with your soldering iron. That "work" looks so good it’s more like art on a circuit board. Great video and well executed. Thank you. I’m subscribed.

[@bdhay02]

Beautiful. That was my first guitar amp (my Dad bought it for me used around 1976-1977). It had a couple of cigarette burns on the Tolex and had a slight smell of smoke and beer once the tubes warmed up. I figured it was probably made in the late 60s to early 70s then spent some time on the road. I sold it in the late 80s for $200 when getting out of debt. If I had a Time Machine I would go back to tell my younger self to give my head a shake. 😂 No idea what a late 60s to early 70s Hiwatt Custom 50 is worth today.

[@groovedodger]

Wow what a beauty in such good nick. I have a Dr 103 100w 1970's so this vid very useful thanks Brad.

[@robertclarkguitar]

My dream amp.

[@vainwretch]

Man ! Great tone out of that amp ! Way to jam ! : )

[@gbarrancos1]

Lovely recording and Performance!

[@ChristofferKeizer]

Digging the drumming. Very interesting video, way above my head.

[@B_Vuv]

Great video Brad. I've been waiting a while for more tasty amp stuff from you.

[@TheGuitologist]

Hope it was worth the wait.

[@JaniceLalla]

I enjoyed the replay and your playing

[@TheGuitologist]

Thanks Janice

[@paulhendershott667]

You got the electronics nerd in me excited again! I used to build everything HEATHKIT back in the day! I also restored antique radios from the 1920's - 1940's and my share of vintage ham radio gear. I swapped a bunch of Heathkit and historic Ham Radio gear with Joe Walsh back in 2000, he's also a licensed ham, WB6ACU. 73's Paul W9BBR

[@TheGuitologist]

There's still deals on old tube gear here and there if you know where to look.

[@MrWalleye]

Oh man that amp sounds so good. Great vid Brad 👍

[@dadadrew]

Awesome sounds great

[@HOLOCULT]

Wow!!! Awesome rig, awesome tone! Great playing on the skins and strings man!

[@PetraKann]

Great video - dragged up some old memories of HIWATT 100 amp head I bought in the early 1980s. It didnt work but luckily the issue was vacuum tube related only so easy to fix. I ran it through a cheap speaker cabinet which looked like a Marshall but wasnt. I didnt know anything about HIWATT amps at the time and sold it for $130 which was more than double the price I bought it for. I thought I did well out of the deal - silly me. I then saw Pink Floyd’s live film called “Live at Pompei” and HIWATT amps were used and shown in some of the songs. UK company which was recently bought by a Canadian business man and restarted. I had a lot of gear in the 1980s which was second hand from the 1960s and 1970s. Easy to buy at the time. Kicking myself today. (Had a Rhodes piano with 4 keys that didnt work and also a nice Hammond organ with rotary speakers. Sold them for some reason- probably to buy a Roland D-50 and various drum machines and multitrack recorders. Cant have everything😢)

[@PaulaXism]

Isn't it annoying when we think back at all the 60's amps we went through in the early/mid 80's and how much cash we would be sitting on today.. I remember selling a 1970 Marshall bass 100 for £100 to somebody in about '85. the only one I have left is a very nice Laney Session 50 topmount built 6/67... and a couple of late 60's WEM things which have that typical sound...

[@TheGuitologist]

There’s a lot of stuff I wish I had back too. Can’t keep it all.

[@stevenwilliamdewitt]

Very nice! Thank you for the demo. Also the cat visiting is pretty good.

[@reptalien_music]

That is a thing of beauty

[@johnjames1813]

Killer amp. Great video. Thanks

[@zandig666]

Great tunes Brad's!!!!!

[@spacelab2756]

Great drumming !!

[@MrMe4444444]

Loved your demo at end. Better than noodling.

[@faultlessguitarsandamps1116]

I really liked your playing . Very cool music . And the Hiwatt sounded great .

[@757warbirds]

Nice work and really enjoyed the demo

[@TheGuitologist]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@terrymingle552]

Great video & the sound clips at the end are KILLER!

[@TheGuitologist]

Thanks Terry. I appreciate you taking time to watch.

[@skinner5334]

Nice- classic jam at the end. Loved it!!⚡️

[@RHR-221b]

Thank you once again, Brad. I am just about ready to get my 'metaphysical' teeth et al. into this most welcome upload/contribution: given free, gratis and for nothing! All of it to yours, and you. Stay free. Rab 🕊 PS. Never forgetting the delineation of linear and logarithmic pots! 🍻😎

[@TheGuitologist]

Good to see you, Rab! Thanks for stopping by, as always!

[@RHR-221b]

@@TheGuitologist Thank you, Dear Brad and your darling Weans. Almost out of the woods, re my Darling Mary's recent bad fall (damaged pelvis and lower spine) and subsequent Zimmer-frame routine, until her badly-degraded hip joints are renewed (linear or logarithmic?). With our Love. Mary and Rab. 💖

[@jwjeffrey]

Nice shuffle at the beginning of the jam!

[@jcwear89]

Great video!

[@jacobdowler1]

Excellent! Brad's Band! ...Very impressive! 😃

[@marshallgibson8872]

Sounds radd. I have a pretty rare 1973 DR103S. It's two input with a foot switchable gain cut/ boost. Few years back I put in my best Telefunken 12ax7s and a quad of 1968 tesla 6ca7s and man did make a huge difference over the electroharmonix that were in it.

[@TheGuitologist]

An amp that nice deserves good tubes. Putting JJs in an amp like this is like putting Wal-Mart tires on a Ferrari.

[@marshallgibson8872]

@@TheGuitologist agreed. Despite what people say proper tubes go along way. Back then they could scrutinize quality of tubes because it was as common as lightbulbs, some stuff they let slide today because it's such a labourous process to make so they still put em out even if they are not that good.

[@NitroModelsAndComics]

I really dig this amp. Well done brother B.

[@TheGuitologist]

Robert! What's up brutha.

[@NitroModelsAndComics]

Good to see an amp repair show up. It's where you made your bones and why I subscribed all that time ago. Keep it up brother B..

[@RichardCowdrey]

Gorgeous

[@ivanduke]

Love the new audio set up

[@TheGuitologist]

Thanks. Just trying some new things. Hoping to keep improving.

[@blkjckgtr3075]

Awesome teching and playing ,that guitar sounds very straty,Cheers!

[@petersikstrom9232]

Oh boy! My favorite amp! At the time, mid 70s, I was working as an amp/guitar tech in Gothenburg, Sweden, called MUG, Music Unlimited, in english. We got the opportunity to sell HiWatt for the Swedish and Skandinavian market. But....There was a big hurdle to get over, SEMKO! Similar but much more rigorous than FCC...... I got the task to go and see if Dave on how we could alter the amps to fit the skandivian market. 1 IEC power socket 2 two slowblow 6.3 amp fuses for the heaters. 3 up the grid resistors to 5 watt, stupid since the valves was idling at 50% 4 Speaker outlet, female Anyway, I met Dave at his office in 197x, two long narrow stairs up. I presented what we needed to change for the market and he just flat out said NO. I am ok if You do the market adoption, because the units are safe when they leave here. End of story. I have done thousends of SEMKO conversion during the 70s and 80s for the Skandinavian market and yet do not have one! It is built like a Tank.

[@TheGuitologist]

Awesome story! Thanks for sharing that. The IEC plug is just an improvement no matter how you slice it. Pretty sure the wire wound screen grid resistors are 5W in this example anyway. I think heater fuses are probably overkill since any short in the filament circuit would blow the Mains fuse anyway. Very interesting.

[@Nizodizo]

I am digging your Hiwatt amp.

[@davidstorm4015]

Great to see an amp repair video again, m ore of these please! This one was an absolute beauty, a pleasure to see you work on such a fantastic amp. Fantastic so see the imaginative demo section at the end too, that must have taken a lot of time and effort.

[@bamabluesman]

I never knew that Hiwatt was such a well-made amp. Nice sounds too.

[@EnJoony]

They've always been known for their flawless wiring and assembly.

[@augustisaacson7903]

My god it’s gorgeous❤️😭

[@cybersamurai99]

awesome video man!! you rock!!!

[@markedwards1948]

I owned a 1972/3 Harry Joyce, Dave Reeves DR504 for quite a few years, now Ive got another one and a Hi-Gain 50 combo. Best amps I've ever had. Soo much Headroom and take any pedal in its stride from Chorus to any O/D, Distortion, Fuzz! Built like tanks and I abused mine falling out of tour vans, falling down stairs... the usual. The other parties always came worse off.