The 1972 HIWATT DR504 / The Holy Grail Of Pedal Platform Amps

[@emcg.9655]

I used to rehearse at a place that had one of these.. it was the best sounding amp I’ve ever played. Without exception.

[@VinceHalvorson]

Had a Canadian Hiwatt 50 when I was in high school. These had an extra gain stage so it got quite dirty at low volumes. This was before pedal platform was a phrase haha

[@tbirdpunk]

Thanks for the great demo. In my nearly 30 years of playing and travel I have never come across a Hiwatt to test drive in a shop.

[@jakesmith4506]

EXCELLENT VIDEO MY FRIEND. I used to have a DR504 back in the 70's. I also had the 4 x 12 Fane loaded cab. I kept that amp show room clean. I purchased it at a place in Royal Oak Michigan back in 1975. The Romantics purchased theirs from the same place, called ROCK CITY, at the time. Unfortunately, I had to sell it, due to my inability to control the volume. I was young and inexperienced. I ended up going with Mesa Boogie, The Mesa stuff is great but I still yearn for that old HIWATT every time I see one. There's nothing like a HIWATT. Keep up the great work. If I find a magic lamp the first wish would be to get my old HIWATT back , in the condition I sold it at. hahaha. rock on.

[@RDembowski]

I've ordered a handmade amp just like this one, for the exact same reasons you described here. The amplitude, the massive headroom and how it works, the tone... Everything just blew my mind about this amp.

[@thetruevineproductions]

Hi-tone?

[@slowfinger2]

A gigging bud of mine had a Hi Watt 100 head sitting on a Traynor Bass Reflex 15 that sounded so awesome in 1976. He wishes he had that rig back today. Inspired, I then rented A HW100 with a 4x10 for a month. Glorious, but had to return it as I was only a hobbyist at the time.

[@le_beatbox]

I have a Canadian 50 watts (505), i had the gain mod removed but it still has more gain than this, 1 o clock gives me pretty good crunch that is still always clear with the eq around noon. love that thing

[@ianbarker2420]

Hiya I have a 1976 DR512 that has been re configured into a DR504 as it used the same circuit and a 4x12 Hiwatt can from 1972 with it's original Fanes, absolutely gorgeous to play with any guitar. Super video mate and more would be great 👍. Rock on.

[@justinbrogdon]

There's just something about a Hiwatt... Thanks for the love! Cheers!

[@mhedderl]

Have a 71 dr103 and it’s awesome. Like you said it has a weight and 3d quality to it for sure. Also have a 63 Deluxe, 90s Matchless, 71 Marshall, swart, and valco. all great amps but the Hiwatt is in a league of its own. The only thing close too that I’ve heard was a Sunn 200s and Sound City 100 a buddy owns.

[@justinbrogdon]

You've got great taste in tone my friend! What Matchless do you have? I've had a Sampson era DC-30 on my wishlist for a long time. Cheers!

[@mhedderl]

@@justinbrogdon it’s a 94 SC30 1x12 combo. It use to belong to Dennis Herring and sounds absolutely fantastic. Had a Morgan ac20 deluxe and a 75 vox ac30 before that and they didn’t even come close imho.

[@justinbrogdon]

@@mhedderl Wow! Dennis Herring? There's no telling what records that amp has been on! That's a beast of an amp. Had an AC20 for awhile, really liked it but not exactly what I wanted. I love everything about this Hiwatt. Some amps just have "that thing."

[@GenetNasty]

I have two of them the note density generated is so lucid it diminishes the need for distortion, magnificent amps

[@melvined]

i just saw Cattle Decapitation, a grindcore band, and one of the guys was runnng a DR103 and it was massive! i have a 504 and absolutely love it for experimental noise rock.

[@Smurfman256]

You run your treble and presence knobs waaaaaay higher than I do on my DR504. I almost never have mine above 9:00 just because it's the brightest sounding fucking amp I've ever played.

[@darwinsaye]

Matter of personal taste I’d say. The sound coming through on this recording is less bright than I have generally set any amp I’ve ever owned.

[@Smurfman256]

@darwinsaye I have recently discovered that Fanes/clones of them are stupid bright speakers. As in make most Celestions sound dark kind of bright. My HiTone combo has the Fane 231 clone speakers which ain't Crescendo bright, but they still make a V30 sound dark by comparison. Plus I'm doing the ColorSound Power Boost into the Hiwatt thing and that pedal has so much top end even at noon.

[@braxal6983]

Nice Video. Was it hard to find your Hiwatt? I have a 1972 50 watt Marshall head that I bought for $350-$375 in 1984-85. Very clean with most of the original mustard caps. Worth more than that now. I was in high school back then. I like to get a another vintage amp may the Hiwatt is the ticket.

[@justinbrogdon]

Hey Braxal! Mine is on permanent loan from a good friend of mine. It was given to him back in the 90s by a father of one of his guitar students, crazy! I've never played another amp I enjoyed more. Cheers!

[@iansnyder274]

I concur

[@olliverulrich2568]

my holy grail amp is the MEYER Brighton 45 combined whit the hiwatt dr504

[@justinbrogdon]

NIce! Not familiar with Meyer, I'll have to check them out. Cheers!

[@harrykadaras9459]

I have a 1971 504... even though its a high performance amp, built like a British tank, I baby it! Btw you can get away using other cabs besides Hiwatt cabs with Fanes.

[@justinbrogdon]

I'm the same. At this point a 1971 504 is a very valuable amp. You gotta baby it! Cheers!

[@BGTsoundandvision]

I have 2 Custom 50 1x12 combos (one is a 77 the other is an 81). I stack them rather than putting them side by side to have a smaller footprint. If you think one is amazing try 2.

[@Cluless02]

Lost me on the celestians/open back. HIWATT need to be paired with Fanes/HIWATT rear ported, closed back.

[@justinbrogdon]

Right on man. To each their own. I've played through an old Hiwatt 4x12 with Fanes, and it sounded great. I can also tell you running the DR504 through my Marshall 4x12 with Creambacks and the open back 2x12, both sound really good. I believe in making the gear you have work for you, and this setup works great for me. Cheers!