Those 50 watters!!

[Analog103]

Allright, so I've been a very proud owner of a '74 DR103 for two years now. I was always really happy with the sound although it always sounded too BIG for my band or too LOUD for every stage. The only other time I tried a real HIWATT was probably two years ago - it was a '69/'70 DR201 LEAD which was a monster.

A friend wanted to try my HIWATT (he plays keys mainly) and was impressed, no, wait ... blown away! We found a mint DR504 from '74 and bought it the next day!!! Maaaan, when I plugged in my Telecaster with just the channel jumpered, there it was - the classic HIWATT crunch I always lusted for. I can't seem to get that sound with my DR103 ..at least not with the Tele. Of course, the DR103 sounds much bigger and fuller, but I think the smaller, more 'compressed' (if I may say so) sound of the DR504 might actually work better in a band situation. I really dig that amp!

Now I can't remember if pulling 2 tubes would be similar ... it's been a long time since I tried that, but it's probably not the same...

[OldSchoolDave]

... but I think the smaller, more 'compressed' (if I may say so) sound of the DR504 might actually work better in a band situation. I really dig that amp!

Considering how DR504's generally command higher prices than DR103's of the same vintage, the market supports your observations. You can hit the "sweet spot" on a 50 watter earlier. Less headroom, of course, but more grind.

Now I can't remember if pulling 2 tubes would be similar ... it's been a long time since I tried that, but it's probably not the same...

Not exactly, due to the bigger transformer. But, it's not a bad compromise.

Dave

[mikhailwatt]

Last time I played out, I ran my workhorse '504 2-holer and my '103 clone together (stereo)... both through my new attenuators. I had forgotten how HUGE the '103 sounds (it's the "early-mid '70s" circuit - a touch more gain than the earlier "clean machines").

The combination of the two (with the attenuators letting the master volumes ride in the sweet spot) was quite lovely...