B
braintheory
Well-known member
I actually got this amp months ago now, but haven’t had as much time to play lately. But anyway, this is one of the top 3 best amps I’ve ever played for my taste of the 80+ I’ve owned over the years and countless others I’ve tried (I have ~20 currently). A lot of guys mistakenly think of Hiwatt’s as being more for cleans since it needs to be turned up very loud to overdrive and while it does have nice cleans, it’s the overdrive (especially on the brilliant input) that really wowed me. It needs to be very loud to get there, but it’s well worth it!
It sounds very articulate yet also super raw sounding and moves air like nothing else I’ve heard. If you think the Wizard’s or any other amps sound big, wait till you hear a vintage Hiwatt overdriven! Probably the biggest sounding amp I’ve heard so far. It still doesn’t quite growl the way Marshall’s do and isn’t as juicy or saturated, but sounds bigger and more articulate in comparison and still definitely has that British flavor to it. The palm mutes on it sound enormous and defined, while palm mutes/chugs on almost all my other amps sound weak and small in comparison. It also seems to takes boosts great of what I’ve tried with it
The cleans are very nice as I said before, but not on the level as my ‘64 Vibroverb (hands down the best clean amp I’ve tried) or Jim Kelley if you’re just going for a lush, beautiful clean tone. But, as a platform for things like my fuzzes it’s hands down the best I’ve tried and has dethroned my iic+ as being the best amp for that all these years. I find amps that sound too beautiful and delicate like my Vibroverb don’t work as well as a clean platform because it’s not bold or punchy enough like the Hiwatt or IIC+ and I think that’s necessary to work well with fuzzes, distortion or overdrive pedals. The fact that it’s such an exceptional pedal platform amp would be enough already for me to make it a keeper
If having to play loud isn’t a dealbreaker for you, then it’s definitely worth checking one out!
It sounds very articulate yet also super raw sounding and moves air like nothing else I’ve heard. If you think the Wizard’s or any other amps sound big, wait till you hear a vintage Hiwatt overdriven! Probably the biggest sounding amp I’ve heard so far. It still doesn’t quite growl the way Marshall’s do and isn’t as juicy or saturated, but sounds bigger and more articulate in comparison and still definitely has that British flavor to it. The palm mutes on it sound enormous and defined, while palm mutes/chugs on almost all my other amps sound weak and small in comparison. It also seems to takes boosts great of what I’ve tried with it
The cleans are very nice as I said before, but not on the level as my ‘64 Vibroverb (hands down the best clean amp I’ve tried) or Jim Kelley if you’re just going for a lush, beautiful clean tone. But, as a platform for things like my fuzzes it’s hands down the best I’ve tried and has dethroned my iic+ as being the best amp for that all these years. I find amps that sound too beautiful and delicate like my Vibroverb don’t work as well as a clean platform because it’s not bold or punchy enough like the Hiwatt or IIC+ and I think that’s necessary to work well with fuzzes, distortion or overdrive pedals. The fact that it’s such an exceptional pedal platform amp would be enough already for me to make it a keeper
If having to play loud isn’t a dealbreaker for you, then it’s definitely worth checking one out!
