Opened up the HIWATT DR103 today.... amazed

ThorpyFX

I knew HIWATTS were tidy, but this is ridiculous.... Definitely one of the best amps ever made, a joy to play through and to behold....

https://i.imgur.com/NPeX5xs.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8q8dECh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/RwI7AJy.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8s3ECEB.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/tqiHFQp.jpg


Oh and its all within spec and sounds glorious...

anyway, anyone else pleased with their amps guts?

lewism

The mustard cap third from the right is rotated too far round so the markings aren’t facing the front. Shoddy. (Not really, there’s an astonishing level of attention to detail there for a semi mass produced product, even all the resistors are in the same orientation - completely unnecessary but completely brilliant too)

ICBM

Disappointing to see they're still using the original carbon-comp 100-ohm screen resistors. This is probably the only design fault or common failure on these amps, they sometimes burn out if a valve shorts badly.

Replace with wirewounds and they will withstand a valve short for long enough for the HT fuse to blow.

Modulus_Amps

Lovely, that is a really clean example in and out

JezWynd

Looks like a work of art.

thermionic

I have two questions:

How do they get those right-angles - is it solid, single conductor wire?

Why are the turrets blue?

kossofffan

That Hiwatt inner is so neat & tidy.
 The first thing I did when I brought my 1959HW was to look inside and enjoy the build !

<a href="https://imgur.com/28qaS4E"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/28qaS4E.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

stickyfiddle

This reminds me I've never opened up my Badcat...

RiftAmps

thermionic said:

I have two questions:

How do they get those right-angles - is it solid, single conductor wire?

Yes.

thermionic said:

Why are the turrets blue?

Each solder joint is independently inspected and signed off with a blue mark. It’s a level of QC rarely found today.

A similar thing is done in high-performance automotive engine assembly where every nut/bolt is marked with a paint pen after being torqued to the correct spec.

fandango

Wow. Well done to Hiwatt. On looks alone, i want one, but have never known where they fit into the tone and gain spectrum.

So, took a look at Hiwatt’s documentation and read this:
The famed sound of Hiwatt is achieved by setting the Volume controls high and blasting your neighbors!

Hmmmm, but in the next paragraph:
It is not to be used as a “weapon of aural destruction”!

Ah, okay then.

hotpickups

fandango said:

Wow. Well done to Hiwatt. On looks alone, i want one, but have never known where they fit into the tone and gain spectrum.

So, took a look at Hiwatt’s documentation and read this:
The famed sound of Hiwatt is achieved by setting the Volume controls high and blasting your neighbors!

Hmmmm, but in the next paragraph:
It is not to be used as a “weapon of aural destruction”!

Ah, okay then.

lol written when times were different

dindude

That looks really clean. I opened my Carr up once and it was like someone had been sick in it after eating spaghetti bolognese. 

thermionic

Thanks @RiftAmps, I kind of guessed the answer to first question, but the second is interesting. I thought it might have been some kind of insulator or anti-corrosion paint. Incredible build quality.

57Deluxe

you know, sometimes, a too neat amp layout is stripped of its Mojo...

Kebabkid

That looks great and I wonder what my mate's one from the 70s will look like - I'm due to open it up very soon   (and the matching 4x12) for some pics for an interested party.

His serial no is 5194, also a Hylight one and would appear to be from 1974 but it's not as clean as yours.

ThorpyFX

Kebabkid said:

That looks great and I wonder for what my mate's one from the 70s will look like - I'm due to open it up very soon   (and the matching 4x12) for some pics for an interested party.

His serial no is 5194, also a Hylight one and would appear to be from 1974 but it's not as clean as yours.

I imagine his will look similar internally as mines a 12000 serial number. 57Deluxe said:

you know, sometimes, a too neat amp layout is stripped of its Mojo...

Lol-Not in this case.... 

Modulus_Amps

57Deluxe said:

you know, sometimes, a too neat amp layout is stripped of its Mojo...

Is that because it is really hard to recreate tonal majik if you dont know what you did the first time to make it sound good. .. so you just blame mojo

Going to get my colleague Steve to look at this. He is building his first Hiwatt 103 clone and doing a good job. But this is the bees knees

ThorpyFX

Modulus_Amps said:

57Deluxe said:

you know, sometimes, a too neat amp layout is stripped of its Mojo...

Is that because it is really hard to recreate tonal majik if you dont know what you did the first time to make it sound good. .. so you just blame mojo

Going to get my colleague Steve to look at this. He is building his first Hiwatt 103 clone and doing a good job. But this is the bees knees

I have the high res images if you need them 

bbill335

Is all the wires being at rights angles actually... good? In terms if strain/picking up noise?

meltedbuzzbox

bbill335 said:

Is all the wires being at rights angles actually... good? In terms if strain/picking up noise?

My hiwatt is silent when it's on. so I will say yes

IvisonGuitars

ThorpyFX said:

anyway, anyone else pleased with their amps guts?

Of the 3 TopHats I’ve had, Brian’s wiring is impeccable, a serious work of art.