Hiwatt Crunch 150R Head Demo and Review

Review, and playthrough of the new Hiwatt Crunch 150R head!
Leave some money in my virtual tip jar:
paypal.me/soni...
Gear used in this video:
Hiwatt Crush 150R Head
Mesa Recto 4x12 Cabinet
Fender Highway One Stratocaster
Fender Custom Shop 69 Pickups
Gibson 60's Standard Les Paul (Ltd Tri-Burst)
Catalinbread Echorec
Jetter Gold Standard
Shure SM7B
Sterling ST170
Rode NT1
Mogami Cabling
Universal Audio Apollo 8P

[@malcolmbliss777]

I was SO floored by this (and other) solid state Hiwatt Crunch videos, I bought a 150 combo 1x12. I was in a proto-grunge band that started in 1984 (Drunks with Guns), and solid state guitar amps were our secret weapon. Back then, and being from St Louis, we used Crate combos (made by St Louis Music). That’s the guitar sounds you hear on our first three 7” EP’s. If this pandemic ever ends, and if we ever get back out on the road, count on these Hiwatts being our new secret weapon. At this moment, with supply chain nightmares abounding, I was able to find 3 of the 150 combos in stock in the lower 48. I bought mine from a Detroit dealer. No heads (50 or 150) are currently in stock anywhere in the USA; not that I could find, anyway. If you want one of these, and can FIND one of these, BUY IT! You may not get another chance for months & months…

[@InGrindWeCrust2010]

Is the 150-watt loud enough to play with a heavy band?

[@malcolmbliss777]

@InGrindWeCrust2010 It's too loud. The speaker conks out at 12 o'clock. It can't handle the power. Not that I ever turn up that loud. I'd get the 150 watt head and two 4x12 cabs.

[@InGrindWeCrust2010]

@@malcolmbliss777 Thanks! I'll plan to run it through a 2x12 or 4x12 with something like Black Shadows or Fanes.

[@malcolmbliss777]

@InGrindWeCrust2010 It has great "overdrive sounds" on channels two & three - but I think this shines best as a platform for pedals. I use channel one 99% of the time and use pedals for OD & fuzz, but that prolly says more about what a crappy guitarist I am.

[@stinkykittylaur]

I bought the same model a few years back. I play death/thrash/Black metal with it. As a standalone (w/o pedals) it's a beast and also takes pedals well. My MT2 sounds good with it. Lol. For 400 bucks, it's a value for money solid state amp.

[@InGrindWeCrust2010]

How would you compare the sound to a Randall?

[@caseycronkright9808]

I’m probably picking one up locally today. Just doing research. It comes with a Randall 4x10 cabinet for $500

[@ace-rob71]

I gigged with this amp and it's really awesome! seems a tube amp and is really versatile.

[@InGrindWeCrust2010]

Any reason to get the 350 or does 150 suffice?

[@ace-rob71]

150 is ok

[@vcr210]

Just purchased one. Agree with your review. Perfect amp for pedals.

[@HaloMusicorn]

Ordered mine a few days ago. Can't wait for it to get here!

[@zAvAvAz]

21:12 metal begins and doesn't last long enough

[@SonicProvocateur]

Sorry, I was trying to cover a lot of sounds and settings across 2 different guitars pretty quickly lol. I plan on revisiting a demo of this amp. If people wanna hear more high gain sounds, i'll gladly hit on those more!

[@jaydinbreen8476]

@@SonicProvocateur please, im thinking of getting some to replace my randall, what amp would you say gain 2 sounds like?

[@cmurduh1]

Just had one delivered today. Seems like a fun amp.

[@OMEGAAMPWORKS]

Mike Fortin did not work for VHT, he worked with Randall

[@SonicProvocateur]

Correct. I had a brain fart; obviously Steven Fryette made VHT amps. Mike obviously has his namesake company. I think because sometimes VHT has been favorably compared to being "Hiwatt-ish" and they have both designed for Randall, my brain wires got crossed when I made this video. I've been intending to do a followup vid to this one now that i've had the amp a couple years.

[@mikemara7041]

Hey great vid, I’ve got the combo and love it. I’m getting some crosstalk where the gain channel sound spills into the clean tone, is that happening at all with your amp?

[@SonicProvocateur]

@@mikemara7041 I dont have any crosstalk issues with my amp. Normally crosstalk on channel switching amps has to do with a bad LDR or Opamp that handles the switching in the circuit. A competent tech can easily hunt down and fix that issue. If youre using a footswitch see if it's doing it with NO footswitch and just the button, that can help rule out what is going on.

[@mikemara7041]

Thank you sir, I’ll start seeing what I can hunt down.

[@johnsmallshaw9401]

I have one on the way! Thanks for the demo.

[@DinoJr.686]

Do you still like this amp a lot? A friend of mine is selling his soon and I'm thinking about giving him an offer. I'm mostly concerned if the clean channel is going to work well with overdrive pedals. Thanks!

[@InGrindWeCrust2010]

Did Fortin actually work "for" VHT? I almost sold him a 2-input Bi-Crown DR504 years ago. Interesting.

[@iliasi2630]

Hey dude, is this amp head only rated for 4 Ohms? What kinda speaker are you using with this? I don't know of any 4x12's that only take a 4ohm but they're probably out there.

[@nicholasbstone]

It says 4 ohm (minimum) which means you can run 4 and above. An 8ohm 4x12 cab would be fine, so would two 8ohm 4x12's(equals 4 ohms)...also two 16ohm cabs would be fine because that works out to 8ohms. .you just wouldnt want to run, say, two 4ohm cabinets because then you'd be running 2 ohms which is below the minimum.

[@MegicShiba]

Hope these get restocked, always wanted a Hiwatt and for $300 im def in EDIT: Got a message from Hiwatt on Reverb and they are saying these should come back early summer (2022) so get your wallets ready folks!

[@malcolmbliss777]

I got one of the last 150 combos in all of America. There might still be one in Texas (on Reverb), but the 150 heads have been sold out for months.

[@wangd000dle]

Just ordered a new one direct from hiwatt on reverb. Get em while you can!

[@teletube66]

that's going to totally aesthetically smoke all the Line 6 stuff in the landfill.

[@auntjenifer7774]

Did you get to try the Hi watt into the Marshall cabinet ? I bet it would sound better than the Mesa cabinet for the tones I'm after !

[@SonicProvocateur]

Yes! To this day I play it with either my 1985 (G12T75) or 1971 (original G12M) basketweave cabs. Absolute rock n roll! Still love this amp and intend to pick up a second one!

[@joschelei262]

How is the touch sensitivity of this amp compared to the CR120 or Supercrush 100?

[@SonicProvocateur]

With the amp set on lower to mid gain, it is on par with a tube amp. It handedly defeats the Supercrush which is very sloppy in the low mids and bass. HOWEVER, the EQ curves of this amp are more sharp, tight and "modern" sounding. To make it sound vintage you have to keep the gain very low. The Orange SS amp is more flubby by miles, and while recorded it may fake sounding like a Rockerverb, in the room doesnt sound like my real Rockerverb 50. (Mine is a MKII). To be totally fair, without having a real 100w Hiwatt side by side (which is much more 3D, and should I say *theatrical*) you wouldnt know to coax this amp loudly but with really low gain. It does it astonishingly well.

[@joschelei262]

@@SonicProvocateur I like how it stays tight, and the tonal shaping options. Looks like I'm getting this over the Supercrush. I wonder how it would sound against the Super Hi 50. 🤔

[@SonicProvocateur]

@@joschelei262 No idea. Totally different animal. I'm pretty confident Steven Fryette designed it though, and beyond the absolutely brutal/mega-tight sounding youtube clips, if you've ever played a VHT or Fryette design amp (which were always compared favorably to Hiwatts), I imagine you'd have a good dart on the dartboard.

[@InGrindWeCrust2010]

@@joschelei262 This is tighter and drier. The tube amp has more sag and saturation. Did you grab that Super Hi 50 on reverb a few months back?

[@joschelei262]

@@InGrindWeCrust2010 I ended up getting a Blackstar Silverline 100 deluxe combo.

[@Chiaseedorangeboba]

Hi, I have the same head and love it! I noticed that the effects loop connections are reversed. The Return goes into my delay pedals Input and the pedal Output goes into the Send. It that the same with your amp?

[@SonicProvocateur]

No, I don't think so. I mainly use the line out to drive other power amps and my Leslie, but i'll double check.

[@mr.saturdaynightspecial7277]

Been wondering if these can handle metal

[@stinkykittylaur]

Yes! I use mine to play Death/Thrash/Black metal even without an overdrive pedal :)

[@kunde1653]

Hi, does anyone know the Hiwatt Custom 20HD solid state from the 90s? How do they compare to the Hiwatt Crunch?

[@TIMMY512002]

How do you think the 50 or 25 combos would be ? I’ve really been tempted to buy a 25r combo for playing around the house and using pedals with. I was thinking about a Marshall mg 15 or 30 but I think I’d rather have a little Hiwatt instead. I have two Mesas for tube tones. I’m in the States also.

[@somethingelsedoesmatter]

Did you ever make a decision on this? I'm in the same boat right now. Moreso the MG50 or a Crunch combo.

[@TIMMY512002]

@@somethingelsedoesmatter I never bought the HiWatt. I just kept the MG 30. No particular reason though. I’m sure the HiWatts are good. Maybe one of those days.

[@zipchtkdn7804]

That has high gain and crunch ?

[@bo1ivarj]

Will there be problems if I used this with a 16ohm cab?

[@KevinSparksatx]

Nope

[@SonicProvocateur]

Nope! Currently use mine with both 16ohm Marshall and 8ohm Mesa cabs! Works great and sounds best with 4x12s for sure!

[@filipvanek6272]

@@SonicProvocateur How is the output at 8ohm? + - 75w seems plenty enough tho

[@choplass]

At 16 ohms the power output might be 60 watts

[@victorwilson1337]

Sounds great! (Tell the Mark III I said I miss it!)

[@tommyoriley4174]

Does it take pedals well?

[@SonicProvocateur]

Extremely well!

[@theprogrammerrolandmc3039]

sounds nothing like a Hiwatt but the real ones are in the UK

[@lucabadan2829]

Hey there! I understand the doubt when listening through youtube and not being able to fully try out the amp and just have the reference through video but man, if you ever tried a custom 50 or dr103, hiwatt have insanely downplayed the magnitude of this here amp. I played through a few hiwatt combos and heads over the years and have come by some good amps in the way but the Crunch line, most specifically the 150R, 150H and the Big Crunch 350 are the most beautifully sounding amps I have ever come by, absolutely no joke. My favorite amp at home to record is the 150 combo, and favorite for playing live are the big brother versions of it like the 150H and 350. If you ever find one go give it a try I’m certain they will blow you away! My neighbors love me cuz of these amps! All the best.

[@theprogrammerrolandmc3039]

@@lucabadan2829 I own a Hiwatt T10 head and a maxwatt 15 for recording i use nembrini hivolt best option for recording. Guitar amps are sadly a thing of the past

[@ReggieSears]

@@theprogrammerrolandmc3039a thing of the past for who? I don’t use amp sims because they still don’t sound good to me.

[@theprogrammerrolandmc3039]

@@ReggieSears ego there is no such thing as music industry or even a way to make a living from music 🤣🤣🤣 enjoy

[@ReggieSears]

@@theprogrammerrolandmc3039 I’ve been making a living playing music and will continue to do it until it’s not possible to do it.

[@user-le4kg9kn7z]

Очень толковый парень,который любит звук.Спасибо.