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.

HIWATT Guitar Amplifiers Models

HIWATT S50L Image

HIWATT S50L

- 50W, head-unit configuration, tube chassis, preamp: 4 X ECC83/12AX7, power: 2 X EL34, solid-state rectifier, single channel, front black control panel, single input, six chickenhead knobs (g, t, m, b, p, MV), effects loop, black covering...

HIWATT DR405 (HIWATT 400) Image

HIWATT DR405 (HIWATT 400)

- 400W, head-unit configuration, tube chassis, preamp: 4 X ECC83/12AX7, 1 X ECC81/12AT7, power: 8 X KT88, solid-state rectifier, two channels, front black control panel, two inputs, seven black knobs (Norm v, Brilliant v, b, t, m, p, MV), b...

HIWATT CUSTOM 100 (DR-103) Image

HIWATT CUSTOM 100 (DR-103)

- 100W, head-unit configuration, tube chassis, preamp: 4 X ECC83/12AX7, power: 4 X EL34, solid-state rectifier, single channel, front black control panel, four inputs, seven black knobs (Norm v, Bright v, b, t, m, p, MV), available in black...

HIWATT S100L Image

HIWATT S100L

- 100W, head-unit configuration, tube chassis, preamp: 4 X ECC83/12AX7, power: 4 X EL34, solid-state rectifier, single channel, front black control panel, single input, six chickenhead knobs (g, t, m, b, p, MV), effects loop, black covering...

HIWATT CUSTOM 200 HEAD (DR-201) Image

HIWATT CUSTOM 200 HEAD (DR-201)

- 200W, head-unit configuration, bass application, tube chassis, preamp: 3 X ECC83/12AX7, 1 X ECC81/12AT7, power: 4 X KT88, solid-state rectifier, single channel, front black control panel, four inputs, seven black knobs (Norm v, Bright v,...

HIWATT PRE-1 PREAMP Image

HIWATT PRE-1 PREAMP

- preamp only, one-space rack-mount head configuration, tube chassis, preamp: 3 X ECC83/12AX7, two channels, front black control panel, single input, seven knobs (g1, g2, t, m, b, MV l, MV r), effects loop, optional footswitch, black casing...

HIWATT CUSTOM 400 HEAD (DR-405) Image

HIWATT CUSTOM 400 HEAD (DR-405)

- 400W, head-unit configuration, bass application, tube chassis, preamp: 4 X ECC83/12AX7, 1 X ECC81/12AT7, power: 6 X KT88, solid-state rectifier, single channel, front black control panel, four inputs, seven black knobs (Norm v, Bright v,...

HIWATT PW-50 POWER AMP Image

HIWATT PW-50 POWER AMP

- 100W (50W per side), power amp only, four-space rack-mount head configuration, tube chassis, power: 4 X EL34 (two per channel), two channels, four knobs (Ch. A: v, p, Ch. B: v, p), four inputs and four speaker outs (two per channel), blac...

HIWATT STUDIO STAGE HEAD (SSH) Image

HIWATT STUDIO STAGE HEAD (SSH)

- 40W (switchable to 20W), head-unit configuration, tube chassis, preamp: 4 X ECC83/12AX7, power: 2 X EL34, solid-state rectifier, single channel, reverb, front black control panel, two inputs, six black knobs (MV, r, m, t, b, g), available...

HIWATT DAVID GILMOUR SIGNATURE 50W HEAD (DG-504) Image

HIWATT DAVID GILMOUR SIGNATURE 50W HEAD (DG-504)

- 50W, guitar head-unit, six-tube chassis, preamp: 4 X ECC83/12AX7, power: 2 X EL34, solid-state rectifier, single channel, front black control panel, four inputs, seven black knobs (Norm v, Bright v, b, t, m, p, MV), available in black cov...