Hiwatt
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with Fender Precision bass
Hiwatt was a British company that manufactured amplifiers for electric guitars and electric basses. Starting in the late 1960s, together with Marshall and Vox, the company contributed to the sonic image popularly termed "British sound".
Another lesser-known branch of Hiwatt production involves various effect pedals and units.
Dave Reeves started HIWATT and Hylight Electronics in 1966. In order to raise capital for his young company, Reeves accepted a contract to build a line of amplifiers for Ivor Arbiter's store Sound City. By mid-1968 and the contract with Sound City fulfilled, Reeves focused on his own brand, HIWATT.
By 1969, The Who and Pink Floyd were the most well known users of HIWATTs. Later that year, Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) had HIWATTs custom made for him. Jethro Tull and Manfred Mann were other famous users at that time.
By 1970, Hiwatt produced PA amps as well as 50-watt (DR504), 100-watt (DR103), and 200-watt (DR201) all-purpose amplifiers. Until that time, Reeves had been building all of the amps in his garage with the help of his wife Daphne and Doug Fentiman. In early 1970, Reeves accepted that he could not keep up with demand and began looking for well qualified electrical technicians to be contracted.
Harry Joyce Electronics was selected and by mid-1970 was wiring chassis that were then sent to Reeves for final assembly and testing. This arrangement lasted until Reeves's death in 1981 and Harry Joyce Electronics continued to wire chassis for the short lived Biacrown Electronics (1981–1984).
When Dave Reeves died in 1981, the control of the company was taken away from the Reeves family. The rights to the Hiwatt name have been used by a number of companies since, most recently Fernandes (in Asia and the US) and Music Ground (in Europe). The current companies have no relationship to the original Hylight company other than legal ownership of the Hiwatt name, but they are manufacturing guitar and bass amplifiers with similar cosmetics and circuit designs as the originals.
David Gilmour still used "a pair of Seventies 50-watt Hiwatt combos"[1] in the studio and "the power stage of six 100-watt Hiwatt heads"[1] during the 1994 Pink Floyd The Division Bell Tour.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Tolinski, Brad (September 1994). "Welcome to the Machines". Guitar World. http://www.pinkfloydfan.net/t11634-phil-taylor-welcome-machines-guitar.html. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
[edit] External links
- Hiwatt Amplification Official U.S. site
- Hiwatt U.K. Amplification Official U.K. site
- TheWho.net page documenting Pete Townshend's transition from Sound City amps to Hiwatt
- Mark's Hiwatt Pages Webpage on Hiwatt historic technical information and history
