Hiwatt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hiwatt is a brand of British company that manufactures amplifiers for electric guitars and bass guitars. Starting from late 1960s, together with Marshall, and Vox this company forms an image of so-called "British" guitar amplifier sound.
Another, less known branch of Hiwatt production involves various effect pedals and units.
[edit] Sound City heritage
The brand was created to meet the requirements of The Who's Pete Townshend and John Entwistle. Townshend had been using Sound City amplifiers since mid 1967, and Entwistle since earlier that year, when in late 1968 they approached the company asking if their equipment could be modified slightly. This request was denied, but manufacturer Dave Reeves, a former employee of Sound City, agreed and created customised Sound City L100 amplifiers under the name Hylight Electronics. This model was named the Hiwatt DR103, which would later be modified in 1970 into the CP103 "Super Who 100" model that Townshend used almost exclusively for over a decade. In 1973 the updated DR103W model was created, which Townshend still uses to this day.[1]
[edit] Famous users
- Notable users of Hiwatt equipment, listed in alphabetic order
- John Entwistle (The Who)
- David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
- Steve Hackett (Genesis)
- Danko Jones
- Kenny Olson (Kid Rock)
- Dave Pyro (Republic of Loose)
- Pete Townshend (The Who)
- Robert Trujillo (Metallica)
- Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam)
- Joe Walsh (The Eagles)
- Notable users of pre-Hiwatt Sound City equipment
- Jack Bruce (Cream)
- Eric Clapton (Cream)
- John Entwistle (The Who)
- Jimi Hendrix
- Noel Redding (The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
- Pete Townshend (The Who)
[edit] External links
- MHUSS A great source for Hiwatt information
- Hiwatt Amplification official site
- TheWho.net page documenting Pete Townshend's transition from Sound City amps to Hiwatt
