HIWATT price increase!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Klauth
  • Start date Start date
Go to their site and click on the CABINETS icon...should show raw cabinets.

Yup.

cabs-banner.png
 
The HIWATT site has some really bad marketing pictures and verbiage very contradictory in places, although it has been getting better. their customer service is the worst I've dealt with. very hit and miss. I'm always on pins and needles when I order.

Where did you buy the Hiwatt cab? I want one to match my Super-Hi (they have a matching Super-Hi cab or the regular 4x12). But 1) holy crap... $2,500 for a speaker cab is insane an 2) nobody actually sells them in the US that I can find.
 
Where did you buy the Hiwatt cab? I want one to match my Super-Hi (they have a matching Super-Hi cab or the regular 4x12). But 1) holy crap... $2,500 for a speaker cab is insane an 2) nobody actually sells them in the US that I can find.
I bought all my HIWATT gear through their site. takes about a month. I chose the purple back speakers for their musicality. I'm gunna buy 2 more 4x12's and put a set of the new FANE Crescendo's in one of them so I have the full offering for my studio. probably pick up a DR88 as well. there is ALOT of interest in HIWATT but nowhere to go to audition everything all at once so, I went all in to offer it to clients. even some Hi-Tone gear as well for comparison.
 
I bought all my HIWATT gear through their site. takes about a month. I chose the purple back speakers for their musicality. I'm gunna buy 2 more 4x12's and put a set of the new FANE Crescendo's in one of them so I have the full offering for my studio. probably pick up a DR88 as well. there is ALOT of interest in HIWATT but nowhere to go to audition everything all at once so, I went all in to offer it to clients. even some Hi-Tone gear as well for comparison.

Do the cabs ship from the UK or Canada?

The problem with taking a gamble on the Super-Hi cab is if I don't like it, nobody is every going to buy it because of the non-traditional format (2x12 + 1x15). So it's less of a gamble to get the 4x12. Also not sure how porting will sound with a high-gain amp like this.
 
I drove 1,500 miles to pick up a Mesa powerhouse 4x10, and it was PERFECT! I don't trust shippers these days.
Well, if you ever decide you want to buy a '72 Hiwatt 4x12, then I'm your guy.
 
EVERYTHING...comes from canada.... from what Ive learned, the amps are started in UK and finished in canada. I think that's where their wood shop and final assembly is.
 
So what’s up with the difference between the Custom Super Hi 50 and the Super Hi 50?

The latter has the boost and depth control, and is cheaper.
Some info I’ve found says it’s because it’s now PCB.

My questions is, is the gain the same between them?
 
So what’s up with the difference between the Custom Super Hi 50 and the Super Hi 50?

The latter has the boost and depth control, and is cheaper.
Some info I’ve found says it’s because it’s now PCB.

My questions is, is the gain the same between them?
... No.
 
So what’s up with the difference between the Custom Super Hi 50 and the Super Hi 50?

The latter has the boost and depth control, and is cheaper.
Some info I’ve found says it’s because it’s now PCB.

My questions is, is the gain the same between them?

The Custom is built in the custom shop and is hand-wired. The other one is PCB, presumably made in China, and has a channel switch on the back, along with a pseudo depth control. This control switches a cap in the post-presence filter in the NFB loop, which bypasses more or less NFB leading to sort of a low-end boost. It's not a traditional depth control like you might find on a Marshall mod. The result is a wider "girth" to the amp and more low-end thump. But the compromise is you loose presence control functionality. Not a huge deal though because you can still get plenty of high end from the tone controls.

I have two Custom Super-Hi 50s. One with these changes and one without. They both sound good for different reasons.

No idea how the new PCB version sounds. I don't think anybody has one.
 
Thanks for the info.

I see the new PCB one has a boost as well.

Does yours with the depth control also have the boost? And I’m assuming you had to request these mods when they were being built? (I don’t see an option for them on the site).

I wish their info were more clear.
 
Thanks for the info.

I see the new PCB one has a boost as well.

Does yours with the depth control also have the boost? And I’m assuming you had to request these mods when they were being built? (I don’t see an option for them on the site).

I wish their info were more clear.

Yes, they all have a switchable 4th gain stage (boost). There are no "mods" per se. They just updated the circuit a few times over the years. So if you find a used one, it depends when it was made.
 
Ah ok gotcha.

I just saw the new PCB one with the LED in the middle of gain 1 and fan 2, but not on the pic of the custom on their site.

Doesn’t inspire much confidence.
 
Ah ok gotcha.

I just saw the new PCB one with the LED in the middle of gain 1 and fan 2, but not on the pic of the custom on their site.

Doesn’t inspire much confidence.
I've ordered a lot of gear from them and there is always problems. their email communications are the worst I've ever encountered. also, the pictures on their website are not always what you receive. I've had to send things back because of this.
 
Is the depth control around the back then?

Maybe I'm not doing a great job at explaining it...

There is no depth control on the Custom shop version. It's a hard-wired capacitor. On older ones, it was a certain value. At some point they changed the value to give the amp a slightly different sound. On the PCB version it's on a switch. Easy enough to put it on a switch for the Custom shop version too if you ask them. Or any local tech can do it.

If you want a technical explanation, I can provide that.
 
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Ah, ok got it now.

Thanks for the info. I see the knob on the new one and assumed the custom was updated with one that was similar.

I emailed them to get some more info. Let’s see if they respond.
 
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