The Hiwatt company was founded in 1964 by Dave Reeves in England. Harry Joyce was commissioned by Reeves to build military-spec chassis in Hiwatt amps. Hiwatt amps from the 1960s and 1970s are known for being very loud, but very well built. Pete Townshend was an early endorser (and early destroyer) of Hiwatt amps. 50W and 100W head models were first introduced with other wattages and combos to follow. Hiwatt didn't change much in their design or product line until Reeves died in 1981. Eric Dixon took over the company and started redesigning amps trying to save some costs along the way. One problem Hiwatt players encountered was the preamp and power tubes were mounted directly to the circuit board. The vibration and heat sometimes caused the circuit board to warp among other problems. The second generation of Hiwatt amps introduced in 1981 aren't noted for not being nearly as dependable as the earlier ones. Hiwatt discontinued their traditional line of amps by the late 1980s and replaced them with the new 2000 series. These amps were produced through the early to mid-1990s with little fanfair. In the mid-1990s, Hiwatt was purchased by the Fernandes corporation of North Hollywood, CA (currently Chatsworth, CA). Starting in 1995, Hiwatt and Fernandes actually shared catalogs as well as booth space at shows. Fernandes decided to reissue models from Hiwatt's heyday in the 1960s and 1970s that were exact replications. Fernandes was also producing amps at this time, but by the end of the 1990s, Fernandes had halted all production on amplifiers and used Hiwatt for their amplifiers. In the 2000s, Hiwatt has expanded their line to include everything from the entry level solid-state Bulldog series to their hand-wired tube amps. By 2005, Hiwatt had a full line of reproduction amps based on 1970s models. For more information, visit Hiwatt's website or contact them directly. Early information courtesy: Aspen Pittman, The Tube Amp Book.
Amplifiers previously produced in England since 1964. The Bulldog series is produced in Asia. Distributed in the U.S. by Musical Distributors Group, LLC in Boonton, NJ. Previously distributed by Hiwatt Amplification in Chatsworth, CA and previously located in North Hollywood, CA.